Also known as: practical difficulties and unnecessary hardship · practical difficulty or unnecessary hardship · practical difficulties or unnecessary hardship · unnecessary hardship · practical difficulties
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
An administrative standard for granting zoning variances from literal compliance with bulk or use restrictions. The standard is satisfied when strict application of the ordinance would impose practical difficulties or unnecessary hardship on the owner of the affected parcel because of its unique characteristics.
Lina Farms seeks to add seasonal worker housing that exceeds the agricultural district density limit of one dwelling per ten acres. The County Board of Adjustment reviews the application and finds that the farm's isolated location and the need to house workers on site create practical difficulties that strict enforcement would impose. The board grants a use variance allowing the housing.
Forest City Enterprises obtains site-plan approval for a multifamily project after satisfying all ordinance criteria. City voters then pass a charter amendment requiring popular approval of any zoning change. The company challenges the referendum as an improper delegation that creates unnecessary hardship by subjecting an otherwise compliant project to an unpredictable political process.
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Chevron operates lessee-dealer stations subject to a state rent cap that reduces its aggregate income. The company demonstrates that the cap produces no legitimate public benefit while imposing practical difficulties on its investment returns. The court evaluates whether the regulation effects a taking by asking whether it substantially advances a state interest rather than merely imposing hardship.
A grandmother in East Cleveland wishes to live with her grandson and his children in a single-family zone that defines family narrowly. Strict enforcement would force her to sell or relocate, creating unnecessary hardship because the property cannot be used for its intended family purpose. She seeks a variance to avoid the ordinance's disproportionate burden on her living arrangement.
Ambler Realty owns land in Euclid that the village zones for residential use only. The classification prevents any industrial development and reduces the land's value. The owner argues that the restriction imposes unnecessary hardship because the parcel's location next to rail lines makes residential use impractical and that a variance or rezoning is required to permit a reasonable economic return.
The applicant must show that the property possesses unique characteristics that do not apply generally to the zone, that strict compliance would cause practical difficulties or unnecessary hardship, and that the variance will not harm the public welfare or neighboring properties. The standard focuses on the disproportionate burden on the particular parcel rather than on general dissatisfaction with the zoning classification.
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A variance requires proof of practical difficulty or unnecessary hardship arising from unique property conditions and is discretionary. A special exception is available as of right if the ordinance lists the use as conditionally permitted and the applicant meets specified, objective criteria without needing to show hardship.
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No. Hardship that affects an entire area or class of properties is addressed by legislative rezoning or amendment, not by administrative variance. The variance standard requires that the property have exceptional or extraordinary circumstances not shared generally within the zone.
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…to the board by any person claiming to be adversely affected by any such decision. The board is given power in specific cases of practical difficulty or unnecessary hardship to interpret the ordinance in harmony with its general purpose and intent, so that the public health, safety and general welfare may be secure and substantial justice done. Penalties are…