Powers and duties of Zoning Board of Review

1. The Zoning Board of Review shall hold a public hearing on all appeals including appeals in which applications for variances are involved and on all requests for special use permits and shall publish a notice of such hearings and give notice thereof to the parties in interest, as required by this Ordinance.
2. Public notice. Notice of all public hearings held by the Zoning Board of Review shall be as follows:
- a) A notice shall be published in the legal notice section of a newspaper of general circulation in the Town of Portsmouth once per week for three (3) weeks, one (1) of which may include the week of the hearing and one (1) of which must appear at least fourteen (14) days prior to the date of the hearing.
- b) Notice of hearing, which may be a copy of the newspaper notice, shall be sent by first class mail to the applicant, and to all abutters, as defined in Article II Definitions. Notice shall also be mailed to the public water district if the subject of the application is within two thousand feet (2,000') of a public water source.
- c) All notices shall specify the general nature of the hearing, its date, place and time. The notice shall also include the street address of the subject property.
- d) A supplemental notice shall be posted at the office of the Town Clerk. This posting shall be for information purposes only and shall not constitute required notice of a public hearing.
- e) The cost of notification, including actual advertising and mailing costs, shall be borne by the applicant.
3. The Zoning Board of Review shall have the following powers and duties:
- a) To hear and decide appeals in a timely fashion where it is alleged there is error in any order, requirement, decision, or determination made by an administrative officer or agency in the enforcement or interpretation of this chapter, or of any ordinance adopted pursuant hereto. Such appeals shall also be governed by the provisions of Article XIV.
- b) To authorize, upon application, in specific cases of hardship, variances in the application of the terms of the zoning ordinance, pursuant to Article VI. Section D.
- c) To authorize, upon application, in specific cases, special-use permits, pursuant to Article VII.
- d) To refer matters to the planning board, or to other boards or agencies of the Town as the Zoning Board of Review may deem appropriate, for findings and recommendations;
- e) To hear and decide other matters, according to the terms of the ordinance or other statutes, and upon which the board may be authorized to pass under this ordinance or other statutes.
4. The Zoning Board of Review is required to vote as follows:
- a) Five (5) active members shall be necessary to conduct a hearing. As soon as a conflict occurs for a member, that member shall recuse himself or herself, shall not sit as an active member, and take no part in the conduct of the hearing. Only five (5) active members shall be entitled to vote on any issue;
- b) The concurring vote of three (3) of the five (5) members of the Zoning Board of Review sitting at a hearing shall be necessary to reverse any order, requirement, decision, or determination of any zoning administrative officer from whom an appeal was taken; and
- c) The concurring vote of four (4) of the five (5) members of the Zoning Board of Review sitting at a hearing shall be required to decide in favor of an applicant on any matter within the discretion of the board upon which it is required to pass under the ordinance, including variances and special-use permits.
- d) The concurring vote of three (3) of the five (5) members of the Zoning Board of Review sitting at a hearing shall be necessary to determine if, during the course of any hearing, an application is essentially changed and if said application shall be allowed to continue or shall require a new application.