Due to no applications being submitted for the October 3rd, 2012 meeting of the Zoning Board, this meeting has been cancelled.
Applicants must be present at the meeting to speak regarding their application and to answer any questions that the board may have. |
Duties& Responsibilities
The Zoning Board of Adjustment [ZBA] is a land use board compromised of five regular voting members and two alternate board members. The members of the board are all volunteers and are appointed by the Mayor.
The ZBA conducts public hearings on 4 types of applications under their jurisdiction: Variances, Special Exceptions, Administrative Appeals, and Equitable Waivers of Dimensional Requirements. The provisions of the Franklin Zoning Ordinance determine whether you need approval for your project under one of these applications.
The Zoning Ordinance is a collection of land use regulations that have been adopted by the City Council. As the City has changed over the years so has the Ordinance. The overall purposes of the Ordinance are to:
- encourage the most appropriate use of land throughout the city;
- promote a safe and healthy built environment; and,
- prevent conflict between differing land uses [allowing a factory in a residential zoning district for example].
Amendments to the Ordinance are prepared by the Planning Board and presented to the City Council for final approval.
For each hearing the ZBA considers the merits of the information presented by the applicant, the language of the City’s Zoning Ordinance and the state statutes, and the comments or concerns from abutters and concerned parties.
Because the applications are largely based on state laws they can be a bit confusing. We are happy to speak with you about your proposal or request and help guide you through the application process. It is always a good idea to contact the office before filing any application so that you have all of the information you need.
The meeting dates of the ZBA and the deadline for the submission of any application are outlined on the Zoning Board Meeting Schedule. All appropriate information and the fees are required to be submitted prior to the application being considered complete. |
In the links above you will find more detailed information on the different applications which fall under the jurisdiction of the ZBA.
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