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APC staff outlines role and duties of Administrative Officers in Tippecanoe County
Summary
Nathan McBurnett of the Area Plan Commission explained that Administrative Officers (A.O.s) enforce the Unified Zoning Ordinance for each jurisdiction, have discretionary authority on many site issues, and that appeals of AO decisions to the BZA must be filed within 15 days.
Nathan McBurnett, APC staff, presented a planning pointer on April 22 explaining the role and authorities of Administrative Officers (A.O.s) in Tippecanoe County jurisdictions.
McBurnett said A.O.s are ordinance-designated officials responsible for enforcing the Unified Zoning Ordinance within their jurisdictions. For cities the UZO designates the City Engineer as the A.O.; in West Lafayette the A.O. is Chad Spitznagle and in Lafayette it is Jeromy Grenard. For unincorporated Tippecanoe County, the County Building Commissioner and the County Zoning Enforcement Officer are the designated A.O.s; Bill Robinette is the Building Commissioner and has designated Ryan O'Gara for zoning enforcement. McBurnett also noted he (as APC executive director) is the designated A.O. for the towns of Battle Ground, Clarks Hill and Dayton.
He described the discretionary decisions A.O.s may make — including site plan conformity for permits, bufferyard approvals, and fencing — and explained that A.O.s coordinate regularly with APC staff on development standards. McBurnett said appeals of A.O. decisions to the BZA must be filed within 15 days of the decision and that, in the last five years, only one such appeal was filed and subsequently withdrawn after the parties reached agreement.
McBurnett framed the AO role as a first point of contact for permit conformity and an early reviewer of issues that may later come before Ordinance Committee or elected officials. He emphasized that when the BZA approves a case with conditions or commitments, the A.O. checks those site-plan commitments at the permit stage.
