The Mayor shall be responsible for the enforcement of this article. The Mayor may prescribe policies, rules, or regulations to carry out the intent and purposes of this article.
(1) Administrative variances to the restrictions in §§ 6-1-1-5, 6-1-1-6, and 6-1-1-7 may be issued by the Mayor or his/her designee, only for the purposes of installing or retrofitting landscaping, provided that the general intent of this article has been met, compliance with this article is proven to cause practical difficulties and unnecessary hardship, and all options for abatement through modified water management have been exhausted. The criteria to determine hardship shall include level of capital outlay and time required to be in compliance with this article.
(2) Variances may be issued for a period not to exceed one year and shall stipulate both short-term corrective measures and a schedule for completion of long-term corrective measures. Variances issued to accommodate the installation or retrofitting of landscaping are only applicable to the site where the construction that will increase the possibility of wasted water is to occur. The variance shall apply only for the period of construction. As of the date of this legislation any existing variances shall be subject to these provisions. Variances must be renewed on an annual basis if long-term corrective measures cannot be completed within one year.
(B) Appeal of § 6-1-1-5 (Watering Restrictions), § 6-1-1-6 (Water Waste), and § 6-1-1-7 (Special Permits). Any responsible party may appeal fees for violations of §§ 6-1-1-5, 6-1-1-6, and 6-1-1-7 to the Independent Hearing Officer pursuant to the provisions of the IHO Ordinance, ROA 1994, Chapter 2, Article 7, Part 8.
(C) Judicial Review. The exclusive remedy for parties dissatisfied with the action of the City Hearing Officer on §§ 6-1-1-5, 6-1-1-6, and 6-1-1-7 shall be the filing of a petition for a writ of certiorari with the State District Court. The petition for review shall be limited to the record made at the administrative hearing held pursuant to this article.
(D) Variances to §§ 6-1-1-8 through 6-1-1-10 requirements. A variance to the regulations in §§ 6-1-1-8 through 6-1-1-10 may be issued by the Mayor, through the Development Review Board, provided that the general intent of this article has been met and compliance with this article is proven to cause practical difficulties and unnecessary hardship. The variance procedure for this article will comply with the variance procedure in the Integrated Development Ordinance as currently adopted or subsequently amended. (This procedure is described in § 14-16-6-6.) Appeals of decisions of the Development Review Board are to the City Council. Appeal procedures will comply with those in the Integrated Development Ordinance, § 14-16-6-4(U).
(Ord. 18-1995; Am. Ord. 24-1998; Am. Ord. 49-2003; Am. Ord. 2017-025; Am. Ord. 2023-015)