An Act To Clarify the Appeal Process of Code Enforcement Officers and Boards of Appeal
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 30-A MRSA §2691, sub-§4, as enacted by PL 1987, c. 737, Pt. A, §2 and Pt. C, §106 and amended by PL 1989, c. 6; c. 9, §2; and c. 104, Pt. C, §§8 and 10, is further amended to read:
4. Jurisdiction. Any municipality establishing a board of appeals may give the board the power to hear any appeal by any person, affected directly or indirectly, from any decision, order, regulation or failure to act of any officer, board, agency or other body when an appeal is necessary, proper or required. No board may assert jurisdiction over any matter unless the municipality has by charter or ordinance specified the precise subject matter that may be appealed to the board and the official or officials whose action or nonaction may be appealed to the board. Absent an express provision in a charter or ordinance that certain decisions of its code enforcement officer or board of appeals are only advisory, a notice of violation or an enforcement order by a code enforcement officer under a land use ordinance is reviewable on appeal by the board of appeals and in turn by the Superior Court under the Maine Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 80B. Any such decision that is not timely appealed is subject to the same preclusive effect as otherwise provided by law. Any board of appeals shall hear any appeal submitted to the board in accordance with Title 28-A, section 1054.
summary
This bill seeks to address the decision in Eliot Shores, LLC v. Town of Eliot, 2010 ME 129, 9 A.3d 806, by allowing the board of appeals for a municipality to review a decision of a code enforcement officer for that municipality unless the charter or an ordinance of the municipality expressly provides that the decision of the code enforcement officer or board of appeals is only advisory.