City of Detroit v. City of Detroit Board of Zoning Appeals

*251The city of Detroit (the City) appeals the circuit court order affirming the decision of the City's Board of Zoning Appeals (the BZA) to grant a use variance to International Outdoor Inc. (IO) for the erection of a billboard. On appeal, the City argues that the BZA did not have the authority to grant a use variance in an area of Detroit designated as the Grand Boulevard overlay zone, which bans off-site advertising signs. Even if the BZA did have the authority, the City argues that IO could not prove that the ordinance imposed an unnecessary hardship because IO "purchased *252the hardship," i.e.,…