(A) Appellant; appeals body. Any interested party may appeal any final decision of the Planning Director made under this chapter to the Planning Commission or any decision of the Planning Commission to the Board of Supervisors. For the purposes of this section, the Planning Commission or the Board of Supervisors, when acting as the body hearing an appeal, shall be referred to as the “Appeals Body”.
(B) Time for appeal; application; fee; grounds. Any appeal shall be filed with the appropriate appeals body not later than five days after the challenged decision. The appeal shall be made on an application form approved by the Planning Department and accompanied by the required fee. The specific grounds for the appeal shall be stated. Omitted grounds shall not be considered and the appellant’s failure to state a ground constitutes a waiver of the right to subsequently raise the omitted ground.
(C) Hearing; evidence. The appeal shall be a public hearing conducted de novo. The hearing shall commence at the next available meeting date of the appeals body after the filing of the appeal. In no event shall the hearing commence later than 60 days after the filing of the appeal. The hearing may be continued at the discretion of the appeals body; but in no event shall the hearing be continued for more than 60 days, unless consented to by the property owner and the appellant, if other than the property owner. The appeals body shall consider any relevant, reliable evidence. The admission of evidence shall not be governed by the formal rules of evidence. Rather, any evidence which may be relied upon by a reasonable person conducting serious business affairs shall be admitted.
(D) Basis for decision. The appeals body shall state the basis for its decision by written resolution. If the appeals body acts to reverse or modify the decision it reviews, it shall state the nature of the error requiring the reversal or modification.
(E) Notice of appeal. The notice of appeal also shall be given to the property owner if property owner is not the appellant. In all cases, a notice of appeal shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation at least ten days in advance of the commencement of the hearing.
(1966 Code, § 33-14) (Ord. 757, § 1(part))