[Amended 10-26-1992 by L.L. No. 8-1992, effective 11-4-1992; 9-27-2010 by L.L. No. 22-2010, effective 10-18-2010; 3-14-2011 by L.L. No. 5-2011, effective 3-21-2011; 9-6-2016 by L.L. No. 17-2016, effective 11-16-2016]
The Board of Appeals is hereby created pursuant to the provisions of § 7-712 of the Village Law of the State of New York and shall consist of five members. Board membership shall include a total of five members. The Board of Trustees shall appoint the members and Chairperson of the Zoning Board of Appeals and fill vacancies in those offices. Terms of membership for members shall be five years.
The Board shall have exclusive jurisdiction of all matters prescribed by § 7-712 of the Village Law or by this chapter or as may hereafter be referred to it by law or the Village Board. The following provisions relating to its powers and duties shall not be deemed to limit any power conferred by law upon the Board of Appeals.
[Added 10-26-1992 by L.L. No. 8-1992, effective 11-4-1992]
For the purpose of this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings herein indicated:
AREA VARIANCE
The authorization by the Board of Appeals for the use of land in a manner which is not allowed by the dimensional or topographical requirements of the applicable zoning regulations.
USE VARIANCE
The authorization by the Board of Appeals for the use of land in a manner or for a purpose which is otherwise not allowed or is prohibited by the applicable zoning regulations.
[Amended 10-26-1992 by L.L. No. 8-1992, effective 11-4-1992]
The Board shall hear and decide appeals from and review from any order, requirement, decision, interpretation or determination made by any administrative official or board charged with the implementation or enforcement of this chapter and may reverse or affirm, wholly or partly, or may modify the order, requirement, decision, interpretation or determination appealed from and make such determination and order as, in its opinion, ought to be made in the premises.
On such an appeal, the Board may decide the following questions:
A. 
Determination of the meaning and applicability of any portion of the text of this chapter or of any condition or requirement specified or made under or pursuant to the provisions hereof.
B. 
Determination of the exact location of any district boundary shown on the Zoning Map if, after application of the rules of § 342-7, the boundary location is still in dispute.
[Amended 10-26-1992 by L.L. No. 8-1992, effective 11-4-1992]
A. 
Use variances.
(1) 
The Board of Appeals, on appeal from the decision or determination of the administrative officer charged with the enforcement of this chapter, shall have the power to grant use variances, authorizing a use of the land which otherwise would not be allowed or would be prohibited by the terms of this chapter.
(2) 
No such use variance shall be granted by the Board of Appeals without a showing by the applicant that applicable zoning regulations and restrictions have caused unnecessary hardship. In order to prove such unnecessary hardship, the applicant shall demonstrate to the Board of Appeals that:
(a) 
Under applicable zoning regulations, the applicant is deprived of all economic use or benefit from the property in question, which deprivation must be established by competent financial evidence;
(b) 
The alleged hardship relating to the property in question is unique and does not apply to a substantial portion of the district or neighborhood;
(c) 
The requested use variance, if granted, will not alter the essential character of the neighborhood; and
(d) 
The alleged hardship has not been self-created.
(3) 
The Board of Appeals, in the granting of use variances, shall grant the minimum variance that it shall deem necessary and adequate to address the unnecessary hardship proved by the applicant and at the same time to preserve and protect the character of the neighborhood and the health, safety and welfare of the community.
B. 
Area variances.
(1) 
The Board of Appeals shall have the power, upon an appeal from a decision or determination of the administrative official charged with the enforcement of this chapter, to grant area variances from the area or dimensional requirements of this chapter.
(2) 
In making its determination, the Board of Appeals shall take into consideration the benefit to the applicant if the variance is granted, as weighed against the detriment to the health, safety and welfare of the neighborhood or community by such grant. In making such determination, the Board shall also consider:
(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 Board of Appeals, but shall not necessarily preclude the granting of the area variance.
(3) 
The Board of Appeals, in the granting of area variances, shall grant the minimum variance that it shall deem necessary and adequate and at the same time preserve and protect the character of the neighborhood and the health, safety and welfare of the community.
C. 
