(A) General. The provisions of this section are inconsistent in some respects with Section 112 of the IBC and are intended to replace and prevail over Section 124 of the IBC.
(B) Application for Appeal. Any person shall have the right to appeal to the Board of Appeals from any decision of the Building Code Administrator refusing to grant a modification to the provisions of any Code adopted pursuant to this chapter covering the manner of construction or materials to be used in the erection, alteration, or repair of a building or structure, or electrical, plumbing, mechanical or other equipment therein, or the refusal to grant a building permit or a certificate of use and occupancy, or the improper issuance of a stop work order. An application for appeal shall be based upon the claim that the true intent of the Codes adopted hereby or the rules legally adopted thereunder have been incorrectly interpreted, that the provisions of the Codes adopted hereby do not fully apply, or an equivalent form of construction can be used.
(C) Membership of the Board of Appeals. The Board of Appeals shall consist of five members appointed by the president who shall serve for five years or until a successor has been appointed.
(D) Qualifications of Board members.
(1) One member of the Board shall be a member of the Fire Department of the Chatham Fire Protection District. Each other member shall be a resident of the village and a licensed professional engineer or architect, or a building or superintendent of building construction or an electrical or plumbing contractor with at least five years experience in responsible charge of work.
(2) Not more than two members shall be from the same profession or occupation, and at least one professional engineer shall be a structural or civil engineer with architectural or engineering experience. If the president cannot find persons with these qualifications willing to serve, the president may appoint some other persons to the Board.
(E) Alternate Members. The Village President, with the advice and consent of the Board of Trustees, shall appoint two alternate members who shall be called by the Board Chairman to hear appeals during the absence or disqualification of a member. Alternate members shall possess the qualifications required for Board membership and shall be appointed for five years or until a successor has been appointed.
(F) Chairman. The Board shall select one of its members to serve as chairman. A member of the Board shall not hear an appeal in which that member has any personal, professional or financial interest.
(G) Secretary. The Village President shall designate a person, who may be the Deputy Clerk of the village, to serve as secretary to the Board. The secretary shall keep a journal and shall file a record of all proceedings with the Village Clerk.
(H) Compensation. Members of the Board shall receive no compensation for service on the Board, but are entitled to the actual expenses in accordance with village reimbursement policies.
(I) Notice of meetings. The Board of Appeals shall meet upon notice from the chairman, within ten days of the filing of an appeal.
(J) Open meetings. All hearings before the Board, and all proceedings of the Board, shall be open to the public. The Board shall comply with state statutes and village ordinances pertaining to open meetings. Its journal and its records shall be public documents subject to disclosure under state statutes and village ordinances pertaining to freedom of information. At any hearing before the Board, the appellant, the appellant’s representative, the Code Administrator, and any person whose interests are affected, shall be given an opportunity to be heard. The chairman shall have the discretion to determine whether a person seeking to be heard is a person whose interests are affected by the appeal.
(K) Procedure of the Board. The Board shall adopt and make available to the public through the secretary, procedures under which a hearing shall be conducted. The procedure shall not require compliance with strict rules of evidence but shall mandate that only relevant information be received. The procedure shall require that no Board member shall be qualified to hear any case in which he or she has a financial interest or in which he or she is related by blood or marriage to the appellant.
(L) Postponed hearing. When five members are not present to hear an appeal, either the appellant or the appellant’s representative shall have the right to request postponement of the hearing.
(M) Board decision. The Board may modify or reverse the decision of the Building Code Administrator only by a concurring vote of at least three members. The decision of the Board shall be in writing. Certified copies of the decision shall be furnished to the appellant and the Code Administrator. The Code Administrator shall take immediate action in accordance with the decision.
(N) Administrative review. Decisions of the Board of Appeals shall be reviewable by the Circuit Court of the Seventh Judicial Circuit, Sangamon County, Illinois, in accordance with provisions of the Illinois Code of Civil Procedure relating to administrative review.
(Ord. 94-07, passed 3-24-94; Am. Ord. 04-43, passed 7-13-04)