[1975 Code § 21.17; amended by 2003 Code]
It shall be the duty of the building division to administer
and enforce provisions of this title.
[1975 Code § 21.17; amended by 2003 Code]
A. Board Created; Membership; Terms Of Office: A zoning board of appeals
is hereby created for the City. The board of appeals shall consist
of seven members who shall serve for a term of five years; provided,
that the members first appointed after the enactment of this title
shall serve terms as follows: one shall serve a term of 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; the successor
to each member so appointed to serve a term of five years.
B. Compensation; Removal From Office: All of the members of the board
shall serve without compensation, and they shall be subject to removal
by the Mayor and City Council.
C. Procedures: In accordance with 65 Illinois Compiled Statutes 5/11-13-1
et seq., the following rules apply:
1. Appointments; Vacancies In Office: All appointments to the zoning
board of appeals shall be made by the Mayor subject to the approval
of the City Council. Vacancies shall be filled as soon as possible
for the unexpired term of any member whose place has become vacant.
The one-year term of the chairman shall coincide with the municipal
year of the City.
2. Meetings:
a.
All meetings of the zoning board of appeals shall be held at
the call of the chairman, and at such other times as the board may
determine.
b.
All meetings of the zoning board of appeals shall be open to
the public.
c.
The board shall keep minutes of its proceedings, showing the
vote of each member upon every question, or if absent or failing to
vote, indicating that fact, and shall also keep records of its examinations
and other official actions.
d.
Every rule, regulation, every amendment or repeal thereof, and
every order, requirement, decision, or determination of the zoning
board of appeals shall immediately be filed in the office of the City
Clerk and be of public record.
D. Powers And Duties: Members of the zoning board of appeals shall have
the powers and duties assigned to the zoning board of appeals by statute
and ordinance. Said powers as granted by the statutes of the state
and this title are as follows:
1. To hear and decide appeals from any order, requirement, decision,
or determination made by the code compliance officer pertaining to
conformance with requirements of this title;
2. To hear and decide variations from the terms provided in this title
in the manner and subject to the standards set forth in this chapter;
3. To hear and decide all matters referred to it or upon which it is
required to pass under this title;
4. To post or publish notices of public hearings, and to hold such hearings
as required by the applicable statutes of the state pertaining to
proposed amendments to the regulations imposed and the districts created
by this title and to proposed special permitted uses as provided in
this title;
[Amended by Ord. 04-10-02-51, 10-18-2004]
5. To make a written report and recommendations to the City Council
on any such proposed amendments;
6. To initiate, direct, and review studies of the provisions of this
title and to make reports of its recommendations to the City Council
as frequently as required by the City Council; and
7. To establish rules of procedure for the board, supplementary to the
provisions of this title.
[1975 Code § 21.17; amended by 2003 Code]
The code compliance officer is hired by the City Council and
shall have the authority to:
A. Issue all building permits and certificates of occupancy and make
and maintain records thereof.
B. Conduct inspections of buildings, structures, and uses and to determine
compliance with the terms of this title.
C. Maintain permanent and current records of this title, including,
but not limited to, all maps, amendments and special permitted uses,
variations, appeals, and applications therefor.
[Amended by Ord. 04-10-02-51, 10-18-2004]
D. Receive, file, and forward to the zoning board of appeals all applications
for appeals, variations, and other matters on which the zoning board
of appeals is required to decide under this title.
E. Provide such clerical and technical assistance as may be required
by the zoning board of appeals in the exercise of its duties.
[Ord. 49, 4-1-1977; amended by 2003 Code; Ord. 667, 5-20-1996]
A. Permit And Compliance Required: Application for building permit shall
be made prior to the construction or erection of any building or structure,
and prior to the cutting or excavation of any street in the City,and prior to tapping onto any water main or sewer in the City. Failure of the owner or contractor to obtain
a permit as described herein shall be a violation of this title. No
permit pertaining to the use of land or buildings shall be issued
unless the City has certified, after examination, that it complies
with all provisions of this title.
B. Application, Fees And Permit Regulations: All applications for building permits and fees charged for issuance of the same, and the issuance and regulation of such permits, shall be regulated by the applicable provisions of the City building code (as amended), as set forth in Title 9, Chapter
9-1, of this Code.
C. Effect Of Permit: Substantial construction or erection of any building
or structure must be completed within one year after the issuance
of the building permit.
