(a) The provisions of this Ordinance shall be administered by the City’s Board of Zoning Appeals, and as applicable the City Planning Commission. Within a reasonable time after the enactment of this Ordinance, and from time to time thereafter as determined appropriate, the City Engineer/Planning Director or designee shall act on the Board of Zoning Appeals behalf and, as applicable, the Planning Commission’s behalf to carry out the duties set forth in subsection (d) below.
(b) The City Planning Commission shall study zoning, its development, application and relation to public and private development and its relation to other phases of the Comprehensive Plan for development of Martinsburg and may, from time to time, submit amendments to these regulations or changes in the Zoning District boundaries to the Mayor and City Council of Martinsburg. However, no such amendments or change shall become effective until approved by Council.
(c) All departments, officials, and public employees of the City which are vested with the duty or authority to issue permits or licenses shall issue no permit or license for any Use, Building, or purpose if the same would be in conflict with the provisions of this Ordinance.
(d) It shall be the duty and the power of the City Engineer/Planning Director or designee to:
(1) Review all applications for Use and Occupancy Permits;
(2) Issue Use and Occupancy Permits only where there is compliance with the provisions of this Ordinance and with other City Ordinances;
(3) Following a refusal of a permit, to receive applications for Appeals, Special Use Permits, and Variances, and promptly forward these applications to the Board of Zoning Appeals;
(4) Conduct inspections to determine compliance or noncompliance with the terms of this Ordinance;
(5) Issue written stop, cease and desist orders and other written orders for correction of all conditions found to be in violation of provisions of this Ordinance. Such written orders shall be served upon Owners or Persons deemed by the City Engineer/Planning Director or designee to be violating the terms of this Ordinance;
(6) Record and file all applications for Use and Occupancy Permits with accompanying plans and documents. All applications, plans and documents shall be a public record except that the City Engineer/Planning Director or designee, pursuant to West Virginia Code Chapter 29B, Freedom of Information, may withhold information pertaining to a pending investigation involving unlawful activity and documents and data exempt from public disclosure;
(7) Maintain the official Zoning Map or Maps showing the current Zoning District classification of all land in the City;
(8) Bring pertinent matters to the City Planning Commission for its action or information, and provide administrative duties accordingly;
(9) Bring pertinent matters to the Board of Zoning Appeals for its action and information, and provide administrative duties accordingly;
(10) Timely revoke and require the return of a void Occupancy and Use Permit by notifying the permit holder in writing, stating the reason for the revocation. Use and Occupancy Permits shall be revoked for any substantial departure from the approved application, plans, or specifications; refusal or failure to comply with the requirements of applicable federal, state, or local laws; or for false statements or misrepresentations made in securing the permit or certificate. Any permit or certificate which violates this or any Ordinance of the City, or any applicable federal, state, or other local law is void;
(11) Upon the request of the City Council, the City Planning Commission, or the Board of Zoning Appeals, present to such body’s facts, records, or reports which they may request to assist them in making decisions or assist them in any other way as requested;
(12) Evaluate and classify proposed land Uses within the context of this Zoning Ordinance as either permitted, permitted with a Special Use Permit, or prohibited; and
(13) Create and maintain land use application forms.
(e) Enforcement. The City Engineer/Planning Director or designee shall enforce this Ordinance by issuing written stop, cease, and desist orders and other written orders, by withholding Use and Occupancy Permits, by seeking an injunction, mandamus, or other judicial action to prevent, correct, or abate unlawful construction, conversion, alteration, occupancy, or Use, and by seeking warrants for prosecution of violators of this Ordinance.
(1) Violation; remedies.
A. Complaints. Any Person alleging a violation of this Ordinance may file a written complaint with the City Engineer/Planning Director or designee. Upon receipt of a written complaint, the City Engineer/Planning Director or designee shall investigate the matter within ten (10) business days and take appropriate action. A complete record shall be kept of all written complaints received and the actions taken pursuant thereto.
B. Remedies. When any Building or part thereof or other Structure is used, located, erected, constructed, reconstructed, extended, enlarged, converted, or altered, or any land is used or developed, in violation of this Ordinance, or any provision of this Ordinance is otherwise violated, the City Planning Commission, Board of Zoning Appeals, or City Engineer/Planning Director designee may institute action in the Circuit Court of Berkeley County for injunction to restrain the Use conducted in violation of this Ordinance or any other violation of this Ordinance, and/or to direct the Owner or other appropriate Person to remove the subject Structure or Building and take any other enforcement action consistent with Article 10, Chapter 8A of the West Virginia Code.
(2) Penalties. Consistent with Section 8A-10-2 of the West Virginia Code, any Person who violates any provision of this Ordinance, including without limitation failure to comply with any stop, cease, and desist or other order issued pursuant to this Ordinance, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be punished for each offense by a fine not less than one hundred dollars ($100.00) or more than five hundred dollars ($500.00). Each day the violation continues shall be considered a separate offense. Work carried on in violation of the cancellation of any permit issued under this Ordinance shall also be deemed a violation punishable in the same manner. (Ord. 2021-07. Passed 7-21-21.)