With regard to this zoning code, the Village Council shall have the following powers and duties:
(a) Upon receipt of a recommendation by the Planning Commission, the Village Council shall decide upon amendments to this code and amendments to the Zoning Map (rezoning), according to the procedure in Section 1280.03.
(b) The Village Council shall hear and decide upon appeals of the decisions of the Planning Commission or the Board of Zoning Appeals, according to the following:
(1) Appeals heard by the Village Council on decisions of the Board of Zoning Appeals or the Planning Commission shall be for the purpose of determining the adequacy of subordinate public body hearings, and may be brought by any affected property owner, tenant, governmental officer, department, board or bureau.
(2) An appeal shall be filed within ten days of the rendering of the decision.
(3) If hearings and records transmitted by the Board of Zoning Appeals or the Planning Commission are deemed adequate, its decision shall be affirmed.
(4) The Village Council shall not solicit or allow additional evidence or testimony, but shall base its deliberations on the record of the subordinate hearings, except that the Council may question any of the parties represented in the record.
(5) The record shall include all materials submitted by the appellant, by the Zoning Administrator, by any other reviewing body and by the public, together with the record of public hearings and meetings. The record of official public hearings and meetings shall consist of the written minutes and all attachments thereto. If a recording of the meeting is available, the appellant may, at his or her expense, request a transcript of the recording to be added to the record.
(6) Fees paid in accordance with the fee resolution approved by the Village Council shall include a nonrefundable filing fee and a refundable fee that is forfeited upon Council affirmation of the decision of a subordinate body.
(7) The burden shall be on the appellant to convince the Village Council that there has been an error in a previous decision because of procedural inadequacy.
A. "Procedural inadequacy" shall be broadly construed to include failure to adequately consider an important argument presented to a subordinate review body by the appellant, or a failure to follow proper procedure so that all participants may have a hearing before a fair and impartial panel.
B. The Village Council shall act as a check on subordinate decisions and as an additional local safeguard of due process.
(8) Upon the concurring vote of a majority of a quorum of the Village Council, the Village Council shall decide an appeal by either:
A. Affirming the decision of the subordinate body; or
B. Remanding the decision back to the subordinate body for reconsideration based on specified procedural inadequacies;
C. The affirmation by Council of the decision of the subordinate body shall be considered a final administrative decision in the matter. If the matter is remanded to the subordinate body, the subsequent decision of the subordinate body shall be considered a final administrative decision and not subject to an additional appeal to Council.
(9) Appeals hearings heard by Council shall be open to the public and announced in a newspaper of general circulation at least ten days before the hearing. No additional public comment shall be taken at this quasi-judicial proceeding.
(Ord. 2013-19. Passed 9-16-13.)