§ 14-29. Appointment of dike ordinance board of appeals.

(a)

There is hereby established a dike ordinance board of appeals to hear and decide appeals from any order, requirement, decision or determination made by the commission or by any administrative official charged with dike ordinance enforcement. The board of appeals shall be appointed by the township board and consist of seven members, all of whom shall be residents of the township. Three of the members of the board of appeals shall be residents who live in the consolidated drainage district and shall be appointed to serve two-year terms. Two of the members shall also be members of the beach area advisory committee (BAAC) and shall be appointed for one-year terms. One member shall be from the township construction board of appeals and shall be appointed for a one-year term. Additionally, one member of the township board shall be appointed as a liasion member. All terms, after the initial appointments as provided in this section shall thereafter be for two years. Four members shall constitute a quorum for attendance at meetings and shall constitute a majority for voting purposes. Additionally, the enforcement officer shall serve as advisor to the board of appeals.

(b)

The board of appeals shall hear appeals from a denial of a dike ordinance compliance permit and shall also be entitled to hear appeals from all other matters ordered by the permit in conformance with this article. The board of appeals may grant variances from the dike ordinance compliance permit as issued, only if practical difficulty in compliance with the permit or unnecessary hardship would result; provided, that the board of appeals shall ever be mindful of the spirit of this article and ensures the public safety and that substantial justice is accomplished. Any appeal, based on hardship, may not be self-created, and the board should require unique circumstances of the property involved to support a variance. The board of appeals is created to prevent this article from becoming a rigid, unjust, or confiscatory law.

(c)

The board of appeals may not amend the general dike ordinance, nor may the board of appeals amend any formula established by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as published in its Low Cost Shore Protection…A Guide for Engineers and Contractors manual. Any decision of the board of appeals is final, but an aggrieved party in interest may appeal the final decision of the board of appeals to the circuit court of the county within 21 days of the filing of its decision, such 21 days being measured from the date the minutes containing the decision are approved.

(Ord. No. 108, § 6, 12-30-1997)