Article II — Hearings

The manner of filing applications, depositing fees, the scheduling of hearings, and the giving of required notices shall be governed by the provisions of Title 17, Zoning Regulations. (Prior code § 21-1.1)

• A. At such hearings held under the provisions of Title 17, the following order of presentation shall be followed:

  1. Calling of the case by the Chairperson.

  2. Presentation of factual data by the Secretary of the Planning Commission or designated staff representative.

  3. Sworn testimony is then heard from the proponents, opponents, and proponents on rebuttal. The Chairperson may, and upon request of any member of the Commission shall, require that any witness giving testimony be sworn before giving such testimony.

• B. Evidence may be presented by oral statements, by testimony in response to questions, or by written exhibits or reports. Letters from interested individuals, other than agencies to whom communications were mailed requesting specific information, shall only be referred to as filed material and shall not be deemed as evidence. If the person who sent such letter is present at the hearing, it may be read into the record at his/her request in the event it contains any possible evidence. The technical rules of evidence shall not apply at the hearing, but the Chairperson may on his/her own motion exclude any testimony which considers immaterial or irrelevant to the issues, or which is unnecessarily repetitious or cumulative.

• C. Any member of the Commission may also question the propriety or sufficiency of evidence, and request that such testimony be excluded. If the Chairperson ignores the question or considers it irrelevant, any Commissioner shall have the power to call for a vote of the Commission, and the Chairperson shall abide by the decision reached by the majority vote of the Commission.

• D. The Chairperson may, and upon motion of any member of the Commission carried by a majority vote shall, limit the time for testimony to be presented by the proponents and the opponents to any reasonable period or periods of time.

• E. All remarks from the floor shall be addressed to the Chairperson. All members of the Commission shall address his/her remarks to the Chairperson, or with his/her permission to the other members of the Commission. Under no circumstances shall speakers be interrupted from the floor during their presentation except by the chairperson or members of the Commission, nor shall there be any interchange of remarks between parties appearing before the Commission. The Commission shall through its Chair-person control the presentation of evidence and the decorum of the meeting at all times. Any remarks or orders to the audience shall be made by the Chairperson, or with his/her permission, by members of the Commission.

• F. Any party desiring to address a question to a witness for another, shall state the question to the Chair-person, who shall indicate whether or not it need be answered by the witness. The Chairperson shall authorize any reasonable cross-examination of witnesses.

• G. The amendment of any application by the applicant may be permitted at the time of the hearing only if the amendment lessens the area involved, or decreases the use requested. Any other amendment shall require a new hearing, and the manner of setting the hearing, giving of notice and conducting the hearing shall be the same as may be prescribed for the original application.

• H. At the conclusion of the hearing, unless otherwise ordered, the Chairperson may declare the matter submitted for decision without formal action of the part on the Commission.

• (Prior code § 21-1.2)

No member of the Commission shall prior to the filing of any application, or prior to final action by the Commission, on any pending application, make any commitment or promise in connection with the case or application. All discussion relative to a proposed case shall be handled by the administrative staff of the City, or such staff as may be under contract to the City. (Prior code § 21-1.5)

The office of the Secretary of the Planning Commission shall be filled, ex officio, by the Planning Director.

(Prior code § 21-1.6)

The Planning Commission shall cause to be made by the Secretary of the Planning Commission such investigation of facts bearing upon such applications for zone changes, conditional use permits, or variances, as will serve to provide all necessary information to assure that the action on each application is consistent with the intent and purpose of the Zoning Regulations of the City, and with all previous amendments or exceptions granted pursuant thereto. (Prior code § 21-1.7)

For the purpose of conducting any investigation, the Secretary of the Planning Commission may conduct such investigation himself/herself or he or she may engage the assistance of an assigned City employee or of an authorized contractual agency. (Prior code § 21-1.9)

All proposals for amending zone boundaries or classifications of property uses within such zones, as are defined by the Zoning Regulations of the City, or the granting of Conditional Use Permits or variances, or for the revocation of such Conditional Use Permits, or variances as may be provided for by the Zoning Regulations, shall be set by the Secretary of the Planning Commission for public hearing when such hearing is to be held before the Planning Commission. (Prior code § 21-1.10)

Within 14 days after any meeting of the Planning Commission, the Secretary shall cause to be prepared and mailed to the individual members of the Planning Commission a copy of the proposed minutes of said meeting. The first item of business at each meeting of the Planning Commission shall be the consideration of said proposed minutes. After the Commission makes any changes or additions it desires, if any, the minutes shall be finally engrossed and a copy thereof shall be mailed to each member of the Planning Commission and to each member of the City Council.

(Prior code § 21-1.11)

All decisions of the Planning Commission which are subject to review by the City Council shall be placed in final form by the Secretary and signed by the Chairperson and submitted to the City Council within two weeks after final decision by the Planning Commission. (Prior code § 21-1.12)