Application requirements:

A. Application is necessary

All requests for exemptions from the strict enforcement of a zoning ordinance of the county's provision as well as all appeal requests made by parties who claim they were wronged by a decision or order of a department responsible for enforcing the zoning ordinances of the county must be submitted in writing to the director of public works in the manner specified by the director.

B. Information 

That Is Needed Among other things, all requests for appeals or deviations must contain the following:

1. Appeals do not need to include the information necessary for the list of owners and lessees next to and across the street from the affected land; and

2. For an appeal, a written analysis by the party who was wronged that demonstrates:

a. That the judgment or order at issue was based on an incorrect determination of a substantial fact or that the law was incorrectly applied,

b. That the judgment or order in question was applied arbitrarily or capriciously, or

c. That there was a clear abuse of discretion in the judgment or order, and

d. Additional relevant data that strengthens or explains the appeal.

3. For a request for a variance, the applicant must be either the owner of the property in question or the lessee who is the subject of a registered lease with a term that expires no later than five years from the day the request is submitted to the director of public works. The following must be included in the application:

a. the nature of the sought variance,

b. The relevant laws, rules, or ordinances that apply to the application,

c. The requirements, circumstances, and clauses that underpin the application's approval, including but not limited to a written analysis that demonstrates:

i. An explanation of the outstanding, singular, or distinctive physical or geographic feature that is present on the subject property and is not often present in the neighborhood or the region around it,

ii. An explanation of whether the use sought to be approved by the variance will change the neighborhood's fundamental character around the subject lot,

iii. An explanation of the limitations that would preclude the applicant from using the subject property in a reasonable manner if they scrupulously adhered to the relevant requirements of this Act, and

iii. A description of each action the petitioner took in the past that contributed to the hardship they are alleging,

d. All prior construction permits and infraction letters for the relevant lot that have been authorized,

e. dated images of the building or location that are relevant to the variance request,

f. attesting that the subject property's neighbors and the tenants across the street received a copy of this notification that was addressed to them all. 

The following details must be included in the notice of application:

i. The applicant's name, address, and phone number,

ii. An overview of the current usage and the purposes for which the application was submitted, and

iii. A map of the area, a description of the proposed use, the tax map reference number and, if available, the street address for the subject property, and

g. If relevant, drawings that have been signed, created, or approved by a qualified engineer, surveyor, or architect.

h. A scaled site plan displaying, where appropriate:

i. The subject property's property lines and easements, including their measurements and area computations,

ii. All existing and planned buildings, structures, and improvements, including their locations, sizes, setbacks, spacing, and measurements,

iii. The building elevations, sections, floor plans, and site plans that distinctly define the development's character,

iv. The landscape designs, both current and prospective, which display vegetation, trees, and open areas,

v. The current access routes to the site, all planned roads, and parking places, together with their measurements, and

the stream, additional setbacks from the stream, and the beach,

i. A description of the subject property's current and projected floor area, parking and loading calculations, and, if applicable, areas.

j. All topographic data that depicts current conditions and features, as well as any planned grading, if appropriate, and

k. Any other data that the director of public works requests to evaluate the effects of the proposed request, and

4. A processing fee in the amount specified in the county's annual budget, with the exception that applications submitted by county agencies are exempt from this requirement. In addition, the processing fee paid to file an appeal (rather than a variance application) will only be refunded to the appellant if and when the board of variances and appeals issues a final ruling and order in the appellant's favor.