Please place the above item on the May 4, 2022 City Commission meeting agenda as a referral to the Land Use and Sustainability Committee and the Planning Board.

Section 118-9 of the City’s Land Development Regulations broadly provides that an appeal of a land use board order stays all work on the premises and all proceedings in furtherance of the action appealed from, subject to limited exceptions:

1. The first exception is when a stay would cause imminent peril to life or property.

2. The second exception, adopted by the City Commission on April 11, 2018, and pursuant to Ordinance No. 2018-4185, relates specifically to appeals from the Planning Board’s approval of a Conditional Use Permit. Under this exception, a building permit may be issued to an applicant whose Conditional Use Permit has been appealed to Circuit Court, as long as certain conditions are satisfied, and provided the applicant executes a written agreement indemnifying and holding the City harmless from any liability or loss should the applicant not prevail in the underlying appeal.

The automatic stay remains in effect through the conclusion of the litigation, including subsequent appeals.

I would like the Administration and the City Attorney’s Office to provide recommendations to the Land Use and Sustainability Committee (“LUSC”) regarding potential amendments to Section 118-9, in order to reform provisions governing the automatic stay pending appeal. I would also like the LUSC to consider any other related amendments to the City’s rules of appellate procedure, to promote efficiency and safeguard due process. Based on the LUSC’s recommendations, I would like the Administration, in consultation with the City Attorney, to transmit a draft Ordinance to the Planning Board for transmittal to the City Commission.