§ 45-24-41 - General provisions – Variances.
SECTION 45-24-41
§ 45-24-41 General provisions –Variances. – (a) An application for relief from the literal requirements of a zoningordinance because of hardship may be made by any person, group, agency, orcorporation by filing with the zoning enforcement officer or agency anapplication describing the request and supported by any data and evidence asmay be required by the zoning board of review or by the terms of the ordinance.The zoning enforcement officer or agency shall immediately transmit eachapplication received to the zoning board of review and a copy of eachapplication to the planning board or commission.
(b) A zoning ordinance provides that the zoning board ofreview, immediately upon receipt of an application for a variance in theapplication of the literal terms of the zoning ordinance, may request that theplanning board or commission and/or staff report its findings andrecommendations, including a statement on the general consistency of theapplication with the goals and purposes of the comprehensive plan of the cityor town, in writing, to the zoning board of review within thirty (30) days ofreceipt of the application from that board. The zoning board shall hold apublic hearing on any application for variance in an expeditious manner, afterreceipt, in proper form, of an application, and shall give public notice atleast fourteen (14) days prior to the date of the hearing in a newspaper ofgeneral circulation in the city or town. Notice of hearing shall be sent byfirst class mail to the applicant, and to at least all those who would requirenotice under § 45-24-53. The notice shall also include the street addressof the subject property. A zoning ordinance may require that a supplementalnotice, that an application for a variance is under consideration, be posted atthe location in question. The posting is for information purposes only and doesnot constitute required notice of a public hearing. The cost of notificationshall be borne by the applicant.
(c) In granting a variance, the zoning board of reviewrequires that evidence to the satisfaction of the following standards isentered into the record of the proceedings:
(1) That the hardship from which the applicant seeks reliefis due to the unique characteristics of the subject land or structure and notto the general characteristics of the surrounding area; and is not due to aphysical or economic disability of the applicant, excepting those physicaldisabilities addressed in § 45-24-30(16);
(2) That the hardship is not the result of any prior actionof the applicant and does not result primarily from the desire of the applicantto realize greater financial gain;
(3) That the granting of the requested variance will notalter the general character of the surrounding area or impair the intent orpurpose of the zoning ordinance or the comprehensive plan upon which theordinance is based; and
(4) That the relief to be granted is the least reliefnecessary.
(d) The zoning board of review shall, in addition to theabove standards, require that evidence is entered into the record of theproceedings showing that: (1) in granting a use variance the subject land orstructure cannot yield any beneficial use if it is required to conform to theprovisions of the zoning ordinance. Nonconforming use of neighboring land orstructures in the same district and permitted use of lands or structures in anadjacent district shall not be considered in granting a use variance; and (2)in granting a dimensional variance, that the hardship suffered by the owner ofthe subject property if the dimensional variance is not granted amounts to morethan a mere inconvenience. The fact that a use may be more profitable or that astructure may be more valuable after the relief is granted is not grounds forrelief. The zoning board of review has the power to grant dimensional varianceswhere the use is permitted by special use permit if provided for in the specialuse permit sections of the zoning ordinance.