[1975 Code § 21.17, amended by Ord. 452, 8-3-1992; 2003 Code; Ord. 04-10-02-51, 10-18-2004; Ord. 07-04-02-51, 4-30-2007; Ord. 14-11-02-51, 11-17-2014]
A. Authority: Special permitted uses shall be authorized or denied by
the zoning board of appeals with the regulations and conditions set
forth in this title for special permitted uses after:
1. A written report is prepared and forwarded to the zoning board of
appeals in a manner prescribed herein for amendments to this title;
and
2. A public hearing has been held by the zoning board of appeals after
due notice by publication as provided by the applicable statutes of
the state for amendments, and the findings and recommendations of
the zoning board of appeals have been reported to the City Council.
B. Application; Fees; Notice Requirements: An application for a special
permitted use may be made by any person, firm, or corporation, or
by any officer, department, board, bureau, or commission of the City
requesting or intending to request a building permit and/or a certificate
of occupancy or upon payment of a $100 filing fee by a resident of
or a property owner in the City. A resident of or a property owner
in the City shall also pay the publication fee charged by the newspaper
in which notice is published of the hearing on the application for
a special permitted use, promptly upon demand by the City Clerk, and
subsequent to the time that the publication fee charge is made known
to the City Clerk, but prior to the hearing before the zoning board
of appeals. The City Clerk shall cause proper notice to be published
in a newspaper published in the City or if no newspaper is published
there, then in a newspaper of general circulation in the City, giving
notice of the time and place of the hearing and the subject matter
of the hearing, said notice to be published not more than 30 nor less
than 15 days prior to the hearing. A notification sign will be posted
on the property as to the time, date, place, and request of such public
hearing. Upon filing the application for a special permitted use,
the applicant shall pay the filing fee, and shall subsequently pay
the publication fee as aforesaid.
C. Filing Application: An application for a special permitted use, in
such form and accompanied by such information as shall be established
from time to time by the zoning board of appeals, shall be filed with
the City Clerk.
D. Conditions Of Special Permitted Use: No special permitted use shall
be authorized unless the special permitted use:
1. Is similar in characteristics as those uses permitted within the
given district;
2. Is so designed, located, and proposed to be operated that the public
health, safety, and welfare will be protected; and
3. Would not cause substantial injury to the value of other property
in the neighborhood in which it is located.
E. Conditional Approval: The zoning board of appeals may recommend and the City Council may require such conditions and restrictions upon the location, construction, maintenance and operation of a special use as deemed necessary to protect public health, safety, comfort and welfare, to minimize the impact of the special use on the use and enjoyment of property in the immediate vicinity, to provide for the normal and orderly development, use and improvement of surrounding property for uses permitted in the zoning district and to meet the standards set forth in Subsection
D of this section.
[1975 Code § 21.17; amended by Ord. 293, 3-2-1987; Ord. 452, 8-3-1992; Ord. 621, 8-7-1995; Ord. 685, 7-15-1996;
2003 Code]
A. Authority; General Restrictions: Following public hearing and receipt
of findings and recommendations of the zoning board of appeals, the
City Council, by ordinance, may grant variations in the regulations
of this title. Such variations shall be in harmony with the general
purpose and intent of this title and shall be granted in accordance
with standards and procedures set forth herein. Variances of this
title shall be in harmony with the general purpose and intent of this
title and shall be granted only in those specific instances where
the zoning board of appeals shall have made a finding of fact based
upon the standards hereinafter prescribed. A variance may not be requested
or granted where the effect of such request or grant would be to amend
the zoning district boundaries.
[Amended by Ord. 07-04-02-51, 4-30-2007]
B. Variation Procedure: An application for a variation (signed by the
property owner and applicant) shall be filed with the code compliance
officer, who shall forward such application to the zoning board of
appeals for processing in accordance with applicable statutes of the
state. No variation shall be made by the zoning board of appeals except
after a public hearing before the zoning board of appeals, for which
hearing there shall be notice given to the public by publication,
as to the time and place and purpose of the hearing, published at
least once, not more than 30 nor less than 15 days before the hearing,
or, if no newspaper is published within the City, then in one or more
newspapers with a general circulation within the City which is published
in McLean County. A notification sign will be posted on the property
as to the time, date, place, and request of such public hearing.
