(1) Regular meetings. The Board of Appeals shall meet at least once a month, unless no applications are pending.

(2) Special meetings. The Chair shall also call meetings of the Board when requested to do so by a majority of the members or by the municipal officers, and at other times as called by the Chair.

(3) Quorum. A quorum of the Board necessary to conduct an official Board meeting shall consist of at least three members.

(4) Voting. A majority vote of the quorum is required to constitute an action (passage or denial) on any motion before the Board. Should a Board of Appeals member need to be recused due to a conflict once a quorum is established and a meeting is in session, the meeting may proceed and the Board of Appeals may take action on any motion before the Board with fewer than three voting members present. In this event, the applicant shall have the right to have a vote postponed to the next Board of Appeals meeting.

(5) Evidence. The Board may receive any oral or documentary evidence but shall provide as a matter of policy for the exclusion of irrelevant, immaterial or unduly repetitious evidence. Every party has the right to present the party's case or defense by oral or documentary evidence, to submit rebuttal evidence and to conduct any cross-examination that is required for a full and true disclosure of the facts.

(6) All Board of Appeals meetings are public hearings.

B. Records.

(1) The Secretary shall maintain a permanent record of all Board meetings and all correspondence of the Board.
(2) The Secretary is responsible for maintaining those records which are required as part of the various proceedings which may be brought before the Board. Required records shall include the following:

(a) Transcript of testimony, if any, and exhibits, together with all papers and requests filed in the proceeding.
(b) All decisions of the Board. Decisions shall include a statement of findings and conclusions, as well as the reasons or basis therefor, upon all the material issues of fact, law or discretion presented and the appropriate order, relief or denial thereof.

(3) All records to be maintained or prepared by the Secretary are public records.
(4) The records shall be filed in the municipal Clerk's office and may be inspected at reasonable times.
(5) Notice of any decision shall be mailed or hand delivered to the petitioner, his representative or agent within seven days of the Board's decision.

C. Consulting and review fees.

(1) If the Code Enforcement Officer determines that ordinary and customary expenses associated with review of the application are higher than the application fee set by the Town Council, then the applicant shall be billed and shall pay to the Town prior to final approval said expenses, including but not limited to costs associated with notification of abutters, advertising of public meetings, and staff time dedicated to review of the development.

(2) Consulting and review fees. Notwithstanding any other provision(s) of this chapter, Articles 1 through 12 (the "code"), to the contrary, and in addition to such fees as are otherwise specified by the code, the Town shall assess fees to cover 100% of its costs related to independent geotechnical, hydrologic, engineering, legal, and similar professional consulting services incurred in the review and post-approval inspections of site plan applications. Such fees shall be subject to the following limitations:

(a) Such fees shall only be as expressly provided by Subsection C(2), above;

(b) The Board of Appeals or Code Enforcement Officer may request consulting services. Such consultation shall be limited to reasonable and necessary review, as allowed by the pertinent ordinance, which exceeds the expertise of Town staff or their ability to review the application materials within the time limits otherwise required by law or ordinance.

(c) Such fees shall be assessed only to recover costs directly associated with review of the application submitted by the applicant to whom they are assessed.

(d) Such fees shall be reasonable in amount, based upon the consulting time involved and the complexity of the review.

(e) The results of the consultation for which such fees are assessed shall be available for public review, but such results shall be deemed to have been made solely for the benefit of the Town of Windham and shall remain its property, and such fees shall be assessed for the privilege of review and shall be payable without regard to consultation results or the outcome of the application.

(f) An escrow account shall be established with the Town by the applicant to guarantee payment if required by the Code Enforcement Officer or Board of Appeals pursuant to Subsection C(2), above. The original deposit shall be an amount specific to the application, as accorded in the Town's Fee Schedule. If the balance in the escrow account shall be drawn down by 75%, the Town shall notify the applicant and require that an additional amount be deposited to cover the cost of remaining work before any such remaining work is undertaken. The Town shall continue to notify the applicant and require that any such additional amount(s) be deposited whenever the balance of the account is drawn down by 75% of the original deposit. Any excess amount deposited with the Town in advance shall be promptly refunded to the applicant after final action on the application.

(g) Any dispute regarding the application of Subsection C(2), above, or the amount required to be paid, either in advance or upon completion, may be appealed, in writing, within 10 days to the Town Manager. The Town Manager, after due notice and investigation and for good cause shown, may affirm, modify, or reverse the disputed decision or reduce the amount assessed.

(h) In an effort to minimize the use of outside or independent consulting, the provisions of Subsection C(2), above, shall be subject to the following additional limitations:

[1] The Code Enforcement Officer, based on his/her workload and in his/her sole discretion, may immediately refer to outside or independent consulting any major site plan. The Town shall charge for this review based on the billing rates of the retained consultant. The first four hours of the review shall be paid for with the project's application fee. Review work beyond the initial four hours shall be paid for with the escrow established in Subsection C(2)(f), above.

D. Public hearings.

(1) The Board shall hold a public hearing for all appeals as prescribed herein.

(a) At least seven days before the hearing, the Code Enforcement Officer or his assistant shall notify, by mail, the owners of properties abutting the property for which the appeal or application is made. The owners of properties shall be considered to be the parties listed by the Assessor or those against whom those taxes are assessed.
(b) At least seven days prior to the hearing, notice of the hearing shall be placed at least twice in a newspaper of general circulation.
(c) Failure to receive this notice shall not invalidate the proceedings herein prescribed.

(2) The applicant or his representative must appear before the Board to present the proposal and to answer questions.
(3) Interested parties, such as adjacent property owners, will also be permitted to speak for or against the appeal.
(4) The Code Enforcement Officer or his assistant shall attend all hearings and shall present to the Board all plans, photographs or other factual materials which are appropriate to an understanding of the case.

E. Reconsideration. The Board may reconsider a decision if the following regulations are met:

(1) A request to the Board to reconsider a decision must be filed within 10 days of the decision that is to be reconsidered.
(2) A vote to reconsider and the action taken on that reconsideration must occur and be completed within 45 days of the date of the vote on the original decision.
(3) The Board may conduct additional hearings and receive additional evidence and testimony.
(4) Notwithstanding this subsection, appeal of a reconsidered decision must be made within 15 days after the decision on reconsideration.

F. Reapplication. After a decision has been made by the Board of Appeals, a new appeal of similar import shall not be entertained by the Board until one year shall have elapsed from the date of said decision, except that the Board may entertain a new appeal if the Board believes that, owing to a mistake of law or misunderstanding of fact, an injustice was done or it finds that a change has taken place in some essential aspect of the case sufficient to warrant a reconsideration of the appeal.

G. Appeals of a Board decision. Any party may take an appeal, within 45 days of the date of the vote on the original decision, to Superior Court from any order, relief or denial in accordance with Maine Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 80B.