The Zoning Board of Appeals shall have the following powers
and duties:
A. Administrative appeals.
(1)
To hear and decide, on a de novo basis, where it is alleged
by an aggrieved party that there is an error in any order, requirement,
decision or determination made by, or failure to act by, the Code
Enforcement Officer in his or her review of and action on a permit
application under this chapter. The action of the Code Enforcement
Officer may be modified or reversed by the Zoning Board of Appeals
by a majority vote. Any notice of violation, or any order, requirement,
decision or determination made, or failure to act, in the enforcement
of this chapter is not appealable to the Zoning Board of Appeals.
Such enforcement actions are appealable only to the courts as allowable
by law and rules of civil procedure.
(2)
In hearing appeals or considering applications under this chapter,
whenever there is uncertainty as to the meaning and/or intent of any
part of this chapter, the Zoning Board of Appeals shall have the power
to interpret such part.
B. Variance appeals. Variances may be granted by the Zoning Board of
Appeals only for lot size, lot width, frontage, height, lot coverage
and setbacks and:
(1)
Only when strict application of the chapter, or a provision
thereof, to the petitioner and his property would cause undue hardship;
and
(2)
When the proposed structure or use would meet all the provisions
of this chapter except for the specific provision(s) from which relief
is sought. Variances shall not be granted for establishment of any
uses otherwise prohibited by this chapter. The words "undue hardship"
as used in this subsection shall mean:
(a)
That the land in question cannot yield a reasonable return unless
a variance is granted;
(b)
That the need for a variance is due to the unique circumstances
of the property and not to the general conditions in the neighborhood;
(c)
That the granting of a variance will not alter the essential
character of the locality; and
(d)
That the hardship is not the result of action taken by the applicant
or a prior owner.
C. Practical difficulty variance.
(1)
Notwithstanding Subsection
B, the Zoning Board of Appeals may grant a variance, but only from the dimensional standards of this chapter, when strict application of the provisions of the chapter would create a practical difficulty, as defined herein, and when all the following conditions are found to exist:
(a)
The need for a variance is due to the unique circumstances of
the property, and not to the general conditions of the neighborhood;
(b)
The granting of the variance will not produce an undesirable
change in the character of the neighborhood and will not have an unreasonably
detrimental effect on either the use or fair market value of abutting
properties;
(c)
The practical difficulty is not the result of action taken by
the applicant or a prior owner;
(d)
No other feasible alternative is available to the applicant;
(e)
The granting of a variance will not have an unreasonably adverse
effect on the natural environment; and
(f)
The property is not located, in whole or in part, within a Shoreland
area, as defined in 38 M.R.S.A. § 435, nor within a Shoreland
Zone or flood hazard zone as defined by this chapter.
(2)
The following words have the meanings set forth below:
(a)
Dimensional standards. Those provisions of this chapter which
relate to lot area, lot coverage, frontage and setback requirements.
(b)
Practical difficulty. A case where strict application of the
dimensional standards of the chapter to the property for which a variance
is sought would both preclude a use of the property which is permitted
in the zone in which it is located and would also result in significant
economic injury to the applicant.
(c)
Significant economic injury. The value of the property if the
variance were denied would be substantially lower than its value if
the variance were granted. To satisfy this standard, the applicant
need not prove that denial of the variance would mean the practical
loss of all beneficial use of the land.
(3)
Except as modified above, the other provisions of Article 9
will apply to practical difficulty variances.
(4)
A practical difficulty variance may not be used to grant relief
from the provisions of the land use standards of the chapter, to increase
either volume or floor area, nor to permit the location of a structure,
including, but not limited to, single-component manufactured homes,
to be situated on a lot in a way which is contrary to the provisions
of this article.
D. Setback variance for single-family dwellings. The Zoning Board of
Appeals may grant a variance from required setbacks from lot lines
only, for single-family dwellings subject to the following limitations:
(1)
The Board must find that strict application of the chapter to
the applicant and the applicant's property would cause undue hardship.
For purposes of this subsection only, the term "undue hardship" means:
(a)
The need for a variance is due to the unique circumstances of
the property and not to the general conditions in the neighborhood;
(b)
The granting of a variance will not alter the essential character
of the locality;
(c)
The hardship is not the result of action taken by the applicant
or a prior owner;
(d)
The granting of the variance will not substantially reduce or
impair the use of abutting property; and
(e)
The granting of a variance is based upon demonstrated need,
not convenience, and no other feasible alternative is available.
(2)
A variance may be granted only pursuant to this subsection for
a single-family dwelling that is the applicant's primary year-round
residence.
(3)
A variance granted under this subsection may not exceed 20%
of the applicable setback requirement.
(4)
A variance shall not be granted under this subsection if the
variance would cause the area of the dwelling to exceed the maximum
permissible lot coverage.
F. Granting of variances to be handled strictly. The Zoning Board of
Appeals shall limit any variances granted as strictly as possible
in order to ensure conformance with the purposes and provisions of
this chapter to the greatest extent possible, and in doing so may
impose such conditions to a variance as it deems necessary. The party
receiving the variance shall comply with any conditions imposed.
G. Copy of application to Department of Environmental Protection. For
any application within the Shoreland Zone, a copy of each variance
request, including the application and all supporting information
supplied by the applicant, shall be forwarded by the Zoning Board
of Appeals to the Commissioner of the Department of Environmental
Protection at least 20 days prior to action by the Zoning Board of
Appeals. Any comments received from the Commissioner prior to the
action by the Zoning Board of Appeals shall be made part of the record
and shall be taken into consideration by the Zoning Board of Appeals.
H. Conditional uses.
(1)
Conditional uses subject to Zoning Board of Appeals review under
Article 4 may be approved by the Zoning Board of Appeals after considering
the characteristics and location of the proposed use and of other
properties in the surrounding neighborhood, provided that the petitioner
shall submit to the Zoning Board of Appeals statements in writing,
which may be accompanied by diagrams or photographs which shall become
part of the record of such petitions, demonstrating that the proposed
use:
(a)
Will meet the definition and specific requirements set forth
in this chapter for such particular use;
(b)
Will not have a significant detrimental effect on the use and
peaceful enjoyment of abutting property as a result of noise, vibrations,
fumes, odor, dust, light, glare or other cause;
(c)
Will not have a significant adverse effect on adjacent or nearby
property values;
(d)
Will not result in significant hazards to pedestrian or vehicular
traffic or significant traffic congestion;
(e)
Will not result in significant fire danger; and
(f)
Will not result in significant flood hazards or flood damage,
drainage problems, ground or surface water contamination, or soil
erosion.
(2)
In addition, when the proposed use is to be located in the Shoreland Zone or Resource Protection Zone, the Zoning Board of Appeals shall make a positive finding that the proposed use will comply with all the standards established in §
240-10.10B(1) to
(8) of this chapter.