TOWN OF EDGECOMB
BOARD OF APPEALS ORDINANCE
ENACTED MAY 16, 1992
Last modified May 20, 2005

Section 1. Authority; establishment Pursuant to 30 M.R.S.A., Sections 2691 and 3001, a Board of Appeals is hereby established for the Town of Edgecomb, Maine.

Section 2. Composition; appointment; qualifications; terms; removal; vacancies The Board shall consist of five (5) regular and two (2) alternate members who shall be appointed by the municipal officers and who shall be registered voters of the Town. Neither a municipal officer nor the spouse of a municipal officer may be a member. Members shall serve for terms of three (3) years and shall continue in office until their successors are appointed, except that initial appointments shall be staggered so that as nearly an equal number of terms shall expire annually. The municipal officers may remove a member for cause, after notice and hearing. Vacancies shall be filled within sixty (60) days by appointment of the municipal officers for the unexpired term.

Section 3. Officers; meetings; quorum; procedure The Board shall annually elect a Chairman from among its members. The Board may either elect a secretary from among its members or hire a non-board member to serve as secretary. The Chairman shall call meetings as necessary or when so requested by a majority of members or the municipal officers. A quorum necessary to conduct business shall consist of at least a majority of members. The Chairman shall designate an alternate member to serve in the place of a regular member who is absent or disqualified; alternate of a quorum or voting. The Chairman shall preside at all meetings shall maintain a permanent record of all proceedings and all correspondence of the Board which shall be a public record and shall be filed with the Town Clerk and may be inspected at reasonable times. The Board may adopt written rules of procedure governing the conduct of any hearing or proceeding, provided that they are not inconsistent with any statute or this or any ordinance, and provided further that the Chairman may waive any rule for good cause shown.

Section 4. Jurisdiction; appeals The Board shall have jurisdiction to hear and decide appeals from any decision, action or failure to act by the following officials and in the following matters only:
            a) by the Code Enforcement Officer in the administration of the Building Code Ordinance and the Sign Ordinance
            b) by the Planning Board or the Code Enforcement Officer in the administration of the Mobile Home Park Ordinance, the Shoreland Zoning Ordinance, the Site Plan Review Ordinance and the Subdivision Regulations The Board may exercise jurisdiction only upon receipt of a written appeal from a person aggrieved, filed within thirty (30) days after the action complained of, together with a non-refundable fee (see Fee Schedule) and stating the relief sought and the grounds therefor. The Board shall have no authority to act in any other matter except as expressly provided by ordinance or statute.

Section 5. Hearings; decisions; notice No appeal may be decided by the Board without first providing an opportunity for hearing. Notice of any hearing shall be given to the public by posting in two (2) public places within the Town of Edgecomb, by publication in a newspaper of general circulation at least seven (7) days before the hearing, to the appellant and abutting property owners by certified mail return receipt at least fourteen (14) days before the hearing and to the Planning Board or other appropriate municipal officials by mail or hand delivery at least fourteen (14) days before the hearing. The Board may received oral or documentary evidence but shall provide as a matter of policy for the exclusion of irrelevant, immaterial or unduly repetitious evidence. All parties may present their cases by oral or documentary evidence, submit rebuttal evidence and cross-examine witnesses. The Code Enforcement Officer and a member of the Planning Board shall attend each hearing held by the Appeals Board and shall bring before the Appeals Board such oral and documentary evidence as may be appropriate. The transcript of testimony, if any, and exhibits, together with all the documents filed in the proceeding and the decision of the Board, shall constitute the record. In deciding any appeal, the Board shall be guided solely by the standards, criteria or requirements of the applicable statute, ordinance or regulations, and may reverse the decision of other officials only if it was clearly erroneous or not supported by substantial evidence in the record. All decisions shall include written findings and conclusions, as well as the reasons or basis therefore, upon all material issues of fact, law or discretion, and the appropriate order, relief or denial. Notice of any decisions shall be mailed or hand delivered to the appellant, the Planning Board or other appropriate municipal officials and the municipal officers within seven (7) days after the decision.

Section 6. Reconsideration The Board may reconsider any decision within thirty (30) days after its prior decision and may conduct additional hearings and receive additional evidence, provided that notice of any hearing or decision to reconsider shall be given as provided herein for hearings and decisions generally.

Section 7. Appeals to Superior Court Any person aggrieved by a decision of the Board may appeal to Superior Court in accordance with Rule 80B, Maine Rules of Civil Procedure, within thirty (30) days after the decision is rendered, except as otherwise provided by statute.

Section 8. Repeal of prior ordinances; ratification of prior board actions Any ordinance enacted or legislative act prior hereto and establishing or purporting to establish a board of appeals by that or another name, or governing or purporting to govern its membership, authority or procedure, is hereby repealed, it being the intent of the ordinance to abolish and replace any such board with a board of appeals lawfully established and authorized, among other things, to hear zoning appeals pursuant to 30-A M.R.S.A. 4353. Any act prior hereto of that board commonly known as the board of appeals and abolished hereby is hereby ratified and confirmed.

Section 9. SeverabilityThe invalidity of any section or provision of this ordinance shall not be held to invalidate any other section or provision, which shall remain in full force and effect.

Section 10. Effective dateThis ordinance shall take effect as of the date of the 1992 annual town meeting.