(A) No sooner than 90 days, but no longer than 120 days, from the date the petition was filed with the Village Clerk, a public hearing shall be held by the Village Board.
(1) Any two members of the Village Board shall constitute a quorum for the purpose of holding such a public hearing.
(2) They will participate in the proceedings.
(B) Within 50 days of the filing date of the petition, the Mayor shall determine the date, time and location upon which such public hearing shall be held, but in any event the initial public hearing must be scheduled no sooner than 90 days, but no later than 120 days, from the date the petition was filed with the Village Clerk.
(C) Upon such determination of the hearing date, time and location, as described in division (B) above, the Mayor or, if he or she designates, the Hearing Officer, shall notify the Village Clerk of the date upon which such hearing shall be held and shall request the Village Clerk to cause notice of such hearing to be made as follows. Upon receipt of such request, the Village Clerk, and at the Village Clerk’s discretion with the help of the attorney representing the village (its staff and employees), shall cause the publication of notice pursuant to the following requirements:
(1) By publication of two legal notices in a newspaper of general circulation published in the village.
(a) One such notice shall be published no later than 60 days from the date the petition was filed.
(b) Another such notice shall be published no later than 75 days from the date the petition was filed.
(2) Such notices shall consist of the following information, which, except for divisions (C)(2)(h) through (C)(2)(k) below, must be disclosed by the applicant in the petition:
(a) The name and address of the person, partnership or corporation requesting site location approval;
(b) The name and address of the owner of the site, and in case ownership is in a land trust, the names of its beneficiaries;
(c) The legal description of the site;
(d) The street address of the property, and if there is no street address applicable to the property, a description of the site with reference to location, ownership, occupancy or in some other manner that will reasonably identify the property to residents of the neighborhood;
(e) The nature and size of the proposed facility;
(f) The nature of the activity proposed;
(g) The probable life of the proposed activity and facility;
(h) The time and date of the public hearing(s);
(i) The location(s) of the public hearing(s);
(j) A statement that all copies of evidence other than testimony to be submitted at the public hearing(s) must be filed with the Village Clerk at least seven days before the date of the first public hearing. The Hearing Officer may permit late filing for good cause shown and without prejudice to the participants; and
(k) A statement that any person wanting to present sworn testimony or cross-examine witnesses must sign up as a participant with the Village Clerk no later than the first day of the public hearing, or sign up with the Hearing Officer no later than the adjournment of the first day of the public hearing. The Hearing Officer may permit late filing for good cause shown and without prejudice to the participants.
(3) A copy of the notice shall also be sent, no later than 55 days after the date the petition was filed, by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the following.
(a) Pursuant to § 39.2(d) of the Act, the notice must be delivered to the following persons/entities no later than 14 days prior to the first day of public hearing.
(b) If a return receipt is not received by the Village Clerk confirming delivery of the notice on the following persons/entities, by the sixty-fifth day following the filing of the petition, the Village Clerk shall arrange for personal service on the following persons/entities:
1. All members of the General Assembly from the district in which the proposed facility is located;
2. The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency;
3. The governing authority of every municipality whose corporate limits are within one mile of the boundary of the proposed facility; and
4. The county board of the county where the proposed site is to be located.
(4) Additional notice of the public hearing may, at the discretion of the Mayor, be given, by publishing a notice in a newspaper of general circulation published as a display ad at least once during the week preceding the public hearing. Such notice shall consist of all items described in divisions (C)(2)(a) through (C)(2)(k) above, except for division (C)(2)(c) above.
(D) Prior to the date of the first public hearing, the Mayor shall appoint the Hearing Officer for the public hearing on the petition.
(1) The Hearing Officer shall preside over the public hearing and shall make any decisions concerning the admission of evidence and the manner in which the hearing is conducted, subject to this section and the law concerning such applications.
(2) Accordingly, all decisions and rulings shall be in accordance with the concept of fundamental fairness (unless a different standard is adopted as a matter of Illinois law).
(3) The Hearing Officer may exclude irrelevant, immaterial or unduly repetitious testimony.
(4) Rulings of the Hearing Officer may be promptly appealed to those Village Trustees then present.
(5) A simple majority of those Trustees present shall be sufficient to overrule the decision of the Hearing Officer.
(6) All testimony and all public meetings concerning the petition shall be in the presence of a certified court reporter who shall report all proceedings regarding consideration of the petition.
(7) The Hearing Officer shall have the following powers or duties:
(a) Administer oaths and affirmations;
(b) Prior to the start of the public hearing, conduct a public meeting to explain the public hearing procedure and site location review process.
1. If the Hearing Officer decides to hold such a meeting, it shall be held no sooner than the ninetieth day from the date the petition was filed.
2. Notice shall be given in a newspaper of general circulation one week prior to the meeting (or alternatively, as part of the first published notice of the hearing).
3. Such notice shall expressly state that it is a informational meeting concerning the procedure to be used at the public hearing and the site location review process, and that it is not a public hearing at which evidence will be taken for purposes of making a determination in accordance with the Act.
