Zoning Board of Adjustment

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The Planning and Zoning Regulations allow for property owners to make requests for variance from the requirements of the regulations. The Board conducts a public hearing and decides, case by case, what relief may be reasonably granted. These decisions are weighed carefully for their impact on the integrity of the county zoning regulations.

All decisions made by the Board are recorded with the Recorder of Deeds. Recording fees for a certificate of decision will be billed to the applicant along with mailing and public notice costs, these fees must be paid prior to the meeting date.

Appeals to the Board may be taken by any land owner, lessee, or tenant of land, or by a public officer, department, board or bureau affected by any decision of the administrative officer on administering the zoning ordinances.

Some of the requests in which the Board hears are as follows:

• Where by reason of shape or topography or other extraordinary or exceptional situation or condition of a specific ordinance would result in peculiar and exceptional difficulties to or exceptional and demonstrable undue hardship upon the owner of the property as an unreasonable deprivation of use as relating to the property, a variance from the strict application of the ordinance provided the relief can be granted without substantial detriment to the public good and without substantially impairing the intent, purpose, and integrity of the regulations.
• To allow, in case of practical difficulty or unnecessary hardship, for a period of two years, the location of a mobile home on a lot.
  Example: Your parents are elderly and in poor health. You would like to live closer to them to help with upkeep of the property or to be near in case of emergency.
• To permit placement of a singlewide manufactured prior to 1976 on less than 20 acres that does not have any other dwelling units.
• Variance for the height of a freestanding sign.

The Zoning Board of Adjustment meets on the 4th Thursday of the month. Please see zoning ordinances, section 15.C for further information.

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