SENATE BILL NO. 518 April 15, 1999, Introduced by Senators JOHNSON and MC MANUS and referred to the Committee on Local, Urban and State Affairs. A bill to amend 1921 PA 207, entitled "City and village zoning act," by amending section 5 (MCL 125.585), as amended by 1986 PA 191. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT: 1 Sec. 5. (1) The legislative body of a city or village may 2 act as a board of appeals upon questions arising under a zoning 3 ordinance. The legislative body may establish rules to govern 4 its procedure as a board of appeals. In the alternative,if the5legislative body of a city or village desires,the legislative 6 body may appoint a board of appeals consisting of not less than 5 7 members, each to be appointed for a term of 3 years. 8 Appointments of the first members shall be for terms of 1, 2, and 9 3 years, respectively, so as nearly as possible to provide for 10 the SUBSEQUENT appointment of an equal number of members each 01652'99 c TMV 2 1 year. After the initial appointments, each member shall hold 2 office for the full 3-year term. 3 (2)In accord withUNDER procedures specified in the 4 zoning ordinance, the legislative body of a city or village may 5 appoint not more than 2 alternate members for the same term as 6 regular members of the board of appeals. The alternate members 7 may be called on a rotating basis as specified in the zoning 8 ordinance to sit as regular members of the board of appeals in 9 the absence of a regular member. An alternate member may also be 10 called to serve in the place of a regular member for the purpose 11 of reaching a decision on a case in which the regular member has 12 abstained for reasons of conflict of interest. The alternate 13 memberhaving been appointedCALLED shall serve in the case 14 until a final decisionhas beenIS made. The alternate member 15shall haveHAS the same voting rights as a regular member of 16 the board of appeals. 17 (3) The board of appeals shall hear and decide appeals from 18 and review any order, requirements, decision, or determination 19 made by an administrative official or body charged with the 20 enforcement of an ordinance adopted under this act. The board of 21 appeals shall also hear and decide matters referred to the board 22 or upon which the board is required to pass under an ordinance 23of the legislative bodyadopted under this act. For special 24 land use and planned unit development decisions, an appeal may be 25 taken to the board of appeals only if provided for in the zoning 26 ordinance. 01652'99 c 3 1 (4) In a city or village having a population of less than 2 1,000,000, the concurring vote of a majority of the members of 3 the boardshall beIS necessary to reverse an order, require- 4 ment, decision, or determination of an administrative official or 5 body, or to decide in favor of the applicant a matter upon which 6 the board is required to pass under an ordinance, or to effect a 7 variation in an ordinance except that a concurring vote of 2/3 of 8 the members of the boardshall beIS necessary to grant a vari- 9 ance from uses of land permitted in an ordinance. In a city 10 having a population of 1,000,000 or more, the concurring vote of 11 2/3 of the members of the boardshall beIS necessary to 12 reverse an order, requirement, decision, or determination of an 13 administrative official or body, or to decide in favor of the 14 applicant a matter upon which the board is required to pass under 15 an ordinance, or toeffect a variationGRANT A VARIANCE in an 16 ordinance. 17 (5) An appeal may be taken by a person aggrieved, or by an 18 officer, department, board, or bureau of the city or village. 19If a city or village has created or may create aIN ADDITION, 20 AN AGENCY MAY SEEK A VARIANCE FROM THE BOARD OF APPEALS UNDER 21 SECTION 4 OF THE UNIFORM CONDEMNATION PROCEDURES ACT, 1980 PA 87, 22 MCL 213.54. A board of rules or board of building appeals, that23boardOF A CITY OR VILLAGE may be enlarged to consist of not 24 less than 5 members, and these may be appointed as the board of 25 appeals as provided in this section. 