The purpose of this chapter is to provide procedures for the appeal and certification of review of determinations and decisions of the review authority.
(Ord. 13-8 § 4 (Exh. A), 6/11/2013)
A.
Appeals. To avoid results inconsistent with the purposes of this code, unless otherwise specified or limited by specific provisions of this code, decisions of the Director may be appealed to the Hearing Officer; decisions of the Hearing Officer may be appealed to the Commission; and decisions of the Commission may be appealed to the Council.
B.
Certification of Review. To avoid results inconsistent with the purposes of this code, decisions of the Director or Hearing Officer may be certified for review by the Commission; and decisions of the Commission may be certified for review by the Council, unless otherwise more specifically stated regarding a specific permit or review.
(Ord. 13-8 § 4 (Exh. A), 6/11/2013)
A.
Eligibility. Any interested person dissatisfied with the action of the review authority may file an appeal to the next higher review authority in compliance with this chapter, unless otherwise specified or limited by this code.
B.
Time Limits. Appeals of decisions and certification of review shall be initiated prior to the effective date of the decision. However, if the deadline for initiation of an appeal or call of review falls on a nonbusiness day for the relevant appeal body, then the deadline for an appeal or certification of review is extended to the next business day and the effective date of the decision shall be the following day.
(Ord. 13-8 § 4 (Exh. A), 6/11/2013)
A.
Filing. An appeal shall be filed with the Commission Secretary in the case of the Hearing Officer and Commission or the City Clerk in the case of the Council in the form of a letter, along with any accompanying appeal fee, and shall state specifically:
B.
Required Information. An appeal shall contain the following information:
1.
The file or case number identifying the matter which is being appealed; and
2.
The street address of the property included in the action being appealed or if no street address, the legal description or the Assessor's parcel number of the property; and
4.
Any other information that is requested on the appellate body's appeal form.
C.
Appeal Vacates Decision. The filing of an appeal vacates the decision from which the appeal is taken. Such decision is only reinstated if the appellate body fails to act, the appeal is rescinded or the review authority affirms the decision in its action.
D.
Appeal Rescinded. An appellant may submit a written request to withdraw their appeal any time up to seven (7) days prior to the public hearing scheduled for the appeal, in which case the appeal shall not move forward and the decision that was the subject of the appeal shall be the final decision. If an appeal is not withdrawn by the close of business on the seventh day prior to the scheduled appeal hearing, the hearing shall be conducted by the review authority.
(Ord. 13-8 § 4 (Exh. A), 6/11/2013)
A.
A certification of review may be initiated for a decision on any discretionary application by one (1) or more of the members of the next level of designated review authority. For decisions of the Director or Hearing Officer a certification of review may be requested by any one (1) member of the Commission; and for decisions of the Commission a certification of review may be requested by any one (1) member of the Council. A certification of review shall be made no later than one (1) day prior to the day on which an appeal of the decision is due pursuant to Section 17.07.030 (Filing of Appeals).
B.
Certification shall not require any statement of reasons, and shall therefore not represent opposition to or support of an application. No fee shall be required.
(Ord. 13-8 § 4 (Exh. A), 6/11/2013)
A.
Hearing Dates. The appeal body may delegate the setting of hearing dates to the Commission Secretary or City Clerk.
B.
Notice and Public Hearing.
C.
Plans and Materials.
1.
At an appeal or certification of review hearing, the appeal body shall consider only the same application, plans and materials that were the subject of the original decision.
2.
If new plans and materials which differ substantially from the original are submitted, the applicant shall file a new application. Changes to the original submittal made to meet objections by the staff, the decision-maker, or members of the public at the hearing below need not be the subject of a new application.
3.
As part of the decision, the appeal body may impose additional or modify conditions on a project in granting approval to a modified project.
D.
Hearing. Notwithstanding Title 2 (Administration and Personnel) and the procedures provided therein, at the public hearing, the appeal body shall consider the matter directly by reviewing the record of the decision below, receiving a report from the Director, and hearing testimony from the applicant, the appellant in the case of an appeal, and any other interested party and, at their discretion, the party or body whose decision is being appealed or reviewed. The appeal body shall conduct a "de novo" review of the record and all testimony and shall not be bound by the findings of the original review authority.
E.
Decision and Notice.
1.
After the hearing, the appeal body shall render a decision on the application or refer the matter back for further review.
2.
When a decision is made by the appeal body, the body shall base the decision on findings supported by facts in the record. When a referral is made by the appeal body, the referral shall indicate the absence of facts in the record that prevent the making of a final decision and the need to develop such facts at the original review authority level.
(Ord. 13-8 § 4 (Exhs. A, D), 6/11/2013)
In addition to the foregoing procedures, upon receiving an appeal or initiating a certification of review, the Council may take one (1) of the following additional actions:
A.
Affirm the action of the Commission without holding any hearing on the matter; or
B.
Refer the matter back to the Commission for further proceedings with or without instructions; or
C.
Require a transcript of the testimony and any other evidence relevant to the decision and take such action as in its opinion is indicated by the evidence.
(Ord. 13-8 § 4 (Exh. A), 6/11/2013)
Unless otherwise specified in this chapter, the following effective dates shall apply to all approved applications issued pursuant to this code:
A.
Except as set forth in subsection (B) of this section, the decision of the Director, Hearing Officer, or the Commission shall be effective on the sixteenth calendar day following the date of the decision, except and unless the decision is timely appealed or a request for a certification of review, where available.
B.
To be timely, an appeal or certification of review shall be filed before the end of the business day on the fifteenth calendar day following the date of the decision. If the fifteenth day falls on a nonbusiness day of the applicable appeal body, in which case, the appeal deadline shall be extended to the next business day and the effective date of the decision shall be the following business day.
(Ord. 13-8 § 4 (Exh. A), 6/11/2013)