Palos Park City Zoning Code
CHAPTER 1262
ADMINISTRATION, ENFORCEMENT AND PENALTY
1262.01 ENFORCEMENT BY BUILDING COMMISSIONER.
The Building Commissioner is the administrator of this Zoning Code and shall be responsible for enforcing such Code.
1262.02 AGREEMENT OF PERMITS WITH ZONING CODE.
No application for a building permit or other permit or license, or for a certificate of occupancy, shall be approved by the Building Commissioner, and no permit or license shall be issued by any other Village department, which would authorize the use or change in use of any land or building contrary to this Zoning Code or the erection, moving, alteration, enlargement or occupancy of any building designed or intended to be used for a purpose or in a manner contrary to the provisions of this Zoning Code.
1262.03 BUILDING PERMITS.
(a) No building or structure shall hereafter be erected, added to or structurally altered or repaired until a building permit is issued by the Building Commissioner, stating that the building or structure and use of land comply with this Zoning Code and all building and health laws and ordinances of the Village.
(b) An application for a building permit shall be accompanied by a plot plan, drawn to scale, showing the actual dimensions of the lot to be built upon; the size of the building or structure to be erected or structurally altered; its location on the lot; the location of a well, private or public sewage disposal system or seepage field; and such other information as may be necessary to provide for the enforcement of this Zoning Code. A careful record of such applications and plot plans shall be kept in the office of the Commissioner.
1262.04 CERTIFICATES OF COMPLIANCE.
No building or structure hereafter erected or structurally altered shall be occupied and used until a certificate of compliance has been issued by the Building Commissioner. The certificate shall be issued only after the Commissioner makes a finding that the building or structure has been erected or structurally altered in conformity with this Zoning Code and other health and building laws and in accordance with a building permit.
A certificate of compliance shall be applied for coincident with the application for a building permit and shall be issued within ten days after the erection or alteration of such building has been satisfactorily completed. A record of all certificates shall be kept on file in the office of the Commissioner, and copies shall be furnished, on request, to any person having a proprietary or tenancy interest in the building affected.
1262.045 CERTIFICATES OF OCCUPANCY.
Household furnishings and personal possessions not related to and necessary for completion of the building or structure shall not be allowed in the building or structure until a certificate of occupancy is issued. The presence of the above articles shall be deemed an occupancy of the building or unit in which they are found.
(Ord. 1993-14. Passed 2-22-93.)
1262.05 CERTIFICATES FOR CONTINUED OCCUPANCY OF NONCONFORMING USES.
Certificates for the continued occupancy of nonconforming uses existing at the time of the passage of this Zoning Code, or made nonconforming by this Zoning Code, shall be issued by the Building Commissioner, upon the request of the owner of the subject property, and the certificate shall state that the use is a nonconforming one and does not conform with this Zoning Code.
1262.06 USE PERMITS.
No change shall be made in the use of a building or part thereof now or hereafter erected or structurally altered, or in the use of land now or hereafter occupied, without a use permit issued by the Building Commissioner. No such permit shall be issued to make such a change unless it is in conformity with this Zoning Code.
1262.07 PERMITS FOR CHANGES IN TOPOGRAPHY.
No person shall change the contour of any improved or unimproved lot or parcel of land by earth moving through excavation, trenching, grading, addition (including landfill) or removal without first obtaining a permit therefor and paying the required fee. Such a permit shall be issued only if all requirements of State law and Village ordinances concerning landfills, drainage and water retention are met.
1262.08 CONTINUANCE OF EXISTING USES.
Nothing in this Zoning Code shall prevent the continuance of the present lawful occupancy or lawful use of an existing building or zoning lot, except as may be necessary for the safety of life and property and except as otherwise provided in this Zoning Code.
1262.09 FEES.
(a) Each separate petition that is required to be reviewed by the Plan Commission and/or Zoning Board of Appeals pursuant to the Village Code including but not limited to, annexation, preliminary plat, final plat, planned unit development, commercial landscaping, special use, Village Code amendment, map amendment, plat of vacation, variance and appeal, shall be accompanied by a nonrefundable fee at the time of application of three hundred dollars ($300.00), plus a prorated amount of one hundred dollars ($100.00) per acre for sites over one acre, not to exceed a total acreage fee of ten thousand dollars ($10,000).
(b) Requests for construction-necessitated variations. All applications for a variation from any of the provisions of this Code, when said variation is requested after the commencement of construction of any structure or building, or addition thereto, on the property in question, shall be accompanied by a fee equal to double the amount set forth in subsection (a) hereof.
