The administrator or staff or board which conducts public hearings under this title shall conduct said hearings in conformity with the following standards. At all such hearings:
A. A sign in roster shall be kept at the entrance to the hearing room for all persons who wish to testify at the hearing on a particular application or issue.
B. The chair of the meeting shall conduct the hearing in accordance with the rules adopted March 10, 1983, and amendments thereto.
C. A transcribable record shall be taken and maintained.
D. The chair shall call upon the administrator or staff to make a preliminary presentation of facts not to exceed twenty (20) minutes in length.
E. Following the close of the presentation of facts by the administrator or staff, the chair shall invite the applicant to make a presentation of evidence to the commission or board.
F. Every document referred to by any person during testimony (including charts, maps, photographic evidence or any other evidence) shall be offered into the record. Every exhibit offered shall be marked and entered into the record of the proceeding. Such exhibits shall be maintained in the county planning department during the appeal period, or permanently, if provided as evidence of future plans. Exhibits offered may be made conditions of approval.
G. After the administrator or staff presentation and testimony by the applicant, the chair shall open the hearing for public testimony and shall invite the public to address the commission or board in the order of names found on the sign in roster. If, in the opinion of the chair, the number of persons testifying is so large as to unduly delay the process of the hearing, the chair may limit public testimony to three (3) minutes for each member of the public. Representatives of groups may be limited to five (5) minutes. The public hearing may be continued, upon motion, to a date certain, which shall be announced to the public there assembled.
H. All persons testifying before the commission or board shall state, for the record, their full name and address.
1. Any person desiring to speak must first be recognized by the presiding officer.
2. Testimony shall directly address the subject at hand.
3. Testimony shall not be repetitious with other entries into the record.
4. Testimony shall not be personally derogatory and shall be respectful.
5. Testimony shall comply with time restrictions.
6. If oral testimony fails to comply with the aforementioned standards, the presiding officer may declare such testimony out of order and require it to cease.
7. The chairman may ask people who are unruly to leave the premises.
8. Public displays shall not be tolerated.
9. The chairman may stop the meeting at any time and continue it to a specified time.
I. Members of the commission or board or its legal representative may question any person who testified at any time or may, upon a majority of the members present, ask for further testimony.
J. Before the close of the public testimony, the chair shall ask if any persons attending the hearing who did not sign the roster wish to be heard, and any such person shall be given the opportunity to testify.
K. At the close of public testimony, the chair shall solicit comments from the administrator or staff for additional testimony or clarifications as the result of the testimony given. After comments from the administrator or staff, the applicant or appellant shall be given an opportunity to address final comments to the commission or board. If new information is presented by the applicant, the public shall have a chance to address that specific information.
L. After all testimony, the chair shall declare the public hearing closed and shall bring the matter back before the commission or board for discussion and action. The discussion and decision may be deferred until another date certain, which shall be then announced to the public there assembled.
M. Following the commission hearing, if the commission makes a material change in the proposal, further notice and hearing shall be provided before the commission gives final approval or forwards the proposal with its recommendation to the board. For purposes of this section, a material change shall mean any modification of the proposal, which, in the opinion of the commission, is of such importance that the public interest will be better served by additional notice and public hearing.
N. At any public hearing, the commission may order the hearing to be continued by publicly announcing the time and place of continuance and no further notice thereof shall be required. Failure of the commission or board to provide actual notice to each person so entitled shall not render any proceeding hereunder invalid; provided, that the county substantially complies with the notice and hearing requirements of this chapter.
O. The procedure for quasi-judicial public hearings shall follow the order of events set forth below (see "Procedures For Conducting A Public Hearing" at the end of this section):
1. Brief introduction of application by chairman.
2. Presentation by staff.
3. Presentation by applicant (decision makers should address their questions to the applicant at this time).
4. Open public hearing testimony from the public in the following order: (Questions from the decision makers should be asked of the person testifying before they leave the podium.)
a. Proponents (speakers in favor).
b. Uncommitted (neutral speakers).
c. Opponents (speakers opposed).
5. Rebuttal testimony from applicant. (Decision makers should ask any final questions.) If new facts are elicited at any point, the public must be given an opportunity to comment on such new facts.
6. Close public hearing.
7. Discussion of hearing subject among governing board members. Questions may also be directed to staff during this period. Any procedural rules requiring a motion prior to discussion are hereby suspended for purposes of such discussion. Decision makers may table the matter until later in the meeting or to a later meeting for deliberations.
8. The recommendation or decision arrived at should state why the result was reached. A reasoned statement that explains the criteria and standards considered relevant; state the relevant facts relied upon, and explain the rationale for the decision based on applicable provisions of the comprehensive plan, relevant ordinance and statutory provisions, pertinent constitutional principles and factual information contained in the record, should be part of the motion to approve or deny, or should be developed with staff assistance for action at a subsequent meeting.
P. Written testimony and exhibits from the public to be presented for the record shall comply with the following standards:
1. Written submittal, other than petitions or illustrations, must be submitted at least seven (7) days prior to the date of the public hearing.
2. Written submittal shall include the signature and address of the submitter.
3. Written submittal shall address the issue at hand. Portions of written submittal that raise irrelevant issues or include improper information may be excluded from consideration in whole or in part.
4. Documents may be submitted at the public hearing only with the approval of the presiding officer and only if their introduction will not inject unfair surprise into the process. The presiding officer may require duplication of any acceptable documents or continuation of any hearing if necessary to provide an opportunity for response from hearing participants.
5. If documentation submitted at a hearing fails to comply with the aforementioned standards, the presiding officer may decline to admit them for consideration during the hearing.
(Ord. 10-06, 8-23-2010)