A. 
Establishment. The Mayor of the City of Oswego shall appoint a five man Board of Appeals. The members of this Board shall not hold elective office in the City of Oswego and they shall receive no compensation for their services.
B. 
Term of office. The Mayor shall designate the term of two of the members as being two years from the date of appointment; the term of two members to be three years from the date of appointment; and the term of the fifth member to be four years from the date of appointment. Each successor to the original membership shall be appointed by the Mayor for a term of three years, except that any vacancy occurring during any term shall be filled for the unexpired term only. The Board shall hold a reorganization meeting yearly and shall elect one of their members to be Chairman and one Secretary.
C. 
Capitals, powers and duties.
(1) 
The Board shall hear and decide appeals from any order, requirement, decision or determination of the Housing Administrator.
(2) 
The Board shall decide any question involving the interpretation of any provision of this chapter.
(3) 
The Board shall decide any matter referred to it by the City Engineer, who is designated as the Housing Administrator.
D. 
In exercising the above-mentioned powers and duties, the Board of Appeals may reverse, affirm, wholly or partly, or may modify the order, requirements, decision or determination as made and, to that end, have all the powers of the Housing Administrator from whom the appeal is made.
E. 
Every decision of the Board of Appeals shall be subject to review in accordance with Article 78 of the Civil Practice Law and Rules, and such decision may be so appealed by any person aggrieved or by any officer, department, board or bureau of the city.
F. 
Any appeal from the decision of the Housing Administrator, properly filed with the Board of Appeals, shall stay all proceedings in furtherance of the action appealed from, unless the Housing Administrator certifies to the Board of Appeals that, by reason of facts stated in the certification, a stay would, in his opinion, cause eminent peril to life and property.
A. 
Where strict application of any of the requirements of this chapter shall deprive the owner of real property or a mobile home the reasonable use of his building, the Board of Appeals shall have the power, in passing upon appeals, to grant a variance to any of the regulations or provisions of this chapter relating to bulk, construction or alteration of buildings or structures or any part thereof or of use of said buildings, so that the spirit of this chapter shall be observed, public health, safety and welfare secured and substantial justice done.
B. 
Such variance shall be granted by the Board of Appeals only if and wherever it finds:
(1) 
That there are special circumstances or physical conditions fully described in the findings applying to the buildings for which the variance is sought and that said circumstance or condition is peculiar to such particular building and do not apply generally to buildings in the neighborhood; and that such circumstance or condition is such that the strict application of the provision of this chapter would deprive the applicant of the reasonable use of his building.
(2) 
That for reasons set forth in the findings, the granting of the variance is necessary for the reasonable use of the land or building involved, and that the variance, as granted by the Board of Appeals, is the minimum variance which will accomplish this purpose.
(3) 
That the granting of the variance will be in harmony with the general purpose and intent of this chapter and will not be injurious to the neighborhood or otherwise to the public welfare.
C. 
Fee. Each application to the Board of Appeals for a variance shall be accompanied by a fee of $50 to help defray the cost of holding the hearing.
[Amended 12-28-2009 by Res. No. 554-2009]
A. 
Form of appeals and application. The Board of Appeals shall act in strict accordance with procedure specified by the General City Law and by this chapter and shall determine its own rules of conduct. All appeals and applications made to the Board shall be taken in writing on forms prescribed by the Board.
B. 
Content of application for variance. Any building owner in the City of Oswego allegedly aggrieved by the strict application of any of the requirements of this chapter, or desiring to deviate therefrom, may apply to the Board of Appeals for a variance from any such requirement. Such application shall state the specific provisions of this chapter from which the variance is sought and shall state precisely the interpretation which is sought, the use for which the variance is sought or the details of the variance which is sought, together with the special circumstances which allegedly justify such variance.
C. 
Appeals or applications shall be taken within such time as prescribed by the Board of Appeals by general rule, by the filing with the Housing Administrator from which the appeal is taken and with the Board of Appeals of a Notice of Appeal, specifying the grounds therefor. The Housing Administrator shall forthwith transmit to the Board of Appeals all papers constituting the record upon which the action appealed from was taken.
D. 
Public hearing. The Board of Appeals shall, after due notice, hold a public hearing on every appeal or application for a variance referred to it, and upon which it is required to pass, in accordance with this chapter in the General City Law. The Board of Appeals shall have published a notice of such public hearing in a newspaper of general circulation of the City of Oswego at least 10 days prior to such hearing. In addition, at least seven days prior to such public hearing, the Board of Appeals shall have sent, by registered mail, the notice of such hearing, and the explanation of the variance or special permits sought, to all property owners within 100 feet of the four corners of the subject building. Such notices shall be sent to the last known address of all property owners as shown on the city tax records.
E. 
Findings and conclusions. After such public hearings, and after consideration of the application, the Board of Appeals shall either grant or deny the variance and shall make written findings of fact and conclusions concerning the subject matter of such hearing, including the reasons for the granting or denial of the relief sought.