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HomeMy WebLinkAboutORDINANCES-1972-004-O-72As Adopted 9-11-72 • 4-0-72 AN ORDINANCE Amending Section KII of the Zoning Ordinance WHEREAS, the Zoning Amendment Committee of the City Council conducted a public hearing to consider certain amendments to regulations imposed under the Evanston Zoning Ordinance, and the notice of said hearing was published in the manner required by .law 9 and WHEREAS, the Zoning Amendment Committee has submitted its report recommending amendments to the Zoning Ordinance, accom- panied by findings of fact and specifying the reasons for the recommendations. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF EVANSTON, COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS: SECTION 1: That Subsections B, E and H of Sec. XII of the Evanston Zoning Ordinance, adopted November 21, 1960, as amended, be further amended so that said subsection shall here- after read as follows: "B. BOARD OF APPEALS 1. Authorization and Composition A Board of Appeals is hereby authorized to be established under authority of the Illinois Revised Statutes. The word 'Board,' when used in the zoning ordinance, shall mean the Board of Appeals. • -2- 0 The Board shall consist of seven members appointed by the Mayor, after consultation with the Planning and Development Committee, and confirmed by the City Council. Each member of the Board shall serve for a term of five years or until his successor is appointed and qualified. One of the members of the Board shall be designated by the Mayor as Chairman and shall hold office as Chairman until his successor is appointed and qualified. Such Chairman, or in his absence, the acting Chairman, may administer oaths and compel the attendance of witnesses. Vacancies upon the Board shall be filled for the unexpired term of the member whose place has become vacant in the manner herein provided for the appointment of such member. 2. Jurisdiction and Authority The Board is hereby vested with the following duties under this ordinance: • a. to hear and decide appeals from any order, requirement, decision, or determination made by any enforcing officer of this ordinance; the Board may reverse or affirm, wholly or partly, or may modify any such order, requirement, decision or determina- tion, in the manner and subject to the provisions set forth in this Section XII; b. to hear and decide appeals for an extension of time periods set for compliance by an enforcing officer of this ordinance in specific cases, in the manner and subject to the standards set forth in this Section XII; c. to hear and decide applications for varia- tions from the provisions of this ordinance, except type one variations, as defined in this Section XII, in specific cases and in the manner and subject to the standards set forth in this Section XII; • 0 -3- d. to hear and make recommendations to the City Council on applications for type one varia- tions, as defined in this Section XII, in specific cases and in the manner and subject to the standards set forth in this Section XII; e. to hear and make recommendations to the City Council on applications for a special use permit, including Planned Developments, at a particular location, in the manner and subject to the standards set forth in this Section XII; and f. to hear and decide or make recommendations on all other matters according to the terms referred to it by the City Council. 3. Meetings, Notice, Records and Reports All meetings of the Board shall be held at the • call of the Chairman and at such other times as the Board may determine. All meetings of the Board shall be open to the public. No hearing shall be conducted without a quorum of the Board being present, which shall con- sist of four (4) members. The concurring vote of four (4) members shall be necessary to de- cide or make recommendations in favor of an appellant or applicant in any matter upon which the Board is required to pass. The Board shall keep minutes of its proceedings, showing the vote of each member upon every question, or if absent or failing to vote, indicating that fact, and shall also keep records of its hearings, examinations, and other official actions. A transcript of testimony presented at all public hearings on all matters heard by the Board shall be included in the Board's report. Any absent member who certifies that he has read the trans- cript of the proceedings before the Board may vote upon any question before the Board. If, due to absence, a favorable recommendation or decision has not been either made by four or more favorable v,ons ' or prec lulled by f our -or • more unfavorable votes, additional members shall 0 -4- s read the transcript and vote until there are four concurring votes. Findings of fact shall be made for each appeal or application for a time extension, variation or special use permit, specifying the reasons for granting or denying, or recommending the granting or denying of, such appeal or application. The terms of the relief granted or recommended shall be specif- ically set forth in a conclusion or statement separate from the findigns of fact. Every rule or regulation, every amendment or repeal thereof, and every order, requirement, decision or determination of the Board shall be filed promptly with the Secretary of the Board and shall be a public record. The Board shall adopt its own rules of procedure not in conflict with the statutes. Notice shall be given