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Home My WebLink AboutCity Council resolution 15-052 - adopting rules of procedure for Hearing OfficerRESOLUTION NO. 15-052 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SARATOGA ADOPTING RULES OF PROCEDURE FOR HEARINGS BEFORE THE HEARING OFFICER The City of Saratoga City Council finds and determines as follows: 1. Section 3-15.070 of the Saratoga Municipal Code establishes a Hearing Officer to hear appeals of various code enforcement matters in the City of Saratoga. 2. The same section further provides that rules of procedure regarding the powers of a Hearing Officer and governing all hearings by a Hearing Officer shall be adopted by resolution of the City Council and may be amended in the same manner from time to time. 3. The City Council wishes to adopt rules of procedure for hearings conducted by the Hearing Officer that provide fair and adequate opportunity for consideration of all relevant issues on appeals. 4. Therefore, upon careful consideration, the City Council hereby adopts the Rules of Procedure for Hearings Before the Hearing Officer attached as Attachment A to take effect immediately. Attachments: A - RULES OF PROCEDURE FOR HEARINGS BEFORE THE HEARING OFFICER PASSED AND ADOPTED by the City Council of the City of Saratoga, this 2nd day of September 2015 by the following vote: AYES: Mayor Howard A. Miller, Vice Mayor Manny Cappello, Council Members Emily Lo, Mary - Lynne Bernald, Rishi Kumar NAYS: None ABSENT: None ABSTAIN:None De• sie Bretschneider, Acting City Clerk 699643.2 Howard A. Miller, Mayor DATE: / 13/)-0 ()�- CITY OF SARATOGA RULES OF PROCEDURE FOR HEARINGS BEFORE THE HEARING OFFICER The following rules of procedure have been adopted by the City Council for all hearings conducted by a Hearing Officer acting pursuant to Section 3-15.070 of the City Code. 1. Purpose The purpose of these rules of procedure is to provide consistent, fair procedures for any review by a Hearing Officer of an appeal or other matter heard by a Hearing Officer by reference to City Code Section 3-15.070. In addition to these rules of procedure, the appeal or other matter heard by the Hearing Officer shall be conducted in accordance with applicable provisions of the City Code, which provisions shall prevail in the event of any conflict with these hearing procedures. 2. Powers of Hearing Officer. (a) On the Hearing Officer's own motion or on the motion of any party, the Hearing Officer may continue a scheduled or ongoing hearing for good cause, provided that notice of the date, time and location of the continued hearing is served on each party by mail or to an e-mail address if a party has authorized e-mail delivery. (b) The Hearing Officer, at the request of any party to a hearing, may request the City Council to subpoena witnesses, documents and other evidence where the attendance of the witness or the admission of evidence is deemed necessary by the Hearing Officer to decide the issues at the hearing. All costs related to the subpoena, including witness and mileage fees shall be borne by the party requesting the subpoena. (c) The Hearing Officer shall retain jurisdiction over the subject matter of a hearing for the purposes of granting a continuance, ensuring compliance with the Hearing Officer's Decision, modifying such Decision, or where extraordinary circumstances exist, granting a new hearing. 3. Procedures at Hearing. (a) Hearings before a Hearing Officer are intended to be informal in nature. Formal rules of evidence and discovery do not apply. The Hearing Officer shall only consider evidence that is relevant to the determination(s) the Hearing Officer is required to make. (b) The burden of proof of regulatory compliance is on the party requesting the hearing unless the City is seeking abatement by repair, removal, or demolition, in which case the burden of proof of regulatory noncompliance is on the City. (c) The standard of proof to be used by the Hearing Officer in deciding the factual issues at a hearing is the preponderance of the evidence standard. (d) Hearings shall be open to the public, absent a determination by the Hearing Officer to close the hearing to the public and/or exclude potential witnesses based on a showing of good cause. No public notice of hearings is required unless otherwise specified in the City Code. (e) Hearings shall be recorded in audio or audio/video format by the City Clerk who shall keep and maintain each recording for no less than three years from the date of the Hearing Officer's service of the Hearing Officer's Decision on the parties. Copies of audio recordings shall be at the requestor's expense. (f) The Hearing Officer shall hear and consider all relevant evidence, including, but not limited to, applicable staff reports, oral testimony, physical evidence, photographs, correspondence between the parties, and any other type of record relevant to the matter before the Hearing Officer. (g) At least seven calendar days prior to the hearing, the parties shall serve one another and the Hearing Officer with a written summary, no more than five pages in length, explaining the facts and law in support of their respective positions. The summary may additionally include photographs or other documentary evidence. The summary may be personally delivered or sent by email if a party has authorized e-mail delivery. By written request served on the parties, the Hearing Officer may require the parties to serve one another by personal delivery or by email if a party has authorized e-mail delivery with a written rebuttal (to the other party's written summary) of a specified page limit by a specified date no later than 5:00 p.m. two business days prior to the hearing, and by that same date to exchange all (or a specified portion) of the then known evidence a party intends to present at the hearing. If no one is present to accept personal delivery at the address specified in the notice of appeal said delivery may be accomplished by leaving a copy with the City Clerk and providing telephone notice that the materials delivered are available at that office. The Hearing Officer may establish alternate deadlines to those specified herein upon the consent of the parties. (h) Each hearing shall proceed in the following order, unless the Hearing Officer directs otherwise: i. Each witness who intends to testify shall be sworn by the Hearing Officer. ii. The City shall present its case including the evidence supporting its position. iii. The party requesting the hearing shall present his/her/its case including the evidence supporting his/her/its position. iv. The parties may then, in order, respectively present rebutting evidence and argument, with the party having the burden of proof having the last opportunity Hearing Procedures - 2 for rebuttal. (i) The Hearing Officer may ask questions of any witness at any time. (j) Each party shall have the opportunity to cross-examine any witness. (k) The Hearing Officer has the authority to control the hearing and may limit the time allotted for each party's presentation to 60 minutes absent good cause for allowing additional time as determined by the Hearing Officer. 4. Hearing Officer's Decision (a) After considering all of the relevant testimony, other evidence and argument submitted prior to and at the hearing, the Hearing Officer shall, within 30 days or such shorter period of time as may be required by the City Code, render a written "Hearing Officer's Decision" and serve copies thereof to the parties. The Hearing Officer's Decision shall uphold, modify, or cancel the decision which is the subject of the hearing. The Hearing Officer's Decision shall list the findings in support of such decision, including a finding as to attorney's fees pursuant to section 3-15.100 of the Saratoga City Code if appropriate. The Hearing Officer shall not award attorney's fees unless the party requesting the hearing was timely notified in writing that attorney's fees may be assessed. (b) The Hearing Officer's Decision shall be served on all parties by regular mail or acknowledged email. (c) The Hearing Officer's Decision is final on the date of service of the order and may not be appealed to the City Council. 5. Judicial Review. Judicial review of a Hearing Officer's Decision may be sought pursuant to a timely petition for writ of administrative mandamus. Once a Hearing Officer's Decision becomes final, the time in which judicial review of the Decision must be sought shall be governed by California Code of Civil Procedure Section 1094.6. SARATOG.1-S140 699147.4 Hearing Procedures - 3