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Chapter 8.136
APPEALS

8.136.010 Purpose.

To establish a procedure for the appeal of a requirement, decision or determination made by the Zoning Administrator, Director of Community Development, or Planning Commission.

Intent. The intent of this Chapter is to ensure that appeals of decisions are properly held and noticed and that the public has a means to appeal decisions made by the City. Rev. Ord. 17-98 (October 1998)

8.136.020 Appeal Subjects and Jurisdiction.

Actions and decisions that may be appealed, and the authority to act upon an appeal shall be as follows:

A.    Administration and interpretation. The following actions of the Director may be appealed to the Planning Commission and then to the City Council:

1.    Meaning and applicability of the provisions of Title 8. Determinations on the meaning or applicability of the provisions of Title 8 of the Dublin Municipal Code that are believed to be in error, and cannot be resolved with Staff.

2.    Incomplete application. Any determination that a permit, application, or information submitted with the application is incomplete, pursuant to Government Code Section 65943.

B.    Permit and Hearing Actions. Except as otherwise provided in this Chapter, actions of the Director of Community Development and the Zoning Administrator on permits may be appealed to the Planning Commission and then to the City Council. Actions of the Planning Commission on permits may be appealed to the City Council. Actions of the City Council are final. Rev. Ord. 17-98 (October 1998)

8.136.030 No Appeal From Ministerial Actions.

No right of appeal shall exist when the decision or action is ministerial and does not involve the exercise of judgment or deliberation pursuant to any provisions of this Title. Rev. Ord. 17-98 (October 1998)

8.136.040 Who May Appeal.

A.    Administration and Interpretation. An appeal may be filed by any person affected by a Department administrative action or interpretation as described in Section 8.136.020.A.

B.    Permit and Hearing Actions. An action described in Section 8.136.020.B may be appealed by:

1.    Anyone who, in person or through a representative explicitly identified as such, appeared at a public hearing in connection with the decision being appealed, or who otherwise informed the City in writing of the nature of his/her concerns before the hearing.

2.    City Council Members. A member of the City Council may appeal an action of the Zoning Administrator, Community Development Director and Planning Commission. If an appeal is made by a Council Member, there shall be a presumption applied that the reason for the appeal is because the appealed action has significant and material effects on the quality of life within the City of Dublin. Notwithstanding Section 8.136.050.B, no other reason need be or shall be stated by the Council Member in his/her written appeal. No inference of bias shall be made because of such an appeal.

C.    Staff Appeal Prohibited. A representative of the City government presenting departmental recommendations at a hearing is prohibited from appealing a decision reached at such hearing. Rev. Ord. 17-98 (October 1998)

8.136.050 Filing Appeals.

A.    Appeal Periods. An appeal must be filed within 10 days of the action which is the subject of the appeal. Appeals filed beyond 10 days shall not be accepted.

B.    Form of appeal. An appeal shall be in writing, shall reference any Planning Application number, shall fully state the extent of the appeal and the reasons and grounds for appeal, shall include any information required by the Director of Community Development, and may include any explanatory materials the appellant wishes to furnish. The appeal shall be accompanied by the filing fee established by the City Council.

C.    Filed with City Clerk. An appeal shall be filed with the City Clerk.

D.    Effect of filing. In the event of an appeal, the decision being appealed shall not be effective until final action by the appeal body. Rev. Ord. 17-98 (October 1998)

8.136.060 Processing Appeals.

A.    Report, Scheduling of Public Hearing, and Action. When an appeal has been filed, the Director shall prepare a report on the matter and shall schedule the matter for consideration by the appropriate appeal body after completion of the report. The appeal body shall conduct a public hearing on the appeal within 45 days of its proper filing and shall take action on the appeal within 75 days of its proper filing. If the matter is not heard within 45 days or if action is not taken within 75 days of the proper filing of an appeal, the decision being appealed shall be deemed affirmed.

B.    Notice of Appeal Public Hearing. Notice shall be provided for an appeal public hearing in the same manner as required for a public hearing by this Title. The appellant shall be responsible for providing all noticing materials for the appeal hearing.

C.    Appeal Hearing Procedure. Appeal hearings shall be held at the date, time, and place stated in the required notice. Minutes of the hearing shall be prepared and an audio tape filed in the Department or with the City Clerk as appropriate. At the hearing, the appeal body may consider only those issues involving the matters that are the specific subjects of the appeal; provided that when the appeal is made by a Council Member the City Council may consider any issue concerning the application. Any hearing may be continued provided that prior to the adjournment or recess of the hearing, a clear announcement is made specifying the date, time, and place to which said hearing will be continued and provided the continuance is not beyond the 75 day period for taking action.

D.    Action. By a majority vote the appeal body may affirm, affirm in part, or reverse the action, decision or determination that is the subject of the appeal, based upon findings of fact about the particular case. A tie vote shall mean that no action was taken and shall result in the affirmation of the action being appealed. The findings shall identify the reasons for the action on the appeal, and verify the compliance or non-compliance of the subject of the appeal with the provisions of this Chapter. The appeal body shall take action and announce and record its decision at the public hearing. Following the hearing, the appeal body shall provide written notice of the action taken to the appellant at the address shown upon the application for the appeal.

E.    Additional conditions of approval. When reviewing a decision on a permit, the appeal body may adopt additional conditions of approval that address the specific subject of the appeal.

F.    Effective Date of Appealed Actions. An action of the Zoning Administrator or Director of Community Development appealed to the Planning Commission shall not become effective until action on the appeal by the Planning Commission. An action of the Planning Commission appealed to the City Council shall not become effective until action on the appeal by the City Council. Rev. Ord. 17-98 (October 1998)

8.136.070 Effect of Denial.

When an application for a permit is denied on appeal, no application for the same or substantially same permit or a permit for the same use on the same property shall be filed for a period of one year from the date of denial, except where the permit was denied without prejudice. Rev. Ord. 17-98 (October 1998)

8.136.080 Relation of Appeals Procedure under this Title to the Appeals Procedure of Section 1.04.050 of the Dublin Municipal Code.

Any appeal under Title 8 shall be processed in accordance with the appeal provisions of this Chapter and not in accordance with the appeal provisions of Section 1.04.050 of the Municipal Code. Rev. Ord. 17-98 (October 1998)