Windsor Municipal Code Art. 7 Appeals

In order to hear appeals provided for in this chapter, there shall be, and is hereby created an Appeals Board consisting of five (5) members who are qualified to pass on matters pertaining to storage and actual or threatened release or disposal of hazardous materials. The members of the Appeals Board shall be appointed by, and hold office at the pleasure of, the Town Council. The Appeals Board shall adopt reasonable rules and regulations for conducting its business, including election of a Chairperson.

The Appeals Board is authorized to hear appeals from notices of noncompliance related to the issuance, denial or modification of a permit or plan and from any other matter designated by this chapter as lying within the jurisdiction of the Appeals Board.

An appeal shall be filed in writing with the City Clerk within thirty (30) days of receipt of the notice of noncompliance. Such appeals shall indicate the name and address of the person or entity filing the appeal and the name and address of the facility involved, if applicable. The appeal shall also contain, setting forth with particularity the ground or grounds for the appeal, the person's contentions on appeal and a legal basis for the person's contentions. The appellant shall assert any claim for trade secrets to be raised at the hearing, together with a legal justification for the claim. Failure to assert such a claim in a timely fashion may be deemed by the Appeals Board to constitute a waiver of the claim. If the Appeals Board determines that a trade secret exists, it may take any step necessary to prevent unnecessary disclosure including excluding the public form that portion of the hearing.

Upon receipt of an appeal, a notice of hearing shall be served on the appellant by the Administrative Authority, in writing, setting forth the time and place of the hearing, the ground or grounds upon which the remedial action is based, the pertinent Code section or sections, and a brief statement of the factual matters in support thereof. The notice shall be given at least ten (10) days prior to the hearing date, which shall be not less than thirty (30) nor more than ninety (90) days from the date upon which the request for hearing was filed. The Appeals Board may reschedule the hearing for good cause shown by either party.

a. Hearings shall be conducted informally according to rules or procedures established by the Appeals Board.

b. Proceedings before the Appeals Board shall be electronically recorded. Either party may request that the proceedings also be recorded by a Court stenographer, at the cost of the requesting party. Transcriptions shall be at the cost of the requesting party.

c. The Appeal Board may engage a Hearing Officer to conduct a hearing, and prepare findings, but no member of the Appeals Board may vote unless she or he was present and heard the evidence or has familiarized herself or himself with the evidence prior to voting. A majority of the Appeals Board shall be required to take action.

d. If no action is taken by the Appeals Board within thirty (30) days of a roll call vote, the appeal shall be deemed denied.

a. After hearing the appeal, the Appeals Board may: refer the matter back to the Administrative Authority for a new investigation and decision, may affirm or modify the decision of the Administrative Authority, or may direct the Administrative Authority to issue a permit which may or may not contain conditions which must be met in order to obtain or maintain the permit. If the matter is referred back to the Administrative Authority, the Administrative Authority must respond within the time specified by the Appeals Board in its referral.

b. If the Appeals Board, after the hearing, finds that cause exists for corrective action, the Appeals Board may impose one (1) or more of the following:

1. A warning.

2. An order to correct the particular noncompliance specified in the notice issued pursuant to Section 13-1-630.

3. A revocation of the permit for the facility.

4. Suspension of the permit for the facility for a specified period not to exceed six (6) months.

5. Modification or addition of conditions to the permit.

6. Revocation of the permit with no reapplication permitted for a specified period not to exceed five (5) years. If the grounds for corrective action are based on paragraphs c, d. or e. of Section 13-1-620 and if such grounds are limited to one (1) portion of the storage facility, the corrective action shall be limited to that portion.

a. The Appeals Board shall render a written decision stating the findings upon which the decision is based and the action taken, if any. The decision of the Appeals Board is final.

b. Judicial review of the decision of the Appeals Board shall be according to the provisions of Code of Civil Procedure Section 1094.6. The decision of the Appeals Board shall contain a statement notifying the permittee that any petition for review must be filed within the time specified in that section.