The Housing Board of Review is hereby authorized to hear and decide appeals from compliance orders. The Board shall have the power to reverse or affirm wholly or partly or to modify any order of the Director of Zoning and Code Enforcement, and in specific cases to authorize such variance in the application of the terms of this chapter, where, owing to unusual conditions, a literal enforcement of the provisions of this chapter would result in unnecessary hardship, and so that the spirit of this chapter shall be observed and substantial justice done.
A. 
Application for an appeal to the Housing Board of Review may be made whenever it is alleged that:
(1) 
The compliance order does not conform with the true intent of this chapter or of the rules and regulations adopted pursuant thereto;
(2) 
The compliance order is contrary to law;
(3) 
The provisions of this chapter do not fully apply; or
(4) 
In unusual conditions unnecessary hardship will result from the literal enforcement of the provisions of this chapter.
B. 
Any eligible person desiring to take an appeal shall file in the Office of the Housing Board of Review, within 10 days after service of the compliance order, a written appeal, including a brief statement of the reasons therefor and a detailed statement of the facts supporting the appeal. A notice of the appeal shall be forwarded immediately to the Director of Zoning and Code Enforcement by the Secretary of the Board.
A. 
The fee for filing an application for an appeal to the Housing Board of Review shall be the same as for filing of an application to the Zoning Board of Review.
[Amended 7-25-1996 by Ch. No. 2420]
B. 
A fee of $75 shall be paid upon the filing of an application for an appeal to the Housing Board of Review taken from a compliance order issued after failure to request a hearing before the Director of Zoning and Code Enforcement, or after failure to appear at such hearing.
[Amended 11-30-1992 by Ch. No. 2289]
C. 
Upon receipt of an appeal fee by the Housing Board of Review, such fee shall be paid to the City Treasurer and Collector of Taxes.
An appeal to the Housing Board of Review shall stay all proceedings under the compliance order from which such appeal has been taken, except that the Director of Zoning and Code Enforcement may certify to the Board, after receipt of the notice of the appeal, as provided in § 247-40, that by reason of the facts stated in the certificate, any stay of proceedings would in his or her opinion cause a direct hazard or immediate peril to the health or safety of the occupants of a dwelling or of the public, and in such event proceedings shall not be stayed except by restraining order granted by the Chair or the Acting Chair of the Housing Board of Review on application therefor by the appellant, upon notice to the Director of Zoning and Code Enforcement, and on due cause shown, or by a court of competent jurisdiction. Whenever a restraining order has been issued, the appeal shall be given priority over all other matters before the Housing Board of Review and shall be promptly heard and decided.
A. 
The Housing Board of Review shall meet at least once a month and at other times upon the call of the Chair. Such meetings may be held in conjunction with regular meetings of the Board of Appeals.
B. 
Notice of the meeting to hear an appeal shall be given the appellant, the Director of Zoning and Code Enforcement and the members of the Board at least 10 days before the holding of the meeting, except for a hearing on an appeal involving a restraining order, at which time notice need not exceed 48 hours. Upon receipt of notice of an appeal, the Director of Zoning and Code Enforcement shall forward immediately to the Secretary of the Housing Board of Review all pertinent records.
In order for the Housing Board of Review to hear and decide an appeal a quorum of three members of the Board shall be present and voting. When a quorum is not present, the hearing of the appeal shall be adjourned from time to time, provided that reasonable notice shall be given the parties in interest.
All hearings of the Housing Board of Review shall be de novo. All hearings shall be public, and the appellant, his or her representative, the Director of Zoning and Code Enforcement and any other person whose interests may be affected by the matter on appeal and who files a written entry of appearance shall be given an opportunity to be heard. Written entry of appearance at such hearing shall fulfill the requirements for service of any notice or order by the Director of Zoning and Code Enforcement. The Chair, or in his or her absence, the Acting Chair, of the Housing Board of Review may administer oaths and compel the attendance of witnesses. Proceedings of the Board shall be conclusive with respect to questions of fact and may be reviewed only on questions of law by courts of competent jurisdiction, as provided in § 247-49.
A concurring vote of a majority of the members of the Housing Board of Review present at the hearing shall be necessary to reverse or modify any order or decision of the Director of Zoning and Code Enforcement and to authorize a variance in the application of any of the provisions of this chapter, as provided in § 247-38. In the event of a tie vote of the members of the Board present at the hearing, the order or decision of the Director of Zoning and Code Enforcement shall be deemed to have been sustained.
All decisions of the Housing Board of Review shall be in writing. The Board shall keep clear and detailed minutes of all its proceedings, including its decisions and the reasons therefor and the vote of each member participating therein and the absence of a member or his or her failure to vote. Such record, immediately following the Board's decision, shall be filed in the office of the Board and shall be a public record. Notice of the Board's decision shall be promptly furnished to the appellant, his or her representative, any person who has filed a written entry of appearance and to the Director of Zoning and Code Enforcement. The Director of Zoning and Code Enforcement shall take immediate action in accordance with the decision of the Board.
A. 
Any person, including the Director of Zoning and Code Enforcement, aggrieved by any decision of the Housing Board of Review may present to the Supreme Court a petition, duly verified, setting forth that such decision is illegal in whole or in part and specifying the grounds of illegality. Such petition shall be presented to the Court within 30 days after the filing of the decision in the office of the Board.
B. 
Upon the presentation of such petition, the Court may allow a writ of certiorari directed to the Board to review such decision of the Board, and shall prescribe therein the time within which a return thereto must be made, which shall be not less than 10 days and may be extended by the Court. The allowance of the writ shall not stay proceedings upon the decision appealed from, but the Court may on application, upon notice to the Board and on due cause shown, grant a restraining order. The Board shall not be required to return the original papers acted upon by it, but it shall be sufficient to return certified or sworn copies thereof or such portions thereof as may be called for by such writ. The return shall concisely set forth such other facts as may be pertinent and material to show the grounds of the decision appealed from and shall be verified.
C. 
If, upon the hearing, it shall appear to the Court that testimony is necessary for the proper disposition of the matter, it may take evidence or appoint a master to take such evidence as it may direct and report the same to the Court with his or her findings of fact and conclusions of law, which shall constitute a part of the proceedings upon which the determination of the Court shall be made. The Court may reverse or affirm wholly or partly or may modify the decision brought up for review.