Part 9

• (a) There is hereby established in the City a Board of Building Appeals. The Board of Building Appeals shall be the "local appeals board", the "housing appeals board" and the "board of appeals" as those phases are defined and used in the California Building Code and any other code under this title as the same may apply to the City of Downey by express adoption or by operation of law.

• (b) The Board of Building Appeals shall consist of five members. Each member shall be qualified by experience and training to pass on matters pertaining to building construction, including, but not limited to, the application and interpretation of building construction, substandard buildings, housing conditions, dangerous conditions, the applicable building ordinances and regulations of the city and matters related thereto. The members of the Board shall be appointed by and hold office at the pleasure of the City Council and shall not be employees of the City. The members of the Board shall be appointed for a term of four years and shall hold office until their successors have been appointed and qualified. A person who has been appointed to fill a vacancy shall hold office for the remainder of the unexpired term. Any member of the Board may be removed by the City Council. Members may be reappointed.

• (c) The Board of Building Appeals shall adopt reasonable rules and regulations for conducting its meetings. All meetings of the Board shall be open to the public and conform to the Ralph M. Brown Act.

• (d) The Community Development Director or designee shall act as Secretary of the Board, but shall not be a voting member thereof. The Director of Community Development or designee shall keep record of all proceedings and notify all parties concerned of the findings, determinations and decisions of the Board.

• (e) The City Council, by resolution may fix the compensation, if any, to be paid to members of the Board of Building Appeals.

(Added by Ord. 443, adopted 09-25-73; amended by Ord. 605, adopted 10-09-79; Ord. 779, adopted 12-18-84; Ord. 868, adopted 04-12-88; Ord. 1237, adopted 10-28-08; Ord. 1370, adopted 1-24-17)

There hereby are granted to the Board of Building Appeals, the following powers and duties:

• (a) To hear and decide appeals of orders, decisions and determinations made by the Building Official in connection with the application and/or the interpretation of the California Building Code and other ordinances, regulations and policies governing the building requirements of the City.

• (b) To hear and decide appeals of orders, decisions and determinations made by the Building Official in connection with the application and/or the interpretation of the California Building Code and other ordinances, regulations and policies governing use, maintenance and change of occupancy of building and structures, including requirements governing alteration, addition, repair, demolition and moving.

• (c) To hear and decide appeals of conditions imposed by the Building Official in connection with approval of an application for a permit issued pursuant to the California Building Code and/or City's building codes and regulations as amended.

• (d) To hear and decide appeals of orders, decisions and determinations made by the Building Official in connection with applications for modifications, changes, deviations or alternate means of construction or materials as provided for in this part.

• (Added by Ord. 443, adopted 09-25-73; amended by Ord. 868, adopted 04-12-88; Ord. 1370, adopted 1-24-17)

Any person adversely affected by a determination made by the Building Official in administering or enforcing any provision of the California Building Code or any applicable ordinances, regulations and policies governing the City's local building code may appeal the determination to the Board of Building Appeals as follows:

• (a) Appeals shall be in writing, state the grounds for the appeal, and be accompanied by a fee in the amount set by resolution of the City Council. Only those matters or issues specifically raised by the appellant shall be considered in the hearing of the appeal.

• (b) The appeal shall be filed with the Director of Community Development no later than 10 business days after receipt of a written notice of determination issued by the Building Official. Failure to timely request an appeal constitutes a waiver of the right to a hearing before the Board and a failure to exhaust administrative remedies.

• (c) Within 45 days of receiving an appeal, the Director of Community Development shall schedule a hearing before the Board which shall consider relevant evidence presented at the hearing. The appellant, the appellant's representative, the Building Official, Building Division staff, and any person whose interest are affected shall be given an opportunity to be heard.

• (d) Appellant shall be given at least 10 days' written notice of the date and time of the hearing.

• (e) In order to grant an appeal, the Board shall make findings from the evidence presented during the appeal that at least one of the following conditions exists:

  • (1) That the true intent of the applicable City's local building code or the California Building Code, or the regulations legally adopted thereunder has been incorrectly interpreted; or

  • (2) The provisions of the City's local building code or the California Building Code or the regulations legally adopted thereunder do not apply to the specific case; or

  • (3) An equally good or better form of construction that meets the City's local building code or the California Building Code building codes is proposed.

• (f) Decisions of the Board shall be by affirmative vote of not less than a majority of the total membership of the Board present at the hearing. Tie votes shall be deemed a denial of the appeal.

• (g) The Board shall adopt a resolution setting forth its final decision with findings at the conclusion of the hearing on the appeal. The authority of the Board to render a written decision shall be limited to the scope of authority of the Building Official in the first instance. The Board shall have no authority to waive requirements of the City's local building code, the California Building Code or the regulations legally adopted thereunder.

• (h) The decision of the Board shall be final and conclusive. The written decision shall be sent to the appellant and shall provide that, pursuant to California Code of Civil Procedure Section 1094.6, any action to review said decision shall be commenced in an appropriate court of law not later than the fourteenth day after the adoption of the Board resolution.

• (Added by Ord. 443, adopted 09-25-73; amended by Ord. 1370, adopted 1-24-17)