There is hereby established in and for the Village a Board of Zoning Appeals. The Board shall consist of seven members. Membership of the Board shall be composed of the six members of Council and the Mayor. The Mayor shall serve as Chairperson. The members of the first Board shall take office as of the date of their appointment. The term for each member of the Board shall coincide with that member’s term as a Councilperson or the Mayor, respectively, for the Village. (Ord. 1991-8. Passed 7-16-91.)

(a)   Regular sessions designated as public hearings of the Board of Zoning Appeals shall be held on such date and at such time and place as the Board establishes.

(b)   All hearing sessions shall be open to the public.

(c)   A quorum of the Board shall consist of four members.

(d)   The Board shall keep minutes of its proceedings showing the vote of each member on every question, or, if absent or failing to vote, indicating such fact, and it shall also keep records of its examinations and other official actions.

(e)   The concurring vote of a majority of members of the Board shall be necessary to revise any order, requirement, decision or determination of the enforcing officer or administrative commission, to decide in favor of the appellant on any matter upon which it is required to pass under the Zoning Code, or to effect any variation therein.

(f)   Appeals shall be taken within thirty days after the date of the decision of the enforcing officer or administrative commission, by filing with the Board a notice of appeal specifying the grounds thereof. (Ord. 1991-8.  Passed 7-16-91.)

There shall be a filing fee of $50, with the check made payable to the Village of Timberlake, which shall be submitted, with written Appeal Application, to the Board of Zoning Appeals. Every appeal shall be made to the Board of Zoning Appeals in writing. The procedure for appeals shall be as follows:

(a) A written appeal shall be filed with the enforcing officer or administrative commission by the party aggrieved by any order or decision of the enforcing officer or administrative commission. Such appeal shall be accompanied by accurate plans and specifications of the proposed work, showing the plot of land to be built upon, together with the placement of the proposed building and all other existing or proposed structures.

(b) Every appeal shall be taken within thirty days from the date of any refusal by the enforcing officer or administrative commission to issue a permit.

(c) Any communication purporting to be an appeal shall be regarded as mere notice to seek relief and shall not be considered by the Board until it is made on the required form.

(d) Upon receipt of any such communication, the applicant shall be supplied with the proper form before placing his or her appeal. If he or she fails to file with the Board the form properly filled out and executed and fails to supply the required data within thirty days from the date of refusal of the permit by the enforcing officer or administrative commission, his or her case shall be dismissed for want of prosecution.

(e) Such appeal shall be accompanied by the sum of fifty dollars ($50.00), either in cash or certified check payable to the Board of Zoning Appeals, which amount shall be used to defray the cost of the required notices. Any unused balance shall be returned to the appellant after the final action of the Board in each case.

(f) At the public hearing of the case before the board, the appellant shall appear on his or her own behalf or be represented by counsel. The appellant’s side of the case shall be heard first and those in objection shall follow. To maintain order during the procedure, each side shall proceed without interruption by the other.

(g) Every person before the rostrum shall abide by the order and direction of the Chairperson. Discourteous, disorderly or contemptuous conduct shall be regarded as a breach of the privileges of the Board and shall be dealt with as the Chairperson deems proper. (Ord. 1991-8. Passed 7-16-91; Ord. 2013-50. Passed 12-17-13.)

(a) Appeals shall be assigned for hearing in the order in which they appear on the calendar thereof, except that an appeal may be advanced for hearing by order of the Board upon good cause shown.

(b) A minimum of five days notice of the hearing of an appeal shall be given by regular mail to all directly affected property owners. The notice to the appellant shall be sent by certified mail to the address given in the appeal. The cost of publishing any legal notice and the postage for mailing the required notices to the appellant and affected property owners shall be deducted from the fifty-dollar ($50.00) deposit made with the Board at the time of filing the appeal. (Ord. 1991-8. Passed 7-16-91.)

(a) The final disposition of any appeal to the Board of Zoning Appeals shall be in the form of a motion, which motion shall affirm, modify or reverse the refusal of a permit by, or any order or decision of, the enforcing officer or administrative commission.

(b) The Board may set out in such motion the condition or conditions upon which the permit may be issued in order to carry out the purpose and intent of the Zoning Code. The concurring vote of a majority of the members shall be necessary for a decision.

(c) Any appellant may withdraw an appeal at any time prior to the decision of the Board thereon. (Ord. 1991-8. Passed 7-16-91.)

