The ability to get a variance from any use standard is becoming more and more difficult. There has been a recent ruling in my state that will almost lock down the ability to get any type of variance, and this will affect variances for use and type of structure and offsets, etc. Only if you can demonstrate an extreme condition that creates a hardship that is part of the land itself....and money is not considered a property hardship. And getting a negative ruling in a board appeal hearing means bucks and a bias in the higher courts toward the local BZA decision.
So now you're away from working with the stupid bureaucrats, and back to appealing to the stupider politicians. They can't read the engineering and safety studies, only the letters from voters that say 'it don't look pretty, it makes noise, hurts my eyes'.
Just an FYI if that ruling starts to affect other states. Probably stuck with trying to get a change or amendment to the resolutions, and address not only the engineering and safety aspects, but the aestetics of monopole vs. lattice or guyed that neighbors will argue reduce property values. Y'all already know more about that one than I do.
Damn I didn't know I had to be a zoning expert to fly a turbine...glad I got a head start in my education, and already cleared the first resolution I needed without even knowing it. Too bad it cost two years and five-digit expense. But that new law throwing the case against us out of court - that was actually an old law, found in a pile of papers being moved, from 1991, and protected all prior-use from new regulations.
Least now I know what I need to get up as soon as possible to lock in the prior-use clause.
No existing ordinance in current zone - check. No pending alteration - check. Locked into current ordinance - persons and machinery locking in the current 'prior use' ordinances will be deployed onsite within the month).
Friends in the county offices - no check...clearinghouse of the good ole' boy network is still in service however to rectify this situation ASAP, and restraints are in place to prevent any further malicious prosecution (in other words, still costing money, but hoping the council will fire the building commissioner next week, the mayor will still be there a couple of years whether by lawsuit or ballot box it will still take that long, and meanwhile I don't think they want to mess with us anymore, we leave a burn on their careers when we fight).
Fab, sounds like you have also gotten an education on the local bureaucratic machine.
Just think about how smart the average person is...that means that half of the people are even stupider than that. Kinda what you are dealing with.