The hearing before the administrative hearing officer shall be open to the public. The administrative hearing officer may admit all relevant evidence, including incident reports and affidavits of witnesses. The administrative hearing officer may decide all issues even if the responsible party for the animal fails to appear at the hearing. If the complaining party fails to appear at the hearing and the investigating animal control officer does not have personal knowledge of the noisy animal, the complaint shall be dismissed. The administrative hearing officer may find, upon a preponderance of the evidence, that the animal is a noisy animal and the maintenance of such noisy animal is a public nuisance. Upon the conclusion of the hearing, the administrative hearing officer may orally announce the decision as to whether the animal is a noisy animal.
(Ord. 2018-252, passed 12-5-2018)