ACTION REQUESTED:
Title
Communication from the City Manager and the Director of Community Development with a Recommendation from the Planning & Zoning Commission and Staff to Adopt the following:
A. An ORDINANCE Amending Appendix B of the CODE of the City of Peoria Relating to VARIATIONS;
B. An ORDINANCE Amending Appendix C of the CODE of the City of Peoria Relating to VARIATIONS.
Body
BACKGROUND:
At the February Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) meeting, Deputy Corporation Counsel Sonni Williams held an annual training session with the commissioners. During the discussion, it was noted that the standards for variations currently found in the Zoning Ordinance and Land Development Code are different than the standards found in the Illinois Municipal code. There is even a difference between the variations standards of the Zoning Ordinance and the Land Development Code.
The State of IL requires a practical difficulty or particular hardship and evidence that all three of the following criteria are met in order to grant a variance:
1) The property in question cannot yield a reasonable return if permitted to be used only under the conditions allowed by the regulations in that zone; and
2) The plight of the owner is due to unique circumstances; and
3) The variation, if granted, will not alter the essential character of the locality.
The above standards are currently included in Peoria's regulations, however; in contrast, Peoria's variance regulations require only one of nine standards of the Zoning Ordinance, or one of ten standards of the Land Development Code, to be met to grant a variance.
Following discussion, ZBA commissioners requested a "tightening up" of the City's standards. They agreed that this would reduce subjectivity, improve decision making, and provide clarity of regulations for both the applicant and the commissioners, and better align with the Illinois Municipal Code and other IL municipalities.
In addition to the St...
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