CPHD
Appeals Process
The owner of a building or structure, the owner's agent or any other person involved in the design, construction, or maintenance of a building or structure may appeal a decision of the building official or the property maintenance official concerning the application of the Uniform Statewide Building Code (USBC) to such building or structure and may also appeal a refusal by the building official or the property maintenance official to grant a modification to the provisions of the USBC pertaining to such building or structure. The applicant shall submit a written request for appeal to the Arlington Board of Building Code Appeals (ABBCA) within 30 calendar days of the receipt of the decision being appealed (14 calendar Days for appeal of the Virginia Maintenance Code). The application shall contain the name and address of the owner of the building or structure and in addition, the name and address of the person appealing, when the applicant is not the owner. A copy of the building official or property maintenance official's decision shall be submitted along with the application for appeal and maintained as part of the record. Failure to submit an application for appeal within the time limit established by this section shall constitute acceptance of a building official or property maintenance official's decision.
The application for appeal maybe submitted in person or mailed to the following address along with appropriate fees for appeal. All checks must be written to Arlington County Treasurer:
Board of Building Code Appeals
2100 Clarendon Boulevard, Suite 1000
Arlington, VA 22201
The ABBCA consists of six members appointed by the County Board for a specific term of office.
Fees are required for appeal requests regardless of the outcome of the request. Currently, the fee for a residential appeal request is $105.00 and the fee for a commercial appeal request is $419.00. Both fees are subject to the same surcharges as permits, which are currently a cumulative 27%. Fees must be paid at the time of submission of the appeal request. Requests unaccompanied by the full payment of the associated fees will not be accepted.
All hearings before the ABBCA are open meetings and the appellant, the appellant's representative, the locality's representative and any person whose interests are affected by the building official’s decision in question are given an opportunity to be heard. The chairperson shall have the power and duty to direct the hearing, rule upon the acceptance of evidence and oversee the record of all proceedings. The ABBCA has the power to uphold, reverse or modify the decision of the official by a concurring vote of a majority of those present. Decisions of the ABBCA shall be final if no further appeal is made. The decision of the ABBCA is by resolution signed by the chairperson and retained as part of the record of the appeal. Copies of the resolution will be sent to all parties by certified mail.
Appeal hearing are held the 3rd Wednesday of each month in the afternoon. Applications for appeal must be received at least two weeks prior to the scheduled hearing date.
If you have further questions regarding the modification or appeals process, please call 703-228-3800.