of the time and place of . every public hearing not more than thirty days nor less than fifteen days before the hearing, by publishing a notice thereof at least once in one or more newspapers published in the City, or, if no newspaper is published therein, then in one or more newspaper having a general cir- culation within the City. At the hearing, any party may appear in person., or by agent or by attorney. Applicants for zoning variations, special uses, planned developments and time extensions, and owners of property within 250 ft, in each direc- tion of the subject property, exclusive of public roads, streets, alleys, and other public ways, shall have the following rights, in addition to any others they may possess by law, at any hearing before the Board: a. to have subpoenas issued for persons to appear at hearings and for examination of documents by the person requesting the sub- poenas either before or at the hearing, subject to the limitations contained herein. The Board shall issue subpoenas as requested • by applicants and eligible property owners. -5- 0 Subpoenas shall only be enforceable against persons or for documents which have sub- stantial evidentiary connection with (1) the subject property, and (2) facts which would support or negate the requisite legal stan- dards for granting the application or appeal, All matters relating to subpoenas concerning a particular case, including all enforcement and motions to quash, shall be heard in a single action. Service of such subpoenas shall be made in the same manner as summons in a civil action; b. to cross examine all witnesses testifying; c. to present witnesses on their behalf. Eligible property owners, as set forth above, who wish to object shall, upon request, be granted one continuance for the purpose of presenting evidence to rebut testimony given • by the applicant. The date of such continued hearings shall be within the discretion of the Board. 4. Recommendations to the City Council a. The findings of the Board on applications for type one variations, as defined by this Section XII, or permits for special uses, arrived at in each specific case after a public hearing, shall be submitted to the City Council with a report and recommenda- tions within a reasonable time. b. The City Council, upon report of the Board and without further public hearing, may approve by ordinance or may deny any appli- cation for a type one variation or a special use at a particular location or may in writing refer the application back to the Board for further consideration, specifying the reasons therefor; any application for a type one variation which fails to receive the approval of four members of the Board shall not be adopted except by the favorable 40 vote of two-thirds of all the aldermen; and any application for a type one variation or special use which received the approval of the Board may be finally denied by failing to receive a favorable majority vote of all of the aldermen. On any application for which final action is required by the City Council, the re- quirements for findings of fact and speci- ficity of relief granted set forth in Sec- tion XII.B.3. above, shall be met by approp- riate language in the Zoning Board of Appeals report or the adopting ordinance. c. A variation or special use permit approved by the City Council by ordinance shall not be valid after a period of one (1) year, except for planned developments as otherwise set forth in the zoning ordinance, unless during such period such variation or special use shall be established or unless any re- quired building, development or erection • permit for an approved variation or special use is obtained within this period, after which construction shall proceed to comple- tion within a reasonable time. Said one (1) year period may be extended in writing for good cause by the Director of Inspections and Permits or the City Manager or his authorized representative for up to an addi- tional one year, if no other zoning changes affecting the property have been made or are formally pending before the City Council or Zoning Amendment Committee; or said period may be extended by the Council for such time as it shall determine, for good cause shown and without further hearing before the Board. 5. Final. Actions of the Board a. Actions by the Board on appeals from rulings of enforcing officers, appeals for a time extension, and applications for variations from the provisions of this ordinance, other than type one variations, shall constitute the final action by the municipal authorities. 0 I '0 -7- b. The findings of the Board on appeals from rulings of enforcing officers, appeals for time extensions, and applications for varia- tions, other than type one variations, shall be in writing and shall be arrived at in each specific case after a public hearing. A report of said findings, with the terms of the relief granted specifically set forth in a conclusion or separate statement, shall be transmitted to the appellant or applicant, with copies to the City Council, within a reasonable time. c. A variation approved by the Board shall not be valid after a period of one (1) year, unless during this period such variation shall be established or unless any required building, development or erection permit for an approved variation is obtained within this period, after which construction shall proceed to completion within a reasonable time. Said one (1) year period may be