(c) Arrange for the presence of a certified court reporter to attend and transcribe the conduct of all public hearings for the public record;
(d) Regulate the course of the hearing, including, but not limited to, controlling the order of proceedings, consistent with this article;
(e) Require a witness or person presenting unsworn public comment to state his or her position either for, against or undecided with respect to the proposed facility;
(f) Examine a witness and direct a witness to testify;
(g) Establish reasonable limits on the duration of public hearing consistent with the Act and this article, including, but not limited to, the reasonable limitation of sworn testimony, unsworn oral comment, direct and cross-examination of any witnesses, and the limitation of repetitive or cumulative testimony and questioning;
(h) Rule upon objections and evidentiary questions, with the understanding that such rulings must be consistent with fundamental fairness, but need not be in strict compliance with the Illinois
Supreme Court, Illinois Code of Civil Procedure or any local rules of evidence governing a civil judicial trial in the State of Illinois, County of DuPage;
(i) Allow the introduction of late-filed evidence, be it written or testimonial, on behalf of any participant; provided, good cause is shown for the late-filing, and the evidence is relevant and not unduly prejudicial to another participant so that fundamental fairness to all parties is preserved;
(j) The Hearing Officer shall be an attorney, licensed to practice in Illinois.
1. The Hearing Officer shall confer with the Village Board concerning the petition, between the time of the filing of the petition and the Village Board’s decision on the petition.
2. Given the Hearing Officer’s role of communicating with the Village Board, the Hearing Officer may not confer with the participants (members of the public, the applicant and the village included) concerning the petition, unless such conference takes place during the public hearing, is through correspondence filed with the Village Clerk (and, thus, available for everyone to view), or concerns location, time or other similar scheduling aspects of the public meeting or public hearing, or the notices for same.
3. The only additional exception from this restriction is that the Hearing Officer may:
a. Confer with the Village Clerk about the upkeep or status of the public record;
b. Make a request to review or copy the public record; or
c. Confer with the Village Clerk regarding the scheduling or location of, or arrangements for, the public meeting or hearing.
(k) The Mayor may remove and/or replace the Hearing Officer at will.
1. If the Hearing Officer is replaced, a new Hearing Officer shall be appointed.
2. In the interim, the hearing may be adjourned or continued, with the Mayor or a Trustee as presiding officer.
(l) At the conclusion of the public hearing and after consideration of all timely-filed written comments or late-filed written comments, the Hearing Officer shall submit written findings of fact and conclusions of law to the Village Board, and file a copy of such findings with the Village Clerk; and
(m) The Hearing Officer does not have the right or the power to vote on the application. That power resides with the Village Board.
(E) All reports, studies, exhibits or other evidence or copies thereof, other than testimony, which any participant desires to submit for the record at the public hearing must be filed with the Village Clerk, in the quantity provided for in § 15-9-02, at least seven calendar days before the public hearing, and shall be available for public inspection in the office of the Village Clerk.
(1) In the event that the seventh day prior to the date set for public hearing falls on a Saturday, Sunday or holiday, the next working day shall be considered the day that reports, studies and exhibits must be filed.
(2) The Hearing Officer may permit the late filing of evidence for good cause shown and without prejudice to any participant.
(F) Conduct of the public hearing shall be substantially as follows:
(1) Call to order with determination of a quorum;
(2) Introduction of the Village Board members who are present;
(3) Introduction of the Hearing Officer;
(4) Recognition of the applicant and identification of the petition;
(5) Recognition of fees, notices and date of filing of the petition;
(6) Recognition of the village staff and attorney present;
(7) Recognition of all other participants who have filed the notice of participation, pursuant to § 15-9-04(C);
(8) Recognition of all reports, exhibits, maps or documents of record as filed pursuant to division (E) above;
(9) The applicant, the village and the participants each may then make an opening statement;
(10) The Village Board shall then hear testimony from the applicant and/or any witnesses the applicant may wish to call. Upon the close of the applicant’s testimony, participants, other than the applicant or the village, may present sworn testimony, including any witnesses and evidence they wish to present;
(11) After the close of the applicant’s and the participants’ cases, the village may present any witnesses and evidence it wishes to present;
(12) Rebuttal testimony and evidence will be allowed at the discretion of the Hearing Officer; but, if it is allowed, it will be presented in the same order as described in division (F)(9) above;
(13) Following rebuttal testimony, if any, any participant who wishes to present oral, unsworn comment may then present such comment to the Village Board;
(14) Closing statements, if any, will be presented in the same order as described in division (F)(9) above;
(15) Rebuttal statement, if any, by the applicant, subject to limitations as imposed by the Hearing Officer; and
(16) Hearing closed.
(G) All witnesses who testify under oath shall be subject to reasonable questioning as follows: direct, cross-examination, redirect, re-cross and the like.
(H) At any time during the public hearings, any Village Board member and the Hearing Officer may question participants or cross-examine witnesses.
(I) Should any issues, facts, data or other evidence arise during the course of the public hearing, which were not apparent or reasonably foreseeable by a party from the petition as filed with the Village Clerk, such situation may constitute grounds for a recess in the public hearing for a period not to exceed five working days. Any decision in this regard shall be made by the Hearing Officer.
(Ord. 2003-07-43, passed 7-21-2003)