(a) Right to Appeal. Any person who is directly affected by any notice which has been issued in connection with the enforcement of any provision of Norwood Property Maintenance Code (NPMC), or of any rule or regulation adopted pursuant thereto, may request and shall be granted a hearing on the matter before the Board.
(b) Appeals Board. In order to protect existing structures in the City by vigorous enforcement of the provisions of NPMC, there is hereby created a Property Maintenance Code Appeals Board, hereafter referred to as the Board.
(c) Membership. The Norwood Board of Zoning Appeals as created in Zoning Code 1117.01 shall act as the Property Maintenance Code Appeals Board. The Code Official shall appoint one member of the Building Department to act as Secretary of the Board.
(d) Financial Interest. A member of the Board shall not participate in any hearing or vote on any appeal in which that member has a direct or indirect financial interest, or is engaged as a contractor, or is engaged in the preparation of plans and specifications, or in which that member has any personal interest.
(e) Appeals Procedure.
(1) Petition. An appeal to the Board may be taken by any owner, lessee or tenant of a structure or building or by any individual directly affected by any decision by the Code Official, or by the enforcement of any provision of NPMC, or by any rule or regulation adopted pursuant thereto. Such appeal shall be in the form of a written petition, filed in the office of the Board within thirty days from the date that the notice was received or before the expiration of time for compliance stated in the notice, whichever is first.
(2) Grounds. The appeal shall be based on one or both of the following grounds:
A. That the interpretation, ruling or order is erroneous or constitutes an erroneous application of the particular provisions of the NPMC or related laws and ordinances involved, or is otherwise contrary to law.
B. That a modified application or alteration arrangement is available and feasible whereby the strict application of a particular provision or provisions may be modified with alternatives without defeating the public safety, health and general welfare, purpose and intent of the provisions of NPMC.
(3) Fees. Each petition for an appeal to the Board shall be accompanied by a fee listed in Table 1305.05(l) to partially compensate the City for the direct and indirect expenditures, costs and extra work occasioned by the filing and prosecution of the appeal. Such filing fee shall be in addition to the payment of other regular permit fees and any other fee which thereafter may accrue, and no portion of such filing fee shall be refunded whatever the outcome of the appeal.
(f) Meetings. The Board shall meet within thirty (30) days after the filing of any appeal or request for action with the Secretary of the Board, and also periodically if the volume of its work so warrants. Notice of the hearing shall be sent to the petitioner ten (10) days prior to the meeting by priority mail return receipt requested. Three Board members shall constitute a quorum. All hearings shall be public; and any person, either in person or by attorney, whose interests may be directly affected by the matter on appeal, shall be given an opportunity to be heard. The chairman, or, in his absence, the acting chairman, may administer oaths and compel the attendance of witnesses. Minutes shall be kept of all proceedings and official actions, which minutes shall be filed in the office of the Board, and shall be a public record.
(g) Vote. In exercising its power, the Board may, in conformity with the provisions of statute and the NPMC, reverse or affirm, wholly or partly, or may modify the order, requirements, decisions or determination of the Code Official, as ought to be made, and to that end shall have all powers of the officer from whom the appeal is taken.
The Board shall act by resolution; and the concurring vote of three members of the Board shall be necessary to reverse any order, requirement, decision or determination of the Code Official, or to decide in favor of a petitioner in any matter on which it is required to pass under NPMC. Failure to secure three concurring votes shall be deemed a confirmation of the decision of the Code Official. The decision of the Board is final. The Board shall provide the appellant and the Code Official with written notice of its determination within fifteen days after the hearing.
(h) Records. The Secretary of the Board shall keep a record of each meeting so that the record shows clearly the basis for each decision made by the Board.
(i) Enforcement of Decision. The Code Official shall take immediate action in accordance with the decision of the Board.
(j) Judicial Review. Any owner, lessee or tenant of any building, structure or equipment either jointly or severally aggrieved by any decision of the Board may pursue an appeal under Ohio Revised Code Chapter 2506 within fifteen (15) days after the date of the Boards decision. (Ord. 27-2013. Passed 6-11-13.)