Board of Zoning Appeals

The Board of Zoning Appeals consists of five (5) members who are appointed by the Circuit Court of Accomack County.  The Board Zoning Appeals hears and decide appeals from any order, requirement, decision or determination made by the administrative officer or Zoning Administrator.  

The following are the restrictions and rules governing the Board when making a decision on an appeal:

When a property owner can show that his property was acquired in good faith and where by reason of the exceptional narrowness, shallowness, size or shape of specific piece of property at the time of the effective date of the ordinance or where by reason of exceptional topographic conditions or other extraordinary situation or condition of such piece of property, or of the use or development of property immediately adjacent thereto, the strict application of the terms of the ordinance would effectively prohibit or unreasonably restrict the use of the property or where the Board is satisfied, upon the evidence heard by it, that the granting of such variance will alleviate a clearly demonstrable hardship approaching confiscation, as distinguished from a special privilege or convenience sought by the applicant, provided that all variances shall be in harmony with the intended spirit and purpose of the ordinance.

            No such variance shall be authorized by the Board unless it finds:

            1.         that the strict application of the ordinance would produce undue hardship;

            2.         that such hardship is not shared generally by other properties in the same zoning district and the same vicinity; and

            3.         that the authorizing of such variance will not be of substantial detriment to adjacent property and that the character of the district will not be changed by the granting of the variance.

            No such variance shall be authorized unless the Board finds that the condition or situation of the property concerned or the intended use of the property is not of so general or recurring a nature as to make reasonably practicable the formulation of a general regulation to be adopted as an amendment to the ordinance.

            In authorizing a variance the Board may impose such conditions regarding the location, character and other features of the proposed structure for use as it may deem necessary in the public interest, and may require a guarantee or bond to insure that the conditions imposed are being and will continue to be complied with.

Current board members are as follows:

Caleb Fowler
Duke Shanahan
Jeffrey Barrett
James McGowan
Carolyn Richardson