2023 Indiana Code › Title 36. Local Government › Article 7. Planning and Development › Chapter 4. Local Planning and Zoning › 36-7-4-902. Board of Zoning Appeals; Members; Number; Appointment

Sec. 902. (a) ADVISORY. Each division of the advisory board of zoning appeals consists of five (5) members as follows:
(1) Three (3) citizen members appointed by the executive of the municipality or county, of whom one (1) must be a member of the plan commission and two (2) must not be members of the plan commission.
(2) One (1) citizen member appointed by the fiscal body of the municipality or county, who must not be a member of the plan commission.
(3) One (1) member appointed by the plan commission from the plan commission's membership, who must be a county agricultural agent or a citizen member of the plan commission other than the member appointed under subdivision (1).
(b) ADVISORY. In each county having a metropolitan plan commission, subsection (a) does not apply. In such a county, each division of the advisory board of zoning appeals consists of five (5) members as follows:
(1) Two (2) members, of whom no more than one (1) may be of the same political party, appointed by the county legislative body.
(2) Three (3) members, of whom no more than two (2) may be of the same political party, appointed by the second class city executive. One (1) only of these members must be a member of the plan commission.
(c) AREA. When the area board of zoning appeals was established before January 1, 1984, as a seven (7) member board, the board consists of seven (7) members as follows:
(1) Two (2) citizen members appointed by the area plan commission from its membership, one (1) of whom must be a municipal representative and the other must be a county representative.
(2) Three (3) citizen members, who may not be members of any plan commission, appointed by the executive of the largest municipality in the county. However, if there are two (2) or more municipalities having a population of at least twenty thousand (20,000) in the county, the executive of the largest municipality shall appoint two (2) citizen members and the executive of the second largest municipality shall appoint one (1) citizen member. Furthermore, if there are no cities in the county participating in the commission, then the three (3) members appointed under this subdivision shall be appointed as follows:
(A) One (1) member appointed by the county executive.
(B) One (1) member appointed by the county fiscal body.
(C) One (1) member appointed by the legislative bodies of those towns participating in the commission.
(3) Two (2) citizen members, who may not be members of any plan commission, appointed by the county legislative body.
(d) AREA. Except as provided in subsection (c), each division of the area board of zoning appeals consists of five (5) members as follows:
(1) One (1) citizen member appointed by the area plan commission from its membership.
(2) One (1) citizen member, who may not be a member of any plan commission, appointed by the executive of the largest municipality in the county participating in the commission.
(3) Two (2) citizen members, of whom one (1) must be a member of the area plan commission and one (1) must not be a member of any plan commission, appointed by the county legislative body.
(4) One (1) citizen member, who may not be a member of any plan commission, appointed by the executive of the second largest municipality in the county participating in the commission. However, if there is only one (1) municipality in the county participating in the commission, then the county legislative body shall make this appointment.
(e) METRO. Each division of the metropolitan board of zoning appeals consists of five (5) members as follows:
(1) Two (2) citizen members appointed by the executive of the consolidated city.
(2) Two (2) citizen members appointed by the legislative body of the consolidated city.
(3) One (1) citizen member, who may also be a member of the metropolitan development commission, appointed by the commission.
Not more than two (2) members appointed to each division of the board of zoning appeals may be residents of the same township. All townships must be represented across all the divisions of the board of zoning appeals. The appointing authority shall consult with the township executive before appointing a member to represent that township on the board.
(f) METRO. The municipal board of zoning appeals for an excluded city consists of five (5) members as follows:
(1) The following members for an excluded city that has a mayor:
(A) Three (3) citizen members appointed by the legislative body of the excluded city.
(B) Two (2) citizen members appointed by the mayor of the excluded city.
(2) This subdivision applies to an excluded city that does not have a mayor. Five (5) citizen members appointed by the legislative body of the excluded city.
(g) Whenever the zoning ordinance provides for a certain division of the board of zoning appeals to have limited territorial jurisdiction, it must also provide for that division to consist of members who are all residents of that limited territory. Those members shall be appointed in the same manner that is prescribed by subsection (a) for divisions of an advisory board of zoning appeals, but if the plan commission is unable to make its appointment in that manner, the appointment shall be made instead by the legislative body.
[Pre-Local Government Recodification Citations: 18-7-2-59 part; 18-7-2-60 part; 18-7-2-61 part; 18-7-3-11(1) part; 18-7-3-11(2) part; 18-7-4-902; 18-7-4-66; 18-7-4-67; 18-7-5-69 part; 18-7-5-70 part.]
As added by Acts 1981, P.L.309, SEC.23. Amended by P.L.357-1983, SEC.2; P.L.320-1995, SEC.12; P.L.161-2021, SEC.6.