The Board of Selectmen of the Town of Wells
shall appoint a Zoning Board of Appeals consisting of five members
and three associate members who shall all be residents of the Town
of Wells. The appointments shall be for three years with the terms
being staggered. Neither a Selectman nor his spouse may be a member
or associate member of the Board. A member of the Board may be dismissed
for cause by the Board of Selectmen, after a public hearing, before
the expiration of his term.
[Amended 11-8-1994; 4-28-1995; 4-19-1997]
A. The Zoning Board of Appeals shall have the following
powers and duties:
(1) Administrative appeals.
(a)
To hear and decide where it is alleged there
is an error in any written order, requirement, decision or determination
made by the Code Enforcement Officer to:
[1]
Approve or deny a building permit pursuant to §
145-61C;
[2]
Determine the proper reviewing authority for a site approval application pursuant to §
145-74A(1);
[3]
Determine whether or not the proposed use in a site plan approval application is a permitted use and meets the requirements of Article
V pursuant to §
145-74A(1);
[4]
Determine whether or not an application for site plan approval meets the requirements of Articles
V,
VI and
VII pursuant to §
145-74B,
C or
D; or
[5]
Issue or fail to issue a certificate of occupancy pursuant to §
145-62.
[Amended 6-13-2017]
(b)
The action of the Code Enforcement Officer may
be upheld, modified or reversed by the Zoning Board of Appeals by
majority vote.
(2) To permit variations in nonconformance as prescribed in Article
III.
(3) Variance appeals. To hear and decide, upon appeal,
in specific cases such variance from the dimensional requirements
of this chapter as will not be contrary to the public interest where,
owing to special conditions, a literal enforcement of the dimensional
requirements of this chapter would result in undue hardship. A variance
may be granted by the Board only where the strict application of the
requirements of this chapter to the petitioner and his property would
cause undue hardship. The words "undue hardship" as used in this chapter
shall mean:
(a)
That the land in question cannot yield a reasonable
return (use) 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.
(4) Disability variance. To hear and permit a variance,
pursuant to 30-A M.R.S.A. § 4353(4-A)(B), to an owner of
a dwelling who resides in the dwelling and who is a person with a
permanent disability for the construction of a place of storage and
parking for a noncommercial vehicle owned by that person and no other
purpose. The width and length of the structure may not be larger than
two times the width and length of the noncommercial vehicle. The owner
shall submit proposed plans for the structure with the request for
the variance pursuant to this subsection to the Board. The person
with the permanent disability shall prove by a preponderance of the
evidence that the person's disability is permanent.
[Amended 11-7-2000; 6-10-2014]
(a) For purposes of this subsection, "noncommercial vehicle" means a
motor vehicle as defined in 29-A M.R.S.A. § 101(42) with
a gross vehicle weight of no more than 6,000 pounds, bearing a disability
registration plate issued pursuant to 29-A M.R.S.A. § 521
and owned by the person with the permanent disability.
(5) Mislocated building appeal. To hear and decide upon
appeal in specific cases where existing buildings are found to be
in violation of the setback requirements and where such location of
buildings will not be contrary to the public interest whether an appeal
should be granted. In order to grant a mislocated building appeal
the Board must find that there was no willful or premeditated action
(or gross negligence) to build within the setback.
(6) To permit roads and driveways in the Resource Protection District as authorized by §
145-32E(2) and in the Shoreland Overlay District as authorized by §
145-33F(1).
[Amended 11-2-2010]
(7) To permit additional off-premises business directional signs as authorized in §
145-40I.
B. Any appeal, the granting of which would allow a structure
within the required setbacks from water bodies, tributary streams
or wetlands or within the Resource Protection District, may only be
granted if the Board finds that the proposed construction will not
result in unsafe or unhealthful conditions; erosion or sedimentation;
water pollution; or damage to spawning grounds of fish, aquatic life
or other wildlife habitats and will conserve shoreland vegetation
and, to the extent possible, visual access to waters as viewed from
public facilities, points of public access to waters and natural beauty
and will avoid problems with floodplain development and use.
In hearing appeals under this chapter, the Zoning
Board of Appeals shall consider the conformance of the proposed use
and structures with the provisions of this chapter. In granting appeals
under this chapter, the Zoning Board of Appeals may impose such reasonable
conditions as it deems necessary to fulfill the intent and purpose
of this chapter.