[Adopted 4-23-2013 by Ord. No. 1215]
This article shall be known as "the Borough of Brentwood Rental Property Board of Appeal Ordinance."
A. 
Any person aggrieved by any decision of a police officer or Building Code Official in regard to a disruptive conduct report or the nonrenewal, denial, or revocation of a rental license may appeal to the Rental Property Board of Appeals.
B. 
Such appeal must be filed on a standardized form provided by the Borough, and received by the Chief of Police or Building Code Official within 15 days from the postmarked date of the disruptive conduct report or notice of revocation.
A. 
The Rental Property Board of Appeals shall be a body of five members, and shall consist of a Councilperson, who shall serve as Chairperson; the Chief of Police or his designee; an owner of a rental unit in the Borough; a tenant of a rental unit residing in the Borough; and an owner-occupant of a residential property in the Borough who is not an owner or responsible agent of any rental unit in the Borough.
B. 
The Board shall have three alternative members: an owner of a rental unit in the Borough; a tenant of a rental unit residing in the Borough; and an owner-occupant of a residential property in the Borough who is not an owner or responsible agent of any rental unit in the Borough.
C. 
All members or alternate members of the Board shall be appointed by resolution of Council.
D. 
A member or alternate member shall serve a term of not more than four years from the time of appointment or reappointment. Members and alternate members of the initial Board shall be appointed to staggered terms of two and four years, which shall expire on December 31 of the calendar year.
E. 
A designee or alternate member may be requested to attend meetings in the absence of a regular member and shall have all the powers of a regular member at such meetings.
F. 
The presence of four member shall constitute a quorum of the Board. A majority vote of the members of the quorum shall prevail. A tied vote shall be deemed as a denial of the appeal.
G. 
Any member may be removed for misconduct or neglect of duty or for other just cause by a majority vote of Council taken after the member has received 15 days' advance notice of the intent to take such vote. Failure of a member to attend three consecutive regular meetings of the Board will constitute grounds for immediate removal from the Board by Council. The Chairperson of the Board shall inform the Borough Manager in writing when a member has failed to comply with this attendance policy. Following such notification, Council may vote to remove the member and seek applicants to fill the vacant position.
A. 
The Board shall have the following powers:
(1) 
To adopt and administer the rules of procedure regarding its organization, officers, times and places of the meetings, conduct of meetings, and other legal procedures relating to the hearing and determination of appeals and other matters within the jurisdiction of the Board.
(2) 
To hear and decide appeals where it is alleged there is error in any order, requirement, decision, or determination made by a police officer or Building Code Official in the enforcement of the provisions of Chapter 163 of the Borough Code.
(3) 
To modify any notice of violation or order and to authorize a variance from the terms of Chapter 163 of the Borough Code when, because of special circumstances, undue hardship would result from literal enforcement, and where such variance substantially complies with the spirit and intent thereof.
(4) 
To grant a reasonable extension of time for the compliance of any order where there is a demonstrated case of hardship and evidence of bona fide intent to comply within a reasonable time period.
B. 
In exercising the aforementioned powers, the Board shall act with reasonable promptness and shall seek to prevent unwarranted delays prejudicial to the party involved and to the public interest. The Board shall file its decision within 10 days after the appeal hearing.
C. 
The Board may reverse or affirm wholly or partly, or may modify the order, requirement, decision, or determination appealed from, and may make such order, requirement, decision, or determination as justice would require, and shall have all the powers of the police officer or Building Code Official; provided, however, that the Board, in its determination, shall not ignore the clear provisions and intent of Chapter 163 of the Borough Code.
D. 
Any decision or order issued under Chapter 163 of the Borough Code shall be held in abeyance upon the timely filing of an appeal thereof with the Board. An appeal of a third disruptive conduct report within an eighteen-month period shall stop the eviction proceedings against the tenants or occupants until the appeal is resolved if such eviction proceedings were a direct result of the third disruptive conduct report.
E. 
If an appeal of a third disruptive conduct report is denied by the Board, within 10 days of the filing of the decision of the Board, a police officer shall inspect the rental unit to determine compliance with the eviction requirements outlined in Chapter 163 of the Borough Code. If the tenant or occupant has not vacated the premises, or the owner has failed to commence eviction proceedings, the rental license shall be revoked.
F. 
The disruptive conduct report and all records of all proceedings and the final disposition of the matter outlined in the appeal shall be public and available for inspection.
Any persons, including the police officer or Building Code Official in their capacity as representatives of the Borough, aggrieved by any decision of the Board, may appeal to the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County. Such appeal shall be made by a duly verified petition which shall set for the factual and legal basis upon with the decision of the Board is alleged to be unlawful, in whole or in part. Such petition shall be presented to the Court of Common Pleas, and a notice thereof must be given to the appellee within 30 days after the filing of the decision of the Board.
The fee for filing an appeal to the Board shall be set from time to time by resolution of Council and shall be designated in the Borough fee schedule. Failure to submit the appropriate fee with the request for an appeal shall result in automatic denial of such appeal. The appellant shall be responsible for all costs incurred to conduct such hearing beyond that covered by the application fee.