(A) To Town Manager. Any owner may file a written appeal within ten days after issuance of the code enforcement officer's report to the owner, with the Town Manager. The Town Manager is hereby given authority to rule on any dispute arising out of the interpretation of this code by the code enforcement officer. The Town Manager will affirm, reverse or modify the ruling of the code enforcement officer.
(B) To Board of Adjustment. A housing appeals board is hereby created to which appeals on the record may be taken by an owner or other party in interest from any decision or order of the Town Manager. The Board of Adjustment for the town shall serve as the Housing Appeals Board and will hear and determine the appeals on the record.
(1) An appeal from any decision or order of the Town Manager may be taken by any person aggrieved thereby. The appeal shall be taken within ten days from the service of the order and shall be taken by filing with the Town Manager and with the Board a notice of appeal, which shall specify the grounds upon which the appeal is based. Upon the filing of any notice of appeal, the Town Manager shall forthwith transmit to the Board all papers constituting the record upon which the decision appealed from was made. When an appeal is from the decision of the Town Manager refusing to allow the person aggrieved thereby to do any act, his or her decision shall remain in force until modified or reversed.
(a) When any appeal is from a decision of the Town Manager requiring the person aggrieved to do any act, the appeal shall have the effect of suspending the requirement until the hearing of the Board, unless the Town Manager certifies to the Board, after the notice of appeal is filed with him or her, that by reason of the facts stated in the certificate (a copy of which shall be furnished to the petitioner) a suspension of his or her requirement would, in his or her opinion, cause imminent peril to life or property or that because the violation charged is transitory in nature a stay would seriously interfere with enforcement of the ordinance. In that case proceedings shall not be stayed except by a restraining order, which may be granted by the Board if Adjustment or by a court of record on application, on notice to the officer from whom the appeal is taken and on due cause shown.
(b) To this end, the Board shall have all the powers of the officer from whom the appeal is taken.
(2) The Board shall fix a reasonable time for the hearing of appeals, shall give due notice to all the parties and shall render its decision within a reasonable time. Any party may appear in person or by agent or by attorney. The Board may reverse, affirm, in whole or in part, or may modify the decision or order appealed. The concurring vote of four members of the Board shall be necessary to reverse or modify any decision or order of the Town Manager. The Board shall have the power also in passing upon appeals in any case where there are practical difficulties or undue hardships in the way of carrying out the strict letter of this code, to adapt the application of the code to the necessities of the case to the end that the spirit of the code shall be observed, public safety and welfare secured, and substantial justice done.
(3) Every decision of the Board shall be subject to review by proceedings in the nature of certiorari instituted in the appropriate County Superior Court within 30 days after the written decision of the Board is filed or after a copy thereof is delivered to the appealing party, whichever is later. The decision of the Board may be delivered to the aggrieved party either by hand delivery or by any method authorized by the State Rules of Civil Procedure.
(C) Injunction. Any person aggrieved by a decision rendered by the Board may petition the Superior Court for an injunction restraining the town from carrying out the order or decision and the court upon the petition, issue a temporary injunction restraining the town pending a final disposition of the cause; provided, however, that the petition shall be filed within 30 days after issuance of the order or rendering of the decision.
(1989 Code, Title VI, Ch. 80, § 10) (Ord. passed 6-10-2003; Ord. 2021-03, passed 6-8-2021)