ex- tended in writing for good cause by the • Director of Inspections and'Permits or the City Manager or his authorized representative for up to an additional one (1) year, if no other zoning changes affecting the property have been made or are formally pending before the Council or the Zoning Amendment Committee; or said period may be extended by the Board for such time as it shall determine, for good cause shown. E. APPEALS AND VARIATIONS 1. Appeals - Cenral An appeal may be taken to the Board from any order, requirement, decision, or determination made by an enforcing officer by any person aggrieved or by any officer, department, board or bureau of the city. Such appeal shall be taken by filing with the Secretary of the Board a notice of appeal, specifying the grounds therefor. All of the papers constituting the record upon which the action appealed from was 40 -g- • taken shall forthwith be transmitted to the Board. The filing of an appeal shall stay all proceedings in furtherance of the action ap- pealed from, unless the.Director of Inspections and Permits certifies to the Board, after the notice of appeal has been filed, that by reason of facts stated in the certificate a stay would, in his opinion, cause imminent peril to life or property, in which case the proceedings shall not be stayed otherwise than by a restraining order which may be granted by the Board or by a court of record on application, on notice to the Director of Inspections and Permits, and on due cause shown. The Board may reverse or affirm, wholly or partly, or may modify the order, requirement, decision or determination as in its opinion ought to be made in the premises and to that end has all the powers of the officer from whom the appeal is taken. 2. Appeals - Time Extension An appeal may be taken to the Board from a directive by an enforcing officer to correct or discontinue any violation of this ordinance by - a specific date. Said appeal may be made to the Board only for the purpose of providing a longer time period for correcting or discontinuing an' existing violation of this ordinance. Said appeal shall be in such form as may be prescribed by the Board and shall set forth the circumstances which make unreasonable the time period allowed by the enforcing officer for bringing the subject prop- erty into compliance. An appeal for a time extension shall not be granted unless the following findings are made, based upon the evidence presented to the Board: (1) that allowing a pliance will not public welfare o ciate the value improvements in the property is time extension for com- be detrimental to the r injurious to or depre- of other property or the neighborhood in which located; and -9- 0 (2) that there are either circumstances, difficulties or hardships which make unreasonable the time for compliance specified by the enforcing officer; provided that for the consideration of time extensions, personal circum- stances peculiar to the property owner or occupant may constitute such circumstances, within the meaning of this paragraph. The Board may affirm or may extend any time limit for compliance previously established by the enforcing officer or by the Board within the following limits: (1) a period for compliance which shall not exceed three years from the date of the Board's first hearing on the matter or a rehearing following a. change in ownership or occupancy; or • (2) a period for compliance limited to the period of present ownership of the property or present occupancy of the property or any portion thereof, pro- vided that on rehearing an additional time extension of not to exceed three years may be granted upon a change in ownership or occupancy; or (3) any combination of the above. As a condition of extending a time limit for compliance, the Board may order immediate correctional work, may require covenants or may establish such other conditions and restrictions as are necessary and desirable to protect the welfare of the occupants of the property which is the subject of the appeal and public health, safety and welfare. 0 -lo- 3. Variations - Purpose and Type a. Variations from the provisions of this ordinance shall be in harmony with its general purpose and intent, and shall be granted only in the specific instances where, based upon the standards herein- after prescribed, there are practical difficulties or particular hardship in the way of carrying out the strict letter of the provisions or regulations of this ordinance relating to the use, construc- tion or alteration of buildings or struc- tures or the use of land. b. For the purpose of this ordinance, varia- tions shall be divided into two types: (1) variations from the 'permitted use,' 'lot area per dwelling unit' and 'planned development' regulations of • this ordinance, including any case where denial of the appeal would require elimination of an existing dwelling unit or existing rooming unit, hereinafter called type one variations; and (2) variations from all other provisions of this ordinance. c. Any application for variations which in- cludes both type one variations and other variations shall be treated as an appli- cation for a type one variation under the provisions of the zoning ordinance, and shall be subject to final approval by the City Council. d.. Any application for a special use permit which also includes an application for variations shall be subject to final approval by the City Council. 