(a) Creation. A Property Maintenance Hearing Board (Board) is hereby established.
(b) Members; Designation. The Board shall consist of three Council Members selected by the City Council.
(c) Powers, Duties, Functions, Scope of Review, Rebuttable Presumption of No Economic Waste. The City Council hereby delegates to the Board the City Council’s adjudicatory power to review administrative appeals filed pursuant to Section 1454.09
(d) and 1454.17
(b), both of which refer to determinations made by the Housing Officer and set out in a notice of violation. The City Council further delegates to the Board the adjudicatory power to review demolition notices of violation as set forth in Section 1454.09
(b). In reviewing demolition notices of violation, the Board's consideration of economic waste shall be based solely on the condition of the exterior of the premises, fact witness testimony, and/or public records submitted into evidence. It shall not be necessary for the Board to secure an interior inspection and/or expert witness testimony to decide the issue of economic waste. There shall be a presumption of no economic waste if the exterior of the premises, fact witness testimony, and/or public records establish to the Board's satisfaction that demolition is an appropriate method to remediate the public nuisance. This presumption of no economic waste may be rebutted, however, by an owner and/or interested party with expert witness testimony or other evidence submitted by the owner and/or interested party to the Housing Officer and/or Board to the extent the Housing Officer and/or Board consider such evidence to be probative and persuasive and have an opportunity to cross examine the expert witness.
(d) Rules of Procedure. The Board is authorized to adopt all procedural rules as may be necessary or beneficial for the conduct of its hearings.
(e) Meetings, Attendance. The Board shall meet as necessary. A majority of Board members must be present to conduct a hearing.
(f) Filing Period for Standard Notice of Violation and Procedure. Any notice of appeal of a standard notice of violation must be made in writing and delivered to the Housing Officer on or before five calendar days after the date of the standard notice of violation. An appeal of a standard notice of violation may only be initiated by the owner to whom the standard notice of violation is directed, and/or the owner’s attorney. Any request for an appeal must include a written statement requesting a hearing signed by the owner or by that party’s attorney, a copy of the notice of violation being appealed, and a brief statement as to why the owner believes the standard notice of violation should be reversed or otherwise modified.
(g) Parties Who May Participate in the Appeal. Only individuals to whom a standard notice of violation or a demolition notice of violation have been addressed, or their attorneys, have the right to participate in an appeal or review before the Board.
(h) Hearing Date. The hearing for an appeal of a standard notice of violation shall occur not less than ten calendar days nor more than sixty calendar days after the Housing Officer’s receipt of the notice of appeal. The hearing for the review of a demolition notice of violation shall occur on the date specified in the demolition notice of violation.
(i) Public Meeting. The hearing shall be conducted at a public meeting.
(j) Evidentiary Hearing. The hearing shall be an evidentiary hearing.
(k) Decision by the Board. Within thirty calendar days after the evidentiary hearing, the Board shall issue a written decision containing findings of fact and a conclusion as to whether the Housing Officer’s decision as set forth in a notice of violation should be affirmed, reversed, or otherwise modified in whole or in part. All decisions by the Board shall be in writing. The decision shall authorize action, by the City Manager or his or her designee, on behalf of the City, to abate the nuisance. Action by the City Manager, personally or through a designee, shall be through such legal or administrative channels as are deemed most appropriate or through use of either City or private labor to effect the necessary nuisance abatement.
(l) Any decision must be supported by at least a two-thirds vote of the Board. A copy of the decision shall be mailed, with certificate of mailing, to the last known address of the owner or interested party who participated in the hearing. It shall be the responsibility of every owner and interested party to keep the Board apprized of his or her current mailing address. For purposes of appeal pursuant to Ohio R.C. Chapter 2506, the final decision will be deemed to have been entered on the date on which the copy of the Board's decision is mailed.
(m) Thirty Day Waiting Period Prior to Demolition. If the Board affirms the findings in a demolition notice of violation, no demolition by the City shall take place sooner than thirty calendar days after the date of the Board’s decision.
(Ord. 04-12. Passed 5-11-04; Ord. 04-29. Passed 12-14-04; Ord. 12-7. Passed 8-28-12; Ord. 13-11. Passed 6-26-13; Ord. 21-14. Passed 11-9-21.)