Zoning Inspector. There is hereby created the position of Zoning Inspector. The City Administrator shall be the ex officio Zoning Inspector, unless the Board of Aldermen shall designate another City employee as the Zoning Inspector. The Board of Aldermen may, but shall not be required to, appoint a Deputy Zoning Inspector who shall have and may exercise all of the powers of the Zoning Inspector.

Duties. It shall be the duty of the Zoning Inspector to enforce this Chapter. The Zoning Inspector shall receive applications required by this Chapter and issue permits. He shall examine premises for which permits have been issued and shall make necessary inspections to see that the provisions of law and the terms and conditions of any permit or variance issued pursuant to this Chapter are complied with and performed. He shall enforce all laws and Code provisions relating to the construction, alteration, repair, removal, demolition, equipment, use, occupancy, location and maintenance of land, buildings and structures, except as may be otherwise provided. He shall, when the interests of the City so require, make investigations in connection with matters referred to in this Chapter. For the purpose of enforcing compliance with law, he shall issue such notices or orders as may be necessary.

Rules. For carrying into effect its provisions, the Zoning Inspector may adopt rules consistent with this Chapter. Any such rule shall be an official record of the City and shall be made available upon request by the Zoning Inspector to any applicant therefor and payment of the cost of reproduction of the same.

Records. The Zoning Inspector shall keep careful and comprehensive records of applications, permits issued, inspections made, reports rendered and notices or orders issued.

Amendments to Applications. Nothing in this Section shall prohibit the filing of amendments to an application at any time before the completion of the work for which the permit was sought. Such amendments, after approval, shall be filed with and be deemed a part of the original application.

Action on Application. If, after examination of the application for permit, the Zoning Inspector finds no objection to the same and it appears that the proposed work will be in compliance with the laws and ordinances applicable thereto, he shall approve such application and issue a permit for the proposed work as soon as practicable and within fifteen (15) days after filing of the application. If his examination reveals otherwise, he will reject such application, noting his findings in a report to be attached to the application and delivering a copy to the applicant.

Condition of the Permit. All work performed under a permit issued by the Zoning Inspector shall conform to the approved application and plans and approved amendments thereof. The location of all new construction as shown on the approved plot diagrams, or an approved amendment thereof, shall be strictly adhered to. It shall be unlawful to reduce or diminish the area of a lot or plot for which a plot diagram has been filed and has been used as the basis for a permit, unless a revised plot diagram showing the proposed change in conditions shall have been filed and approved; however, this prohibition shall not apply when the lot area is reduced by reason of a street opening or widening or other public improvement. It shall be unlawful to change the use of land for which a land use permit has been issued until a revised land use permit has been obtained.

Revocation. The Zoning Inspector may revoke a permit or approval issued under the provisions of this Chapter in case the work performed under the permit is not in conformance with the permit or condition of the permit as specified in Subsection (H) above or in case there has been any false statement or misrepresentation as to a material fact in the application or plans on which the permit or approval was based.

Composition. The Hermann Landmarks Commission shall consist of five (5) regular members and one (1) advisory, non-voting member.

Terms of Office. The term of office of the members of the Landmarks Commission shall be for three (3) years, except that the membership of the first Landmarks Commission appointed shall serve respectively for terms of one (1) for one (1) year, two (2) for two (2) years and two (2) for three (3) years. One (1) alternate member may be appointed to serve in the absence of or the disqualification of any of the regular members. Vacancies shall be filled for the unexpired term only. Members may be removed for cause by the Mayor and Board of Aldermen upon written charges and after public hearing.

Officers. Officers shall consist of a Chairman, a Vice-Chairman, and a Secretary elected by the Landmarks Commission, who shall each serve a term of one (1) year and shall be eligible for re-election.

Appointment, Term, Vacancies, Organization. The Board of Aldermen shall provide for the appointment of a Board of Adjustment, and in the regulations and restrictions adopted pursuant to the authority of Sections 89.010 to 89.140, RSMo., as revised, may provide that the Board of Adjustment may determine and vary the application of such regulations and restrictions in harmony with their general purpose and intent in accordance with general or specific rules contained therein. The Board of Adjustment shall consist of five (5) members, who shall be residents of the City and who may not be employees or elected or appointed officers of the City of Hermann or members of the Planning and Zoning Commission or Landmarks Commission. The membership of the first Board appointed shall serve, respectively, one (1) for one (1) year, one (1) for two (2) years, one (1) for three (3) years, one (1) for four (4) years, and one (1) for five (5) years. Thereafter members shall be appointed for terms of five (5) years each. Three (3) alternate members may be appointed to serve in the event of absence or disqualification of the regular members. All members and alternates shall be removable for cause by the Mayor and Board of Aldermen upon written charges and after public hearing. A vacancy shall be filled by the Mayor and Board of Aldermen for the unexpired term of any member whose term becomes vacant.

