This chapter shall be enforced by the Zoning
Enforcement Officer (ZEO) or his/her authorized official. The Zoning
Enforcement Officer is authorized to cause any building, structure,
place, premises or use to be inspected or examined and to order in
writing the remedying of any condition found to exist therein or thereon
in violation of any provision of this chapter.
[Added 6-17-2013]
Function and composition of the Design Review Board: The Design
Review Board shall serve as an advisory board to the Planning Commission.
Said Board shall approve the alterations to exteriors of structures
only. All recommendations shall be in conformance with the unified
design plan. The Design Review Board shall consist of five members,
who shall be appointed by the City Council with advice from the Planning
Commission, to serve for a term of three years and until their successors
are appointed and qualified, provided that of the five members first
appointed, two shall serve for one-year terms, two for two-year terms,
and one for a three-year term. Three of the five members shall be
a member of any one of the following professions: architect, landscape
architect, engineer, or contractor.
No building or structure shall be erected, added
to or structurally altered, no use shall be established and no existing
building or land, whether vacant or occupied, shall be converted to
a different use until a zoning permit has been issued by the Zoning
Enforcement Officer or other authorized official. All applications
for such permits shall be in accordance with the requirements of this
chapter. Where a certificate of approval or special exception permit
is required, the zoning permit shall be issued automatically with
such approval.
A.
Application. Every application for a zoning permit
shall be accompanied by such information and exhibits, i.e., certified
plot plan, soils data, drainage computations, etc., as are required
herein or as may be reasonably required by the Zoning Enforcement
Officer in order that the proposal of the applicant may be adequately
interpreted and judged as to its conformity with the provisions set
forth in this chapter.
B.
Plot plan. The application shall be accompanied by
three copies of a plot plan based on a survey prepared by a land surveyor
and/or engineer registered in the State of Connecticut, drawn to scale,
showing the actual dimensions of the lot to be built upon, the size
of the building to be erected, the location of the building upon the
lot, the dimensions of all open spaces, the setback lines observed
by buildings, the location of driveways and curb cuts and such other
information as may be necessary. The Zoning Enforcement Officer may
waive any of the plot plan requirements in cases where it is not needed
to determine conformity with this chapter.
A.
No land shall be occupied or used, and no building
hereafter erected or altered shall be occupied or used in whole or
in part for any purpose, until a certificate of compliance shall have
been issued by the Zoning Enforcement Officer or other authorized
official, stating that the premises or building complies with all
the provisions of this chapter. Such a certificate is also required
for any change, extension or alteration in a use.
B.
Applications for a certificate of compliance shall
be accompanied by a certified plot plan of the lot and buildings involved,
showing the exact placement of the as-built structures on the lot.
The as-built plot plan may be the same document as is submitted for
a certificate of occupancy, if all zoning data (i.e., setbacks, etc.)
are included. The Zoning Enforcement Officer may waive the requirement
for a certified plot plan in cases where it is not needed to determine
conformity with this chapter. No such certificate of compliance shall
be issued by the Zoning Enforcement Officer until all zoning requirements
and conditions, including certificates of approval and/or special
exception permits, have been met.
All applications for zoning permits and certificates
of compliance shall be accompanied by a fee, in accordance with the
Schedule of Fees of the City of Meriden,[1] to cover the cost of administration. Said fee shall be
paid at the time of filing the application.
[1]
Editor's Note: Said fee schedule is on file
in the Clerk's office.
A.
Any maps, plans, documents, statements and stipulations
submitted to and approved by the Planning Commission or the Zoning
Board of Appeals in connection with certificate of approval (site
plan), special exception, variance or other action of said Commission
or Board, as required by this chapter, and any conditions of such
approval(s) attached by said Commission or Board shall be conditions
for the approval of applications for and the issuance of a zoning
permit and a certificate of compliance by the Zoning Enforcement Officer.
Prior to issuance of a zoning permit or a certificate of compliance,
the applicant shall obtain and submit all approvals required by any
other municipal, state or federal department, bureau or agency.
B.
No building permit or certificate of occupancy may
be issued until all zoning permits have been secured.
A.
The occupancy and use of a building erected, reconstructed,
restored, altered or moved, or any change in use of an existing building,
shall be unlawful until a certificate of occupancy shall have been
applied for and issued by the Building Official.
B.
A certificate of occupancy is required for and shall
be deemed to authorize both initial occupancy and the continued occupancy
and use of the building or land to which it applies.
C.
No certificate of occupancy shall be issued for any
use requiring the granting of a special exception permit, variance
or certificate of approval unless and until such permit approval has
been duly granted and the Zoning Enforcement Officer and Building
Official have inspected the site to ascertain that all provisions
of said approval are complied with.
D.
A nonrenewable temporary certificate of occupancy
for a part of a building may be issued by the Zoning Enforcement Officer
for a period of not more than six months.
A record of all zoning permits, certificates
of compliance and certificates of occupancy shall be kept in the office
of the Zoning Enforcement Officer.
[Amended 10-4-2021]
Any person or corporation, whether as owner,
lessee, architect, contractor or builder, or the agent or employee
of any of them, who violates or is accessory to the violation of any
provision of this chapter or any rule or regulation made under the
authority conferred by this chapter or who shall erect, construct,
alter, enlarge, convert or move any building or structure or any part
thereof without a building permit or in violation of any statement
or plans submitted and approved under the provisions of this chapter
or who shall use any building, structure or land in violation of this
chapter or any rule or regulation made under the authority conferred
by this chapter or in violation of the provisions of any zoning permit,
building permit or certificate of occupancy or without a zoning permit,
building permit, change of use permit or certificate of occupancy
where one is required by this chapter and who fails to abate said
violation within 30 days after written notice has been served upon
him, either by mail or personal service, shall be liable to a penalty
in accordance with the statutes of the State of Connecticut. Each
day that a violation remains shall constitute a separate offense.
A.
Zoning citation. Citations may be issued for any violation of Chapter 213, Zoning. Violations of any provisions of this chapter may be subject to the issuance of a citation of up to $150 per day per CGS § 8-12a, as amended.
(1)
Issuance of citations.
(a)
Initial notice required. Before a ZEO, or their designee, may
issue a citation, he or she must issue a written notice informing
the recipient of the nature of the violation. The notice shall state
that a violation not remedied within 30 days will result in the issuance
of a citation. Any such initial notice may be served either by hand
delivery or by certified mail to the person named in such citation.
If the person to whom such notice has been sent by certified mail
refuses to accept such mail, the original or a certified copy of the
original notice may be sent by regular United States mail. The Zoning
Officer shall file and retain an original or certified copy of the
initial notice, as well as any delivery confirmation or return receipt
from certified mail, whether or not the mail was accepted.
(2)
Penalties for offenses; fines. A fine of $150 per day may be assessed
by citation for any violation of the Zoning Regulations for as long
as such violation continues to exist. Each day that a violation remains
shall constitute a separate offense. Penalties by violation type:
(3)
Appeals and hearings. Any person who receives a citation may challenge his or her liability therefor and request a hearing thereon in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 86 of the Meriden Code and § 7-152c of the Connecticut General Statutes, as amended.
(4)
Payment of fines.
(a)
All fines imposed under this article which are uncontested shall
be made payable to the City of Meriden and shall be received by the
Zoning Enforcement Officer or their agent within 10 business days
from receipt of the citation.
(b)
If no payment is received for any fine imposed under this article
within the time allowed for payment, then the Zoning Enforcement Officer
or their agent shall act in accordance with the procedures established
in CGS § 7-152c, as amended.
