This chapter shall be known and cited as the Lawrence Township
"Construction Board of Appeals Ordinance."
The Township of Lawrence is a governmental subdivision for the
purposes of the Still-DeRossett-Hale Single State Construction Code
Act. Prior to the enactment of this chapter, the Township's
Construction Board of Appeals operated under default rules under said
Act. This chapter is adopted for the purpose of effecting all of the
functions described in Act 230 of 1972, to allow for modifications,
and to give notice to the citizens of the Township.
The CBA shall conduct a public hearing, hear the appeal and
render and file its decision with a statement of reasons for the decision
with the enforcing agency from whom the appeal was taken not more
than 30 days after submission of the appeal. An appeal from the CBA
must be filed with the State Construction Commission within 10 business
days after the filing of the decision with the enforcing agency. Failure
by the CBA to hear an appeal and file a decision within the aforementioned
30 days is a denial of the appeal for purposes of authorizing the
institution of an appeal to the State Construction Commission. The
applicant must be served before the decision is filed with enforcing
agency.
After a public hearing, the CBA may grant a specific variance
to a substantive requirement of the Building Code if the literal application
of the substantive requirement would result in an exceptional, practical
difficulty to the applicant, and if both of the following requirements
are satisfied:
A. The performance of the particular item or part of the building or
structure with respect to which the variance is granted shall be adequate
for its intended use and shall not substantially deviate from performance
required by the code of that particular item or part for the health,
safety and welfare of the public; and
B. The specific condition justifying the variance shall be neither so
general nor recurrent in nature as to make an amendment of the code
with respect to the condition reasonably practical or desirable. No
variance shall be granted which is greater than the minimum variance
required to alleviate the exceptional, practical difficulty.
The CBA's decision may include, in writing, any condition with
the grant of any variance that the CBA judges to be necessary to protect
the health, safety and welfare of the public. The breach of any such
condition shall automatically invalidate the variance and any permit,
license and certificate granted on the basis of the condition.
Pursuant to MCLA § 125.1514(2), the Township may from
time to time, by resolution, grant its CBA additional powers or duties
and establish procedures to be followed, insofar as the powers, duties,
and procedures do not conflict with this act.
The business which the CBA performs shall be conducted at a
public meeting of the CBA held in compliance with Act No. 267 of the
Public Acts of 1976. Public notice of the time, date, and place of the meeting
shall be given in the manner required by Act No. 267 of the Public
Acts of 1976.
A record of decisions made by the CBA, properly indexed, and
any other writing prepared, owned or used in the performance of an
official function shall be made available to the public in compliance
with Act No. 442 of the Public Acts of 1976, including but not limited to the following: notices, pleadings,
motions, and intermediate rulings; questions and offers of proof,
objections, and rulings thereon; evidence presented; matters officially
noticed, except matters so obvious that a statement of them would
serve no useful purpose, i.e., Lansing is in Michigan; findings and
exceptions; decisions and reasons for the decisions.
This chapter shall remain in effect until repealed or modified
by the Township Board.
The various sections and provisions of this chapter shall be
deemed to be severable, and should any section or provision of this
chapter be declared by any court or competent jurisdiction to be unconstitutional
or invalid, the same shall not affect the validity of the chapter
as a whole or any section or provision of this chapter other than
the section or provision so declared to be unconstitutional or invalid.
This chapter shall become effective upon publication. Any existing
ordinance or portion of an ordinance in conflict with this chapter
is repealed to the extent of such conflict.