SECTION 19.0 BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT
19.01 Board of Adjustment
The Board of Adjustment shall be the City Council and shall act upon all questions as they may arise in the administration of this Ordinance, including the interpretation of zoning maps, and it shall hear and decide appeals from and review any order, requirement, decision, or determination made by an administrative official charged with enforcing this Ordinance. Such appeal may be taken by any person owning the property under appeal or by any officer, department board or commission of the City of Royalton. The Board of Adjustment shall have power to vary or adapt the strict application of any of the requirements of this Ordinance in the case of exceptionally irregular, narrow, or shallow lots, or other exceptionally physical conditions, whereby such strict application would result in practical difficulty pr unnecessary hardship that would deprive the owner of the reasonable use of the land or building involved, but in no other uses except as specifically described. Any appeals on a Board of Adjustment decision shall be made to the District Court. Board of Adjustment decision shall be final except said appeal to District Court.
19.02 Variances
No variance in the provision or requirements of this Ordinance shall be authorized by the Board of Adjustment unless it finds evidence that all the facts and conditions exist:
1. That there are exceptional or extraordinary circumstances or conditions applying to the property in question as to the intended use of the property that do not apply generally to other properties in the same zoning district.
2. That such variance is necessary for the preservation and enjoyment of a substantial property right similar to that possessed by other properties in the same district and in the same vicinity. The possibility of increased financial return shall not in itself be deemed sufficient to warrant a variance.
3. That the authorizing of such variance will not be of substantial detriment to adjacent property and will not materially impair the intent and purpose of this Ordinance or the public interest.
4. That the condition or situation of the specific piece of property, or the intended use -of said property, for which the variance is sought, is not of so general or recurrent a nature as to make reasonably practicable the formulation of a general regulation for such conditions or situation.
5. That in the case of a solar collector variance, the applicant is unable to utilize solar energy systems under the provisions' of this Ordinance.
6. In granting a variance, the Board of Adjustment may impose conditions to insure compliance and to protect adjacent properties. The Board of Adjustment may not permit as a variance any use that is not permitted under this Ordinance for the property in the district where the affected person's land is located.
19.03 Procedure
1. Requests for a variance or appeal shall be filed with the City Clerk and shall be accompanied by a standard fee established by Council resolution, along with material explaining the request.
2. The Planning Commission shall consider the request at its next regular meeting and shall make a recommendation to the Board of adjustment within sixty (60) days of receiving the request.
3. Upon receiving the recommendation of the Planning Commission the Board of Adjustment shall set and hold a public hearing on said request, Notice of such hearing shall be mailed not less than ten (10) days nor more than thirty (30) days to property owners within three hundred fifty (350) feet of the affected parcel as determined by the City Clerk. Such notice shall also be published in the official newspaper within the above time period. Failure of a property owner to receive said notice shall not invalidate any such proceedings.
4. A variance of this Zoning Ordinance shall be by majority vote of the full Board of Adjustment.
5. Within fifteen (15) days after the hearing, the Board of Adjustment shall make its order deciding the matter and serve a copy of such order upon the appellant or the petitioner by mail.
6. All decisions by the Board of Adjustment in granting or denying a variance or appeal shall be final except that any aggrieved person, department, board or commission shall have the right to appeal within thirty (30) days, after the Board's decision, to the District Court on questions of law and fact.
19.04 Lapse of Variance
If within one (1) year after granting a variance the work permitted is not started such a variance shall become null and void unless a petition for an extension has been approved by the City Council.