(a) Hearing - Action Required after Receipt of Application or Appeal. Following receipt by the Zoning Board of Adjustment of a complete application or Appeal, the Board shall:
(1) Within ten (10) days of receipt of a complete application or Appeal, set a time for hearing of the application or Appeal, and give notice thereof to the applicant or appellant. The hearing shall be held no later than forty-five (45) days from the date of receipt of the complete application or Appeal. Applicants and appellants may petition for postponement or change of said dates for good cause shown in accord with the Rules of the Board of Zoning Appeals;
(2) At least fifteen (15) days prior to the date set for the hearing on the application or Appeal, publish a notice of the date, time and place of the hearing on the application or Appeal as a Class I legal advertisement in compliance with the provisions of West Virginia Code Chapter 59-3-1 et seq., and provide written notice thereof to the interested parties. The publication area shall be the area covered in the application or Appeal. For purposes of this provision, "interested parties" shall mean Landowners of Adjacent Property. The applicant or appellant shall make a good-faith effort to provide the Zoning Administrator with a current list containing the accurate names and mailing addresses of all interested parties;
(b) Provide a hearing notice to the Zoning Administrator for posting upon the property upon which the application or Appeal is concerned. The notice shall be posted conspicuously at least fifteen (15) days before the date of the hearing by the applicant;
(c) Direct the Zoning Administrator to provide due notice of the hearing to all adjacent and confronting landowners of the subject property, which shall be deemed to include landowners whose property is separated from the subject property only by a street or alley. Adjacent Property owners are identified as properties within 100 feet of the proposed development or activity. Such notice shall be given at least fifteen (15) days prior to such hearing and shall be given by certified mail. The failure of any party to actually receive such notice shall not invalidate any subsequent action taken; and
(d) Visit the specific property in question prior to or after the hearing in order to make proper determination of all applicable facts, but only if the Board determines in its discretion, upon request or upon the Board's own motion, that a site visit is beneficial.
(e) Hearing - Holding of Hearing; Appearance at Hearing. The Board, following such action above, shall hold such hearing. At the hearing, any party may appear and be heard in person or by agent or attorney, subject to the rules of the Board, and the prerogative of the Board to determine the standing of any Person to pursue an application or Appeal that has been filed.
(f) Hearing Postponement Procedures and Requirements.
(1) Request for postponement of a scheduled hearing shall be filed in writing with the Board not less than ten (10) days prior to the date of the hearing, and shall be accompanied by a sum of money sufficient to pay the cost of publishing the postponement, certified mail notice to all adjacent and confronting landowners of the subject property, and the rescheduled hearing as a Class I legal advertisement in compliance with the provisions of West Virginia Code Chapter 59-3-1 et seq. The granting of such requests shall be at the discretion of the Chairman of the Board.
(2) Requests for postponement filed less than (10) days prior to the date of a scheduled hearing, shall, in addition to the other requirements set forth in subsection (a) above, including the sum of money sufficient to pay the cost of advertising the postponement and the rescheduled hearing, be supported by an affidavit or declaration of the party making the request or of some other credible person specifying that the scheduled hearing date will impose an extreme hardship or other good cause for postponement. The granting of such request shall be at the discretion of the Board.
(3) No more than three (3) postponements shall be granted within any period of ninety (90) days.
(g) Hearing Continuance Procedures. The Board may continue a hearing at another time and/or date once such hearing has been started; however, the Board shall announce the date and hour of continuance of such hearing while in session. Furthermore, the chairman, or in his absence, the acting chairman may call for a continuance if a quorum is not in place for the meeting. The date and hour shall be agreed to by all parties and announced while in session.
(h) Staying of Work on Premises When Appeal Taken; Exception. When an Appeal has been taken and filed with the Zoning Board of Adjustment, all proceedings and work on the premises in question shall be stayed unless the official or board from whom or which the Appeal was taken shall certify to the Zoning Board of Adjustment that by reason of facts stated in the certificate a stay would cause imminent peril to life or property. If such certificate be filed, proceedings or work on the premises shall not be stayed except by order of the Circuit Court of Kanawha County. Such stay shall not affect further administrative proceedings or engineering or architectural work that does not disturb the real property beyond incidental disturbances necessary to complete engineering work (such as surveying, tests, or core drilling).
(i) Hearings - Decision by the Board; Appeal from Decision by the Board. The Board shall render a written decision containing findings of fact and conclusions of law within thirty (30) days after completion of the hearings. The Board may announce its decision at the conclusion of the public hearing and authorize the chairman to execute the written decision once prepared, or it may defer its decision and reconvene within thirty (30) days to further deliberate, vote, and render its written decision. Any Person or Persons aggrieved by any decision of the Zoning Board of Adjustment may seek review by certiorari of the same by the Circuit Court of Kanawha County pursuant and subject to Article 9, Chapter 8A of the West Virginia Code by petition filed within thirty (30) days after the filing of the Board's written decision. Nothing herein shall be deemed to limit the right of any Person to seek review by certiorari by said Court pursuant to said Article 9 without first appealing to the Zoning Board of Adjustment.
(j) Disapproval of Application. If an application or Appeal is denied by the Zoning Board of Adjustment, no further action on another application for substantially the same proposal on the same premises shall be taken until after twelve (12) months from the date of such denial.
(k) Fees. A filing fee in the amount of ($0.00) shall accompany each application for an Appeal to the Board.
(Ord. 2023-02. Passed 4-17-23.)