City of Lake Mills

Variance

Description: Recognizing that there may be situations where a zoning regulation that if enforced would cause unnecessary hardship to individual landowners, the state legislature established a mechanism to allow a City to issue a variance in those instances where a minor deviation would be appropriate to alleviate such hardship without circumventing or undermining the intent of the City's zoning regulations.

Decision maker(s): Zoning Board of Appeals

Basis of decision:When making its decision, the Zoning Board of Appeals shall consider each of the following standards:

The requirement in question would unreasonably prevent the property owner from using the property for a permitted purpose or would render conformity with such requirement unnecessarily burdensome and such circumstances were not self-created.
The subject property has unique physical characteristics or limitations that prevent the property from being developed in compliance with the requirement in question.
The granting of the variance will not be contrary to or harm the public interest given the general purposes of the zoning regulations and the specific purposes of the requirement in question.

The Zoning Board of Appeals shall grant a variance only if the board can make an affirmative finding for all of the criteria listed in this section.

Review process:

Submittal of application materials. The applicant shall submit a completed application and other required materials to the zoning administrator along with the application fee as may be established by the City Council.
Staff review. After receiving the application and other required materials, the zoning administrator shall either schedule a date for the public hearing with the Zoning Board of Appeals allowing for proper public notice or make a determination that the application is incomplete and notify the applicant in writing of the deficiencies. The zoning administrator shall take no further steps to process the application until the deficiencies are remedied. The incomplete application shall be retained as a public record.
Staff report preparation and distribution. The zoning administrator shall prepare a written staff report and provide a copy to each member of the Zoning Board of Appeals and the applicant. The zoning administrator shall also provide a copy to interested people upon request.
Public hearing. Allowing for proper notice, the Zoning Board of Appeals shall hold a public hearing consistent with division 3 of article 5. Prior to the close of the public hearing, the applicant or the board may request a continuance consistent with division 3 of article 5.
Decision. After the public hearing has been closed, the Zoning Board of Appeals after considering the comments and the staff report shall make a decision based on the decision criteria contained in this division to (i) approve the variance, (ii) approve the variance with conditions, or (iii) deny the variance. The Zoning Board of Appeals may render its decision at the same meeting the public hearing is conducted or at a subsequent meeting, but no later than 30 days after the public hearing.
Preparation of decision notice. Based on the action of the Zoning Board of Appeals, the zoning administrator shall prepare a decision notice consistent with this division.
Applicant notification. Within a reasonable time following the Zoning Board of Appeals’ decision, the zoning administrator shall notify the applicant of the board's decision.
Additional procedural steps. If the Zoning Board of Appeals grants the variance, the applicant shall then follow other review procedures as may be required.

Application fee: $150 and a developer's deposit as determined by City Manager.

Application Materials

Variance Application

Frequently Asked Questions

+ - If a dimensional variance is granted to allow the construction of a building, is that building then considered a nonconforming structure?

Yes. All rules and regulations that apply to nonconforming structures will apply.

+ - What happens to a variance when a property is sold?

If a variance has been approved, the approval runs with the land. This means that a variance will continue in effect as the property is transferred from one owner to the next. All terms and conditions of the variance remain unchanged and apply to the current and future property owners.

+ - The Board of Appeals approved a variance similar to the one that I will be requesting. Can I assume my application will be approved as well?

No, not necessarily. In making their decision, the Board of Appeals must apply a set of criteria based on the particular circumstances of the request. Because no two zoning cases are exactly the same, the outcomes may be quite different.

+ - The review process for a development application includes a public hearing. What's that?

A public hearing is intended to allow the petitioner the opportunity to describe their proposed project and interested parties the opportunity to share their concerns with the reviewing authority. While all public comments are welcome, speakers should focus on those elements of the project that are within the review authority's scope of authority. Consistent with established policies, public comments may be limited in duration to make sure everyone can be heard.

+ - Can a decision of the Board of Appeals be appealed?

Yes; appeals are made to the circuit court and generally must be filed with the court soon after the decision has been made.

+ - What is a determination of completeness?

When we receive a development application, staff will review the materials to make sure the application submittal is complete and ready for formal review. If an application submittal is not complete, staff will notify the applicant and describe the parts that are not complete.

A determination that an application is complete means the application is ready for formal review and does not suggest the applicant has provided sufficient information in all regards or preclude the reviewing authority from requesting additional information it deems appropriate.

+ - What is a developer's deposit?

For some types of development reviews, the City requires an upfront payment that is used to pay for the time spent by the City engineer, attorney, planner, or other professional in reviewing the application. In that way, City taxpayers aren't paying for the cost of development activities. The amount of the deposit is determined on a case-by-case basis. Any money left in the deposit will be returned after the review has been completed.

View all Frequently Asked Questions

Building and Zoning Permit Hub | Permit Center | Variance