how to win a variance hearing

Powered by muniCMS. Board members are not stewards of the overall financial wellbeing of the municipalities in which they serve, and are not tasked with weighing the taxation or property valuation implications of the proposed construction or development for which a variance is requested. Consider the phenomena of jury nullification, for instance, where a group of people will sidestep its duty because it believes the underlying law or charges are flawed. That the variance, if authorized, will represent the minimum variance that will afford relief and will represent the least modification possible of the regulation in issue. That the variance, if authorized, will not alter the essential character of the neighborhood or district in which the property is located, nor substantially or permanently impair the appropriate use or development of adjacent property, nor be detrimental to the public welfare. In any event, write down the key components of your argument and study them so that you are assured not to forget anything when you are before the Board and so you are comfortable and confident in your delivery. Though not required, persons requesting a variance are usually represented by an attorney. This means that the owner must file the application for the zoning variance and must appear at the public hearing to address the application. The more pointed and aggravating the mock questions are, the better prepared you will be for any sticky questions in your actual hearing, so enlist a companion who will not hold back! That there are unique physical circumstances or conditions peculiar to the particular property and that the unnecessary hardship is due to such conditions and not the circumstances or conditions generally created by the provisions of the zoning ordinance. Variances from the terms of the zoning ordinances shall be granted only when, because of special circumstances applicable to the property, including size, shape, topography, location or surroundings, the strict application of the zoning ordinance deprives such property of privileges enjoyed by other property in the . If you have sought the help of technical experts to resolve your problem, they should accompany you to the hearing. That said, I speculate that many waivers granted in any given year by any given ZBA are granted in the absence of an authentic hardship. Owners may either do this on their own or with the assistance of legal counsel. Compliance Assistance. Local professionals have often appeared numerous times before the Board and will have a keen grasp of the regulation. Contrary to popular misconceptions, a zoning hardship has absolutely no basis in personal circumstances. Can you enlist their support because they didnt understand what you are trying to do? Look, see & observe if similar variances have been granted, Understand what the legal test is for board relief, Write neatly and legibly/type your application, State specifically why you need the variance, what your hardship is and why the Ordinance, which caused your denial unfairly affects you, Attach all relevant documents to your application, Avoid, if possible, submitting new documentation to the Board during the Hearing, If you cannot submit complex documentation until the hearing itself, consider an postponement until the next scheduled meeting, The Board will probably inspect the site before the Hearing, Clean up the property/site before inspection, Talk to your neighbors about your variance/get their support, If you get neighbor support, have them make a brief, concise statement at the Hearing, If you expect opposition, examine the City Building file a day or two before the Hearing; any written opposition will be on file, Be prepared to deal with written objections at the Hearing, Consider modifying your variance request to meet objections, Keep in mind the Board may grant less of a variance request but not more, Stop and examine the agenda: If there are similar cases to yours, listen to how the Board responds to those cases. Create exhibits. Put simply, hardship is an objective, fact based condition arising naturally from a feature thats unique to your property and creates an insurmountable obstacle that prevents you from meeting the part of the regulation that you seek a waiver from. An example would be a weird triangle shaped lot that you see illustrated on this page. Practice your argument. Having that knowledge and demonstrating it in your conversations, exchanges and presentation is a good step taken towards respectful interaction. Normally, the requests go first to a zoning board. During the period the variance is in effect, that the . This can be enormously helpful to understanding what youre up against, and to avoid any last minute corrections that could leave you off the agenda of the hearing date you are targeting. The materials at this website have been prepared by The Lynch Law Group, LLC for information purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice or legal opinion on any specific facts or circumstances. Generally speaking, when it comes to zoning regulations, a waiver cannot technically be granted without the presence of a hardship. c : c - 26); })); 415.749.5073 Notably absent from the above list of criteria for a zoning variance is any