The Village Board of Trustees shall appoint a Zoning Board of Appeals/Planning Board pursuant to § 7-712 of the Village Law. Said Board shall consist of five members to serve for overlapping five year terms. The Chairman of the Board shall be one of the five-members and shall be designated as such by the Village Board of Trustees. The Board shall elect a Vice-Chairman from its membership, shall appoint a Secretary and shall establish rules for the conduct of its officers.
The Zoning Board of Appeals/Planning Board shall have all the powers, duties, rights and functions pursuant to § 7-712 of the Village Law for the State of New York as amended and by this chapter, which are more particularly specified as follows:
A.
Interpretation. An appeal from an order, requirement, decision or determination made by the Zoning Officer to decide any question involving the interpretation of any provision of this chapter or of the following questions:
(1)
Meaning. Determination of the exact meaning of any portion of the text of this chapter or of any condition or requirement specified or made under the provisions of this chapter.
(2)
Location. Determination of the exact location of any district boundary shown on the zoning map. The Board may request assistance from the Village Engineer or County Planning Department or other professional person in making this determination.
B.
Variances.
(1)
Determination. On appeal from a determination of the Zoning Officer the Board may grant a use variance where, owing to exceptional and extraordinary circumstances, there are unnecessary hardships in the way of carrying out of the strict letter of this chapter. The Zoning Board of Appeals/Planning Board shall not grant a use variance unless it shall have made a finding of fact based upon the evidence as presented to it in each specific case that:
(a)
Because of exceptional, narrowness, shallowness or shape of a specific parcel which was created before these regulations were adopted, or because of extraordinary topographic conditions or location of the specific parcel, the strict application of the provisions of this chapter actually prohibit or unreasonably restrict the use of the land or building for which such variance is sought, that the granting of the variance is necessary for the reasonable use of such property, and that the variance granted by the Board is the minimum variance that will provide for the reasonable use of the property.
(b)
The granting of the variance will alleviate a clearly demonstrated hardship that is not self-created, which is peculiar to such land or building and does not apply generally to land or buildings in the vicinity or neighborhood and has not resulted from any act of the applicant, or predecessor in title, subsequent to adoption of this chapter.
(c)
In any case, the granting of the variance will be in harmony with the intent and purpose of this chapter, will not constitute, in effect, an amendment of any district regulations or boundaries, and will not be injurious to the neighborhood, or otherwise detrimental to the public welfare.
(d)
The property owner or applicant cannot obtain a reasonable return from any use permitted in the district.
(e)
The use will not alter the essential character of the neighborhood.
C.
Area variances.
(1)
Determination. On appeal from a determination of the Zoning Officer, the Board may grant an area variance where, owing to exceptional circumstances, there are practical difficulties in the way of carrying out the strict application of this chapter. The Board shall not grant such an area variance unless, based upon the evidence presented to it, it specifically finds that the benefit to the applicant of granting the variance outweighs the detriment to the health, safety and welfare of the neighborhood and/or community. In making these determinations, the Board shall consider the following:
(a)
Whether an undesirable change will be produced in the character of the neighborhood or a detriment to nearby properties will be created by the granting of the area variance;
(b)
Whether the benefit sought by the applicant can be achieved by some method, feasible for the applicant to pursue, other than an area variance;
(c)
Whether the requested area variance is substantial;
(d)
Whether the proposed variance will have an adverse affect or impact on the physical or environmental conditions in the neighborhood or district; and
(e)
Whether the alleged difficulty was self-created, which consideration shall be relevant to the decision of the Zoning Board of Appeals/Planning Board, but shall not necessarily preclude the granting of the area variance.
In all cases where the Zoning Board of Appeals/Planning Board grants a variance from the strict application of the requirements of this chapter or a special permit, the Zoning Board of Appeals/Planning Board shall prescribe conditions and safeguards that it deems to be necessary or desirable in preserving the spirit and intent of this chapter. These conditions and safeguards shall be directly related to and incidental to the proposed use of the property or the period of time of such relief, minimizing any adverse effects such relief may have on the neighborhood or community.
The needs or desires, economic, social or otherwise, of a particular owner or tenant shall not, either alone or in conjunction with other factors such as existing improvements at the time of the application which are old, obsolete, outmoded, or in disrepair, afford any basis for the granting of a variance.
Where the Board finds the zoning classification of a particular property to be conducive to the deprivation of the reasonable use of the land or building by the owner thereof, and where the Board deems the same conditions apply generally to other land or building in the same neighborhood or district, the said Board shall call this condition to the attention of the Zoning Board of Appeals/Planning Board for consideration of rezoning and report to the Village Board of Trustees.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
A.
Rules and regulations. The Zoning Board of Appeals/Planning Board shall act in strict accordance with the procedure specified by state laws, and this chapter and amendments thereto. All appeals and applications made to the Board shall be in writing on forms prescribed by the Board and shall include all required information.
(1)
Substantiation. Each appeal or application shall fully set forth the circumstances of the case. Every appeal or application shall refer to the specific provision of the law involved and shall exactly set forth, as the case may be, the interpretation that is claimed, the details of the variance that is applied for, and the grounds on which it is claimed that the same should be granted.
(2)
Public hearing.
(a)
At the next regular meeting after receiving the completed appeals or application form, the Board shall fix a date for the hearing within a reasonable time, not exceeding 30 days, or 60 days when the appeal or application must be referred to the Madison County Planning Board pursuant to General Municipal Law §§ 239-l and 239-m.
(b)
Notice of hearing shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the Village at least 10 calendar days prior to the date of the hearing unless otherwise provided, and shall contain the date, time and place of the hearing and the name of the appellant and the substance of the appeal.
(c)
The Secretary of the Zoning Board of Appeals/Planning Board at least 10 days prior to the date of the hearing shall mail a notice to the owners of all property abutting that held by the applicant in the immediate area and all other owners within 200 feet. Such notices shall be sent by mail to the owners of record on the current assessment roll. The applicant shall provide the list of such owners along with an envelope for each owner with the necessary postage for mailing.
(d)
The Zoning Officer shall post the notice of hearing together with the substance of the appeal conspicuously on the property involved in such appeal or application.
(e)
Notification of adjacent municipality. If the land involved in an appeal or application lies within 500 feet of the boundary of any other municipality, the Secretary of the Zoning Board of Appeals/Planning Board shall also transmit to the municipal Clerk of such other municipality a copy of the official notice of the public hearing thereon not less than 10 days prior to any such hearing.
(3)
Notification of Madison County Planning Board. Prior to taking action on any matter which would cause any change in the regulations or use of land or buildings on real property as specified in § 239m of the General Municipal Law the Zoning Enforcement Officer, shall make referral to the Madison County Planning Board in accordance with §§ 239-l and 239-m of the General Municipal Law.
Unless major structural construction has commenced within 12 months from the date of the granting of a variance and completed within two years of start of construction, such variance shall become null and void. If circumstances beyond the control of the applicant preclude the commencement of major structural construction within two years, as determined by the Zoning Board of Appeals/Planning Board, then the applicant has a right to reapply for such variance.
Every decision of the Zoning Board of Appeals/Planning Board shall be recorded in accordance with standard forms adopted by the Board, and shall fully set forth the circumstances of the case and shall contain a full record of the findings on which the decision is based. Every decision of the Board shall be by resolution and each such resolution shall be filed in the office of the Village Clerk, together with all documents pertaining thereto.