Board of Adjustment
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The Zoning Board of Adjustment was established to hear appeals of decisions made by the Zoning Administrator and to consider requests for variances. The Board has the authority to grant variances when they are consistent with the overall intent and purpose of the City’s Zoning Code.
A variance can be granted if the landowner proves that an unnecessary hardship will result if the zoning regulations are enforced OR if there are practical difficulties with the dimensional requirements. The intent of this is to prevent the property from being worthless as zoned.
Unnecessary hardship:
- Land in question cannot yield reasonable return if used only for purpose allowed in that zone
- Plight of owner is due to unique circumstances and not to general conditions in neighborhood
- The hardship must not have been self-created
- Use to be authorized by variance will not alter essential character of locality Greenwalt v. Davenport ZBA, (1984)
Rule of Thumb = A variance should prevent a hardship, not grant a special privilege not available to other landowners faced with similar situations.
HF 652 – Practical Difficulties:
The variance can be approved if:
- Not contrary to the public interest
- Literal enforcement of provisions of ordinance will result in the practical difficulties for the property owner to make beneficial use of the property
- Spirit of the ordinance shall be observed
Property owner must show:
- Practical difficulties are unique to the property and not self-created
- The variance would not significantly alter the essential character of the surrounding neighborhood
Practical difficulty examples: unusually shaped lot or terrain.
Board Members: 5
Terms: 5 years
Meetings: 2nd Monday of the month at 7:00 p.m. (meet only when hearing specific appeal)
Appointed by the Mayor with confirmation of the City Council
Are you interested in serving on the Board of Adjustment for the City of Waverly? If so, please fill out the Board and Commission Application to be considered.
Meetings are held on the second Monday of the month. Some dates may vary due to holidays. For a list of meetings and deadline schedule, please see below.
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