A. Any person seeking an exception has the option of having the exception reviewed by the Commissioner of Building Inspection or the Chief Building Official in lieu of a formal Board of Zoning Appeals' hearing. This administrative review must be conducted in accordance with rules and procedures adopted by the Board of Zoning Appeals.
B. The rules and procedures adopted by the Board of Zoning Appeals for the administrative review procedure must include provisions for appropriate public notification and input, including the following:
1. Mailed notice must be provided in accordance with Sec. 1111.0300.
2. A formal Board of Zoning Appeals hearing must be held in all cases where an affected property owner files an objection to the Commissioner of Building Inspection or the Chief Building Official.
3. The Board of Zoning Appeals must be notified monthly of cases decided administratively.
C. Any person who elects to have their case reviewed by this administrative review procedure, may, after receipt of the decision of the Commissioner of Building Inspection or the Chief Building Official appeal the decision to the Board of Zoning Appeals for a formal hearing. This hearing must be conducted at the next regularly scheduled meeting of the Board of Zoning Appeals, unless the next meeting occurs 7 days or less after receipt of the appeal of the Commissioner's decision, in which case the appeal will be heard at the second next scheduled meeting of the Board of Zoning Appeals.
D. If a person is requesting a Reasonable Accommodation, the following shall apply:
1. A request for a "Reasonable Accommodation Exception" means a request to modify land use, zoning, and building regulations, policies, practices, or procedures in order to give people with disabilities an equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling.
2. All requests for Reasonable Accommodation Exceptions shall be reviewed administratively under the procedures of Sec. 1111.1809 except that Sec. 1111.1809 (B) (1 & 2) does not apply, and there shall not be any mailed notice. The Commissioner of Building Inspection or the Chief Building Official shall issue a written determination of the request no later than thirty (30) days from the date the request is filed.
3. In determining a request for a Reasonable Accommodation Exception, the Commissioner of Building Inspection or the Chief Building Official shall consider the following factors:
i. the necessity of the accommodation to afford a person with a disability an equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling;
ii. if the requested accommodation requires fundamental alterations to zoning laws, rules, policies, practices, and procedures;
iii. if the requested accommodation imposes an undue financial or administrative burden on the city.
Other factors may be considered if they are explicitly listed in the written determination.
E. The Commissioner of Building Inspection or the Chief Building Official, in exercising the rules and procedures of this administrative review procedure, has the same power as the Board of Zoning Appeals to grant exceptions.
(Ord. 170-04. Passed 3-23-04; Ord. 304-17. Passed 7-25-17.)