(a) The Board of Zoning Appeals shall have such powers and duties as are set forth in the various sections of the Zoning Code and herein. The Board shall adopt such rules and regulations as it may deem necessary to carry into effect the provisions of the Zoning Code. It shall hear and decide all questions brought before it by appeal from the refusal, granting or revocation of permits by the enforcing officer or administrative commission under the Zoning Code. It shall also hear and decide all matters referred to it or upon which it is required to pass under this Chapter. Within its powers, the Board may reverse or affirm, wholly or in part, or modify, an order, requirement, decision or determination as, in its opinion, ought to be done under the circumstances, and to that end shall have all the powers of the office or administrative commission from which the appeal is taken, and it may issue or direct the issuance of a permit.

(b) The Board shall have the power to permit exceptions to and variances from the Zoning Code, as follows:

(1) To permit the extension of an existing or proposed building or use into a more restricted district under such conditions as will safeguard the character of the more restricted district;

(2) Where there are practical difficulties or unnecessary hardships in the way of carrying out the strict letter of the Zoning Code in a specific case, to vary the application of any provision in harmony with the general purpose and intent of the Zoning code so that the public health, safety, morals and general welfare may be secured and substantial justice done;

(3) To grant variances for side, front or rear yards whenever the provisions of the Zoning Code, with respect to these requirements, affect construction on any lot which is nonconforming as to size or area as a result of the adoption of the Zoning Code. Owners of such property must show that the normal application of the standards of the Zoning Code to the relevant lot would deprive the owner of practical use of the lot or would be contrary to established front, side or rear yard setbacks for a majority of the structures within the same block in which the lot is located. Such variance shall be to the minimum degree necessary to permit the reasonable use of the lot. Such variance shall not be granted if a majority of the buildings on lots within the block in which the lot for which the variance is requested are not substandard with respect to the variance requested.

(4) To decide any question as to the interpretation of any of the provisions of the Zoning Code; and

(5) To hear any appeal taken by a property owner as a result of the denial of a building permit or a certificate of occupancy, when the property owner holds that such a denial is unreasonable or unjust or would require him or her to adhere to standards not adhered to by at least fifty percent of the property owners in the block in which the lot is located.
(Ord. 1991-8. Passed 7-16-91.)

(a)  There is hereby established in and for the Village a Planning Commission, consisting of five members, to wit, the Mayor, one member of Council, to be selected by Council for the remainder of his or her term as a member of Council, and three citizens of the Municipality, to be appointed by the Mayor for a term of six years each, except that the term of one of the members of the first Commission shall be for four years and one for two years.  All of the members shall serve without compensation. (Ord. 1947-2.  Passed 12-9-47.)

(b)  The Commission shall have all the powers conferred by Ohio R.C. 735.15.

(c)  If and when the Village adopts a Charter, the Planning Commission created in the manner and by virtue of authority granted by such Charter shall have the powers of, and the plans made by it shall have the effect of, the Planning Commission established in subsection (a) hereof.

(d)  Any member of the Planning Commission established under this section or by Village Charter, except as otherwise provided in such Charter, may hold any other public office and may serve as a member of a county planning commission and/or a regional planning commission. (ORC 713.01)

(a) The Planning Commission established under Section 1220.01 shall make plans and maps of the whole or any portion of the Village, and of any land outside thereof, which, in the opinion of the Commission, is related to the planning of the Village, and make changes in such plans or maps when it deems it advisable. Such maps or plans shall show the Commission’s recommendations for the general location, character and extent of streets, alleys, ways, viaducts, bridges, waterways, waterfronts, subways, boulevards, parkways, parks, playgrounds, aviation fields and other public grounds, ways and open spaces; the general location of public buildings and other public property; the general location and extent of public utilities and terminals, whether publicly or privately owned or operated, for water, light, sanitation, transportation, communication, power and other purposes; and the removal, relocation, widening, narrowing, vacating, abandonment, change of use of or extension of such public ways, grounds, open spaces, buildings, property, utilities or terminals. With a view to the systematic planning of the Village, the Commission may make recommendations to public officials concerning the general location, character and extent of any such public ways, grounds, open spaces, buildings, property, utilities or terminals. As the work of making the whole plan progresses, the Commission may from time to time adopt and publish any part thereof, and such part shall cover one or more major sections or divisions of the Village or one or more of the functional matters to be included in the plan.