26 (6) An appeal under this section shall be taken, within a 27 time prescribed by the board of appeals by general rule, bythe01652'99 c 4 1 filing, with the officer or body from whom the appeal is taken 2 and with the board of appeals,ofa notice of appeal specifying 3 the grounds for the appeal. The officer or body from whom the 4 appeal is taken shall immediately transmit to the board all the 5 papers constituting the record upon which the action appealed 6 from was taken. 7 (7) An appeal under this section stays all proceedings in 8 furtherance of the action appealed from unless the officer or 9 body from whom the appeal is taken certifies to the board of 10 appeals, after the notice of appeal is filed, that by reason of 11 facts stated in the certificate, a stay would in the opinion of 12 the officer or body cause imminent peril to life or property.,13in which caseIF SUCH A CERTIFICATION IS FILED, the proceedings 14 shallnotONLY be stayedotherwise thanby a restraining 15 order.whichA RESTRAINING ORDER may be granted by the board 16 of appeals or by the circuit court, on application, on notice to 17 the officer or body from whom the appeal is taken and on due 18 cause shown. 19 (8) The board of appeals shall fix a reasonable time for the 20 hearing of the appeal and giveduenotice of the appeal to the 21 persons to whom real property within 300 feet of the premises in 22 question is assessed, and to the occupants of single and 2-family 23 dwellings within 300 feet., the notice toTHE NOTICE SHALL be 24 delivered personally or by mail addressed to the respective 25 owners and tenants at the address given in the last assessment 26 roll.The board of appeals shall decide the appeal within a27reasonable time.IftheA tenant's name is not known, the term 01652'99 c 5 1 "occupant" may be used. Upon the hearing, a party may appear in 2 person or by agent or by attorney. 3 (9) THE BOARD OF APPEALS SHALL DECIDE THE APPEAL WITHIN A 4 REASONABLE TIME. The board of appeals may reverse or affirm, 5 wholly or partly, or may modify the order, requirement, decision, 6 or determination appealed from and shall make an order, require- 7 ment, decision, or determination as in the board's opinion ought 8 to be made in the premises, and to that end shall have all the 9 powers of the officer or body from whom the appeal is taken. If 10 there are practical difficulties or unnecessary hardship inthe11way ofcarrying out the strict letter of the ordinance, the 12 board of appeals may in passing upon appealsvary or modify13 GRANT A VARIANCE IN any of its rules or provisions relating to 14 the construction, or structural changes in, equipment, or alter- 15 ation of buildings or structures, or the use of land, buildings, 16 or structures, so that the spirit of the ordinance shall be 17 observed, public safety secured, and substantial justice done. 18 (10) The board of appeals may impose conditions upon an 19 affirmative decision, as provided in section 4c(2). The legisla- 20 tive body ofanyA city or village may authorize the remunera- 21 tion of the members of the board for attendance at each meeting. 22 (11) The decision of the board of appealsshall beIS 23 final. However, a person having an interest affected by the 24 zoning ordinance may appeal to the circuit court. Upon appeal, 25 the circuit court shall review the record and decision of the 26 board of appeals toinsureENSURE that the decision meets all 27 of the following REQUIREMENTS: 01652'99 c 6 1 (a) Complies with the constitution and laws of this state. 2 (b) Is based upon proper procedure. 3 (c) Is supported by competent, material, and substantial 4 evidence on the record. 5 (d) Represents the reasonable exercise of discretion granted 6 by law to the board of appeals. 7 (12) If the court finds the record of the board of appeals 8 inadequate to make the review required by this section, or that 9 additional MATERIAL evidence existswhich is material andTHAT 10 with good reason was not presented to the board of appeals, the 11 court shall order further proceedings before the board of appeals 12 on conditionswhichTHAT the court considers proper. The board 13 of appeals may modify its findings and decision as a result of 14 the new proceedings, or may affirm the original decision. The 15 supplementary record and decision shall be filed with the court. 16 (13) As a result of the review required by this section, the 17 court may affirm, reverse, or modify the decision of the board of 18 appeals. 01652'99 c Final page. TMV