The authority
of the Board of Zoning Appeals is established under
Section 519.13 of the Ohio Revised Code.
The Board of Township
Trustees appoints five members and like the zoning
commission is staggered so that one term expires each year.
The Board of Zoning Appeals is required by local zoning
regulations to establish a set of rules and procedures for
guiding the conduct of hearings and to provide standards by
which the substance of testimony and other evidence is
offered and judged.
The quasi-judicial
function of the BZA arises from its authority to hear and
decide appeals. It is the first step an individual may
take to appeal a decision made by the Zoning Inspector or
to request a variance from a standard within the zoning
regulations as it applies to his property. The BZA will
usually be able to resolve any conflict and if not the
next step for the aggrieved party is the Court of Common
Pleas.
The BZA also has the
authority to grant variances from the strict terms of the
zoning regulations where unnecessary hardship would
otherwise result. While this power is necessary, the
appointing authority and the members they appoint to the
BZA must realize the problems which would result in
eroding the zoning regulations through granting an
excessive number of variances. The BZA does not have the
authority to make changes in the zoning text or map.
The third basic function
of the BZA is to review applications for conditional use
permits to insure that all required standards and
conditions for the placement of the conditional use in a
particular district has been met. Reviewing conditional
use applications is solely the responsibility of the BZA
within the Township.
Board of Zoning Appeals
