Board of Zoning Appeals
The Board of Zoning Appeals deals with appealed decisions by the Planning, Zoning and Building Commission. In most cases the board deals with the builders. Some of these cases are disagreements between builders and residents. Others are disagreements between builders and the City of Cortland.
A good example of a case would be between a new business and the city over the placement of a sign for the business. The city has rules concerning the placement of these signs as to the distance from the road and the size of the sign. In this case if the business feels that the Zoning Board has made a decision that does not agree with them; they may appeal to the Board of Zoning Appeals.
The Board of Zoning Appeals will then meet to discuss this issue with both sides of the case (some times there will be attorneys present for both parties but this usually only happens in the larger cases). The Board of Zoning Appeals will always try to stay impartial and do what is good for either the City of Cortland, the residents, and the builders/businesses. After both sides are heard the Board of Zoning Appeals will then take a recess and will vote with an open ballot. The decision is then made and is almost always final but either one of the parties could take it to the courts.
Board Members
- Attorney William Brooker
- Keith Denman
- Gene Francisco
- Charles Peck
- David Rider