The "Board," when used in this section, shall be construed to
mean the Board of Zoning Appeals. The Board shall consist of seven
members appointed by the Mayor by and with the consent of the Village
Board of Trustees. The terms of office shall be five years; provided
that the members of the first Board shall serve respectively for the
following terms (or until their respective successors are appointed
and qualified): one for one year, one for two years, one for three
years, one for four years, one for five years, one for six years and
one for seven years; and five years each for those following the first
appointment. The Chairman of the Board shall be elected by a majority
vote of the membership of the Board and shall hold his office as Chairman
for a one-year term or until his successor is elected by a majority
vote of the membership. (See 65 ILCS 5/11-13-3.)
Meetings of the Board of Zoning Appeals shall be held at the
call of the Chairman or any two members, or at such times as the Board
may determine. All hearings conducted by said Board shall be open
to the public. The Board shall keep minutes of its proceedings, showing
the vote of each member upon each question or, in absence or failing
to vote, indicating such fact, and shall also keep records of its
hearings and other official actions; findings of fact shall be included
in the minutes of each case of a request for a variation, special
permit or planned building development, and the reason for granting
or denying such application shall be specified. Every rule or regulation,
every amendment or repeal thereof, and every order, requirement and
interpretation, decision or determination of the Board shall be filed
immediately in the office of the Board and shall be a public record.
The Board shall adopt its own rules and procedures, not in conflict
with this code or with Illinois statutes.
An appeal may be taken to the Board of Zoning Appeals by any
person, firm or corporation, or by any officer, department, board,
or bureau affected by a decision of the building and zoning official
to this code. Such appeal shall be taken within such time as shall
be prescribed by the Board of Zoning Appeals by general rule, by filing
with the building and zoning official and with the Board of Zoning
Appeals a notice of appeal, specifying the grounds thereof. The building
and zoning official shall thereupon transmit to the Board all papers
constituting the record upon which the action appealed from was taken.
An appeal shall stay all proceedings in furtherance of the action
appealed from, unless the building and zoning official certifies to
the Board of Zoning Appeals, after the notice of appeal has been filed
with him, that by reason of facts stated in the certificate, the stay
would, in his opinion, cause imminent peril to life or property, in
which case the proceedings shall not be stayed otherwise than by a
restraining order, which may be granted by the Board of Zoning Appeals
or by a court of record on application, or notice to the building
and zoning official and on due cause shown. The Board shall select
a reasonable time and place for the hearing of the appeal and give
due notice thereof to the parties and shall render a decision on the
appeal without unreasonable delay. Any person may appear and testify
at the hearing, either in person or by duly authorized agent or attorney.
The Board may reverse or affirm wholly or partly, or may modify or
amend the order, requirement, decision or determination appealed from
to the extent and in the manner that the Board may decide to be fitting
and proper to the premises.
The Board of Zoning Appeals shall have all the powers and duties
prescribed by law and by this code, including the following.
A.
Interpretation. Upon an appeal from a decision by any administrative
official, to decide any question involving the interpretation of any
provision or term of this code, including the determination of the
exact location of any district boundary if there is uncertainty with
respect thereto.
B.
Variances. To vary or adapt the strict application of any of the requirements of this code in the case of exceptionally irregular, narrow, shallow, or steep lots, or other exceptional physical conditions, whereby such strict application would result in such practical difficulty and/or unnecessary hardship as would deprive the owner of the reasonable use of the land or building involved, but in no other case. In granting any variance, the Board shall prescribe any conditions that it deems to be necessary or desirable for the public interest, convenience or welfare. However, any use variance shall be subject to the applicable provisions of § 360-50 of this code, and no other variance in the application of any provisions of this code shall be granted by the Board unless it finds:
(1)
That there are special circumstances or conditions, fully described
in the findings, applying to the land or buildings for which the variances
are sought, which circumstances or conditions are peculiar to such
land or buildings and do not apply generally to the land or buildings
in the neighborhood, and that said circumstances or conditions are
such that strict application of the provisions of this code would
deprive the applicant of a reasonable use of such land or building;
(2)
That, for reasons fully set forth in the findings, the granting of
the variances is necessary for the reasonable use of land or buildings,
and that the variance as granted by the Board is the minimum variance
that will accomplish this purpose;
(3)
That the granting of the variance will be in harmony with the general
purpose and intent of this code, and will not be injurious to the
neighborhood or otherwise detrimental to the public welfare. In addition
to considering the character and use of adjoining buildings and those
in the vicinity, the Board, in making its findings, shall take into
account whether the condition of the subject premises is peculiar
to the lot or tract described in the petition or is merely part of
the general condition of the neighborhood which would appropriately
be the proper jurisdiction of the Village Board of Trustees for consideration
of rezoning of the area rather than a variance which would affect
only a small segment of the area.
C.
Permits for variances and special permits. To issue or authorize
permits for any of the uses or matters for which this code allows
or requires the obtaining of a variance or special permit from the
Board of Zoning Appeals.
A.
The Board of Zoning Appeals shall act in accordance with the procedure
specified by law and by this code. Four members shall constitute a
quorum; and, except as otherwise provided by this code, an affirmative
vote of at least four members shall be necessary to authorize any
action of the Board. All appeals and applications to the Board shall
be in writing. Every appeal or application shall refer to the specific
provision of the ordinance involved, and shall exactly set forth the
interpretation that is claimed, the use for which the variance or
special permit is sought, or the details of the variance that is applied
for and the grounds on which it is claimed that the variance should
be granted, as the case may be.
B.
The Village may appear by any designated official of the Village
Board of Trustees, and be heard as a party in interest in any hearing
before the Board, and the Village may appeal any decision of the Board
to a court of competent jurisdiction.
C.
Notice and hearing. No action of the Board of Zoning Appeals shall
be taken on any case until after notice has been given that a public
hearing has been held as follows:
(1)
A notice of the time and date of said hearing and a brief summary
of explanation of the subject matter of the hearing within the Village
not more than 30 days nor less than 15 days prior to the hearing date.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
(2)
Said notice in the foregoing Subsection C(1) shall be sent by first class mail, at least 10 days prior to the hearing, to the applicant and owners of property in question in cases where a use variance or special permit is applied for. In any other case, such notice shall be sent by first class mail, at least 10 days prior to the hearing date, merely to the applicant and owners and property abutting the property in question.
(3)
Any notice required by this section need not include a metes-and-bounds
legal description of the location for which the variance is requested,
provided that the notice includes:
[Added at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions,
Art. I)]
D.
Expiration of permit. Permits shall expire at such time as may be
fixed by the Board; otherwise, one year after the date of the permit.
E.
Costs.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
(1)
For applications for interpretations or variances to the Board of Zoning Appeals, a fee as set from time to time by the Board of Trustees by resolution shall be charged by the Village for processing, and the applicant must reimburse the Village for the cost of notice required in Subsection C prior to the date of the hearing.
(2)
For applications for use variances and special permits to the Board of Zoning Appeals, a fee as set from time to time by the Board of Trustees by resolution shall be charged by the Village for processing, and the applicant must reimburse the Village for the cost of notice required in Subsection C prior to the date of the hearing.