(b) The Commission may from time to time amend, extend or add to the plan. This section does not confer any powers on the Commission with respect to the construction, maintenance, use or enlargement of improvements by any public utility or railroad on its own property if such utility is owned or operated by an individual, partnership, association or a corporation for profit.

(c) The Planning Commission may accept, receive and expend funds, grants and services from the Federal Government or its agencies, from departments, agencies and instrumentalities of the State or any adjoining state or from one or more counties of the State or any adjoining state or from any municipal corporation or political subdivision of this or any adjoining state, including county, regional and municipal planning commissions of this or any adjoining state, or from civic sources, and contract with respect thereto, either separately or jointly or cooperatively, and provide such information and reports as may be necessary to secure such financial aid.

(d) The Commission may control, preserve and care for historical landmarks; control, in the manner provided by ordinance, the design and location of statuary and other works of art, which are the property of the Village; control the removal, relocation and alteration of any such works; and control the design of harbors, bridges, viaducts, street fixtures and other public structures and appurtenances.

(e) Whenever the Commission makes a plan of the Village, or any portion thereof, no public building or structure, street, boulevard, parkway, park, playground, public ground, canal, river front, harbor, dock, wharf, bridge, viaduct, tunnel or other public way, ground, works or utility, whether publicly or privately owned, or a part thereof, shall be constructed or authorized to be constructed in the Village or a planned portion thereof unless the location, character and extent thereof is approved by the Commission. In case of disapproval, the Commission shall communicate its reasons therefor to Council and to the head of the department which has control of the construction of the proposed improvement or utility. Council, by a vote of not less than two-thirds of its members and of such department head, together may overrule such disapproval. If such public way, ground, works, building, structure or utility is one the authorization or financing of which does not, under the law or charter provisions governing it, fall within the province of Council or any other Municipal body or official, the submission to the Commission shall be by the State, school, county, district or township official, board, commission or body having such jurisdiction, and the Commission’s disapproval may be overruled by such official, board, commission or body by a vote of not less than two-thirds of its membership. The narrowing, ornamentation, vacation or change in the use of streets and other public ways, grounds and places shall be subject to similar approval, and disapproval may be similarly overruled. The Commission may make recommendations to any public authorities or to any corporations or individuals in the Village, or the territory contiguous thereto, concerning the location of any buildings, structures or works to be erected or constructed by them. (ORC 713.02)

The Planning Commission of the Village shall be the Platting Commission thereof, and all the powers and duties provided by Ohio R.C. 735.17 through 735.26 shall, upon the appointment of the Planning Commission under Section 1220.01, be transferred to it. (ORC 713.03)

Council may authorize the Planning Commission of the Village to control the height, design and location of buildings. (ORC 713.04)

The Planning Commission of the Village may control, appoint or employ such architects, engineers and other professional service, and may appoint such clerks, draughtsmen and other subordinates, as are necessary for the performance of its functions. The expenditures for such service and employments shall be within the amounts appropriated for such persons by Council, and Council shall provide for the expenses and accommodations necessary for the work of the Commission. (ORC 713.05)

The Planning Commission of the Village may frame and adopt a plan for dividing the Village or any portion thereof into zones or districts, representing the recommendations of the Commission, in the interest of the public health, safety, convenience, comfort, prosperity or general welfare, for the limitation and regulation of the height, bulk and location of buildings and other structures, including percentage of lot occupancy, set-back building lines, area and dimensions of yards, courts and other open spaces, and uses, of buildings and other structures and of premises in such zones or districts. (ORC 713.06)

(REPEALED) (EDITOR’S NOTE:  Section 1220.07 was repealed by Ordinance 2006-13, passed April 11, 2006.)

(a) Under all conditions and circumstances where a completed application for a variance from the provisions and requirements of the Zoning Code is made, or where an appeal from the decisions of the Building Inspector or other administrative officials is sought, the applicant or appellant shall cause to be paid to the Clerk-Treasurer, acting in his or her capacity as Secretary of the Planning Commission, a sum established by the Building Inspector, and approved by Council, to cover the expenses set forth in subsection (b) hereof.

(b) The amount of the fee shall be fixed by rule of the Commission as reasonable for all proceedings brought before it and shall cover the costs of investigation, advertisement, notice by mail or by publication, printing and postage, as well as all incidental and secretarial fees. It does not include the hiring of a court reporter when necessary to the determination of such matters. (Ord. 1981-29. Passed 12-15-81.)