A. 
Any aggrieved person having legal standing under the ordinance governing such application shall submit an appeal, in writing, to the City Council of those recommendations of the Hearing Examiner set forth in Section 1.23.050A. Only those persons or entities having legal standing under the ordinance governing the application, or as otherwise provided by law, have the right to appeal the recommendation to the City Council. Such appeal shall set forth, with specificity, the alleged errors of fact or law.
B. 
Appeals to the Council must be filed with the City Clerk within 14 calendar days of the issuance of the Hearing Examiner’s final recommendation, not counting the day of issuance of the recommendation. If the last day for filing the appeal falls on a weekend day or a holiday, the last day for filing shall be the next working day.
C. 
The Council may grant relief only if the appellant seeking relief has carried the burden of establishing that one of the standards set forth in (a) through (d) of this subsection has been met. The standards are:
(a) 
The Hearing Examiner is engaged in unlawful procedure or failed to follow a prescribed process, unless the error was harmless;
(b) 
The recommendation is an erroneous interpretation of the law;
(c) 
The recommendation is not supported by evidence that is substantial when viewed in light of the whole record before the Council; and
(d) 
The recommendation is a clearly erroneous application of the law to the facts.
D. 
The requirements set forth herein regarding the time limits for, and contents of, such appeals are mandatory.
Failure to comply with the above requirements shall result in the City Council’s dismissal of the appeal.
(Ord. 25849 § 1, 1996-03-12; Ord. 27387 § 1, 2005-07-26)
Notice of filing of an appeal shall be made to all parties to the proceeding before the Hearing Examiner. A party with standing desiring to intervene in an appeal shall file with the City Clerk a notice of intervention within ten days of the date of mailing of notice of the filing of an appeal as provided herein. An intervening party, at the time of the filing of his/her notice of intervention with the City Clerk, shall send by first-class mail the notice of intervention to all other parties listed on the City Clerk’s notice regarding the filing of the appeal. Thereafter, the City Council shall set the date on which the appeal will be heard and the City Clerk shall notify all parties to the appeal of the date and time of the hearing of the appeal. The City Council shall consider and decide such an appeal within 90 days of the filing of such appeal; provided, however, that the parties to the appeal may agree to extend the foregoing time period.
(Ord. 25849 § 1, 1996-03-12; Ord. 26645 § 3, 2000-06-27)
Parties to the appeal may submit written argument to the City Council in support of their positions. Such written arguments shall not contain any evidence or statement of facts not contained in the hearing record made before the Hearing Examiner, and shall be filed with the City Clerk no later than seven calendar days prior to the date the matter is scheduled to be heard by the City Council. At the time an appeal is heard by the City Council, each side shall be afforded an equal amount of time pursuant to the Rules of Procedure of the Council of the City of Tacoma for oral argument. In the event there are multiple appellants or respondents, each side shall divide its time limit between or among the appellants or respondents, or, if agreement cannot be reached, as directed by the Mayor. No new evidence or testimony shall be presented to the Council during such presentation. The City Council shall accept, modify, or reject any findings or conclusions, or remand the recommendation of the Hearing Examiner for further hearing. Any decision of the City Council shall be based on the original record of the hearing conducted by the Hearing Examiner; however, the Council, at its discretion, may publicly request additional information of the parties to an appeal, or from the Hearing Examiner. The Council’s decision shall be in writing and shall specify findings and conclusions whenever such findings and conclusions are different from those of the appealed recommendation.
(Ord. 25849 § 1, 1996-03-12; Ord. 27387 § 2, 2005-07-26)
When taking any final action, the City Council shall make and enter findings of fact of the record and conclusions therefrom which support its action. Such findings and conclusions regarding appeals of recommendations of the Hearing Examiner shall set forth and demonstrate the manner in which the action carries out and helps to implement the goals and policies of the comprehensive plan and the standards of the various land use regulatory codes. The City Council may adopt all or portions of the Hearing Examiner’s findings and conclusions supporting the recommendation. In the case of an ordinance for reclassification of property or right-of-way vacation, the City Clerk shall place the ordinance on the Council’s agenda for first reading or, after denial of appeal, on the next available City Council agenda for first reading. The final reading of the ordinance shall not occur until all conditions, restrictions, or modifications which may have been imposed by recommendation of the Hearing Examiner or added by the City Council have been accomplished or provisions for compliance made to the satisfaction of the City Attorney.
(Ord. 25849 § 1, 1996-03-12; Ord. 27079 § 4, 2003-04-29)
Any court action to set aside, enjoin, review, or otherwise challenge the decision of the City Council concerning an appeal shall be commenced in Superior Court within 21 days of the final decision of the City Council. Pursuant to RCW Chapter 36.70C, the final date of the decision of the City Council on the appeal shall be deemed to be the date the motion concerning the appeal is adopted by the City Council and shall be considered to have been entered into the public record on that date.
(Ord. 25849 § 1, 1996-03-12)