In the event a request for a hearing is properly filed, a hearing shall be held pursuant to the provisions of this section.
(a) The hearing shall be conducted by an individual who is designated by the presiding judge of the Municipal Court. The person may be an employee of the County who is not assigned to the Animal Control Division or the Environmental Health Division or who is not otherwise subordinate to the Chief of the Animal Control Division or the Chief of the Environmental Health Division. Unless otherwise agreed by the parties, the hearing shall be held within thirty (30) days after the date the request for the hearing was properly filed.
(b) The burden shall be upon the Chief of the
Animal Control Division to prove that the animal is a vicious animal. If it is found or established that the animal is a vicious animal, the burden shall be upon the appellant to prove that the disposition ordered by the Chief of the Animal Control Division is unreasonable.
At the hearing the appellant and the Animal Control Division may be represented by counsel, may present oral and written evidence, and may cross-examine witnesses. Strict rules of evidence shall not apply. Any relevant evidence may be admitted if it is the sort of evidence which responsible persons are accustomed to rely upon in the conduct of serious affairs. For good cause, the hearing may be continued. The hearing shall be tape recorded, and all documents presented as evidence shall be maintained as part of the record of the hearing.
In the event the appellant fails to appear at the time, date, and place appointed for the hearing, the hearing shall be conducted in the absence of the appellant, and the hearing officer shall render a decision based upon evidence presented during the hearing.
(c) The hearing officer shall render a decision within ten (10) days after the close of the hearing. The decision shall be supported by the weight of evidence. The decision of the hearing officer shall be final, Chapter 4 of Title 1 of this Code notwithstanding.
The decision shall be in writing and shall include findings of fact and conclusions respecting the following:
(1) Whether, based upon the evidence presented during the hearing, the animal is a vicious animal; and
(2) If the animal is determined to be a vicious animal, what disposition should be made. The hearing officer shall formulate a disposition based upon all of the facts and circumstances revealed by the evidence and may:
(i) Uphold the decision of the Animal Control
Division and order the decision carried out;
(ii) Order the return of the animal to its owner upon such conditions as may be reasonably necessary to insure the public health, safety, and welfare, including, but not limited to, those set forth in Section 6-1.1004 of this article, and subject to the further condition that the animal may be destroyed if any of such conditions is breached; and
(iii) Such other action as is found reasonably necessary to protect the public health, safety, and welfare, including a continuance of the impoundment of such animal for the purposes of observation for a period not to exceed thirty (30) days after the date of the order.
The hearing officer shall promptly file the decision with the Clerk of the Board who shall thereupon transmit copies to the parties.
(d) Any action seeking a judicial review of a decision of the hearing officer shall be brought pursuant to Section 1094.5 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the State and shall be instituted within ninety (90) days after the date the decision is filed with the Clerk of the Board. (§ 2, Ord. 950, eff. June 2, 1983, as amended by § 2, Ord. 991, eff. November 22, 1984)