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For a community with a population of less than 25,000 people, the Board of Variance is comprised of three members. The Province appoints one member to the Board, the Town appoints one member to the Board and the third member is appointed by the other two appointees.
Parks and Community Services Committee meeting minutes are not posted on the website until they have been adopted at the next meeting.
The agendas and minutes listed below are provided in Acrobat PDF format and require Adobe Acrobat Reader to view.
The intention of the Board of Variance is to assess variances to the Zoning Bylaw that are considered hardship situations. For instance, if a vacant lot is too narrow to permit a reasonably sized house to be built, the applicant could apply to the Board of Variance for a variance to the setback requirements. The applicant could argue that meeting the required setbacks would be a hardship.
The reason an individual would want to apply to the Board of Variance as opposed to applying for a Development Variance Permit is that the Board of Variance application is cheaper and takes less time as the application does not require Council approval.
The Board of Variance is an appeal body consisting of three appointed members who hear and then decide upon variances to the Zoning Bylaw of the Town of Gibsons. The Board of Variance provides citizens with an avenue for appeal on the interpretation and the strict application of certain local government provisions and regulations in specific circumstances defined in the legislation. The Board of Variance functions independently from Town Council and has its own authority under the Local Government Act.
Function
The Board of Variance is not an appeal board for local government policy decisions, and it cannot replace decisions of elected officials. The Board is confined to considering variances that will not impact adversely upon a policy decision or change the intent of the Bylaws adopted by Town Council.
Variances can be granted respecting bylaw requirements for the siting, dimensions, or size of buildings. In some special cases general regulations or ones prohibiting structural changes in a non-conforming building or requiring services upon subdivision may result in an undue hardship, if applied to a particular site. A person may appeal to the Board for a variance only if the application of these general regulations to his or her particular site would impose such a hardship.
For complete details refer to Bylaw No. 1051, 2006
Categories of Appeal to Boards of Variance
There are five categories of appeal:
• relaxation of zoning regulations;
• extension of non-conforming uses;
• relaxation of servicing requirements;
• reconstruction of a nonconforming building; and,
• relaxation of tree protection requirements
The Board of Variance meets as required, upon receipt of a formal application to the Board of Variance, through the Secretary to the Board of Variance. Agendas and Minutes are not posted on the website, and the opportunity to comment on applications is by written invitation to affected neighbours.
Contact
Michael Epp
Secretary to the Board of Variance
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Tel 604.886.2274
Fax 604.886.9735
Location and Mailing Address
474 South Fletcher Road
Box 340
Gibsons, BC V0N 1V0
Business Hours
8:00 am to 4:30 pm, Monday to Friday (excluding statutory holidays).
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