§ 9-14. Amnesty program.

Recognizing that the success of this article depends, in part, on the admission by real property owners that their property may be in violation of the Zoning Ordinances of the Town, the Town hereby establishes the following amnesty program:

A. 

The threshold criteria for units being considered as units potentially eligible for the amnesty program are:

(1) 

Real property containing a dwelling unit or dwelling units for which there does not exist a validly issued variance, special permit or building permit, does not qualify as a lawful, nonconforming use or structure, for any or all the units, and that was in existence on a lot of record within the Town as of January 1, 2000; or

(2) 

Real property containing a dwelling unit or dwelling units which were in existence as of January 1, 2000, and which have been cited by the Building Department as being in violation of the Zoning Ordinance; and

(3) 

The property owner has the burden of demonstrating to the Building Commissioner that the criteria in either Subsection A(1) and/or (2) have been satisfied.

(4) 

If any dwelling unit or units identified herein are occupied during the period of time when amnesty is in effect, said unit must be inspected by the entity designated by the Town Manager and found to be in conformance with the State Building Code and State Sanitary Code.

B. 

The procedure for qualifying units that meet the threshold criteria for the amnesty program is as follows:

(1) 

The unit or units must either be a single unit accessory to an owner occupied single-family dwelling or one or more units in a multifamily dwelling where there exists a legal multifamily use but one or more units are currently unpermitted;

(2) 

The unit(s) must receive a site approval letter under the Town's local Chapter 40B program;

(3) 

The property owner must agree that if s/he receives a comprehensive permit, the unit or units for which amnesty is sought will be rented to a person or family whose income is 80% or less of the area median income (AMI) of Barnstable-Yarmouth Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) and shall further agree that rent (including utilities) shall not exceed the rents established by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for a household whose income is 80% or less of the median income of Barnstable-Yarmouth Metropolitan Statistical Area. In the event that utilities are separately metered, the utility allowance established by the Barnstable Housing Authority shall be deducted from HUD's rent level.

(4) 

The property owner must agree, that if s/he receives a comprehensive permit, that s/he will execute a deed restriction for the unit or units for which amnesty is sought, prepared by the Town of Barnstable, which runs with the property so as to be binding on and enforceable against any person claiming an interest in the property and which restricts the use of one or more units as rental units to a person or family whose income is 80% or less of the median income of Barnstable-Yarmouth Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA).

(5) 

Upon receiving the site approval letter under Subsection B(2) above, the property owner shall within three months file an application for a comprehensive permit under the local Chapter 40B program with the Barnstable Zoning Board of Appeals.

C. 

The procedure for obtaining amnesty is as follows:

(1) 

No zoning enforcement shall be undertaken against any property owner who demonstrates that s/he meets the threshold criteria under Subsection A and further demonstrates that s/he is proceeding in good faith to comply with the procedures under Subsection B to obtain a comprehensive permit.

(2) 

Any protection from zoning enforcement under this article shall terminate when: (a) A written determination is issued under the local Chapter 40B program that the criteria under Subsection B and the local Chapter 40B program cannot be satisfied; or (b) it is determined that the property owner is not proceeding diligently with his/her Chapter 40B application; or (c) the property owner's Chapter 40B application is denied. A person is deemed "not to be proceeding diligently" if s/he does not receive a comprehensive permit within 12 months from the date of issuance of the site approval letter under the local Chapter 40B program.

(3) 

This amnesty program shall be reviewed by the Town Council no later than October 1, 2003.

Editor's Note: See Ch. 240, Zoning.