APPLICABILITY AND LIMITATIONS.
In accordance with the provisions of Chapter 211 of the Local Government Code, the Zoning Board of Adjustment (ZBA) has the authority to hear and take final action on requests for a variance from the literal terms of the zoning regulations. Matters that may be the subject matter of variances include but are not limited to: height restrictions, setback requirements, landscaping requirements, area, parking regulations, or other matters that may require a variance from the literal terms of this Ordinance.
The Zoning Board of Adjustment may not grant a variance if the effect of the variance would be to authorize a use other than a use permitted in the district for which the variance is sought, and, therefore, such is not a proper subject matter of a request for a variance.
The Zoning Board of Adjustment may not grant a variance to lot frontage requirements and, therefore, such is not a proper subject matter of a request for a variance.
APPLICATION AND REVIEW PROCESS.
A. Application. An application for a variance must be filed with the Zoning Administrator.
B. Zoning Administrator Review. The Zoning Administrator must review the submitted application and make a recommendation to the Zoning Board of Adjustment.
C. Zoning Board of Adjustment Final Action. Following notice in accordance with the section just below, the Zoning Board of Adjustment must hold a public hearing and approve, approve with conditions, or deny the variance.
The concurring vote of seventy-five (75) percent of the members of the board is necessary to approve a variance.
PUBLIC NOTICE AND PUBLIC HEARING.
A. Mailed Notice.
A proposed variance requires notice of the public hearing of the Zoning Board of Adjustment by mail to all owners of real property as shown in the latest approved tax roll, lying within two hundred (200) feet of the property on which the variance is requested. Such notice must be mailed a minimum of fifteen (15) days before the date of the public hearing.
B. Posted Notice.
A proposed variance requires notice of the public hearing of the Zoning Board of Adjustment by posting on the City’s website. Such notice must state the time and place of such hearing and the nature of the subject to be considered. The notice must be posted a minimum of fifteen (15) days before the date of the public hearing.
VARIANCES.
A. In order to grant a variance from this Ordinance, the Board of Adjustment must make written findings that the variance creates undue hardship, using the following criteria:
1. That literal enforcement of the controls will create an unnecessary hardship or practical difficulty in the development of the affected property;
2. That the situation causing the hardship or difficulty is neither self-imposed nor generally affecting all or most properties in the same zoning district;
3. That the relief sought will not injure the permitted use of adjacent conforming property; and
4. That the granting of a variance will be in harmony with the spirit and purpose of this Ordinance.
B. A variance shall not be granted to relieve a self-created or personal hardship, nor shall it be based solely on economic gain or loss, nor shall it permit any person a privilege in developing a parcel of land not permitted by this Ordinance to other parcels of land in the particular zoning district. No variance may be granted which results in undue hardship on another parcel of land.
C. The applicant bears the burden of proof in establishing the facts justifying a variance.
LIMITATION ON RESUBMITTAL.
An applicant may not apply to the Zoning Board of Adjustment for the same variance on the same piece of property prior to the expiration of two (2) years from a previous ruling of the Zoning Board of Adjustment unless other property in the immediate vicinity within the two (2) year period has been changed or the Zoning Board of Adjustment or City Council has acted upon the property so as to alter the facts and conditions on which the previous Zoning Board of Adjustment action was based. Such change of circumstances permits the rehearing of a variance request prior to the expiration of a two (2) year period, but such conditions shall not require the Zoning Board of Adjustment, after a hearing, to grant a subsequent variance. Such subsequent variance request must be considered entirely on its merits and on the peculiar and specific conditions related to the property on which the application is applied for.
