20.10(A) General applicability. Florida courts have determined that there are certain types of matters that are to be treated differently than other issues considered by the Commission. Most decisions of the Commission are legislative in nature, which means that the Commission is acting as a policy making body. In contrast, in quasi-judicial matters, the Commission is applying existing rules and policies to a factual situation and is therefore acting like a judge or jury in a courtroom. In such cases, the Courts have decided that due process and fundamental fairness requires that more formal procedures be followed. The City Attorney shall determine which matters are to be treated as quasi-judicial, and such items shall be placed in a separate section of the agenda.
20.10(B) Ex-parte communications. In quasi-judicial proceedings, a person may not be precluded from communicating directly with a member of the
by application of ex-parte communication prohibitions. However, disclosure of such communications by a member of the
is required at the hearing, on a form provided by the City Clerk. All decisions of the
in a quasi-judicial proceeding must be supported by substantial, competent evidence in the record pertinent to the proceeding, irrespective of such communications.
20.10(C) Conduct of quasi-judicial proceedings.
20.10(C)(1) The hearings shall be conducted in an informal manner.
20.10(C)(2) The Mayor may ask whether there are any objections to removing the item from the quasi-judicial agenda.
20.10(C)(3) The City Clerk will confirm compliance with all advertising and notice requirements.
20.10(C)(4) The City Clerk will swear in all witnesses who intend to speak on any of the quasi-judicial items.
20.10(C)(5) The City Staff will make its presentation.
20.10(C)(6) The
will make its presentation.
20.10(C)(7) Any member of the public may speak and make a presentation. In the event that a member of the public chooses not to give his or her name and address, the
shall take this under consideration when weighing his or her testimony and determining whether such testimony constitutes competent and substantial evidence.
20.10(C)(8) All witnesses are subject to cross-examination by the City Staff,
and the
.
20.10(C)(9) The
and staff will make concluding remarks.
20.10(C)(10) The public hearing will then be closed.
20.10(C)(11) Once the public hearing is closed, no further presentations or testimony shall be permitted, although the
may ask questions of staff, the
and any witnesses who have testified.
20.10(C)(12) The
will make their comments, ask questions, deliberate, and then announce its decision by vote of the Commission.
20.10(C)(13) The
reserves the right to limit or prohibit redundant or irrelevant evidence, testimony or questions and may set reasonable time limits.
20.10(C)(14) The
will rule on any evidentiary questions.
20.10(C)(15) The City's Comprehensive Plan,
of Ordinances, material in the
's agenda backup, and the staff résumés on file with the City Clerk will automatically be considered as evidence without authentication. If the
's representative or any other person wishes to introduce any documents or other evidence not contained in the agenda backup, he or she shall request that the documents or evidence be admitted into evidence during his or her presentation and shall provide ten copies to the City Clerk. Neither the
nor any person shall approach the dais to deliver documents or other evidence directly to the Mayor or Commissioners, or leave any materials on the dais. Paper copies (no larger than 11 inches by 17 inches) of any boards, charts, or PowerPoint/computer presentations shall be provided to the City Clerk prior to their use at the hearing.
20.10(C)(16) Although the
may listen to non-expert opinion and public sentiment, its decision must be based upon competent substantial evidence presented to it at the hearing.
20.10(D) Waiver of quasi-judicial hearing. If the
or agent of the
agrees with the staff's recommendation and wishes to waive his or her right to a quasi-judicial hearing, and if no Commissioner or anyone from the audience wishes to speak for or against the quasi-judicial agenda item, the Commission may vote on the item based upon the materials in the agenda back-up, without any discussion or debate on the agenda item.
20.10(E) Documents and other evidence. The
is requested to provide ten copies of any documents or other evidence that it intends to rely upon at the quasi-judicial hearing to the City Clerk at least two weeks before the scheduled hearing. Any such documents or evidence will be included in the Commission's agenda back-up and will automatically be made a part of the record of the hearing. If the
's representative or any other person wishes to introduce any other evidence at the quasi-judicial hearing, he or she shall follow the procedure set forth in § 20.10(C)(15) above.
20.10(F) Dissemination of information/use of multimedia for agenda items. City staff, consultants,
s and appellants for a quasi-judicial approval may connect to the overhead displays via HDMI connection using their own laptop computer. Speakers will be responsible for controlling their own presentations and/or multimedia content.
20.10(G) Deferrals.
20.10(G)(1) If the advertising requirements for a quasi-judicial item are not met, the item shall not be considered and shall automatically be deferred. The
shall place the item on a future agenda that is a minimum of 25 days from the date of the meeting at which it was scheduled. The failure of an Applicant to satisfy the advertising requirements for the same item two consecutive times shall constitute sufficient grounds for denial of the application.
20.10(G)(2) An
may request one deferral of a quasi-judicial item, and that deferral shall be granted as a matter of right. Additional deferrals for the same item may be granted only at the discretion of the Commission. Any deferral request by an applicant must be for a minimum of 25 days from the date of the meeting at which it was scheduled, and the item must be re-advertised and re-noticed.
20.10(G)(3) In addition to the right to defer a quasi-judicial item pursuant to § 20.10(G)(2), if one or more members of the Commission are absent from, or are appearing remotely at, a Commission meeting, an
may request a deferral of his or her quasi-judicial item to the next Commission meeting, in which case (a) the deferral shall be granted as a matter of right, (b) the quasi-judicial item does not need to be readvertised, and (c) the Presiding Officer shall announce the date when the item will be heard. If the
wishes to move forward with the quasi-judicial item without the full Commission being present in person at the hearing, the
waives any objection as to the item not being heard by the full Commission.
(Am. Ord. 2023-03, passed 5-1-2023)