Board of Variance
As per section 899 of the Local Government Act, "a local government that has adopted a zoning bylaw must, by bylaw, establish a board of variance." The City of Penticton's Board of Variance consists of 5 persons appointed by Council for a term of three years.
As per the Board of Variance Guide published by the Ministry of Community, Aboriginal and Women's Services , July 2003:
"The Board of Variance is not an appeal board for local government policy decisions and it cannot replace decisions of municipal councils or regional district boards. The Board is confined to considering variances that will not impact adversely upon a decision or change the intent of a bylaw adopted by a municipal council or regional district board . Variances can be granted respecting bylaw requirements for siting, dimensions, or size of buildings that are designed to deal with the most common circumstances and to be applied universally to these situations. In some special cases general regulations or the ones prohibiting structural changes in a non-conforming building or requiring services upon subdivision may result in undue hardship if applied to a particular site. A person may appeal to the Board for a variance only if the application of these general regulations to his or her particular site would impose such a hardship. The Board may also decide on the correctness of a certain type of decision made by a building inspector."
