Winslow City Zoning Code
ARTICLE II
Administration
Division 1. Code Enforcement Officer |
§ 300-11 Enforcement.
The Code Enforcement Officer shall administer and enforce this chapter.
§ 300-12 Duties.
It shall be the duty of the Code Enforcement Officer to enforce the provisions of this chapter, examine all applications for permits, inspect affected properties, and within 30 days grant written permits to applicants whose application is complete and acceptable according to this chapter, and written refusals to applicants whose application is not acceptable according to this chapter. The Code Enforcement Officer shall refer all applications for conditional use to the Planning Board within 30 days.
The Code Enforcement Officer shall maintain a current file of all pertinent local ordinances, regulations, codes, and plans relating to land use regulation including local subdivision plans.
The Code Enforcement Officer or Deputy Code Enforcement Officer shall be present at all meetings of the Planning Board and Board of Appeals and present all pertinent material.
The Code Enforcement Officer shall conduct on-site inspections to ensure compliance with all applicable laws and conditions attached to approval. The Code Enforcement Officer may enter any property at reasonable hours and enter any structure with the consent of the property owner, occupant or agent, to inspect the property or structure for compliance with the provisions set forth in this chapter. If consent is denied, the Code Enforcement Officer shall obtain an administrative warrant before entering the property.
§ 300-13 Notification of violations, abatement powers; inspection powers and penalty.
If the Code Enforcement Officer finds that any provision of this chapter is being violated, he/she shall immediately notify in writing the person responsible for such violation, indicating the nature of the violation, and ordering the action necessary to correct it.
The Code Enforcement Officer shall order removal of illegal buildings, structures, additions, and alterations as well as discontinuance of illegal use of real estate. The Code Enforcement Officer is authorized to institute or cause to be instituted, in the name of the Town, any and all legal or equitable relief, that may be appropriate or necessary for the enforcement of this chapter; provided, however, that this section shall not prevent any person entitled to equitable relief enjoining any act contrary to the provisions of this chapter. The Code Enforcement Officer shall give notice of any impending legal action to the Town Council.
The Code Enforcement Officer shall be given access to real estate in the Town at reasonable hours as necessary for the enforcement of this chapter.
Any person being the owner or occupant of, having control of or use of, any building or premises, or part thereof, who violates any of the provisions of this chapter shall be guilty of a civil violation and upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than $100 nor more than $2,500. Each day such violation continues shall constitute a separate offense.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II)]
§ 300-14 Right of appeal.
Anyone withstanding, not satisfied that the Code Enforcement Officer has made a proper decision in regard to permits may bring an appeal for administrative review to the Board of appeals within 45 days from the date of any such final decision by the Code Enforcement Officer.
The Code Enforcement Officer shall refer to the Board Of appeals all requests for a variance and other cases over which the Board of Appeals is given explicit authority by this chapter.
There shall be a fee of $50 to partially cover the cost involved with this appeal. If the final decision for an appeal, not a variance, is in favor of the applicant, the fee will not be refunded.
Division 2. Board of Appeals |
§ 300-15 Creation; composition; organization; quorum.
A Board of Appeals is established. The Board of Appeals shall consist of seven members and one associate member to be appointed by the Town Council to serve a three-year term..
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II)]
The Board of Appeals shall annually at the first meeting of January elect one of its members as Chair and one as Secretary.
Four members of the Board of Appeals shall constitute a quorum; two-thirds majority is required for a decision.
§ 300-16 Membership; qualifications; vacancy; removal; compensation.
All members and associate members shall be residents of the Town.
A Municipal Officer may not be a member or an associate member of the Board of Appeals. The associate member shall act, in order of seniority, instead of a member of the Board of Appeals who is unable to act because of a conflict of interest, physical incapacity, or absence.
When there is a permanent vacancy, the Town Council shall appoint a new member for the remainder of the unexpired term.
The Town Council shall, upon public hearing, remove from office members or associate members who have failed to do their duty on the Board of Appeals.
§ 300-17 Meetings.
All meetings of the Board of Appeals shall be open to the public. The Board of Appeals shall make electronic recordings or keep minutes of its proceedings, recording vote, failure to vote, and absence of each member. The final disposition of appeals shall be recorded by resolution supported by finding of fact and conclusions of law on de novo appeals.
[Amended 5-9-2022 by Ord. No. 08-2022]
The Board of Appeals shall keep records of its proceedings and official actions. All records of the Board of Appeals shall be public records and shall be immediately filed in the Town office.
§ 300-18 Authority to adopt rules.
The Board of Appeals shall adopt reasonable rules necessary to the conduct of its affairs in accordance with this chapter.
§ 300-19 Powers and duties.
