Sec. 5-700. - Powers and duties of department generally.

Except as otherwise specifically provided in this Charter, the department of licenses and inspections shall exercise the powers and perform the duties relating to licensing and inspection formerly exercised and performed by all officers, departments, boards and commissions of the city and such other powers and duties as are imposed or conferred upon it by this Charter or by ordinance.

Sec. 5-701. - Definitions.

In this chapter:

(a)

"License" shall mean any license or permit required by statute, ordinance or regulation to be obtained from any officer, department, board or commission as a prerequisite to engaging in any activity or having possession of or using any property, but shall not include the right to admission to any facility in any park or under the jurisdiction of the department of parks and recreation.

(b)

"Inspection" shall mean any inspection, test or examination to which any person is subject as an applicant for or a holder of a license or to which any property is subject under any statute, ordinance or regulation which it is the duty of the mayor or of any other officer or of any department, board or commission to enforce.

Sec. 5-702. - Functions of department generally.

The department of licenses and inspections shall have the power and its duty shall be to perform the following functions:

(a)

Building safety and sanitation, signs and zoning. It shall, except as otherwise specifically provided in this Charter, administer and enforce all statutes, ordinances and regulations for the protection of persons and property from hazards, in the use, condition, erection, alteration, maintenance, repair, sanitation (including the maintenance and condition of plumbing and drainage facilities and the maintenance of sanitary conditions in housing accommodations), removal and demolition of buildings and structures or any parts thereof and the ground appurtenant thereto, in the operation of equipment therein, and of outdoor signs. Subject to the powers and duties of the zoning board of adjustment, the department shall enforce compliance with zoning ordinances.

(b)

Issuance of licenses. The department shall:

(1)

Cause to be issued all forms for applications and arrange for receipt of all applications for any license;

(2)

Determine whether the applicant is properly entitled to the license which he seeks;

(3)

If the application is granted and the proper fee has been paid to the department of finance, cause to be issued the license to the applicant;

(4)

If the application is refused, notify the applicant in writing of the refusal and the reasons therefor.

The procedure shall be the same for original applications and for applications for transfer or renewal.

The requirements and standards to be met by applicants for licenses shall be established by the department in all cases in which the department is responsible for the functions involved. In all other cases, the requirements and standards shall be certified to the department by the officers, departments, boards or commissions for which the department is acting. The department, when in doubt concerning the interpretation to be placed on the certified requirements or standards, may consult the certifying officer, department, board or com- mission, but the department shall make the decision whether the license should be granted.

(c)

Inspections generally. The department shall make all inspections except as otherwise specifically provided in this Charter.

The standards to be met upon inspections shall be established by the department in all cases in which it is responsible for the function involved. In all other cases, except where the inspection is provided in this Charter to be made by any officer, department, board or commission other than the department of licenses and inspections, the standards shall be certified to the department of licenses and inspections by the respective officers, departments, boards or commissions for which the department is acting.

The department shall train and maintain a competent force of inspectors, who, to the extent practicable, shall make single inspections within the scope of the functions of the department to determine compliance with statutes, ordinances and regulations.

(d)

Enforcement of ordinances, etc. The department shall determine as the result of its inspections whether any person or the owner of any property is violating the conditions of any license, or whether or not any property owner is violating or failing to comply with any statute, ordinance or regulation which it is the duty of the department to enforce. If the department shall find a violation or non-compliance to exist, it shall forthwith make such order or take such other lawful action as may be necessary to correct the dangerous or unlawful condition; and if necessary, it shall invoke the assistance of the law department or the Wilmington Police or both.

(e)

Revocation, suspension or cancellation of licenses. Whenever the department finds that the holder of any license is violating the conditions thereof, and whenever the officer, department, board or commission as whose agent the department granted the license directs the department to do so, it shall revoke, suspend or cancel the license. Any revocation, suspension or cancellation shall be in writing and shall state in detail the reasons therefor.

(f)

Special inspections on request. The department, on request of any officer, department, board or commission, shall make a special inspection of any property upon which unlawful conditions are believed to exist or of the manner in which the holder of any license is operating under it.

(H.B. No. 399, § 1, 5-15-06)

Sec. 5-703. - Transmission of copies and reports.

