A Board of Zoning Appeals of Wellsville, Franklin County, Kansas shall be established by the Council as prescribed by K.S.A. 12-759, 12-760.

A.    The Board shall consist of five (5) members in accordance with K.S.A. 12-759. 

(1)   One member shall be appointed to serve a period of 1 year;

(2)   Two members for a period of 2 years; and

(3)   Two members for a period of three (3) years;

(4)   Thereafter all members shall be appointed and serve a term of 3 years from their date of appointment.

B.    The members shall elect their own Chairman and Vice Chairman at the first regular monthly meeting following May 1 and said officers shall serve for 1 year and until their successor is elected.  The City Council shall appoint a secretary who shall be a city employee. 

C.    The members of the board shall serve without compensation.  Vacancies shall be filled for the un-expired term.

D.    Members may be removed by the Mayor and City Council upon written charges and after public hearing for failure to follow the defined criteria and/or absence for 3 consecutive meetings.  The board shall adopt rules of procedure in accordance with the provisions of these regulations. 

E.    Meetings of the board shall be held at the call of the Chairman, or by the Vice Chairman in the absence of the Chairman.  The board shall keep minutes of its proceeding and shall keep records of its examinations and other official actions and shall be of public record. 

F.    The presence of 3 members of the board shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business, providing, however, that the concurring vote of 3 members of the board shall be necessary to effect a ruling in favor of an appellant.

A.    Appeals to the Board of Zoning Appeals may be taken by any person aggrieved or by any officer of the city or any governmental agency or body affected by any decision of the officer administering the provisions of the Zoning Ordinance. 

B.    Such appeal shall be taken within 30 days by filing with the officer from whom the appeal is taken, and with the Board, a notice of appeal in writing specifying the grounds thereof.  The officer from whom the appeal is taken shall forthwith transmit to the Board all the papers constituting the record upon which the action appealed from was taken.

An appeal shall stay all legal proceedings in furtherance of the action appealed from unless the Building Inspector certifies to the Board, after the notice of appeal has been filed with him, that by reason of facts stated in the certificate a stay would, in his opinion cause imminent peril to life or property.  In such case the proceedings shall not be stayed otherwise than by restraining order which may be granted by the Board or by a court of record on petition with the Building Inspector and on the basis of due cause shown.

A.    The Board may affirm or reverse, wholly or partly, or may modify the decision appealed from, and may make such decision as ought to be made, and to that end shall have all the powers of the Building Inspector and may issue or direct the issuance of a permit.  The concurring vote of three members of the Board shall be necessary to reverse any decision of the Building Inspector under these regulations. 

B.    The Board shall render a written decision on the appeal without unreasonable delay after the close of a hearing and, in all cases, within 45 days after the close of the hearing.

A.    The board shall fix a reasonable time for the hearing of an appeal.  Notice of the time, place and subject of such hearing shall be published once in the official paper of Wellsville at least 20 days prior to the date fixed for hearing.  A copy of said notice will be mailed to each party to the appeal and to the Planning Commission and City Council.  Applicant shall mail a copy of said publication notice by U.S. Mail, certified, return receipt requested and prepaid, to each owner of record of land within a distance of 200 feet of the perimeter of such proposed change, at least 20 days prior to said hearing; sufficient copies of said notice for such purpose to be provided by the City Clerk. 

B.    The appellant herewith will file proof of compliance under oath with the City Clerk prior to such hearing.  At least 10 days prior to the date set for hearing, the appellant will file with the City Clerk a plat of the land in question, drawn to scale, showing all tracts within a distance of 200 feet of the perimeter and the ownership’s of each such tract; also, the location of all present buildings and proposed development.  The Building Inspector or applicable City Staff member for accuracy will verify such plans or drawings, and his/her signature will be affixed to the plat.

A.    The Board shall have power to hear and decide appeals where it is alleged there is error in any order, requirement, decision or determination made by the Building Inspector in the enforcement of the Zoning Ordinance. 

B.    The Board may, when it deems the same necessary, grant variance from the specific terms of this ordinance which will not be contrary to the public interest and where, due to special conditions, a literal enforcement of the provision of this ordinance will, in an individual case, result in unnecessary hardship and provided that the spirit of this ordinance shall be observed, public safety and welfare secured and substantial justice done.  Such variance shall not permit a use not permitted by the Zoning Ordinance in such district.  A variance may be granted in each case, upon a finding by the board that of the following conditions have been met;

(1)   That the variance requested arises from condition which is unique to the property in question and which is not ordinarily found in the same zone or district; and is not created by an action of the property owner or the applicant.

(2)   That the granting of the permit for the variance will not adversely affect the rights of adjacent property owners or residents.

(3)   That the strict application of the provisions of the Zoning Ordinance from which a variance is requested will constitute unnecessary hardship upon the property owner represented in the application.

(4)   That the variance desired will not adversely affect the public health, safety, morals, order convenience, prosperity, the general welfare or the harmonious development of the city.

(5)   That granting the variance desired will not be opposed to the general spirit and intent of the Zoning Ordinance.

(6)   That the variance, if granted, is the minimum variance that will afford relief and is the least modification possible of the regulations that are in question.

C.    In exercising the foregoing power, the board may reserve or affirm, wholly or partly, or may modify the order, requirement, decision or determination and to that end shall have all the powers of the officer from whom the appeal is taken, may attach appropriate conditions and may issue or direct the issuance of a permit or may revoke a permit.  The board shall set down in writing as a public record its findings with regard to each of the six points mentioned above.

D.    Information pertaining to land or structures within the floodplain is located in Article 10.

A.    An application for a variance shall be filed with the Planning Department.  The application shall contain the following information as well as such additional information as may be prescribed by rule of the Board: 

(1)   The particular requirements of these regulations which prevent the proposed use or construction;

(2)   The characteristics of the subject property which prevent compliance with the requirements of these regulations;

(3)   The reduction of the minimum requirements of these regulations which would be necessary to permit the proposed use or construction; and

(4)   The particular hardship which would result if the requirements of these regulations were applied to the subject property.

A.    Variances from the provisions of these regulations shall be granted by the Board only in accordance with the standards in Section 18-2306.B, and only in the following instances and not other:

(1)   To vary the applicable lot area, lot width and lot depth requirements.

(2)   To vary the applicable bulk regulations, including maximum height, lot coverage and minimum yard requirements.

(3)   To vary the number of required off-street parking spaces.

(4)   To vary the sign provisions of Article 18-1905 regarding general standards and Article 18-1908 regarding district regulations.

(5)   To vary the applicable a requirement in nonconforming nonresidential structures and uses in accordance with Article 18-1504.

(6)   To vary certain provisions of the flood plain district in accordance with 18-1016.

A.    The Board of Zoning Appeals may grant variances from the regulations contained in this Article:

(1)   To permit a setback for a street sign that is less than the required setback;

(2)   To permit the area or height of a street sign to be increased  by up to 20 percent of the maximum height or area allowed;

B.    The Board of Zoning Appeals may grant a variance authorized by this Article if it finds there are special physical conditions that:

(1)   Are due to the exceptional narrowness, shallowness, shape, or topography of the premises on which an activity is located; or

(2)   Prevent the activity from earning a reasonable return as a compared with other activities in the area.