The Board of Adjustment shall hear and decide appeals from decisions of administrative officials charged with the enforcement of this chapter and may hear appeals arising out of any other ordinance that regulates land use or development, pursuant to all of the following:
(A) Any person who has standing under G.S. § 160D-1402 or the city may appeal a decision to the Board of Adjustment. An appeal is taken by filing a notice of appeal with the City Clerk. The notice of appeal shall state the grounds for the appeal. The notice of appeal must be on an official form that may be obtained from the administrator.
(B) The owner of the property that is the subject of the decision or the party who sought the decision shall have 30 days from receipt of the written notice of the decision of the administrative official within which to file an appeal. Any other person withstanding to appeal shall have 30 days from receipt from any source of actual or constructive notice of the decision within which to file an appeal. In the absence of evidence to the contrary, notice pursuant to G.S. § 160D-403(b) given by first class mail shall be deemed received on the third business day following deposit of the notice for mailing with the United States Postal Service.
(C) After an appeal is filed, the administrative official shall within five working days notify members of the Board of Adjustment of the appeal. The official who made the decision shall transmit to the Board all documents and exhibits constituting the record upon which the action appealed from is taken. The official shall also provide a copy of the record to the appellant and to the owner of the property that is the subject of the appeal if the appellant is not the owner.
(D) An appeal of a notice of violation or other enforcement order stays enforcement of the action appealed from unless the administrative official who made the decision certifies to the Board of Adjustment after notice of appeal has been fled that because of the facts stated in an affidavit, a stay would cause imminent peril to life or property or because the violation is transitory in nature, a stay would seriously interfere with enforcement of the ordinance. In that case, enforcement proceedings shall not be stayed except by a restraining order, which may be granted by a court. If enforcement proceedings are not stayed, the appellant may file with the administrative official a request for an expedited hearing of the appeal, and the Board of Adjustment shall meet to hear the appeal within 15 days after such a request is filed. Notwithstanding the foregoing, appeals of decisions granting a permit or otherwise affirming that a proposed use of property is consistent with the ordinance shall not stay the further review of an application for permits or permissions to use such property; in these situations the appellant may request and the Board may grant a stay of a final decision of permit applications or building permits affected by the issue being appealed.
(E) The Board of Adjustment may reverse or affirm (wholly or partly) or may modify the order, requirement or decision or determination appealed from and shall make any order, requirement, decision or determination that in its opinion ought to be made in the case before it. To this end, the Board shall have all the powers of the officer from whom the appeal is taken.
(F) Subject to the provision of division (D) of this section, the Board of Adjustment shall hear and decide the appeal within a reasonable time. The official who made the decision or the person currently occupying that position if the decision-maker is no longer employed by the city shall be present at the evidentiary hearing as a witness. The appellant shall not be limited at the hearing to matters stated in the notice of appeal. If any party or the city would be unduly prejudiced by the presentation of matters not presented in the notice of appeal, the Board shall continue the hearing.
(G) When hearing an appeal pursuant to G.S. § 160D-947, any other appeal in the nature of certiorari, the hearing shall be based on the record below and the scope of review shall be as provided in G.S. § 160D-1402.
(H) The parties to an appeal that has been made under this section may agree to mediation or other forms of alternative dispute resolution.
(2009 Code, § 155.235) (Ord. passed 10-27-1992; Ord. 2014-2-25-25, passed 2-25-2014; Ord. 2021-Z-19, passed 6-22-2021)