[HISTORY: Adopted by the Village Council of the Village of
New Haven 7-8-2014 by Ord. No. 327. Amendments noted where applicable.]
There is hereby established a Construction Board of Appeals,
which shall perform its duties and exercise its powers as provided
in Act 230 of the Public Acts of 1972, as amended, commonly known
as "Construction Code Act,"[1] in such a way that the objectives of this chapter shall
be observed, public safety secured, substantial justice done. The
Construction Board of Appeals shall consist of three members, and
three alternate members, who are appointed by and sit at the pleasure
of the Village President pursuant to MCLA § 125.1514.
A.
A member of the Board of Appeals shall be qualified by experience
or training, to perform the duties of members of the Board of Appeals.
A person may serve on the Board of Appeals of more than one governmental
subdivision. One member may be a member of the Village Council. An
elected officer of the Village Council shall not serve as chairperson
of the Construction Board of Appeals. An employer or contractor of
the Village may not serve as a member or employee of the Village Construction
Board of Appeals. The total amount allowed the Construction Board
of Appeals in any one year as per diem or as expenses actually incurred
in the discharge of the duties shall not exceed a reasonable sum,
which sum shall be appropriated annually in advance by the Village
Council. Members of the Construction Board of Appeals shall be removable
by the Village Council for nonperformance of duty or misconduct in
office upon written charges and after public hearing. A member shall
disqualify himself or herself from a vote in which he or she has a
conflict of interest. The failure of a member to disqualify himself
or herself from a vote in which he or she has a conflict of interest
may constitute misconduct in office.
B.
The term of each member shall be for two years. A successor shall
be appointed not more than one month after a given vacancy. All vacancies
for unexpired terms shall be filled for the remainder of the term.
C.
The Village Construction Board of Appeals shall not conduct business
unless a majority of the members of the Board are present.
[1]
Editor's Note: See MCLA § 125.1501 et seq.
A.
All meetings of the Village Construction Board of Appeals shall be
held at the call of the chairperson and at such other times as the
Board on its rules of procedure may specify.
B.
All business which the Board of Appeals may perform shall be conducted
at a public meeting of the Board of Appeals held in compliance of
Act 267 of the Public Acts of 1976.[1] Public notice of the time, date, and place of the meeting
shall be given in the manner required by Act 267 of the Public Acts
of 1976.
[1]
Editor's Note: See MCLA § 15.261 et seq.
C.
The Construction Board of Appeals shall adopt its own rules of procedure
and keep a record of its proceedings showing the vote of each member
upon each question, or if absent or failing to vote, indicating said
fact; and shall file a record of its proceedings in the office of
the Village Clerk, and shall be of public record. The concurring vote
of a majority of the members of the Construction Board of Appeals
shall be necessary to reverse any order, requirement, decision, or
determination of the Village of New Haven enforcing agency or to decide
in favor of an applicant any matter upon which they require to pass
under the ordinances of the Village to effect any variation pursuant
to said ordinances. The Board shall have the power to subpoena and
require the attendance of witnesses, administer oaths, compel testimony
and the production of books, papers, files and other evidence pertinent
to the matters before it.
If the Village Building Department refuses to grant an application
for a building permit, or if the enforcing agency makes any other
decision pursuant or related to the Construction Code Act or the applicable
building, electrical, plumbing, or mechanical code, an interested
person or the person's authorized agent may appeal in writing
to the Construction Board of Appeals. The Construction Board of Appeals
shall hear the appeal and render and file its decision with a statement
of reasons for the decision to the Village of New Haven Clerk not
more than 30 days after submission of the appeal. Failure by the Board
of Appeals to hear an appeal and file a decision within the time limit
is a denial of the appeal for purposes of authorizing the institution
of an appeal with the State Construction Code Commission. A copy of
the decision and the reasons for the decision shall be delivered or
mailed, before filing, to the party taking the appeal.
The Village Council may from time to time prescribe and amend
by resolution a reasonable schedule of fees to be charged to applicants
for appeals to the Construction Board of Appeals. At the time the
notice for appeal is filed, said fees shall be paid to the Treasurer
of Village of New Haven.
A.
The Construction Board of Appeals may affirm or reverse, wholly or
in part, or may modify the order, requirement, decision, or determination
which in its opinion ought to be made in the premises, and to that
end shall have the powers of the office or body from whom the appeal
was taken and may issue or direct the issuance of a permit.
B.
The Construction Board of Appeals shall also have the following specified
duties and powers:
(1)
Review. Shall hear and decide appeals from and review any order requirement,
decision, or determination made in the administration of the New Haven
building codes by the building, plumbing, electrical, or mechanical
inspector.
(2)
Interpretation. Shall have the power to hear and decide upon appeals
for the interpretations of the applicable building codes.
(3)
Variances. The Construction Board of Appeals, as per section 15 of
the Construction Code Act,[1] after a public hearing, may grant a specific variance
to a substantive requirement of the applicable code if the literal
application of the substantive requirement would result in an exceptional
or practical difficulty to the applicant, and if both of the following
requirements are satisfied:
(a)
The performance of the particular item or part of the building
or structure with respect to which the variance is granted shall be
adequate for its intended use and shall not substantially deviate
from performance required by the code of that particular item or part
for the health, safety and welfare of the people of this Village.
(b)
The specific condition justifying the variance shall be neither
general nor recurrent in nature as to make an amendment of the code
with respect to the condition reasonably practical or desirable.
(c)
The Construction Board of Appeals may attach in writing any
condition in connection with the granting of a variance that in its
judgment is necessary to protect the health, safety, and welfare of
the people of this Village. The breach of a condition shall automatically
invalidate the variance and any permit, license, and certificate granted
on the basis of it.
(d)
In no case shall more than minimum variance from the code be
granted than is necessary to alleviate the exceptional, practical
difficulty.
[1]
Editor's Note: See MCLA § 125.1515.
(4)
Decision. The decision of the Construction Board of Appeals shall
be made in writing with a statement of the reasons for the decision.
A record of the decisions made by the Construction Board of Appeals,
properly indexed, and any other writing prepared, owned, used, in
possession of, or retained by the Board of Appeals in the performance
of an official function shall be made available to the public in compliance
with Act 442 of the Public Acts of 1976.[2]
[2]
Editor's Note: See MCLA § 15.231 et seq.
(5)
Rules. The Construction Board of Appeals may, from time to time,
establish, modify, or amend its rules regarding its procedures as
long as said procedures do not conflict with the State Construction
Act and the requirements therein.
An interested person, or the interested person's authorized
agent, may appeal a decision of the Construction Board of Appeals
in which the appeal meets the requirements as set forth in Section
16 of the Construction Code Act 230 of the Public Acts of 1972, as
amended, and also referenced as MCLA § 125.1516.
