Board of Variance

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Board of Variance - Volunteer Opportunity -- CLOSED

The Board of Variance is a body comprised of five members that meet the first Tuesday of every month.  The Board is required and established under Provincial legislation. The purpose of the Board is to hear appeals for variances to the City of Maple Ridge’s Zoning Bylaw. Familiarity with reading design drawings would be an asset in this volunteer position.

The Board is currently seeking one (1) member to serve a three year term.

Interested individuals are asked to submit their resume to Emily Davies at committeeclerk@mapleridge.ca by Jan 29, 2024.

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About the Board of Variance


The Board of Variance is an independent body which considers requests for minor variances to the Maple Ridge Zoning Bylaw regarding the siting, size, and dimensions of buildings.  The Board consists of five citizen members appointed for three year terms, by City of Maple Ridge Council .  The Board has the authority to grant variances in situations where compliance of the Zoning Bylaw would cause a person undue hardship.  The question of what constitutes hardship to grant a relaxation rests solely with the Board of Variance. There is no appeal of a Board of Variance decision, the only alternative option is to make a separate Development Variance Permit application to Council. The Board of Variance functions separately from the Local Government that established it and has its own authority under the Local Government Act.  It is similar to a Development Variance Permit application,  whereby adjacent property owners will be notified of the appeal.
 
The Board of Variance shall hear and determine an appeal by a person who alleges that the following would cause them undue hardship:

  • Compliance with the zoning bylaw respecting the siting, dimension or size of a building or structure, or the siting of a manufactured home in a manufactured home park;
  • The prohibition of a structural alteration or addition under Section 531 of the Local Government Act;
  • Compliance with a subdivision servicing requirement under Section 506 (1) (c) of the Local Government Act in an area zoned for agricultural or industrial use; or
  • That the determination by a building inspector of the amount of damage under Section 532 of the Local Government Act is in error.


Members

T. Spackman - Chair
C. Jacobsohn
B. Domaas
D. Nouri

The Bylaw enacting the Board of Variance is located here.


Open meetings are held at 9:00am on the first Tuesday of every month except in those months where the preceding Monday is a Statutory Holiday, in which case the meeting will be on the second Tuesday of the month.

Please contact committeeclerk@mapleridge.ca for meeting details.