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HomeMy WebLinkAbout023 - 04/03/1990 - AMENDING CITY CODE RELATING TO THE APPEALS PROCEDURE ORDINANCE NO. 23, 1990 OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS AMENDING CHAPTER 2, DIVISION 3 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS RELATING TO APPEALS PROCEDURE BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS as follows: Section 1. That Section 2-48 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins is hereby amended to read as follows: Sec. 2-48. Appeal of final decision permitted. A party-in-interest may appeal to the City Council the final decision of any board or commission to which this appeal procedure applies in the manner provided in this Division. Except for appeals by members of the City Council , for which no grounds need be stated, the permissible grounds for appeal shall be limited to allegations that the board or commission committed one (1) or more of the following errors: ( Abuse of discretion, in that its decision was arbitrary and without the support of competent evidence in the record; (2) Failure to properly interpret and apply relevant provisions of the Code and Charter; (3) Failure to conduct a fair hearing in that: a. The board or commission exceeded its authority or jurisdiction as contained in the Code or Charter; b. The board or commission substantially ignored its previously established rules of procedure; c. The board or commission considered evidence relevant to its findings which was substantially false or grossly misleading; or d. The board or commission improperly failed to receive all relevant evidence offered by the appellant. Section 2. That Section 2-49(4) of the Code of the City of Fort Collins is hereby amended to read as follows: (4) For all appeals except those filed by members of the City Council , the grounds for the appeal , including specific allegations of error and a summary of the facts contained in the record on appeal which support those allegations. Section 3. That Section 2-50 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins is hereby amended to read as follows: Sec. 2-50. Review of notice of appeal by City Attorney. Within five (5) working days of the date of the filing of the notice of appeal , the notice shall be reviewed by the City Attorney for any obvious defects in form or substance. The City Clerk shall notify the appellant in writing by certified mail of any such defect in the notice of appeal , which notice shall be mailed no more than ten (10) working days from the date of filing of the notice of appeal and which shall specify the period of time within which any amended notice of appeal must be filed under § 2-51 . Section 4. That Section 2-52 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins is hereby amended to read as follows: Sec. 2-52. Cost of appeal . In all appeals except those filed by members of the City Council , the appellant shall be charged a fee of one hundred dollars ($100. ) for the cost of the appeal , to be paid to the City Clerk at the time of the filing of the notice of appeal . Section 5. That Section 2-53(3) of the Code of the City of Fort Collins is hereby amended to read as follows: (3) A verbatim transcript of such proceedings before the board or commission, or any portion thereof, at the option and expense of any party-in-interest. In the case of an appeal filed by a member of City Council , the cost of the transcript shall be borne by the City. Section 6. That Section 2-53 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins is hereby amended by adding thereto a new Subparagraph (4) , to read as follows: (4) If available, a videotape recording of such proceedings before the board or commission . The cost of reproducing any such videotape for review by the City Council shall be borne by the City. Additional copies shall be provided to any party-in-interest requesting the same within a reasonable period of time prior to the date for hearing the appeal , at a cost not to exceed the actual reproduction costs incurred by the City. Section 7. That Subsections 2-55(a) of the Code of the City of Fort Collins is hereby amended to read as follows: (a) At the hearing on the appeal by the City Council , the following procedure shall be followed: (1) In all appeals except those filed by members of the City Council , there shall first be a determination by the City Council , by majority vote of its members, whether the written grounds for appeal conform to the requirements of § 2-48. If the grounds do not so conform, the appeal shall be denied. (2) If the grounds do so conform, or if no finding as to the sufficiency of the grounds is required, the City Council shall then consider the merits of the appeal . Section 8. That Section 2-56 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins is hereby amended to read as follows: Sec. 2-56. Alternative actions available to the City Council ; Date of Final Action. The City Council shall consider an appeal based upon the record on appeal and relevant provisions of the Code and Charter. New evidence shall not be considered on appeal . At the conclusion of such hearing, the City Council shall uphold, overturn or modify the decision of the board or commission; provided, however, that the City Council may instead remand the matter for rehearing if it finds that the appellant was denied a fair hearing before the board or commission for any of the reasons stated in § 2-48(3) . No later than the date of its next regular meeting, the City Council shall adopt, by resolution, findings of fact in support of its decision. The date of passage of such resolution shall be the date of final action of the City Council for the purpose of any subsequent judicial review of the decision of the City Council . Introduced, considered favorably on first reading, and ordered published this 13th day of March, A.D. 1990, and to be presented for final passage on the 3rd day of April , A.D. 1990. ,,. Mayor ATTEST: City Clerk Passed and adopted on final readi••n//ggn this 3rd day of April , A.D. 1990. LtA- Yor ATTEST: FFMMtt���� City y Clerk 1-