April Dane County Code of Ordiances

Home Browse Search

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