Voluntown City Zoning Code
SECTION 3
ADMINISTRATION AND PROCEDURES.
3.1.
Enforcement. These Regulations shall be administered and enforced by the Planning and Zoning Commission and/or its appointed agent, the Zoning Enforcement Officer. The Zoning Enforcement Officer:
A.
Shall not issue any permit, certificate, or extension thereof unless the same complies with these Regulations.
B.
May cause any building, land, or use to be inspected, and may order in writing, any person to correct or abate any condition violating these Regulations.
C.
Shall keep on file a full and accurate record of all applications, permits, certificates and other records required by these Regulations or pertaining to his services.
3.2.
Permits. No building shall be erected, moved, or structurally enlarged in area and no use shall be established or changed without a Zoning Permit from the Zoning Enforcement Officer, issued in conformity with the provisions of these Regulations. Application for a Zoning Permit shall be made on a form provided for that purpose and obtainable from the Voluntown Land Use Office or municipal website.
A.
A plot plan showing the location and dimensions of lots and structures shall be required to show conformity with these Zoning Regulations before any zoning permit can be issued. Such plot plan must be reviewed by the Zoning Enforcement Officer prior to issuance of a building permit by the Building Inspector.
B.
No Building Permit and no Certificate of Occupancy shall be issued by the Building Official for any building, use or structure without certification in writing by the Zoning Enforcement Officer that such building, use, or structure is in conformity with these Regulations, or is a valid non-conforming use. The Zoning Enforcement Officer may require as-built plans to ensure compliance with these Regulations and any approved permits.
C.
The Zoning Enforcement Officer may require a plot plan prepared, signed, and sealed by a licensed land surveyor or registered professional engineer to ensure compliance with these Regulations. The Zoning Enforcement Officer may further require that location markers for the building foundation and property line be set by a licensed land surveyor in accordance with the plot plan prior to the issuance of a zoning permit.
3.3.
Fees. The following application fees shall be charged:
A.
$50.00 for structural enlargements or additions, and for the construction of outbuildings which are 100 square feet or larger in size.
B.
$100.00 for new residential buildings.
C.
$200.00 for commercial or industrial buildings or uses and any other building or use requiring a site plan.
D.
$550.00 for any special exception, request for zone change, text amendment, or application for a Major Development District to defray costs connected with the required public hearing. (When the fee of this subsection applies, no other fees prescribed in Subsections 3.3.A through 3.3.C, above, shall be required.)
E.
$25.00 for a Home Business Permit or home used for Short-Term Rental.
F.
In addition to the above fees, an additional charge is required by Section 22a-27j of the Connecticut General Statutes. See the fee schedule in Zoning office.
G.
No fee will be charged for religious or governmental buildings or uses.
H.
Application fee to the Zoning Board of Appeals is $550.00.
3.4.
Penalties. In accordance with Section 8-12 of the General Statutes, the owner or agent of any building or premises where a violation of any provision of these Regulations has been committed or exists, or the lessee or tenant of an entire building or premises where such violation has been committed or exists, or the agent, architect, builder, contractor or other person who commits, takes part or assists in any such violation or who maintains any building or premises in which such violation exists, shall be fined not less than ten ($10) nor more than one hundred ($100) dollars for each day that such violation continues; but if the offense is willful, the person convicted thereof shall be fined not less than one hundred ($100) dollars nor more than two hundred fifty ($250) dollars for each day that such violation continues, or imprisoned not more than ten (10) days for each day such violation continues or both; and the superior court shall have jurisdiction of all such offenses, subject to appeal as in other cases.
A.
Any person who, having been served with an order to discontinue any such violation, fails to comply with such order within ten (10) days after such service, or having been served with a cease and desist order with respect to a violation involving grading of land or removal of earth, fails to comply with such order immediately, or continues to violate any provision of the Regulations made under authority of the provisions of this chapter specified in such order shall be subject to a civil penalty of twenty-five hundred ($2,500) dollars, as prescribed in Section 8-12 of the Connecticut General Statutes, payable to the treasurer of the municipality.
3.5.
Referral to Neighboring Municipality. The Commission shall notify the clerk of any adjoining municipality of any application required by Title 8 of the Connecticut General Statutes, as may be amended.
3.6.
Review by Wetlands Commission. If an application for special exception and/or site plan approval involves an activity regulated as an inland wetland or watercourse under the provisions of Chapter 440 of the Connecticut General Statutes, the applicant shall submit an application to the Voluntown Inland Wetlands Commission no later than the day the application is filed with the Commission. The Commission shall not make a decision until the Wetlands Commission has submitted a report with its final decision to the Commission. In making its decision, the Commission shall consider the report of the Wetlands Commission.
3.7.
Referral to Regional Planning Commission (Council of Governments). When the Commission proposes to establish or change a zone or any regulation affecting the use of a zone any portion of which is within five hundred feet of a boundary of another municipality located within the area of operation of a regional planning agency, the Commission shall notify the regional council of governments as required by Title 8 of the Connecticut General Statutes, as may be amended from time to time.