[Amended by Ord. 07-04-02-51, 4-30-2007]
C. Fees: Upon filing the application for variation, the applicant shall
pay $100 plus $10 for each additional variance request, and shall
subsequently pay the publication fee for the required notice upon
the same being made known to the City Clerk, such publication fee
to be paid in all instances prior to the hearing before the zoning
board of appeals.
[Amended by Ord. 04-10-02-51, 10-18-2004]
D. Enumeration Of Variations To Be Decided By Zoning Board Of Appeals:
[Repealed by Ord. 07-04-02-51, 4-30-2007]
E. Decisions:
1. The concurring vote of a majority of a quorum of the members of the
zoning board of appeals shall be necessary to recommend to the City
Council.
2. The City Council, by ordinance and without further public hearing,
may adopt a proposed variation, or a variation may be referred to
the zoning board of appeals for further consideration, and any such
proposed variation which fails to receive a favorable recommendation
of the zoning board of appeals shall not be adopted except by favorable
vote of 3/4 of all the corporate authorities of the City then holding
office.
3. All decisions made by the City Council shall be considered final.
4. No order of the City Council granting a variation shall be valid
for a period longer than one year from the date of such order unless
the building or any other required permit is obtained within such
period and the erection or alteration of a building, structure or
land improvement has been substantially completed or the use has commenced
within such period.
[Amended by Ord. 07-04-02-51, 4-30-2007]
F. Standards For Granting Variance:
1. The zoning board of appeals shall not vary the provisions of this
title as authorized in this section unless the board shall have made
findings based upon the evidence presented to the board in the following
specific cases:
a. That the property in question cannot yield a reasonable return if
permitted to be used only under the conditions allowed by the regulations
governing the district in which it is located;
b. That the plight of the owner is due to unique circumstances; or
c. That the variation, if granted, will not detract from the essential
character of the locality.
2. For the purpose of supplementing the above standards, the zoning
board of appeals, in making this determination whenever there are
practical difficulties or particular hardship, shall also take into
consideration the extent to which the following facts, favorable to
the applicant, have been established by the evidence:
a. That the particular physical surroundings, shape, or topographical
conditions of the specific property involved would bring a particular
hardship upon the owner as distinguished from a mere inconvenience
if the strict letter of the regulation were to be carried out;
b. That the conditions upon which the petition for variation is based
would not be applicable generally to other property within the same
zoning classification;
c. That the purpose of the variation is not based exclusively upon a
desire to make money from the property;
d. That the alleged difficulty or hardship has not been created by any
person presently having an interest in the property;
e. That the granting of the variation will not be detrimental to the
public welfare or injurious to other property or improvements in the
neighborhood in which the property is located; or
f. That the proposed variation will not impair an adequate supply of
light and air to adjacent property, or substantially increase the
danger of fire, or otherwise endanger the public safety, or substantially
diminish or impair property values within the neighborhood.
G. Conditions Of Variance: The zoning board of appeals shall require
such conditions and restrictions upon the premises benefited by a
variation as may be necessary to comply with the standards set forth
in this section.
[1975 Code § 21.17; amended by 2003 Code]
A. Authority: The zoning board of appeals shall hear and decide appeals
from an administrative order, requirement, decision, or determination
made by the code compliance officer or other authorized officials
of the City relating to the regulations of this title.
B. Initiation: An appeal may be taken to the zoning board of appeals
by any applicant or property owner aggrieved by an administrative
order, requirement, decision, or determination under this title by
the code compliance officer or other authorized official of the City.
C. Procedure: An appeal shall be filed with the City Clerk. The City
Clerk shall forward such appeal to the zoning board of appeals for
processing in accordance with applicable statutes of the state. No
appeal shall be heard later than 30 days after filing of the appeal
with the City Clerk. Upon filing the appeal, the applicant shall pay
a filing fee of $25.
[Amended by Ord. 452, 8-3-1992]
D. Decisions: All decisions, after hearing before the zoning board of
appeals on appeals from an administrative order, requirement, decision,
or determination relating to this title shall be final.
[1975 Code § 21.17; amended by 2003 Code]
Anyone who, with intent, violates, omits, neglects, or refuses to comply with or who resists the enforcement of any of the provisions of this title shall, upon conviction, be subject to penalty as provided in Title 1, Chapter
1-4, of this Code for each offense. Each day that a violation is permitted to exist shall constitute a separate offense.