B. Minor exceptions
The Committee may consider certain variances or exceptions as minor and may declare that the following application procedures are not required, and declare the variance or exception approved.
C. Applications for Variances
An Application for Variance and Request for Hearing may be filed by a property owner and/or contractor with a fee in the amount specified in the Schedule of Fees and detailed plans and specifications of the proposed variance, except in the event the subject application has been previously rejected by any local, county or state authority. A public hearing shall be held at a special meeting of the Committee not more than 60 calendar days following receipt of the Application.
A Public Notice will be published twice prior to the hearing in a newspaper distributed in Fountain Hills. An Affidavit of Publication will be issued by the publisher for inclusion in the Committees Variance file.
A Notice of Application for Variance will be posted for at least 14 days prior to the hearing on the property involved, on the bulletin board of the Fountain Hills Town Hall and on one other public bulletin board in Fountain Hills.
Property owners within 150 feet of any point of the subject property will be notified by letter of the request for the variance and the date, time and place of the public hearing. The names and addresses of the property owners so involved are to be provided to the Committee by the applicant with an affidavit affirming the completeness and accuracy of this information. Surrounding property owners desiring notification of the Committee's decision, must submit a Request for Decision and the Committee will respond accordingly.
The Committee of Architecture will hold the public hearing on a date specified in the Notice of Application for Variance. The meeting will be open to the public and any affected party may have counsel present at the hearing, but counsel will not be heard by the Committee. Either stenographic notes or tape recordings will be used by the Committee to record all proceedings.
The Committee may require an applicant for a variance to show evidence that there is or will be a hardship on the applicant if the variance is not granted, and that the claimed hardship was not created by the applicant.
After the public hearing, the Committee has a maximum of five working days within which to reach a decision on the variance request. The Committee will issue findings of fact and its decision. The Committee will mail its findings and decision to the applicant and to those surrounding property owners requesting notification.
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