The board of adjustment shall have the authority to grant relief
in the form of variances and special exceptions to the provisions
of this zoning ordinance, subject to the standards and procedures
as established herein.
The purpose of this division is to establish procedures and
standards for relief where owing to special conditions, the literal
enforcement of the regulations of the zoning ordinance will result
in unnecessary hardship, provided that the grant of such relief will
not be contrary to the public interest and provided further that the
spirit and intent of the zoning ordinance will be preserved by the
relief granted under the terms and conditions herein provided.
To apply for a variance or special exception under the provisions
of this ordinance, the applicant must be an owner of the property
to be affected by the variance or must have a contractual interest
in the property to be affected by the variance or special exception.
The application for a variance or special exception shall be
filed with the secretary to the board of adjustment according to rules
of procedure adopted from time to time by the board and shall be accompanied
by a nonrefundable fee as prescribed in such rules of procedure to
defray administrative costs.
The board shall fix a reasonable time for the hearing on a requested
variance or special exception pursuant to the procedures set out in
Part V, Section 3 of this ordinance.
