By Aberdeen Insider - February 6, 2025 in CITY OF ABERDEEN
ORDINANCE NO. 25-01-01
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE ZONING REGULATIONS
OF THE ABERDEEN CITY CODE REGARDING CERTAIN
PROCEDURAL RULES OF THE BOARD OF ZONING ADJUSTMENT
WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Aberdeen is charged with providing for the health, safety, and property of its citizens, and does so through the comprehensive zoning regulations adopted at Chapter 60 – ZONING of the Aberdeen City Code; and
WHEREAS, the Community Development Department recommends revising certain procedural rules of the Board of Zoning Adjustment; and
WHEREAS, Section 60-286 provides that no amendment, supplement, or change to Chapter 60 shall become effective unless it shall have been proposed by, or shall first have been submitted to, the planning and zoning commission for review and recommendation.
WHEREAS, pursuant to Sec. 60-286, the City of Aberdeen planning and zoning commission held a public hearing on January 21, 2025, upon notice properly given, to study and report on the proposed amendment to the Zoning ordinance, and thereafter approved and recommended adoption of the amendment by the City Council; and
WHEREAS, the City Council has determined that the following amendment will benefit the health, safety, and property of its citizens.
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY OF ABERDEEN, SD, THAT THE FOLLOWING CHANGES AND ADDITIONS SHALL BE MADE TO THE ABERDEEN CITY CODE:
- Chapter 60 – ZONING, Article IX, Division 1, shall be amended as follows:
Sec. 60-256. Rules of procedure.
The board of zoning adjustment shall have the following rules of procedure:
(1) All members of the board shall serve without compensation.
(2) The board shall designate one of the members as chairperson and another as vice-chairperson who shall serve for one year. The planning and zoning director shall act as secretary to this board and keep a record of all proceedings. The board shall have the power to call on any city department for assistance in the performance of its duties, and it shall be the duty of such department to render such assistance as may reasonably be required.
(3) The board shall adopt, from time to time, subject to the approval of the city council, such rules and regulations as it may deem necessary to carry into effect the provisions of this chapter.
(4) The board shall annually elect its own chairperson at the first meeting on or after January 1 of each year. Such chairperson, or in his or her absence, the acting chairperson, shall act as presiding officer and may administer oaths and compel the attendance of witnesses. In the absence of the chairperson and vice-chairperson, the longest serving board member present shall preside. There shall be a fixed place of meeting and all meetings shall be open to the public.
(5) The secretary of the board shall keep minutes of its proceedings, showing the vote of each member upon each question. If a member is absent or fails to vote, the minutes shall indicate such fact. The board shall keep records of its examinations and other official actions, which shall be on file in the office of the city finance officer as a public record.
(6) Vote.
- A majority vote of the members who are present and voting shall be necessary to approve a conditional use or special exception within a district. [1]
- The concurring vote of four members of the board shall be necessary to reverse or modify any order, requirement, decision, or determination of the administrative officer of the city; or to authorize a variance from this chapter; or, except as provided in the subsection above, to decide in favor of the applicant on any other matter upon which the board is required to decide under this Code. [2]
(7) On all appeals, applications, and other matters brought before the board, said board shall inform, in writing, all the parties involved of its decisions, and the reasons therefor.
Sec. 60-258. Appeals, hearing, and notice.
(a) Appeals to the board of zoning adjustment authorized under this Code may be taken by any person aggrieved or by any office, department, board, or bureau of the municipality affected by any decision of the administrative officer of the city. Such appeal shall be taken within 30 days by filing with the officer from whom the appeal is taken and with the board of zoning adjustment a notice of appeal specifying the grounds thereof. The officer from whom the appeal is taken shall forthwith transmit to the board all the papers constituting the record upon which the action appealed from was taken.
(b) The board shall thereupon fix a reasonable time for the hearing of such appeal, give public notice thereof by publication of a notice of said hearing in the local newspaper, at least ten days prior to the date set for said hearing and mail a copy of the notice of said hearing to the parties in interest as shown by the records in the office of the planning and zoning director or in said notice of appeal. Upon the hearing any party may appear in person or by agent or by attorney.
(c) The final disposition of any appeal after public hearing shall be in the form of a decision by the board reversing, modifying, or affirming the decision or determination appealed from. Such decision of the board shall be filed with the planning and zoning director.
Sec. 60-260. Appeals from the board of zoning adjustment.
Any person or persons, jointly or severally, aggrieved by any decision of the board, or any officer, department, board, or bureau of the city may, within 30 days after the filing of any decision in the office of the board, but not thereafter, present to a court of record a petition duly verified, setting forth that such decision is illegal, in whole or in part, and specifying the grounds of the illegality, whereupon such decision of the board shall be subject to review by certiorari as provided by law.[3]
- Severability. The provisions of this ordinance are severable. If any provision of this ordinance or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held to be invalid, such invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of this ordinance which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application.
- Effective Date. The City Finance Officer shall cause this ordinance to be published in the official newspaper in clean text with all deletions and additions incorporated therein and footnotes omitted. This ordinance shall become effective twenty (20) days after the completed publication, unless the referendum is invoked. /s/ Travis Schaunaman, Mayor, ATTEST: Jordan McQuillen, Finance Officer, Review & Recommendation of Planning Commission: January 21, 2025, Public Hearing: January 21 & 27, 2025, First Reading: January 21, 2025, Second Reading: February 3, 2025, Final Adoption: February 3, 2025, Published: February 6, 2025, Effective Date: February 26, 2025
[1] SDCL § 11-4-4.1 Ordinance authorizing conditional use of real property-Content-Approval or disapproval of request
A municipal zoning ordinance adopted pursuant to this chapter that authorizes a conditional use of real property shall specify the approving authority, each category of conditional use requiring such approval, the zoning districts in which a conditional use is available, the criteria for evaluating each conditional use, and any procedures for certifying property for approval of certain conditional uses. The approving authority shall consider the stated criteria, the objectives of the comprehensive plan, and the purpose of the zoning ordinance and the relevant zoning districts when making a decision to approve or disapprove a conditional use request. Approval of a conditional use request requires the affirmative majority vote of the members of the approving authority who are present and voting.
[2] SDCL § 11-4-23 Vote required
The concurring vote of at least two-thirds of the members of the board of adjustment is necessary to reverse any order, requirement, decision, or determination of the administrative officer, or to effect any variation in an ordinance. An initial conditional use determination of the board of adjustment shall be determined by the vote set forth in §11-4-4.1.
[3] SDCL § 11-4-25 Petition to court contesting decision of board
Any person or persons, jointly or severally, or any officer, department, board, or bureau of the municipality, aggrieved by any decision of the board of adjustment may present to a court of record a petition for writ of certiorari, duly verified, setting forth that such decision is illegal, in whole or in part, specifying the grounds of the illegality. Such petition shall be presented to the court within thirty days after the filing of the decision in the office of the board. The board of adjustment shall respond to the petition within thirty days of receiving the notice of the filing and shall simultaneously submit the complete record of proceedings of the board appealed from, in the form of a return on a petition for writ, without need for a court order or formal issuance of writ.
A petitioner to the circuit court under this section shall pay all transcript costs required to complete the record of proceedings of the board from which the decision was appealed.
Published once on February 6, 2025, at the total approximate cost of $89.88 and may be viewed free of charge at www.sdpublicnotices.com and www.aberdeeninsider.com