The board of adjustment shall have the exclusive power to hear and decide appeals where it is alleged that there is an error in any order, requirement, decision or determination made by any administrative officer in the interpretation or enforcement of this ordinance. The board of adjustment does not hear an appeal for a conditional use or variance decision. An appeal for a conditional use or variance decision must be made to the county district court. An appeal made to the board of adjustment may be initiated by any person, firm or corporation aggrieved, or by any officer, department, board or bureau of a town, municipality, county or state in accordance with the following procedure.

The following procedure shall be followed for appeals:

A.

Application.

1.

The appellant requests the proper form from the zoning administrator. The application shall contain the following information:

a.

Name and address of the appellant.

b.

The specific order, requirement, decision or determination on which the appeal is based.

c.

The grounds for the appeal stating how the administrative officer erred in his action, determination or decision.

d.

The relief requested by the appellant.

e.

Applicant's signature.

f.

Any other information or exhibits as required by the board of adjustment necessary to make findings and determinations on the appeal.

2.

The completed application shall be filed with the zoning administrator, accompanied by the fee as set by the county board.

B.

Application processing.

1.

Upon receipt of the application, the zoning administrator shall forward a copy of the completed application and attachments to the board of adjustment.

2.

The appeal shall be placed on the agenda for a public hearing before the board of adjustment within 60 days but not sooner than ten days of the filing of a complete application.

3.

The zoning administrator shall give proper notice of the public hearing in the following manner:

a.

Notice of the time, place and purpose of the public hearing shall be given by publication in a newspaper of general circulation in the town, municipality or other area concerned, and in the official newspaper of the county at least ten days before the hearing.

b.

Written notice of the time, place and purpose of the public hearing shall be mailed at least ten days but not more than 30 days prior to the hearing to:

(1)

The commissioner of the department of natural resources if the subject of the appeal relates to a shoreland management or recreation river district.

(2)

The appellant.

(3)

The affected administrative officer.

C.

Public hearing.

1.

The board of adjustment shall hold at least one public hearing on the appeal.

2.

The applicant or his representative shall appear before the board of adjustment to answer questions concerning the appeal.

3.

An accurate record of all testimony shall be kept by the secretary of the board of adjustment. This record shall contain the names of all persons testifying or otherwise participating at the hearing.

D.

Findings.

1.

The board of adjustment shall not grant an appeal unless it finds the following facts illustrating that the ruling appealed from is clearly erroneous as determined by:

a.

The ruling was based upon a grave misapprehension of the relevant facts.

b.

The ruling resulted from a clearly improper application of the terms of this ordinance to the relevant facts.

c.

The ruling was an abuse of the discretionary authority of the officials issuing it or was a result of bad faith on the part of those officials.

2.

The burden of showing the erroneousness of the ruling shall be on the appellant with all doubts resolved in favor of upholding the administrative officer's ruling.

E.

Time limits.

1.

[Generally.] All proceedings herein shall be conducted in compliance within the time limitations contained in Minn. Stat. § 15.99. Subject to the following exceptions, the board of adjustment must make a decision to approve or deny the application within 60 days of the receipt of the completed application by the zoning administrator. Failure to deny an application within 60 days is approval of the request. If an application is denied, the reason for the denial must be stated in writing at the time the application is denied.

a.

The 60-day time limit begins upon the zoning administrator's receipt of a written application containing all information required by law or by a previously adopted rule, ordinance or policy of the county. If the zoning administrator receives a written application that does not contain all required information, the 60-day limit starts over only if the zoning administrator sends notice within ten business days of receipt of the application telling the applicant what information is missing.

b.

A response to an application meets the 60-day time limit if the board of adjustment or zoning administrator can document that the response was sent to the applicant within 60 days of receipt of the completed application.

2.

Extensions. Exceptions to the 60-day time limit include extensions for the following reasons:

a.

State statute, federal law, or court order require a process to occur before final action can take place, and the time periods required by these laws or orders make it impossible to act within the 60-day period. In such cases, the deadline is extended to 60 days after completion of the last process required in the applicable statute, law or order.

b.

A request requires prior approval from a state or federal agency. In such cases, the deadline of the board of adjustment action is extended to 60 days after the required prior approval is granted.

c.

Prior to the end of the initial 60-day period, the board of adjustment may direct the zoning administrator to extend the time period by up to 60 days by providing written notice of the extension to the applicant. Said notification must state the reasons for the extension and the anticipated length. Additional extensions may be granted if approved by the applicant.

F.

Decision.

1.

The board of adjustment may reverse or affirm wholly or partly, or may modify the order, requirement, decision, or determination appealed from and to that end shall have all the powers of the officer from whom the appeal was taken and may direct the issuance of a permit.

2.

The concurring vote of a majority of the board of adjustment members shall be necessary for the approval or denial of an application for appeal.

3.

The board of adjustment shall make written findings in each case and state the reasons for its decisions.

4.

The decision shall be filed with the zoning administrator, who shall:

a.

Issue a permit if directed.

b.

File a certified copy of the order with the county recorder for record. The order shall contain a legal description of the property involved, if applicable.

c.

Forward written notice of the board of adjustment's decision to the appellant and other affected persons.

d.

Forward copies of all decisions on appeals affecting recreation river or shoreland management districts to the commissioner of the department of natural resources within ten days of such action.

A.

All decisions of the board of adjustment in hearing appeals as provided by this ordinance shall be final. Any aggrieved person or persons, or any department, board or commission of the jurisdiction or of the state shall have the right to appeal the decision to the county district court on questions of law and fact. Said appeal shall be made within 30 days after receipt of notice of the decision.

B.

An applicant may appeal the decision of the board of adjustment when new information is obtained which is relevant to the issue. An application for a rehearing shall be made in the same manner as the original hearing. The application for a rehearing shall be denied by the board if it is determined, from the record, that there has not been substantial change in facts, evidence or conditions.

An appeal stays all proceedings in furtherance of the action appealed from unless the board of adjustment to whom the appeal is taken certifies that by reason of the facts stated in the certificate a stay would cause imminent peril to life or property.

To defray administrative costs of processing applications of appeals, all applicants shall be subject to a flat sum fee in an amount set annually by the county board.