You or your representative must attend the Zoning Board meeting in order to present your case and to answer any questions the Board may have concerning your Appeal. Have a copy of your Appeal with you.
First, the Chairperson will call the meeting to order and read the Board procedures. Next, the Secretary will call the roll of Board members present. The meeting will then open to the first Appeal on the Agenda.
The first Applicant will come forward to the small front table and give a verbal summary of what it is that they are appealing to the Board. The Board will have already received your written application packet. You then may need to answer questions from the Board.
The Public will have a chance to respond when the Chair first asks the public as to who would like to respond in favor or against of the Appeal application. The Applicant will be able to respond after all the public comments.
When the Board is satisfied that they have all the information they need to make a decision, the Chairperson will close the meeting to public comment and will begin their deliberations.
The Board will make a motion (usually in the affirmative) and then further discuss the issues involved. On rare occasions the Board may open the public portion again temporarily to ask another question to the applicant. After all the deliberations, the Board will take an official vote and thus make an official decision.
The Board will then ask the next applicant to come forward. The process continues until all appeals are heard and decisions rendered.
The Chairperson will then adjourn the meeting.
A copy of the Board’s decision will be mailed to you, along with a bill for abutter’s notices and legal ads. We will also include a building permit application if deemed necessary.
The Building Permit Application will have to be filled out and returned to Inspection Services on the third floor of City Hall, along with the appropriate fees as indicated on the permit application, along with the specifications of that particular permit application. Please note that all those specifications are your responsibility to bring with you, not for the City to copy and add into your submissions. Any submissions that were in your Appeal packet and are necessary for the building permit, but are missing, will be copied from the Appeal packet and billed to you at $0.50 per page.
The Building Permit Application will then be processed. It takes approximately 15 business days to approve the permit. At the time of issuance of the permit, all fees incurred during the Appeal process must be paid.
You must then call and schedule an inspection as stated in your permit application packet. If a Certificate of Occupancy is necessary, you must call and schedule with us at 874-8703. Once the Inspector is satisfied you have complied with all State and Local regulations, a Certificate of Occupancy will be issued, the fee for which is $75.00.