The department of licenses and inspections shall:

(a)

[Licenses.] Transmit to the officer, department, board or commission primarily concerned with the subject of any particular category of licenses, a copy of every application for such a license or its transfer or renewal of every such license issued, renewed or transferred, and of every notice of a refusal, suspension, revocation or cancellation of such a license;

(b)

Inspections. Transmit to the officer, department, board or commission primarily concerned with the subject of any particular category of inspections, a report of every such inspection made by it and the results thereof, a copy of every notice or order issued and a report of any other action taken as a result of such an inspection;

(c)

Violations and Non-compliance. Transmit to the city solicitor a report of every violation of and non-compliance with any statute, ordinance or regulation concerning any license, or discovered upon any inspection.

(H.B. No. 399, § 1, 5-15-06)

Sec. 5-704. - Right of entry.

Subject to the limitations of the Constitutions of the United States and of the State of Delaware, any officer or employee of the department of licenses and inspections, in the performance of his duties, may at any reasonable hour, without hindrance, enter, examine and inspect all vessels, vehicles, premises, grounds, structures, buildings, and underground passages of every sort, including their contents and occupancies, and may likewise examine, inspect and test any substance, article, equipment or other property.

Sec. 5-705. - Board of license and inspection review.

The board of license and inspection review shall provide an appeal procedure whereby any person aggrieved by the issuance, transfer, renewal, refusal, suspension, revocation or cancellation of any city license or by any notice, order or other action as a result of any city inspection affecting him directly (except for any civil penalty imposed pursuant to Sections 3-12, or Chapter 13 of the City Code), shall upon request be furnished with a written statement of the reasons for the action taken and afforded a hearing thereon by the board of license and inspection review. Upon such hearing, the board shall hear any evidence which the aggrieved party or the city may desire to offer, shall make findings and render a decision in writing. The board may affirm, modify, reverse, vacate or revoke the action from which the appeal was taken to it.

(H.B. No. 399, § 1, 5-15-06)

Sec. 5-706. - Zoning board of adjustment.

(1)

In accordance with any statute or ordinance as now or hereafter in force, the zoning board of adjustment shall:

(a)

Hear and decide appeals in zoning matters where error is alleged in any order, requirement, decision or determination made by an administrative official in the enforcement of zoning ordinances, regulations and maps;

(b)

Hear and decide special exceptions to any zoning ordinance upon which the board is required to pass;

(c)

Authorize, upon appeal, in specific cases, such variance from the terms of any zoning ordinance as will not be contrary to the public interest, where, owing to special conditions, a literal enforcement of the provisions of the ordinance will result in unnecessary hardship, and so that the spirit of the ordinance shall be observed and substantial justice done.

(2)

In the exercise of its powers, the zoning board of adjustment may reverse or affirm, wholly or partly, or modify, the order, requirement, decision or determination appealed from, and make such order, requirement, decision or determination as ought to be made, and, to that end, it shall have all the powers of the officer from whom the appeal is taken.

Sec. 5-707. - Board of standards and appeals.

The board of standards and appeals shall:

(a)

Advise the commissioner of licenses and inspections, upon his request, on the interpretation of the building code and of any regulations relating to building safety and sanitation;

(b)

Suggest regulations applying standards of good practice in the enforcement of statutes and ordinances dealing with building safety and sanitation;

(c)

Upon request of the commissioner of licenses and inspections, pass upon the worth of new and substitute materials proposed to be used in building construction and also upon new methods of construction;

(d)

Consider any suggested changes in standards and regulations, new and substitute materials, or new methods of construction, either with or without holding public hearings; but before the board shall recommend any change or modification of such standards and regulations, it shall hold a public hearing at which all interested parties may present their views. After such public hearing, the board shall submit its findings and recommendations to the commissioner of licenses and inspections for his approval. Upon approval by the commissioner, they shall become a part of the standards and regulations.

Sec. 5-708. - Appeals to commissioner of licenses and inspections.

The commissioner of licenses and inspections shall provide an appeal procedure whereby any person aggrieved by any civil penalty imposed pursuant to Sections 3-12 or Chapter 13 of the City Code may submit a detailed written explanation of the grounds for the appeal, along with payment in full of the civil penalty. After reviewing such written submission, the commissioner of licenses and inspections or his or her designee shall issue a written decision affirming, modifying, reversing, vacating or revoking the civil penalty, and such decision shall be final. In the event the civil penalty is reversed, revoked, vacated or decreased in amount, the appellant shall be reimbursed for payment of the portion of the civil penalty found to have been wrongfully imposed.

(H.B. No. 399, § 1, 5-15-06)