10-3.5 Appeal to City Council.
a. The Hearing Officer’s order may be appealed to the City Council by filing an appeal with the City Clerk within seven (7) days of the date of service of the Hearing Officer’s decision. The appeal shall contain:
1. A specific identification of the subject property;
2. The names and addresses of all appellants;
3. A statement of appellant’s legal interest in the subject property;
4. A statement in ordinary and concise language of the specific order or action protested and the grounds for appeal, together with all material facts in support thereof;
5. The date and signature of all appellants; and
6. The verification of all appellants as to the truth of the matters stated in the appeal, signed under penalty of perjury.
7. The appeal shall be accompanied by the fee required for the taking of any such appeal, which fee shall be set by City Council resolution. The City Council shall have the discretion to waive or modify the appeal fee if the responsible person demonstrates that no public nuisance existed at the time the notice to abate was issued.
b. As soon as practicable after receiving the appeal, the City Clerk shall set a date for the City Council to hear the appeal which date shall be no less than seven (7) days nor more than thirty (30) days from the date the appeal was filed. The City Clerk shall give each appellant written notice of the time and the place of the hearing at least five (5) days prior to the date of the hearing, either by causing a copy of the notice to be delivered to the appellant personally or by mailing a copy thereof (if the notice is mailed, City shall provide appellant an additional five (5) calendar days of notice before the date of the hearing), postage prepaid, addressed to the appellant at the address shown on the appeal. Continuances of the hearing may be granted by the City Council on request of the owner for good cause shown, or on the City Council’s own motion.
c. If the City Council finds from the relevant evidence that a public nuisance exists and the notice of abatement was in conformance with the provisions of this chapter, it shall require the responsible person to comply with the order of abatement within thirty (30) calendar days after the date of mailing of the City Council’s decision to the responsible person, unless a longer period of time to abate the nuisance is specifically authorized by the City Council.
d. The following will apply to the hearing procedure before the City Council:
1. At the time and place set for the appeal, the City Council shall hold a de novo hearing and shall afford the appellant and other interested parties a reasonable opportunity to be heard in connection therewith.
2. To allow appellants the opportunity to fully present their arguments, the formal rules of evidence shall not apply and all relevant evidence may be considered. However, the City Council has the discretion to exclude irrelevant evidence, i.e., evidence that does not pertain to the issue(s) on appeal. The City Council also has the discretion to exclude evidence it deems unnecessarily repetitive. (Ord. #265-2022, S2)