1. Creation, Membership, Appointment, Terms. There is hereby created a Board of Adjustment, consisting of five (5) members. The word “Board” when used in this Code shall mean the Board of Adjustment. Members of the Board shall be appointed by the Mayor and confirmed by the City Council to serve respectively for the following terms: One for one year, one for two (2) years, one for three (3) years, one for four (4) years, and one for five (5) years; the successor to each member so appointed to serve a term of five years. Vacancies shall be filled by the Mayor, subject to confirmation by City Council, for any unexpired term. The majority of the Board shall not be in the business of purchasing or selling real estate. Members may be removed by the Mayor, with consent of City Council, for cause after written charges have been filed and after a public hearing has been held.
2. Meetings, Rules, Records, Procedures. Meetings of the Board shall be held on the second Monday of the month, and at such other times as the Board may determine. Meetings shall be held if so requested by three members of the Board. All meetings and hearings conducted by the Board shall be open to the public. Any person may appear and testify at a hearing either in person or by duly authorized agent or attorney. The chairperson or, in their absence, the acting chairperson may administer oaths and compel attendance of witnesses. The Board shall keep minutes of its proceedings, showing the vote of each member upon each question, or if absent or failing to vote, indicating such fact, and shall also keep records of its hearings, examinations, and other official actions. Every decision of the Board shall be by written record which shall include findings that set forth the specific relief or use granted or relief denied, and shall expressly set forth any limitations or conditions imposed on any relief granted, or work or use authorized. A copy of every rule or regulation order, requirement, decision, or determination of the Board shall be filed immediately in the office of the Zoning Administrator and shall be a public record. The Board shall adopt its own rules and procedures not in conflict with this Code or with the Code of Iowa.
3. Finality of Decision and Necessary Vote. All decisions and finds of the Board on any appeal or upon any application for a variance or conditional use, after a public hearing, shall, in all instances, be the final administrative decision and shall be subject to judicial review as provided by law. The concurring vote of three members of the Board shall be necessary to reverse an order, requirement, decision, or determination of the Zoning Administrator, or to decide in favor of the applicant on any matter upon which it is required to pass under this Code, or to effect any variance in such ordinance.
4. Petition for Certiorari. Any person or persons, jointly or severally, aggrieved by any decision of the Board under the provisions of this Code, or any taxpayer, or any officer, department board, or bureau of the municipality, may present to a court of record a petition, duly verified, setting forth that such decision is illegal, in whole or in part, specifying the grounds of the illegality. Such petition shall be presented to the court within thirty (30) days after the filing of the decision in the office of the Zoning Administrator.
5. Fee. A nonrefundable fee shall be paid by the applicant to the Zoning Administrator at the time an application for an appeal, variance, conditional use, or revised site plan is filed, which the Zoning Administrator shall forthwith pay over to the City Clerk to the credit of the general revenue fund of the City. The fee shall help defray necessary costs and shall be in an amount established by resolution, from time to time, by the City Council.
(Section 165.80 – Ord. 998 – Jan. 24 Supp.)