(Ord. 1998-35. Passed 11-23-98; Ord. 2005-27. Passed 7-11-05; Ord. 2010-05. Passed 2-8-10.)
1262.10 PUBLIC HEARINGS.
The following procedures shall apply to all public hearings to be held by the Plan Commission and Zoning Board of Appeals for all requests for right-of-way vacations, subdivision variations, zoning text amendments, zoning map amendments, zoning variations, residential planned unit developments, commercial planned developments, and special uses as authorized by the Village Code.
(a) Submittals. The Village shall supply forms for applicants to complete to apply for Village approval. The information typically asked for on such forms, such as a detailed description of the request, all facts relevant to the property situation, and reasons why the request and facts comply with Village standards, will be used by the Village to make a decision. Additional information may be requested by the Village as deemed necessary to make an informed decision.
(b) Fees. The Village shall require applicants to submit fees to cover the Village's costs for reviewing and processing the application. Application fees are set forth in Section 1262.09, and cost recovery fees are set forth in Chapter 208 of this Code.
(c) Application Review. The Village staff shall review applications, advise applicants regarding the accuracy, completeness, and conformance to Village policies, procedures, plans, and this Code, accept the application and collect fees, forward the application and related documents to the appropriate commission or board, and schedule the application for further review. The application and related documentation submitted by the applicant shall be of public record, and made available for public viewing.
(d) Scheduling. Hearing dates are preset by the Village annually, but may be changed as a result of holidays, lack of a quorum, special events, or for other Village purposes. The Village staff may set due dates for application submittals in order to allow sufficient time for application review and notices. The Village will schedule applications in a timely manner without undue delay. Continuations of a hearing, and recommendations, by the Plan Commission or Zoning Board of Appeals, will be forwarded to the next available meeting date after all required documentation is put together, including written minutes of the hearing and written recommendations. The applicant may request continuations to produce additional information or revised plans and related documents.
(e) Notices. The Village staff shall prepare a written notice of public hearing and arrange for publication of said notice in a local newspaper of general circulation in the Village. Said notice shall contain information relative to the application, including the location of the property, the nature of the proposed development or amendment, petitioner/applicant names, and the hearing time and location. Said notice shall appear at least once in said newspaper no less than fifteen calendar days and no more than thirty calendar days prior to the initial hearing. The Village shall mail a copy of said notice to the applicant and the taxpayer of record of the property that is the subject of the hearing, and the taxpayers of record of surrounding properties within 350 feet of the applicant property, at least once no less than fifteen calendar days and no more than thirty calendar days before the initial hearing. The source of said mail recipients' names and addresses shall be the County Clerk's taxpayer records. The Village shall provide a proof of mailing. The Village shall arrange for a notice sign to be posted at least once on the applicant property during a period no less than fifteen calendar days and no more than thirty calendar days before the initial hearing. Guidelines on notice sign text, size, format, location, and posting shall be as determined by the Village staff. The Village may give additional notices on Village media, such as cable TV, newsletter, website, email, bulletin boards, or announcements at prior meetings. The applicant is encouraged, but not required, to contact neighbors directly, and present plans, resolve issues, and report same to the Village.
(f) Documentation. Letters, plans, photographs, and all other documents presented by the applicant and others at the hearing shall be retained in record file by the Village. The Village shall keep a record of the application, notice, hearing, and subsequent meetings. The Village shall produce written minutes of the hearing and subsequent meetings, and may also make a video or audio recording of same. The Village may determine that a legal stenographic record or similar transcription of the hearing is needed. A summary of the testimony given at the hearing along with findings of fact, recommendations, and votes of the Plan Commission and Zoning Board of Appeals shall be documented in the written minutes. A separate written summary of the hearing may also be prepared.
(g) Order. All interested parties will be given an opportunity to testify at hearings. The Plan Commission and Zoning Board of Appeals may establish rules of decorum to preserve civil discourse.
(Ord. 2010-06. Passed 2-8-10.)
1262.99 PENALTY.
Whoever violates or fails to comply with any of the provisions of this Zoning Code shall, in addition to all other remedies provided for in this Zoning Code, be fined not more than seven hundred fifty dollars ($750.00) for each offense. A separate offense shall be deemed committed each day during or on which a violation or noncompliance occurs or continues.
(Ord. 2022-19. Passed 11-14-22.)