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Swansea trustees approve change to zoning review: eliminate certificates, rely on notices of violation
Summary
The board approved amendments to chapter 154 to remove initial and final certificates of zoning compliance, rely on staff zoning review (phone/email) for determinations, and standardize enforcement through notices of violation and stop-work orders.
The Swansea Board of Trustees voted July 14 to amend chapter 154 of the municipal code, removing the ordinance’s initial and final certificates of zoning compliance and formalizing a simpler zoning-review process and standard notices of violation (NOV) for enforcement.
Zoning Administrator (Speaker 5), who presented the ordinance at a public hearing, said the certificate forms are rarely used and their purpose is generally satisfied by staff review and existing permit files. “That that certificate was to determine zoning, and I can do that on a phone call,” he said, adding that “what it accomplishes can be handled by a phone call” or an email and subsequently documented in the permit file.
Under the approved change, the village will retitle and consolidate the review process as a zoning review; code enforcement staff will use NOVs to notify property owners of violations, listing the code section, corrective actions, and a compliance date. The presenter said NOVs are already prepopulated in the village’s permitting software and align Swansea with other municipalities’ practices.
Trustees asked how the village will keep consistent records of informal phone determinations. Zoning Administrator answered that email correspondence is already public record and that staff will document significant phone interactions in permit files for major projects. “If it’s a multimillion-dollar project, it’s a bit. I’ll write it down. I’ll make as much physical record as possible,” he said.
The ordinance also clarifies stop-work order language to reflect the removal of the certificate provisions; the presenter emphasized the change is procedural rather than substantive, and that the village’s sign-permit process (certificate of sign compliance) will remain in place.
A trustee moved to approve the amendments as presented; the motion was seconded and approved by voice vote. The meeting record shows seven affirmations before the chair declared the motion carried.
The ordinance’s drafters will finalize cleanups with the village attorney and staff will proceed with updating permitting procedures and software templates to reflect the new review and NOV process.
