Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Bza Procedure Training topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Planning consultant leads BZA "101" on variances, special exceptions and open-meetings rules
Summary
Amanda Harrington, the board’s new planning consultant, gave a training at a Board of Zoning Appeals meeting covering the board’s quasi‑judicial role, Tennessee statutory limits on variances, Sunshine Law restrictions, administrative review and recordkeeping.
Amanda Harrington, a planning consultant with RCS Planners, led a Board of Zoning Appeals training session at the meeting, outlining the board’s legal limits and procedural responsibilities.
Harrington told members, “If you take nothing else from today, you’re a quasi judicial body,” emphasizing that appeals from the board’s decisions go to chancery court and that the board’s powers are constrained by state law and the local zoning resolution.
The session summarized key legal authorities and practical rules that govern BZA decisions. Harrington cited Tennessee Code Annotated sections 13-7-107 through 13-7-109 and the local zoning resolution (Article 8, Section 8.07) as the statutory and local bases for the board’s authority.
Harrington reviewed three primary functions the board hears: variances, special exceptions (also called conditional uses or uses permitted on appeal), and administrative appeals of decisions by planning or building staff. She told members that variances must be based on special circumstances of a property and distinguished hardship from mere inconvenience, and she said the board “shall not grant a variance except for special circumstances” as constrained by statute.
On special exceptions, Harrington said the board must follow the zoning ordinance’s text and may not create new uses: “The BZA does not have the ability to create use exceptions.” She cautioned that granting a use not authorized in the zoning ordinance would usurp the county legislative body’s role.
The training included explanation of the Sunshine Law and meeting conduct. Harrington warned members not to deliberate or form opinions about agenda items outside public meetings: “If two or more of you are together and something comes up that’s on an agenda…you’ve violated the act,” she said, underscoring that such contacts can jeopardize later decisions.
Harrington also stressed the importance of accurate staff reports and meeting minutes, telling members that a court reviewing a BZA decision will look to the board’s written record. She described common variance‑review criteria such as whether the hardship is unique to the property, whether granting the variance would bestow a special privilege denied to others, and whether the hardship was knowingly created by the applicant.
Members asked clarifying questions during the presentation about calling expert witnesses, handling patterns of variance requests, and distinguishing financial hardship from other grounds for relief. Harrington encouraged members to request testimony from qualified officials or experts when complex technical matters appear in a case.
The session closed after roughly an hour of presentation and Q&A. Harrington said the training count would be submitted for the board’s annual training requirement.
