The City Manager or their designee may exempt any person from any of the regulations of this Chapter, subject to all of the following:
A. Any exemption shall only be granted, for up to a one-year period, upon a showing that compliance with a regulation of this Chapter would cause undue hardship. An "undue hardship" shall be found only in situations where compliance with any regulation of this Chapter would cause significant economic hardship to the person seeking the exemption.
B. Any person granted an undue hardship exemption by the City must reapply prior to the end of the exemption period and demonstrate continued undue hardship, if they wish to have the exemption extended beyond the existing exemption period.
C. An undue hardship exemption application shall include all information necessary for the City Manager to make a decision, including, but not limited to, documentation establishing the undue hardship. The City Manager or their designee may require the applicant to provide additional information to permit them to determine facts regarding the exemption application.
D. The City Manager or their designee may approve the undue hardship exemption application, in whole or in part, with or without conditions.
E. Undue hardship exemption decisions are effective immediately.
F. Decisions of the City Manager may be appealed, by the person applying for the undue hardship exemption, to the City Council. Appeals shall be filed, in writing, with the City Clerk, no later than ten (10) days after the applicant receives written notice of the City Manager's decision and shall be accompanied by any applicable fee set by resolution of the City Council.
G. If the City Council determines an evidentiary hearing is necessary, then notice of such hearing shall be given to the applicant at least ten (10) days prior to the hearing. The City Council shall review the appeal based on a substantial evidence standard and make its final decision no later than thirty (30) days after having concluded any such hearing. The formal rules of evidence shall not be applicable to the hearing and the City Council's decision shall be based on the record of the City Manager's decision, provided by staff, and on any written information provided by the appellant.
H. If the City Council determines no evidentiary hearing is required, then it shall make a decision regarding the appeal within thirty (30) days after holding a public meeting, hearing from the appellant and considering any oral or written reports or other documentation received as part of that meeting.
I. The City Council's decision on such appeals shall be final.
(Ord. No. 2021-010 § 2 (part))