40 • -11- e. Applications for variations shall be filed with the Secretary for the Board and pro- cessed in the manner prescribed in this Section XII, and shall be in such form and accompanied by such information as shall be established from time to time by the Board. 4. Variations - Standards No variation from the provisions of the zoning ordinance shall be recommended by the Board or granted by the Board or City Council unless the preponderance of the evidence presented in each specific case substantiates findings of fact that: a. There are practical difficulties or particular hardship in the way of carrying out the strict letter of the • provisions of this ordinance, namely: (1) the property in question cannot yield a reasonable return or is greatly reduced in value or the owner is de- prived of all reasonable use of the property if the property is permitted to be used only under the conditions allowed by the regulations in that zone, which also requires that: (a) the property owner would suffer a particular hardship as distin- guished from a mere inconvenience, if the strict letter of the regu- lations were to be carried out; (b) the purpose of the variation is not based exclusively upon a desire to make more money out of the property; • W 4 (c) the alleged hardship does not rest upon the particular per- sonal financial situation of the applicant; (d) the alleged difficulty or hard- ship has not been created by any person presently having an interest in the property. (2) the plight of the owner is due to unique circumstances which are not applicable generally to other property within the same zoning classification, which also requires that: (a) unique circumstances may consist of the particular physical sur- roundings, shape or topographical conditions of the specific prop- erty involved which prevent its being used in conformity with the applicable regulations; (b) unique circumstances may include, but are not limited to, the fol- lowing characteristics of the property: too narrow, too small, too shallow, elevation, slope, shape, soil, subsurface, inadapt- abirity of existing building(s) or conflict with neighboring prop- erty. The way in which the above site conditions prevent the reason- able use of the land under the terms of the zoning ordinance shall be specified in the findings. b. The variation, if granted, will be in harmony with the general purpose and intent of this ordinance, and: (1) will not alter the essential character of the locality; • • 0 H. FEES -13- (2) will be beneficial, or will not be detrimental to the public welfare or injurious to or depreciate the value of other property or improvements in the neighborhood in which the prop- erty is located; (3) will not impair an adequate supply of light and air to adjacent property, or substantially increase the danger of fire or otherwise endanger the public safety. c. The findings of the Board shall be recorded as to each of the several standards and criteria enumerated in Section XII.E.4.a. and b, and shall also be included in the Board's report. d. The extent of any variation granted shall be limited to the minimum change necessary to alleviate the practical difficulty or particular hardship which affects the property. 5. Variations - Conditions Such conditions and restrictions may be imposed on the premises to be benefited by a variation, whether granted by the Board or City Council, as may be necessary to comply with the standards set forth in this Section XII, to reduce or minimize any injurious effect of such variation on other property in the neighborhood, and to implement the general purpose and intent of the zoning ordinance. Any application for a special use, except a special use for a planned development, and any application for a variation and any appeal for a time extension, filed by or on behalf of the owners of the property affected, • e -14- shall be accompanied by a filing fee of $25900. If filed at the same time, an application for a varia- tion and an appeal for a time extension may be com- bined in a single application. Any application for a special use for a planned development shall be accompanied by a fee of $200.00. Any petition, other than a petition by a governmental agency, for an amendment to this ordinance shall be accompanied by a fee as provided in the following schedule: 1. For an amendment to the text of the ordinance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 25.00 2. For the rezoning of a single parcel of land . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 25.00 3. For the rezoning of two to four par- cels of land held in separate owner- ship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 50.00 4. For the rezoning of five or more parcels of land held in separate ownership . . . . . . . . . . . . . $100.001, SECTION 2: All ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict herewith are hereby repealed. SECTION 3: This ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and after its passage, approval and publication in the manner provided by law, provided that applications for variations shall be heard and decided in accord- ance with the variation provisions in effect at the time they are filed, in a form approved by the Zoning Board of Appeals. Introduced: August 21, 1972 Adopted: September 11, 1972 Approved: September 11, 1972 Attest: /s/ Edgar Vanneman, Jr. Mayor /s/ Maurice F. Brown City Clerk Approved as to form: /s/ Jack M. Siegel , Corporation Counsel