Amended zoning appeals process set for Bexley City Council vote
Bexley City Council is expected to hold a public hearing and vote June 14 on legislation designed to further streamline the appeals process for zoning decisions.
If approved, the ordinance would amend the process by which zoning decisions are appealed to council. Currently, individuals who wish to appeal decisions by the Board of Zoning and Planning must wait until the BZAP reconvenes and approves the minutes of the meeting in which the zoning decision in question was made.
“In instances where the Board of Zoning and Planning does not meet for two months, or where a monthly meeting is not held because a quorum of the board is unable to be obtained, or where a majority of the board was not present at the past meeting and is unable to approve minutes, the timeline for appeals can be unreasonably lengthened,” the proposed ordinance states.
It also points out that this can result in hardships for applicants “whose project timing and purchase process often rely on reasonable zoning timelines.”
If council approves the ordinance, individuals who wish to appeal BZAP decisions would have 30 days after the clerk of council receives notice of the BZAP’s decision – regardless of whether the BZAP has approved the minutes of that meeting, said Councilman Matt Klingler, who introduced the legislation.
“What this does is, after a record of decision has been received in writing by the applicant and has been posted to the city’s website, that’s when the 30 days starts for the appeals process,” he said during the BZAP’s May 26 meeting.
The catalyst for the ordinance was a recent case involving an applicant who had to wait several months for the BZAP to approve meeting minutes, Mayor Ben Kessler said.
“It was a commercial property,” he said. “They were vested; they were in a contingent contract. They had to go, at risk, forward (with the construction project that BZAP approved) … because they had no choice.”
The BZAP voted 7-0 at their May 26 meeting to recommend that council approve the ordinance.
“I think it’s a perfectly sensible way to do it,” BZAP Chairman Bob Behal said. “It gives the applicant notice; it gives the general public notice. It’s a more routine activity and it starts the clock running at a date (that is) certain.”
The ordinance is the latest zoning code legislation that council has addressed. Last month, members approved an amended ordinance to clarify that only applicants - and not the applicants’ neighbors – have the right to appeal BZAP and ARB decisions that require a simple permit for residential home improvement projects.
editorial@thisweeknews.com
@ThisWeekNews
This article originally appeared on ThisWeek: Amended zoning appeals process set for Bexley City Council vote
