(A) Applications required. No request shall be heard by the Board until and unless an application, signed by the requesting party, has been filed with the Secretary of the Board. Said application shall be filed on a form provided at the Office of the Building Official. The application shall include the name, address, and telephone number, if applicable, of the requesting party, the request, and the justification on which relief is sought. Applications shall be filed and fees paid to the town. An incomplete application or a communication purporting to be an application and not made in the form prescribed shall be regarded only as a notice of intent to appeal and shall not be scheduled by the Secretary of the Board for action by the Board.
(B) Application fee. The fee for filing an application is $250. Application fees may not be waived by any authority.
(C) Time limits. Every application for an appeal of a decision of the Building Official shall be filed within ten working days after the date that relief was refused by the Building Official. The Secretary of the Board shall schedule each case at the next regularly scheduled meeting, provided that the completed application is received ten working days prior to the scheduled meeting date.
(D) Burden of proof. The burden of proof rests with the applicant, and the applicant must show that he/ she is entitled to the relief requested.
(E) Submission of evidence. Evidence supporting the application shall be submitted only with the application or to the Board in public meeting. Strict adherence to judicial rules of evidence is not required.
(F) Withdrawal of application; continuances. Any application may be withdrawn upon written notice filed with the Secretary of the Board, but no application shall be so withdrawn after notice of hearing has been transmitted to the Board members. Applications may also be withdrawn or granted a continuance upon request or agreement of the applicant and with the majority of the Board at a regular meeting. If a quorum is not present, all applications must be continued to the next regularly scheduled meeting, but in no instance should a case be extended more than 60 days from the date of first hearing.
(G) Jurisdiction. The Board shall be presumed to have jurisdiction over any application before it unless challenged by any person, including a Board member, opponents of the applicant, or any member of the town staff. Such challenge must be based on applicable provisions of town ordinances. Such a challenge shall rebut the presumptions of jurisdiction, and the Board shall hear arguments and vote the questions when a challenge is raised.
(Ord. 99-17, passed 10-4-99)