(a) Any persons jointly or severally aggrieved by a decision of the Board of Adjustment or any taxpayer or any officer, department, board or bureau of the County may present to the Superior Court in and for Sussex County, a petition duly verified, setting forth that such decision is illegal in whole or in part, specifying the grounds of the illegality. The petition shall be presented to the Court within 30 days after the filing of the decision in the office of the Board.

(b) Upon the presentation of the petition, the Court may allow a writ of certiorari, directed to the Board of Adjustment, to review the decision of the Board of Adjustment, and shall prescribe therein the time within which a return thereto must be made and served upon the petitioner’s attorney, which shall not be less than 10 days and may be extended by the Court.

(c) The allowance of the writ shall not stay proceedings upon the decision appealed from, but the Court may, on application, on notice to the Board and on due cause shown, grant a restraining order.

(d) The Board of Adjustment shall not be required to return the original papers acted upon by it, but it shall be sufficient to return certified or sworn copies thereof, or of such portions thereof as may be called for by the writ. The return shall concisely set forth such other facts as may be pertinent and material to show the grounds of the decision appealed from and shall be verified. The cost of the transcript of the hearing appealed from shall be the responsibility of the person appealing the decision unless said costs are allowed against the Board as provided in subsection (g) of this section.

(e) If, upon the hearing, it shall appear to the Court that testimony is necessary for the proper disposition of the matter, it may take evidence, or appoint a referee to take such evidence as it may direct and report the same to the Court with the referee’s findings of fact and conclusions of law, which shall constitute a part of the proceedings upon which the determination of the Court shall be made.

(f) The Court may reverse or affirm, wholly or partly, or may modify the decision brought up for review.

(g) Costs shall not be allowed against the Board, unless it shall appear to the Court that it acted with gross negligence or in bad faith or with malice in making the decision appealed from.

9 Del. C. 1953, § 6918; 56 Del. Laws, c. 97; 64 Del. Laws, c. 78, § 6; 70 Del. Laws, c. 186, § 1.