Procedures. The Board shall organize and elect a Chairman, Vice Chairman and Secretary from its membership to serve for a term of one (1) year. The Board shall then adopt rules for its own government in accordance with this Chapter. Meetings shall be held at the call of the Chairman and at such times as the Board deems advisable. The Chairman, or in his absence the Vice Chairman, may administer oaths, and the Board may compel the attendance of witnesses. All meetings of the Board shall be open to the public. The Secretary shall keep the minutes of the proceedings, indicating the vote of each member on each question or the absence or failure of a member to vote. The Secretary shall also keep records of the Board's examination of issues and witnesses and other official actions, all of which are to be immediately filed in the office of the Board and become public records. The Secretary shall conduct all official correspondence and supervise the clerical work of the Board. Four (4) members of the Board shall constitute a quorum. The Board shall act by resolution.

Powers of the Board. The Board shall have the following powers:

Appeals to the Board. Appeals to the Board may be taken by any person aggrieved or by any officer, department, board or bureau of the City affected by any decision of the Zoning Inspector or Landmarks Commission. Such appeal shall be taken within thirty (30) days after rendering of the final decision appealed from by filing with the Zoning Inspector or Landmarks Commission, as the case may be, and with the Board a notice of appeal specifying the grounds therefor and providing the Board a list of current property owners within an area determined by lines drawn parallel to a one hundred eighty-five (185) foot distance from the boundaries of the property affected by the appeal. A fee of three hundred dollars ($300.00) shall accompany each notice of appeal, and said sum shall be deposited in the General Revenue Fund of the City and shall not be refundable. The Zoning Inspector or Landmarks Commission shall forthwith transmit to the Board all the papers constituting the record upon which the action appealed from was taken. An appeal stays all proceedings in furtherance of the actions appealed from, unless the Zoning Inspector or Landmarks Commission certifies to the Board after the notice of appeal has been filed that by reason of facts stated in the certificate a stay would, in the opinion of the Zoning Inspector or Landmarks Commission, cause immediate peril to life or property. The Board shall fix a time for the hearing of the appeal within thirty (30) days following receipt of same; give public notice thereof, by letter sent by first class mail, postage prepaid, to property owners as provided above and by publication one (1) time in a local newspaper of general circulation in the City of Hermann not less than five (5) nor more than fifteen (15) days prior to the date of said hearing; and decide the same within a reasonable time. Any party may appear in person or by agent or by attorney at such hearing. All testimony, objections thereto, and rulings thereon shall be taken down by a reporter employed by the Board for that purpose. The concurring vote of four (4) members of the Board shall be necessary to reverse any order, requirement, decision or determination of the Zoning Inspector or Landmarks Commission, or to decide in favor of the applicant on any matter upon which it is required to pass under this Chapter or to effect any variation from the requirements of this Chapter.

Decisions of the Board. The Board shall render decisions only on appeals from an action of the Zoning Inspector or Landmarks Commission. The Board shall take action only when it has determined that a permit or certificate has been incorrectly issued or denied, or when it has determined that this Chapter has been incorrectly interpreted, or when the appellant proves the existence of practical difficulties or unnecessary hardship in the way of carrying out the strict letter of this Chapter due to a provision or provisions herein contained as applied to a specific lot or tract. In case such practical difficulties or unnecessary hardship, due to peculiar characteristics of a specific lot or tract, be proven, the Board may issue a variance, signed by the Chairman, to vary or modify the application of any of the regulations or provisions of this Chapter relating to the construction or alteration of buildings or structures or the use of land, and setting out any conditions to be met. A copy of the variance shall be sent to the Zoning Inspector or Landmarks Commission, as appropriate, who shall issue a Building Permit, Land Use Permit, Certificate of Compliance, or Use Permit, or Certificate of Appropriateness or Certificate of Economic Hardship, setting out the terms of the variance. In no case shall the Board issue a variance or an order permitting a use to be placed in a district in which such use is not permitted by this Chapter or permitting a non-conforming use which will materially interfere with the use of adjoining premises in conformity with the regulations applicable to the district in which it is located, unless the appellant presents evidence from which the Board may determine that:

Appeal from Decisions of the Board. Any person or persons jointly or severally aggrieved by any decision of the Board or any officer, department, board, or bureau of the City of Hermann may present to the Circuit Court of Gasconade County a petition, duly verified, setting forth that such decision is illegal, in whole or in part, and specifying the grounds of the illegality. Such petition must be presented to the Court within thirty (30) days after the filing of the decision in the office of the Board, and thereafter proceedings shall be had thereon as provided by Chapter 536, RSMo., as revised.

