The City Council may appoint a Hearing Examiner to hear appeals to the City Council made pursuant to this Article.
(1) A Hearing Examiner shall fix a time and place for the beginning and closing of the hearings and for the filing of the Hearing Examiner's report to the City Council. The Hearing Examiner shall have and exercise the power to regulate the proceedings and every hearing before the examiner and to do all acts and to take all measures necessary or proper for the efficient performance of the examiner's duty under this Article. The Hearing Examiner shall have all powers of the City Council vested upon the City Council for the hearing of these matters and may rule upon the admissibility of evidence to put witnesses under oath and may examine them and may call the parties to the action and examine them upon oath.
(2) The Hearing Examiner shall prepare a report upon the contested case submitted to the examiner and make findings of fact and conclusions of law as appropriate and shall set them forth in a report separately stated. He shall file the report with the clerk of the City along with the recordings, minutes, evidence and original exhibits made and received at the hearing. A copy of the reports shall be served upon all parties to the contested case by the City Clerk.
(3) Within fifteen (15) days of the date of the filing of the report of the Hearing Examiner with the City Clerk, any party to the contested case may serve a written objection to the findings which original must be served with the City Clerk, copies upon all parties to the contested case.
(4) In the event that no objections are filed, the City Council shall adopt the report of the Hearing Examiner at the next regularly-scheduled meeting of the City Council, and in the event that an objection is filed, the City Council shall hear oral argument of the parties upon the record in support of their objections, but unless specifically ordered by the City Council, no new evidence shall be presented at such hearing. The Council shall decide the matter upon the Hearing Examiner's report, the oral arguments, written objections submitted and upon the record of the case. The City Council shall adopt the findings and conclusions and recommendations of the Hearing Examiner unless those findings of fact are not based upon substantial evidence and/or the conclusions of law are erroneous statements of law.
(5) This Section shall apply to any Board of Appeals appointed by the City Council pursuant to Chapter 4, Article 7; Chapter 8, Article 13; and Sections 12-01-01 through 12-01-09; Chapter 12, Articles 3 through 9 and Article 13 of this Code. Said Board of Appeals shall be and are hereby appointed as the duly appointed Hearing Examiners for all matters coming within their jurisdiction and for all matters coming before the City Council as specified in this Article of the City Code, and the procedure or process for governing hearings of appeals by said Boards shall be governed by this Article, except in the event of any conflicts between the provisions of this Article with the specific provisions in the Chapters, Articles and Sections mentioned above, and in such event, those Chapters, Articles and Sections and the uniform codes therein adopted shall control. (Ord. 1918, 11-4-91; Ord. 1990, 8-16-93)