(B) Membership and Appointment.
(1) The Board shall consist of five members who shall be appointed by the Mayor and confirmed by the City Commission for a term of three years. Any vacancies shall be filled by appointment by the Mayor for the remainder of the unexpired term and confirmed by the City Commission. The Housing Board of Appeals shall annually elect its own chairman, vice-chair, secretary, and other such officers it may deem necessary.
(2) The secretary shall maintain a permanent official record of all its transactions; such records shall be public records.
(3) The compensation of the appointed members of the Housing Board of Appeals shall be fixed by the City Commission.
(4) The City Commission may appoint not more than two alternate members for the same term as regular members of the Housing Board of Appeals. An alternate member may be called as necessary to serve as a regular member of the Housing Board of Appeals in the absence of a regular member if the regular member is absent from or will be unable to attend a meeting of the Housing Board of Appeals. An alternate member may also be called to serve as a regular member for the purpose of reaching a decision on a case in which the regular member has abstained for reasons of conflict of interest. The alternate member appointed shall serve in the case until a final decision is made. The alternate member has the same voting rights as a regular member of the Housing Board of Appeals.
(C) Meetings (Hearings).
(1) All meetings of the Housing Board of Appeals shall be at the call of the chairman and at reasonable times as the Board may determine.
(2) All hearings conducted by said Board shall be open to the public.
(3) Four members of the Board shall constitute a quorum for the conduct of its business.
(4) The Board shall adopt its. own rules of procedure.
(5) The City Clerk, or his representative, 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 and other official action.
(6) The Board shall have the power to subpoena and require the attendance of witnesses officials, administer oaths, compel testimony, and the production of books, papers files and other evidence pertinent to the matters before it.
(7) The Board shall make no decision except in a specific case.
(D) Notice.
(1) The Board shall either by general rule or in specific cases determine the interested parties who, in the opinion of the Board, may be affected by any matter brought before it which in all cases shall include those persons who own any real property within 300 feet of the premises in question, according to the latest assessment records of the city, and the occupants of all single and two-family, dwellings within 300 feet of said premises in question.
(2) Such notice may be delivered either personally or by mail addressed to said respective owners as disclosed by the most current assessment records contained in the City Assessor office and to tenants at address given for property in the latest assessment record. If the tenant's name is not known, the term "occupants" may be used.
(E) Appeals.
(2) Any person may appeal and testify at a meeting (hearing) either in person or by a duly authorized agent or attorney.
(3) Such appeals shall be taken within such time as shall be prescribed by the Board of Appeals.
(4) The appellant shall file with the city administration a notice of appeal specifying the grounds of the appeal.
(5) The officer from whom such appeal is taken shall forthwith transmit to the Board all the papers constituting the record together with a summary report of previous action taken.
(6) An appeal shall stay all proceedings in furtherance of the action appealed from unless any official, department, board, or commission of the city certifies to the Board of Appeals after notice of appeal has been filed, that by reason of facts stated in the certificate, a Stay would, in his opinion, cause imminent peril to life or property, in which case the proceedings shall not be stayed, otherwise than by a Restraining Order granted by a Court of Record.
(F) Fees. The City Commission may, from time to time, prescribe and amend by resolution a reasonable schedule of fees to be charged to applicants for appeals to the Housing Board of Appeals. At the time the notice of appeal is filed, said fee shall be paid to the City Treasurer to the credit of the General Revenue Fund of the city.
(G) Decisions.
(1) The Housing Board of Appeals shall render a decision on the appeal without unreasonable delay in the form of a resolution, either reversing, modifying or affirming, wholly or partly, the decision appealed from or may make such orders, requirements, or determination as ought to be made, and to that end shall have the powers of any officer, or department, board or commission of the city.
(2) The concurring vote of four of the members of the Board shall be necessary to reverse any Order, requirements, decisions, or determination of any officer. or department, board, or commission of the city, or to decide in favor of the applicant in the matter upon which it is authorized by §§ 150.30 through 150.41 to render a decision.
(4) Appeal to Circuit Court by an unsuccessful appellant to the Housing Board of Appeals shall be made within 21 days of the date of the meeting at which the vote was taken.
(Ord. 7.3, passed 2-4-97; Am. Ord. 7.3, passed 5-18-04)