Application for amendment, revision or change of the Hermann Zoning District Map may be made by any person, or his/her agent, who owns the land sought to be rezoned. If such application is made by the owner's agent, said agent shall enter upon the application the name, telephone number and current address of the owner. Such application shall be made upon forms prescribed by the Commission and duly filed with the Secretary of the Commission. Applications for amendment, revisions or change of any of the rules, regulations or provisions of the text of this Chapter, other than the Zoning District Map, may be made by any interested person on forms prescribed by the Commission and duly filed with the Commission. A fee of three hundred dollars ($300.00) shall accompany each application for an amendment, and said sum shall be deposited in the General Revenue Fund and shall not be refundable. Immediately upon receipt of such application, the Commission shall note thereon the date of filing and make a permanent record thereof. All such applications shall be set down for hearing before the Commission not later than thirty (30) days from the date of filing the same. Any such hearing may, for good cause, at the request of the applicant or in the discretion of the Commission, be continued. Upon the final hearing on such application, the Commission shall make a written report of its findings and recommendation for approval or denial to the Board of Aldermen. After the filing of such application, the Board of Aldermen shall also set a time and place for a hearing thereon, allowing reasonable time for the hearing before the Commission and the receipt of the Commission's report and recommendation.

Recommendations for revisions or amendments to the Chapter, including the Zoning District Map, may also be made by the Commission upon its own motion for final determination by the Board of Aldermen. Likewise, the Board of Aldermen may revise, modify or amend this Chapter, including the Zoning District Map, upon its own motion, provided however, that such proposed changes shall first be submitted to the Commission for recommendations and report.

In any event, action upon any proposed amendment to the Zoning Code shall be taken only upon notice and hearing. Notice of the times and places of the hearing by the Commission and of the hearing by the Board of Aldermen shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation within the City of Hermann at least fifteen (15) days prior to the date of the Commission's hearing. If a protest against such revision or amendment is presented to the Board of Aldermen, duly signed and acknowledged by the owners of thirty percent (30%) or more, either of the area of the land (exclusive of street and alleys) included in such proposed change or within an area determined by lines drawn parallel to and one hundred eighty-five (185) feet distant from the boundaries of the district proposed to be changed, such revision or amendment shall not become effective except by the favorable vote of two-thirds (2/3) of all the members of the Board of Aldermen.

Any amendment, revision or change of this Chapter or of the Zoning District Map, approved by the Board of Aldermen as provided in this Section, shall be adopted by ordinance in the same manner as otherwise provided by law and this Code.

After an application for rezoning has been scheduled and notice of the hearing has been advertised as provided in this Code, the hearing may, at the discretion of the Planning and Zoning Commission, be postponed at the applicant’s request.

In case any building or structure is erected, constructed, reconstructed, altered, converted, or maintained, or any building, structure, or land is used in violation of this Chapter, the Zoning Inspector, in addition to other remedies, may institute any appropriate action or proceedings to prevent such unlawful erection, construction, reconstruction, alteration, conversion, maintenance or use, to restrain, correct, or abate such violation, to prevent the occupancy of said building, structure, or land, or to prevent any illegal act, conducting of business, or use in or about such premises.

The owner or general agent of a building or premises where a violation of any provision of the regulations of this Chapter has been committed or shall exist, or the lessee or tenant of an entire building or entire premises where such violation has been committed or shall exist, or the owner, general agent, lessee or tenant or any part of the building or premises in which such violation has been committed or shall exist, or the general agent, architect, builder, contractor or any other person who commits, takes part or assists in any such violation or who maintains any building or premises in which any such violation shall exist shall be guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not less than ten dollars ($10.00) and not more than one hundred dollars ($100.00) for each and every day that such violation continues; but if the offense be willful, on conviction thereof the punishment shall be a fine of not less than one hundred dollars ($100.00) or more than two hundred fifty dollars ($250.00) for each and every day that such violation shall continue or by imprisonment for not more than ten (10) days for each and every day such violation shall continue, or by both such fine and imprisonment in the discretion of the court.

Any such person who, having been served with an order to remove any such violations, shall fail to comply with such order within ten (10) days after such service or shall continue to violate any provision of this Chapter in the respect named in such order shall also be subject to a civil penalty of two hundred fifty dollars ($250.00).