A. Created And Appointment:
1. Pursuant to Utah Code 10-9a-701 the City hereby establishes an Appeal Authority consisting of a Hearing Officer to:
a. Hear and decide requests for variances from the terms of the land use ordinance;
b. Hear and decide appeals from decisions applying the land use ordinance;
c. Hear and decide appeals from a fee charged in accordance with State Code section 10-9a-510.
2. The Hearing Officer shall be appointed or removed by the Mayor with the advice and consent of the City Council.
B. Organization And Procedures:
1. All hearings of the Hearing Officer shall be open to the public.
2. The Hearing Officer shall keep minutes of its proceedings, and
3. The Hearing Officer may, but is not required to, have its proceedings contemporaneously transcribed by a Court Reporter or a tape recorder.
4. The Hearing Officer shall file its records in the Office of the City Recorder.
5. All records in the Office of the City Recorder are public records.
6. Decisions of the Hearing Officer become effective at the time the decision is filed with the City Recorder, unless a different time is designated by the Hearing Officer.
C. Appeals:
1. The applicant or any other person or entity adversely affected by a decision administering or interpreting a land use ordinance may appeal that decision applying the land use ordinance by alleging that there is error in any order, requirement, decision or determination made by an official in the administration, interpretation or enforcement of the land use ordinance. Any person or any officer, department, board or bureau of the city affected by the grant or refusal of a building permit, or by any other decision of the city's administrative staff in the enforcement and administration of the land use ordinance, may appeal any decision to the hearing officer.
2. All appeals must be filed in writing with the office of the city recorder, within ten (10) calendar days from the date of any written decision is issued by the city or within ten (10) calendar days from when the person knows or reasonably should know of the decision being appealed, whichever is less.
3. The person or entity making the appeal has the burden of proving that an error has been made.
4. Only decisions applying the land use ordinance may be appealed to the hearing officer. A person may not appeal, and the hearing officer may not consider, any amendments to the land use ordinances.
5. Adversely affected parties that appeal for relief shall be required to present to the hearing officer every theory of relief that it can raise in district court.
6. The standard of review of factual matters for the hearing officer shall be de novo. The hearing officer shall review for correctness a decision of the city's land use authority in its interpretation and application of a land use ordinance.
7. Only those decisions in which the city's land use authority has applied a land use ordinance to a particular application, person, or parcel may be appealed to the hearing officer.
8. Appeals may not be used to waive or modify the terms or requirements of the land use ordinance.
D. Variances:
1. Any person or entity desiring a waiver or modification of the requirements of the land use ordinance as applied to a parcel of property that he owns, leases or in which he holds some other beneficial interest, may apply to the hearing officer for a variance from the terms of the land use ordinance.
2. The hearing officer may grant a variance only if:
a. Literal enforcement of the ordinance would cause an unreasonable hardship for the applicant that is not necessary to carry out the general purpose of the land use ordinances;
b. There are special circumstances attached to the property that do not generally apply to other properties in the same zone;
c. Granting the variance is essential to the enjoyment of a substantial property right possessed by other property in the same zone;
d. The variance will not substantially affect the general plan and will not be contrary to the public interest; and
e. The spirit of the land use ordinance is observed and substantial justice done.
3. In determining whether or not enforcement of the land use ordinance would cause unreasonable hardship under this subsection, the hearing officer may not find an unreasonable hardship unless:
a. The alleged hardship is located on or associated with property for which the variance is sought; and
b. The alleged hardship comes from circumstances peculiar to the property, not from conditions that are general to the neighborhood;
c. In determining whether or not enforcement of the land use ordinance would cause unreasonable hardship under subsection D2 of this section or this subsection D3, the hearing officer may not find an unreasonable hardship if the hardship is self- imposed or economic.
d. In determining whether or not there are special circumstances attached to the property under subsection D2 of this section or this subsection D3, the hearing officer may find that special circumstances exist only if the special circumstances:
(1) Relate to the hardship complained of; and
(2) Deprive the property of privileges granted to other properties in the same zone.
4. The applicant shall bear the burden of proving that all of the conditions justifying a variance have been met.
5. Variances run with the land.
6. The hearing officer and any other body may not grant a use variance.
7. In granting a variance, the hearing officer may impose additional requirements on the applicant that will:
a. Mitigate any harmful effects of the variance; or
b. Serve the purpose of the standard or requirement that is waived or modified.
E. Appeal Of Hearing Officer Decision To District Court: Any person adversely affected by any decision of a hearing officer may petition the district court for a review of the decision within thirty (30) days of said decision. (Ord. 2012-07, 4-30-2012)