Board of Adjustments

Claremore > Community Development Services > Board of Adjustments

The City of Claremore and Rogers County each have a separate Board of Adjustment with five members. Seats are appointed by the Claremore Mayor, City Council and the Rogers County Board of Commissioners.

Meeting Dates

Responsibilities include:

  • Conducts public hearings on appeals for Zoning Ordinance determinations made by an administrative official
  • Holds public hearings on requests for variances from the Zoning Ordinance and special exceptions
  • Interpret the Zoning Map
  • Make other miscellaneous decisions in accordance with substantive and procedural standard

Administrative Appeals

The Board of Adjustment has the power to hear and decide an appeal where it is alleged there is an error in any order, requirement, decision, or determination made by any administrative official in the enforcement of the Zoning Ordinance.

An appeal shall be taken within 10 days from the determination which resulted in the complaint. Notice of appeal, specifying the grounds, must be filed in writing with the administrative official. Upon receiving a notice of appeal, the administrative official must provide the Board of Adjustment copies of all papers constituting the record of said matter. Upon receipt of the record, the appeal will be set for public hearing.

The board shall hold the public meeting and may reverse or affirm, wholly or partly, or modify the order, requirement, decision, or determination appealed. The board may make such order, requirement, decision, or determination as necessary. The board has all the powers of the Planning & Development Office from whom the appeal is taken. A concurring vote of 3 members of the board is necessary to reverse any order, requirement, decision, or determination of the administrative official.

Notice of an appeal given to the board stays all proceedings on the action appealed unless the administrative official from whom the appeal is taken certifies that a stay would cause imminent peril to life or property. In such case, proceedings shall not be stayed other than by a restraining order granted by the Board on due and sufficient cause shown.

Board of Adjustment Variances

The Board of Adjustment, upon application and after public hearing may grant a variance from the terms of the Zoning Ordinance as follows:

  • A variance shall only be granted if it is determined it shall not cause substantial detriment to the public good or impair the spirit, purposes, and intent of the Zoning Ordinance or the Comprehensive Plan.
  • The Board shall not vary any jurisdictional requirement, such as notice
  • In the incorporated area, the board shall not permit by variance a principal use not otherwise permitted in the applicable Zoning District.
  • Variances shall be considered when by reason of exceptional narrowness, shallowness, shape, topography, or other extraordinary or exceptional situation, condition or circumstance peculiar to a particular property, the literal enforcement of the Zoning Ordinance will result in unnecessary hardship.

Variance Requests

A request for a variance must be made by filing an application with the Planning & Development Office. The applicant must submit with the application a list certified by a Licensed Bonded Abstracter of the names and addresses of all property owners of record within 300 feet of the affected property, as well as the legal descriptions of each property. The request will then be set for public hearing.

Public Hearings

The board shall hold the public hearing. The concurring vote of three members is necessary to grant a variance. The board, in granting a variance, shall prescribe appropriate conditions and safeguards and may require such evidence and guarantee or bond as it may deem necessary to enforce the compliance with the conditions of approval.

No nonconforming use of neighboring lands, structures or buildings in the same Zoning District and no permitted or nonconforming use of land, structures, or building in other Districts shall be considered grounds for the issuance of a variance.

A variance that has not been utilized within 1 year from the date it was approved by the board will thereafter be void, unless the board has extended the time for utilization. Utilization means actual use or issuance of a Building Permit, when applicable, provided construction is diligently carried to completion

A request for a variance must be made by filing an application with the Planning & Development Office. The applicant must submit with the application a list certified by a Licensed Bonded Abstracter of the names and addresses of all property owners of record within 300 feet of the affected property, as well as the legal descriptions of each property. The request will then be set for public hearing.

The board shall hold the public hearing. The concurring vote of three members is necessary to grant a variance. The board, in granting a variance, shall prescribe appropriate conditions and safeguards and may require such evidence and guarantee or bond as it may deem necessary to enforce the compliance with the conditions of approval.

Special Exemptions

The Board of Adjustment, upon application and after public hearing may grant the following Special Exceptions:

  • Antennas and antenna supporting structures
  • Change of a nonconforming use
  • Modification of a screening requirement
  • Modification of front yard requirements
  • Modification of height restrictions
  • Modification of the parking and loading requirements
  • Modification of permitted yard obstructions
  • Modification of requirements
  • Permit residential accessory uses and structures on abutting residentially-zoned lots which are under common ownership
  • Reduction of the number of required off-street parking spaces on a lot or may allow the required off-street parking on a lot other than the lot which contains an adult entertainment establishment or dance hall
  • Restoration of a partially destroyed nonconforming structure
  • Restoration of a partially destroyed structure containing a nonconforming use
  • Special Exception uses as designated and regulated within the permitted principal use provisions, accessory use provisions, or Use Unit provisions of the Zoning District
  • Special Exception Requests
  • A request for a Special Exception must be made by filing an application with the Planning & Development Office. The request will then be set for public hearing

The concurring vote of 3 members is necessary to grant a Special Exception.

Void

A Special Exception that has not been utilized within one year from the date it was approved by the board will thereafter be void, unless the board has extended the time for utilization. Utilization means actual use or issuance of a Building Permit, when applicable, provided construction is diligently carried to completion.

Interpretations

The board shall interpret the text of the Zoning Ordinance or the official Zoning Map (PDF) upon an appeal from a determination of the Planning & Development Office. Upon receipt of the request, a public hearing will be set.

Where a question arises as to the Zoning District classification for a particular use or Zoning District boundary, the Board of Adjustment, upon written request of the Planning & Development Office, may find and determine the classification of the use in question. Upon receipt of the request, a public hearing will be set.

Miscellaneous Powers

The Board has the following miscellaneous powers:

  • To determine parking demand of certain uses not otherwise provided for in the Zoning Ordinance
  • To make findings and interpretations of uses and zoning classifications for all uses not clearly set out in the Zoning Ordinance and assign Zoning Districts to all such uses in question
  • To make findings as to start of construction for purposes of determining nonconformity with Zoning Ordinance
  • To permit reduction of the area or width of a lot for certain utility purposes