Conditional Use and Variance Process
A Variance request filed with the City will be scheduled for Board of Adjustment review once all documents and the filing fee are received. The Board of Adjustment will review the application, receive information from City staff, and hear testimony. (Please note that the Board of Adjustment is the adjudicating authority and no one is allowed to contact members of the Board of Adjustment to discuss a Variance request, not an appellant or neighboring property owner since the Board is a quasi-judicial body.) Questions or filings intended for the Board should be directed to the City Administrator. All communications must take place in the open meeting during the public hearing. The Board can require sworn testimony and can issue a "finding of fact" that is somewhat similar to a court opinion.
A Variance is not a zoning change but rather a project-specific change in the requirements, usually in bulk regulations, allowed on a specific property. Variances do not involve establishing new codes, regulations, or policies. Instead, a Variance allows a deviation from certain provisions of the zoning ordinance and its standards due to specific circumstances. If a Variance is approved, it may require that the applicant adheres to certain “conditions of approval”. Alternatively, the Board may deny the Variance if a project does not meet the standard of the burden required to find that there is a hardship on the property owner, a necessary element to justify a Variance or if the Variance would render the property incompatible with the surrounding neighborhood.
If you have any questions about the process, please contact the City Administrator at 515.967.2418.