ZoningVerdict

Variances and appeals in Apex, NC

What the Apex zoning ordinance says about variances and appeals, district by district. Section numbers link to the official ordinance.

All districts

Variances from the UDO's dimensional standards (not from the permitted-use schedule) are decided by the Board of Adjustment. To approve a variance, the Board must find: (1) unnecessary hardship from strict application of the regulation (no need to show zero reasonable use remains); (2) the hardship comes from conditions peculiar to the property (location, size, topography), not personal circumstances or conditions common to the neighborhood (a variance may still be granted for a reasonable accommodation under the federal Fair Housing Act); (3) the hardship was not created by the applicant's or owner's own actions, and buying property with knowledge of the constraint is not itself a self-created hardship; and (4) the variance is consistent with the spirit, purpose, and intent of the regulation. The Board may impose conditions on approval. A variance permit runs with the land and lapses if development under it is discontinued for 12 months.

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