Eastern District upholds Zoning Board of Adjustment's denial of appeal of building permit as untimely

Oetting v. Ladue, No. ED112717 (March 11, 2025). The City of Ladue's Building Commissioner issued building permits for construction on a residential lot in August 2022. A year later, in August 2023—which was also at least ten months after construction started—a nearby property owner filed an appeal with the Zoning Board of Adjustment challenging the permits, alleging the lot failed to meet the City's frontage requirements. The Board dismissed Oetting's appeal as untimely. Pursuant to § 89.100 RSMo., appeals "shall be taken within a reasonable time, as provided by the rules of the board…". Ladue’s rules set this period at thirty days. The Court recognized Ladue’s rule as valid and affirmed the Board's decision, holding that the appeal needed to be filed within thirty days of the date the appellant was chargeable with notice of the permit's issuance. In this case, there was substantial evidence of actual and constructive notice to the appellant of the permits and the building project long before he filed the appeal with the Board.

Without a rule setting a specific time frame, such appeals may be taken “within a reasonable time” and the outcome of the case might have been less certain. Cities that do not have any rule establishing a specific deadline for filing appeals with their Boards of Adjustment should consider adopting one.