A.
The Board shall act as an advisory committee to the City Commission and shall, in addition to the duties prescribed in Chapter 9, have these additional powers and duties:
(1)
Hear and decide appeals from and review any order, requirement, decision
or determination made by officials charged with the enforcement of
this chapter, except that the Board shall not have the authority to
hear any matter pending in any court, to review decisions to inspect
any property, or to review the terms of any certificate of compliance.
All decisions of the Board shall be subject to review as provided
by law.
(2)
Where the literal application of specific provisions of this chapter
would result in an exceptional practical difficulty to the applicant,
the Board shall have the power, in passing upon appeals, to modify
a specific provision of this chapter, provided both of the following
requirements are satisfied:
(a)
The performance of the particular part or item 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 this chapter for the safety and welfare
of the people of the City.
(b)
The specific condition justifying the variance shall be neither
so general nor recurrent in nature as to make an amendment of this
chapter with respect to the condition reasonably desirable.
(3)
The Building Board of Appeals may attach in writing any stipulations
in connection with granting of a variance that, in its judgment, are
necessary to protect public health, safety, and the general welfare
of the people of the City. The breach of those stipulations shall
automatically invalidate the variance and any certificate granted
on the basis of it. In no case shall more than a minimum variance
from this chapter be granted than is necessary to alleviate the exceptional
practical difficulty.
A.
Appeals from rulings of any official charged with the enforcement
of this chapter may be made to the Board within such time as shall
be prescribed by the Board or by this chapter. The appellant shall
file, with the official from whose decision the appeal is taken and
with the Board, a notice of appeal, specifying the grounds in support
of the appeal; an alternate method to achieve the performance required
by this chapter; and the mailing address of the appellant, if other
than the address of the subject property. The official from whom the
appeal is taken shall promptly transmit to the Board a summary report
of all previous action taken, and a recommendation as to the adequacy
of the proposed alternative.
B.
The Board shall fix a reasonable time for the hearing of an appeal
under this section and give due notice to interested parties. The
Board shall render a decision within a reasonable time after the hearing.
The Board may reverse, modify or affirm, in whole or in part, the
order, requirement, decision or determination which is the basis for
the appeal, and to that end shall have all the powers of the official
from whom the appeal is taken. The final disposition of such appeal
shall be in writing and shall state the specific conditions justifying
the variance, along with all conditions imposed in granting the variance.
Such disposition shall be filed with the permanent property record
and shall be forthwith mailed to the address given as part of the
notice of appeal.