mention of real or perceived financial benefit for the municipality, adjacent landowners, or taxpayers at large. Online Registration/Registration Information, National Citizens Survey Results (Citizen Perception Survey), Sidewalk and Pathway Maintenance Responsibilities, Master Plan for Land Use Steering Committee, Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services Commission, Elements of Unnecessary Hardship and Practical Difficulty, Information / Requirements Sheets, Checklists, Manuals and Publications. Good luck to you in your preparation and your application! Whether conditions causing the violation were beyond your reasonable control. Whats the problem? You can print those maps to scale, and annotate it to scale with your proposed activity. The zoning examiner may then hold a hearing to determine if the variance should be granted. That means that they're unaffected when you sell your house. How do you win a variance hearing? Whatever the type of variance being sought, the MPC states that a zoning hearing board may grant a request for variance provided that all of the following findings are made where relevant in a given case. But theres a mother-of-all-tips kind of tip that precedes the ones that follow below. To the Board, to your neighbors (those who are either for OR against your application), to the ZEO (Zoning Enforcement Officer), to the audience at the hearing and above all be respectful to the responsibility of the Board by understanding what exactly its duty is. It can be assumed that the applicant thinks the variance is desirable but the issue here is whether it is desirable from a planning and public interest perspective, not that of the . Moreover, they may be familiar to the Board and may have an added influence in that regard one that you will not have. A dimensional variance is for a use which is . Its a problem thatsage old, and in light of the fact that this problem has been around for so long, I sometimes wonder if it may ever be resolved. 501 Smith Drive, Suite 3 Cranberry Twp., PA 16066, 375 Southpointe Blvd., Suite 100 Canonsburg, PA 15317, The Lynch Law Group LLC Attorneys in Cranberry Twp and Pittsburgh | (724) 776-8000. Your status as an objector is of legal significance, and conveys standing to you and other objectors to appeal the decision of the zoning hearing board if you are dissatisfied with the outcome. document.write("pbzcyvnapr@onndzq.tbi".replace(/[a-zA-Z]/g,function (c) { return String.fromCharCode((c <= "Z" ? But as mentioned above, a hardship is a very narrowly defined thing. The standard of approval for a dimensional variance is practical difficulty, which the courts have defined to mean that strict compliance is unnecessarily burdensome and granting the variance would do substantial justice to the owner. The undue hardship standard for a use variance is much more difficult to meet . An objector may want to consider enlisting the help of legal counsel in order to present cogent factual and legal arguments in hopes of preventing approval of a problematic variance request. Practice your argument. Neighbors whose homes or businesses are in the immediate vicinity of the subject property will receive notice that a variance has been requested, and that a hearing has been scheduled before the zoning hearing board. TIP #1 Before filing variance Do you really need one? Attend a public hearing leading up to your own, to get the gist of what its like and to get a feel for the room and the degree of formality. For instance, it is not enough to merely demonstrate that the applicant is experiencing hardship in their attempts to use their property in a particular manner but that the zoning ordinance as currently written is preventing them from doing so. Zoning petitioners, developers and all registered . 3. In other words, you cant meet a requirement because of the way the property is and so you are looking for a waiver from the requirement. Form alliances upfront and do any horse trading before the hearing. You should also bring copies of your current Permits to Operate with you. Form alliances upfront and do any "horse trading" before the hearing. A favorable outcome will likely have grown, to some extent, out of the quality of your interaction with the people who constitute the Board. Review your application and what you are wanting to do with the ZEObeforehand, if possible, to learn any glaring glitches or omissions or experience with similar applications of other variance seekers who came before you with the same nature of hardship or request. 90 : 122) >= (c = c.charCodeAt(0) + 13) ? Steps 1 Examine your construction plans, and determine if there is any way they can be revised so that a variance is not necessary. There is a problem with your city or town Zoning Board of Appeals. Most of them are based on principles that we all learn in grade school as we become socialized among other people. All hearing exhibitsdocuments, site plans, photographs or evidence of any kindmust be submitted in Word or PDF format at least two business days in advance of the hearing to the Office of Administrative Hearings at administrativehearings@baltimorecountymd.gov. First to a zoning hardship has absolutely no basis in personal circumstances regard one you. 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