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GUIDELINES FOR VARIANCE APPLICATIONS <br /> DANE COUNTY BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT <br /> Introduction <br /> The County Zoning Ordinance is adopted and enacted by the Dane County Board <br /> of Supervisors. <br /> The Dane County Board of Adjustment is the body that reviews and makes <br /> decisions on requests for variances from the County Zoning Code. The Board <br /> of Adjustment is comprised of five citizen members. <br /> The Board of Adjustment's general grant of authority is found in Section <br /> 59.99 (c) , Wis. Stats. as follows: <br /> To authorize upon appeal in specific cases such variance from the terms <br /> of the ordinances as will not be contrary to the public interest, where, <br /> owing to special conditions, a literal enforcement of the provisions of <br /> the ordinance will result in unnecessary hardship, and so that the spirit <br /> of the ordinance shall be observed and substantial justice shall be done. <br /> A zoning ordinance cannot anticipate every land use question that will arise <br /> in a community. The Board of Adjustment's authority to grant a variance gives <br /> the ordinance limited flexibility. The Board of Adjustment acts as a <br /> quasi-judicial administrative arm of the County Board. It is the Board of <br /> Adjustment's duty to preserve the zoning ordinance without modification as far <br /> as possible while ensuring substantial justice for the individual. The <br /> variance procedure allows the general rules to be varied in response to <br /> unusual circumstances which constitute a legal hardship. <br /> Standards Followed by the Dane County Board of Adjustment <br /> In Considering Variance Applications <br /> 1. It is the responsibility of the applicant who is seeking the variance to <br /> provide "proof" that enforcement of the Zoning Code will result in a <br /> legal hardship. A variance cannot be granted as a convenience to the <br /> property owner. <br /> 2 . The legal hardship must come from the Zoning Code. A self-imposed <br /> hardship cannot serve as justification for a variance; i.e. , the problem <br /> was self-created by the action or negligence of the . applicant; the <br /> applicant commenced work on a project without required permits or had <br /> failed to inform himself on permit requirements, etc. <br /> 3 . The legal hardship or difficulty stated as the reason why a variance is <br /> necessary must be peculiar to the zoning parcel in question and different <br /> from that of other area parcels. The applicant for a variance must <br /> clearly show the Board that the request is due to the very unusual <br /> qualities of his property. <br /> 545-30 (6/90) (16) VAR INSTR (See Reverse Side) <br /> n <br />