(a) Established; Appointment. There is established in the City a Board to be called the Board of Appeal, consisting of five members who are qualified by experience and training to pass upon matters pertaining to fire prevention, and who shall be appointed by the chief appointing authority. The chief appointing authority shall designate one of the members to serve as chairman.
(b) Term of Office. The chief appointing authority of the City shall appoint one member of the Board for a term of one (1) year, two members for a term of two (2) years, and two members for a term of three (3) years. Upon expiration of the term of office of a member of the Board, his successor shall be appointed for a term of three (3) years. Vacancies shall be filled for an unexpired term in the manner in which original appointments are required to be made. Continued absence of any member from regular meetings of the Board shall, at the discretion of the chief appointing authority of the City, render any such member liable to immediate removal from office by the chief appointing officer.
(c) Quorum. Four members of the Board shall constitute a quorum. In varying the application of any provision of this code or in modifying an order of the Fire Chief, affirmative votes of three members shall be required. No member of the Board shall pass upon any question in which he, or any corporation in which he is a shareholder, is interested.
(d) Meetings and Records. Meetings of the Board shall be held at the call of the chairman and at such other time as the Board may determine. All hearings before the Board shall be open to the public. The Board shall keep minutes of its proceedings, showing the vote of each member upon every question, or if absent or failing to vote, indicating the facts, and shall also keep records of its examinations and other official action. The minutes and the records shall be public records.
(e) Procedure. The Board shall establish rules and regulations for its own procedure not inconsistent with the provisions of this code.
(f) Appeals.
(1) Whenever any person is aggrieved by an order of the Fire Chief, or whenever the Fire Chief shall disapprove an application or refuse a permit, or when it is claimed that the provisions of the Fire Prevention Code do not apply or that the true intent and meaning of the Fire Prevention Code have been misconstrued or wrongly interpreted, the person may appeal to the Board.
(2) An appeal may be taken within thirty days from the date of the decision appealed by filing with the Fire Chief or with the Board a notice of appeal, specifying the grounds thereof, except that in the case in which in the opinion of the Fire Chief there is immediate danger to the public safety, the Fire Chief may in his order limit the time for the appeal to a shorter period. The Fire Chief shall forthwith transmit to the Board all the papers upon which the action appealed from is taken.
(g) Modification and Variations By the Board of Appeal.
(1) The Board, when so appealed to and after a public hearing, may vary the application of any provision of this code to any particular case when, in its opinion, the enforcement thereof would do manifest injustice, and would be contrary to the spirit and purpose of this code or public interest, or when, in its opinion, the interpretation of the Fire Chief should be modified or reversed.
(2) A decision of the Board to vary the application of any provision of this code, or to modify an order of the Fire Chief, shall specify in what manner the variation or modification is made, the condition upon which it is made, and the reasons therefor.
(h) Decisions of the Board of Appeal.
(1) The Board shall in every case reach a decision without unreasonable or unnecessary delay. Every decision of the Board shall be in writing and shall indicate the vote upon the decision. Every decision shall be promptly filed in the office of the Fire Chief and shall be open to public inspection. A certified copy shall be sent by mail or otherwise to the appellant and a copy shall be kept publicly posted in the office of the Fire Chief for two weeks after filing.
(2) If a decision of the Board reverses or modifies a refusal, order, or disallowance of the Fire Chief or varies the application of any provision of this code, the Fire Chief shall take action immediately in accordance with the decision.
(i) Appeals from Decision of the Board of Appeal. A person aggrieved by a decision of the Board, whether previously a party to the proceeding or not, or an officer or board, may within fifteen days after the filing of the decision in the office of the Fire Chief, apply to the appropriate court to correct errors of law in such decisions.
(Ord. 17-31. Passed 2-27-17.)