Administrative appeals. To hear and decide administrative appeals, on an appellate basis, where it is alleged by an aggrieved party that there is an error in any order, requirement, decision, or determination made by, or failure to act by, the Planning Board in the administration of this article; and to hear and decide administrative appeals on a de novo basis where it is alleged by an aggrieved party that there is an error in any order, requirement, decision or determination made by, or failure to act by, the Code Enforcement Officer in his or her review of and action on a permit application under this article. Any order, requirement, decision or determination made, or failure to act, in the enforcement of this article is not appealable to the Board of Appeals.
[Amended 5-9-2022 by Ord. No. 07-2022]
When the Board of Appeals reviews a decision of the Code Enforcement Officer, the Board of Appeals shall hold a de novo hearing. At this time the Board may receive and consider new evidence and testimony, be it oral or written. When acting in a de novo capacity, the Board of Appeals shall hear and decide the matter afresh, undertaking its own independent analysis of evidence and the law, and reaching its own decision.
When the Board of Appeals hears a decision of the Planning Board, it shall hold an appellate hearing, and may reverse the decision of the Planning Board only upon finding that the decision was contrary to specific provisions of the article or contrary to the facts presented to the Planning Board. The Board of Appeals may only review the record of the proceedings before the Planning Board. The Board of Appeals shall not receive or consider any evidence which was not presented to the Planning Board, but the Board of Appeals may receive and consider written or oral arguments. If the Board of Appeals determines that the record of the Planning Board proceedings is inadequate, the Board of Appeals may remand the matter to the Planning Board for additional fact finding.
The Board of Appeals shall hear appeals made in accordance with this chapter within 45 days from filing. The Board of Appeals shall issue its written decision within seven days from the conclusions of the hearing on the appeal.
The Board of Appeals has only the powers explicitly vested in it by this chapter.
The Board of Appeals may request a recommendation from the Planning Board in considering variances.
The Board of Appeals may conduct a site visit.
Appeals from a Planning Board decision shall be made within 45 days of the decision.
[Added 5-9-2022 by Ord. No. 07-2022]
§ 300-20 Appeals procedure.
Applications to the Board of Appeals consist of the same documents required for building and use permits plus any additional material the Code Enforcement Officer or the Board of Appeals consider relevant to the case.
An appeal to the Board of Appeals may not be repeated within one year of a decision of the Board of Appeals unless there is newly discovered evidence which by due diligence could not have been discovered by the applicant in preparation for the original appeal hearing, and which newly discovered evidence is relevant to the case appealed.
An appeal to the Board of Appeals stays, until the Board of Appeals makes its final decision, all legal proceedings in furtherance of the action appealed from unless the Code Enforcement Officer certifies to the Board of Appeals that by reason of fact stated in the certificate, a stay would, in his/her opinion, cause imminent peril to life and property.
§ 300-21 Appeals to superior court.
[Amended 4-11-2022 by Ord. No. 02-2022; 5-9-2022 by Ord. No. 09-2022]
Appeal from a decision of the Board of Appeals may be taken to the superior court within 45 days after decision pursuant to 30-A M.R.S.A. § 2691.
§ 300-22 Variances.
[Amended 8-14-2017 by Ord. No. 9-2017]
Variance means a relaxation of the terms of this chapter where such variances are not the result of the actions of the applicant and a literal enforcement of this chapter would result in unnecessary and undue hardship. A variance is authorized only for height, area, and size of structure or size of yards and open spaces. Establishment or expansion of a use otherwise prohibited shall not be allowed by variance, nor shall a variance be granted because of the presence of nonconformities in the zoning district or adjoining zoning districts.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II)]
Upon duly made appeal, the Board of Appeals may grant a variance in cases for which literal enforcement of this chapter would cause undue hardship. The words "undue hardship" as used in this subsection mean:
The land in question cannot yield a reasonable return unless a variance is granted;
The need for the variance is due to the unique circumstances of the property and not to the general conditions of the neighborhood;
The granting of a variance will not alter the essential character of the locality; and
The hardship is not the result of action taken by the applicant or a prior owner.
No variance shall be given to permit a use otherwise prohibited in the district.
A variance shall be given the same kind of validity as a building permit.
Notice of an appeals hearing before the Board of Appeals for a variance shall be the responsibility of the applicant. The notice shall be sent by certified mail to all property owners, on either side of the road, within 200 feet of the affected premises at least 10 days prior to any such appeal hearing. The Code Enforcement Office will maintain a list of property owners who were mailed notices and said office will record the date the notices were mailed. Failure of any property owner to receive such a notice of an appeal hearing concerning a variance shall not necessitate another hearing or invalidate any action by the Board of Appeals.