Del Mar Municipal Code Ch. 1.12 Appeals

An appeal by an interested person seeking City Council review of a final, nonrecommending determination made at an administrative or public hearing by a board, committee, commission or department subordinate to the City Council shall be made and processed in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter. For purposes of this section an "interested person" is a person who was present at a public hearing from which the appeal arose and who had filed a speaker slip with the decision maker at that public hearing or a person who expressed an interest in the decision in writing to that decision maker before the close of the public hearing.

(Ord. No. 389; Ord. No. 476; Ord. No. 900)

A. To be sufficient for filing, the written appeal must be delivered to the City Clerk, together with any required fee, within ten working days following the determination for which a review is sought. Further, the appeal must be legible and set forth:

1. The appellant's full name, address, and phone number;

2. The subordinate entity;

3. The date of the determination;

4. The determination for which review is sought;

5. The appellant's interest in the appealed determination; and

6. The grounds for the appeal with supporting documentation.

B. Grounds for Appeal.

1. Factual Error. The statements or evidence relied upon by the decision maker when approving, conditionally approving or denying a permit, map, or other matter were inaccurate.

2. New Information. New information is available to the applicant or the interested person that was not available through reasonable efforts or due diligence at the time of the decision.

3. Findings Not Supported. The decision maker's stated findings to approve, conditionally approve, or deny the permit, map or other matter are not supported by the information provided to the decision maker;

4. Conflicts. The decision to approve, conditionally approve, or deny the permit is in conflict with a land use plan, a City policy or the Municipal Code.

C. An insufficient appeal shall be returned to the appellant.

D. If the appeal is sufficient, the City Clerk shall set the matter for initial consideration by the City Council at the next available City Council meeting.

E. The City Clerk shall mail the appeal document to the applicant with notice of the opportunity to submit a written response to the appeal request at least 14 days prior to the initial consideration by the City Council.

F. The City Clerk shall deliver a copy of the appeal document to the appropriate City department which will prepare a City response to the request for the appeal.

(Ord. No. 901)

The City response to the appeal document and any written position submitted by the applicant shall be made available to the public, at City Hall, no less than five working days prior to the date set for initial consideration by the City Council.

A. At the initial consideration, the only matter before the City Council is whether to set the matter for hearing. In so doing, the City Council shall consider the written appeal document, any written response from the applicant, the City response, any testimony received and the record from the public hearing which is the subject of the appeal. In addition, the appellant may have up to three minutes for oral comments, and the applicant may have up to three minutes for oral comments. No rebuttal arguments will be heard.

B. The decision from which the appeal has been made will be deemed affirmed unless two or more members of the City Council vote to hear the matter.

(Ord. No. 766; Ord. No. 848; Ord. No. 901)

If the City Council determines to hear the matter:

A. The determination of the subordinate authority shall be deemed advisory only.

B. The City Clerk shall place the matter on the agenda of the City Council as a public hearing or administrative hearing depending on how the subordinate authority was required to consider the matter.

C. The City Clerk shall give notice of the City Council consideration in the same manner as notice was required for the consideration by the subordinate authority; but in every case, notice shall be provided in the agenda, posted at least 72 hours prior to the meeting during which the matter will be considered by the City Council.

A. The City Council shall consider the application, staff report, and any other written or oral comments from members of the public.

B. By resolution prepared by the appropriate City department, the City Council shall make a final determination on the application.

An appeal on an application for a variance from the requirements of a zoning ordinance, an application for a conditional use permit or equivalent development permit, a proposed revocation or modification of a variance or use permit or equivalent development permit shall be exempt from the Initial Consideration process in Section 1.12.040. Such actions shall be heard by the City Council as a public hearing pursuant to Section 1.12.050 and the requirements of this Code.

(Ord. No. 901)