Imposition of conditions. The Board of Appeals, in the granting of both use variances and area variances, shall have the authority to impose such reasonable conditions and restrictions as are directly related to and incidental to the proposed use of the property or the period of time such variance shall be in effect. Such conditions shall be consistent with the spirit and intent of this chapter and shall be imposed for the purpose of minimizing any adverse impact such variance may have on the neighborhood or community.
D. 
Existing violations. In the absence of clear proof by the applicant of extenuating circumstances satisfactory to the Board of Appeals, no variance or special permit shall be granted where there is an existing violation of this chapter against the property in question.
The Board of Appeals, pursuant to Article X, shall determine all applications for special permits and exceptions as provided in this chapter or as may hereafter be referred to it by the Village Board.
A. 
The powers and duties of the Board shall be exercised in accordance with its own rules of conduct and procedure, which rules shall be consistent with and pursuant to all the provisions of the Village Law.
B. 
Notice. The Board is not permitted to act upon any application for a variance or a special permit without first holding a public hearing. The applicant must comply with the notification requirements set forth in Chapter 372 of this Code (Land Use Application Notice Requirements), which supersede the requirements of § 7-712-a, Subdivision 7, and § 7-725-b, Subdivision 5, of the Village Law of the State of New York.
[Amended 10-26-1981 by L.L. No. 12-1981, effective 11-2-1981; 10-26-1992 by L.L. No. 8-1992, effective 11-4-1992; 3-27-2006 by L.L. No. 4-2006, effective 4-10-2006; 5-10-2010 by L.L. No. 12-2010, effective 5-26-2010; 9-12-2023 by L.L. No. 15-2023, effective 9-21-2023; 11-27-2023 by L.L. No. 20-2023, effective 12-4-2023]
C. 
If the land involved in an appeal or application lies within 500 feet of the boundary of any other municipality, the Village Clerk shall transmit to the Municipal Clerk of such other municipality a copy of the official notice of the public hearing thereon not later than five days before the hearing and shall thereafter send a copy of the decision of the Board of Appeals to the Clerk of such other municipality.
[Amended 10-26-1992 by L.L. No. 8-1992, effective 11-4-1992]
D. 
At least five days before such hearing, the Board of Appeals shall mail notice thereof, to the Regional State Park Commission having jurisdiction over any state park or parkway within 500 feet of the property affected by such appeal, and to the county, metropolitan or regional planning agency as required by § 239-m of the General Municipal Law, which notice shall be accompanied by a full statement of the matter under consideration, as defined in Subdivision 1 of § 239-m of the General Municipal Law.
[Added 10-26-1992 by L.L. No. 8-1992, effective 11-4-1992[1]]
[1]
Editor's Note: This local law also provided for the redesignation of former Subsections D, E and F as Subsections F, G and H, respectively.
E. 
The Board of Appeals shall comply with the provisions of the State Environmental Quality Review Act under Article 8 of the Environmental Conservation Law and its implementing regulations as codified in Title 6, Part 617, of the New York Codes, Rules and Regulations.
[Added 10-26-1992 by L.L. No. 8-1992, effective 11-4-1992[2]]
[2]
Editor's Note: This local law also provided for the redesignation of former Subsections D, E and F as Subsections F, G and H, respectively.
F. 
Unless a building permit is obtained within 12 months of the date of the granting of a variance, such variance shall become null and void. The Board, without public hearing, may, for good cause shown, extend the time for which a building permit must be obtained or extend the time for completion of work under a variance or special permit theretofore granted by it for whatever time period deemed to be appropriate.
[Amended 11-28-1988 by L.L. No. 20-1988, effective 12-7-1988]
G. 
Every appeal and application shall refer to the specific provisions of the Village Law of the ordinance involved and shall precisely set forth, as the case may be, the interpretation that is claimed, the specific variance or special permit that is applied for and the grounds on which it is claimed that the variance or special permit should be granted.
H. 
Every decision of the Board of Appeals shall be, by resolution, recorded on the minutes of the Board, shall fully set forth the circumstances of the case, shall contain a full record of the findings on which the decision is based, shall be signed by the Chairman and Secretary of the Board and shall constitute a public record.
I. 
The Board of Appeals will comply with the requirements of the Open Meetings Law of the State of New York (Public Officers Law § 100 et seq.), even if that law does not apply because the Board of Appeals is acting in an advisory capacity.
[Added 6-11-2018 by L.L. No. 7-2018, effective 6-19-2018]