§ 6-21. Appeal procedure.

(a)

Appeals may be taken of a notice and order of condemnation/demolition issued pursuant to this section by any interested party who has been aggrieved, except in emergency cases as set forth in section 6-22 herein. Such party is afforded a right of hearing upon payment of any appeal fee set by resolution of town council, and a written request for such hearing shall be sent by the aggrieved party to the town manager or his designee, within ten days of service of notice and order of condemnation/demolition, or within ten days of posting or publication of the notice required in section 6-18.

(b)

Upon receipt of the notice of appeal, the town manager or his designee, shall set a hearing before the special magistrate. The notice of the appeal hearing shall be sent by first-class mail to the interested party requesting the appeal and to any other interested parties. Said notice shall be sent at least ten days prior to the appeal hearing. The hearing before the special magistrate shall be set as soon as practicable, but under no circumstances shall the hearing date be established beyond 30 days of the filing of the notice of appeal.

(c)

All appeal proceedings shall be public. In any hearing before the special magistrate, formal rules of evidence shall not apply, but fundamental due process shall be observed and shall govern the proceedings. Each hearing shall be electronically recorded.

(d)

The burden of proof by a preponderance of the evidence is upon the town to show that the subject dwelling or structure is unfit or unsafe as defined in this article. At the hearing, the special magistrate shall affirm, modify, or reverse the findings of the code inspector that the subject dwelling or structure is unfit or unsafe as defined in this article. If the special magistrate agrees with the determination of the code inspector, he shall enter a final order approving the repair or demolition.

(e)

When the findings of the special magistrate sustain the code inspector, the special magistrate may set a new deadline for compliance or authorize the code inspector to proceed to repair or demolish and remove the dwelling or structure, including accessory buildings and structures and manmade bodies of water if necessary, and report the cost to the town council as provided herein.

(f)

All orders of the special magistrate shall be issued in writing and shall contain findings of fact and conclusions of law supporting the decision. Any person aggrieved by the decision of the special magistrate may seek judicial review in accordance with applicable law.

(Ord. No. 2014-03, § 1, 4-22-2014; Ord. No. 2016-01, § 3, 7-12-2016)