Rocklin Municipal Code Art. VIII Administrative Hearing Process

The purpose of the administrative hearing is to make a determination of the allowable rent increase pursuant to this chapter.

(Ord. 594 § 2 (part), 1988).

A. Within fifteen working days of receipt of a petition for rent increase, an administrative hearing officer shall be appointed to conduct the hearing. Final retention of the administrative hearing officer shall be subject to the payment of costs under subsection C of this section.

B. The administrative hearing officer shall be appointed in the following manner:

1. Any interested person may submit to the city manager a list of nominees. The nominee shall be an experienced hearing officer with particular expertise in rental disputes or with experience or training showing the capabilities to deal with the issues found in a rental dispute. The lists of nominees shall include the resumes of each, detailing their qualifications.

2. To be eligible for nomination, the hearing officer shall not own a real estate interest in a mobile home park, shall not be a tenant of a mobile home park, and shall not be an employee, officer, member or otherwise affiliated with any group or organization which has or is viewed by a significant number of owners or tenants as having taken advocacy positions in rent control matters.

3. The city manager shall review the lists, conduct such investigation and/or interviews as (s)he deems necessary, and refer the lists to the commission.

4. The commission shall review the lists, shall conduct such investigations and/or interviews as it deems necessary, and shall select a hearing officer. The hearing officer selected by the commission may, but need not, appear on either list submitted, but shall meet the criteria set forth in subdivision 2 of this subsection. The decision of the commission under this section shall be final.

C. Upon appointment of the administrative hearing officer, the city manager shall notify the petitioner by mail of the estimated cost of the hearing officer and request payment. If payment is not received from the petitioner within ten days of the notice, the petition shall be deemed withdrawn.

D. If the payment made under subsection C of this section, is insufficient to pay the full cost of the administrative hearing officer, the petitioner shall pay the difference to the city manager within ten working days of receiving notice of the amount due. If the payment made exceeds the full cost of the administrative hearing officer, the excess shall be refunded by the city manager to the petitioner after the administrative hearing officer is paid in full.

E. Upon receipt of payment under subsection C of this section, the hearing officer shall be deemed retained.

(Ord. 594 § 2 (part), 1988).

A. Written notice of the time, date and place of the administrative hearing and of the name of the administrative hearing officer assigned to hear the petition shall be given by the administrative hearing officer to the landlord and to all affected homeowners and tenants within ten days of retention of the administrative hearing officer.

B. Such notice shall be personally served on the parties or shall be sent by first class mail, with a proof of service affidavit.

C. The notice of hearing shall specify the date by which any documentation the homeowners or tenants wish to introduce at the administrative hearing must be filed under Section 2.46.530. The date shall not be more than thirty calendar days from the date such notice is given by the city manager.

(Ord. 594 § 2 (part), 1988).

A. The homeowners or tenants shall submit to the landlord a copy of all written documentation, including any allegations of service reductions, which the homeowners or tenants wish to present at the hearing within the time specified in the notice described in Section 2.46.520.

B. Either party may request that additional specific supporting documentation be provided to substantiate the claims made by the other party. The request shall be presented in writing to the administrative hearing officer.

C. The administrative hearing officer may order production of such requested documentation as the administrative hearing officer determines is relevant to the proceedings. The requested documentation shall be submitted to the city manager and shall be available to the requesting party for inspection and copying during the normal business hours of City Hall. Copying shall be subject to the city's normal copying charge.

D. A copy of all documentation required by this section shall also be maintained at the mobile home park office and shall be available for inspection during the normal business hours of such office.

E. The failure of a party to produce documentation ordered by the administrative hearing officer shall be grounds for the administrative hearing officer to find that such party has not met its burden of proof with respect to the matters to which such documentation pertains.

(Ord. 594 § 2 (part), 1988).

A. The administrative hearing officer shall open the administrative hearing on the petition within sixty days of the date the administrative hearing officer is retained.

B. The administrative hearing shall be held at the time and place designated by the administrative hearing officer in the notice; provided, that the time and/or place so designated may be changed by the administrative hearing officer upon notice to the parties.

(Ord. 594 § 2 (part), 1988).

A. The hearing shall be conducted by the administrative hearing officer in accordance with this section and as he or she otherwise deems necessary or convenient to achieve justice and effectuate the purposes of this chapter.

B. The administrative hearing officer shall have the power and authority to require and administer oaths or affirmations where appropriate, and to take and hear evidence concerning any matter pending before the administrative hearing officer.

C. The rules of evidence generally applicable in the courts shall not be binding on the administrative hearing officer. Hearsay evidence and any and all other evidence which the administrative hearing officer deems relevant and proper may be admitted and considered.

D. Any party may appear at the hearing to offer such documents, oral testimony, written declarations or other evidence as may be relevant to the proceedings.

E. The administrative hearing officer may grant or order not more than two continuances of the hearing for not more than ten working days each. Additional continuances may be granted only if all parties stipulate in writing. Such continuances may be granted or ordered at the administrative hearing without further written notice to the parties.

F. Neither the administrative hearing officer nor the city shall be responsible for recording or reporting the hearing. Any party or parties, individually or jointly, may make arrangements for recording or reporting the hearing.

(Ord. 594 § 2 (part), 1988).

The parties in any administrative hearing are entitled and encouraged to be represented at the hearing by a designated representative appointed under Section 2.46.300. The designated representative need not be an attorney.

(Ord. 594 § 2 (part), 1988).

A. The administrative hearing officer, within fifteen working days of the date the matter is taken under submission, shall file with the city manager a written statement of decision, together with written findings of fact upon which such decision is based.

B. The decision shall include a determination in accordance with the provisions of this chapter of the amount of the rent increase, if any, which is required to provide the landlord with a fair and reasonable return.

C. The administrative hearing officer's allowance or disallowance of any proposed rent increase or portion thereof may be reasonably conditioned in any manner necessary to further the interests of justice or to effectuate the purposes of this chapter. Authority to condition a rent increase shall include the authority to spread payment of an increase over a specified period of time, or to defer payment of an increase, with interest and adequate security, until the time that tenancy is terminated.

D. The decision shall include a determination of the award of costs under Section 2.46.580.

E. The city manager shall mail copies of the decision to the landlord and all affected homeowners and tenants within five days of the date the decision is filed.

(Ord. 594 § 2 (part), 1988).

A. The administrative hearing officer shall include in the decision the award of costs consistent with this section.

B. For purposes of this section, "costs" means all costs actually incurred and paid by the petitioner to the city to retain the administrative hearing officer and, where applicable, to retain the appraiser or appraisers.

C. If the administrative hearing officer finds that greater than eighty percent of the rent increase requested by the petitioner is allowed by the final decision, the administrative hearing officer shall award costs to the petitioner.

D. To collect the costs so awarded, the petitioner shall be allowed to pass the costs through to the homeowners and/or tenants in addition to the rent increase allowed, spread over a one-year period or otherwise as may be directed by the administrative hearing officer.

E. The pass-through of costs to homeowners and/or tenants under this section shall be subject to Section 2.46.600D.

(Ord. 594 § 2 (part), 1988).

A. The burden of proving the reasonableness of the rent increase shall be on the landlord.

B. The burden of proving service reductions shall be on the homeowner or tenant alleging that service reductions have occurred.

(Ord. 594 § 2 (part), 1988).

A. The administrative hearing officer's decision shall apply to all homeowners and tenants subject to the proposed rent increase regardless of whether such owner or tenant was present or represented at the administrative hearing.

B. The administrative hearing officer's decision regarding service reductions shall apply to all homeowners and tenants affected by the service reduction.

C. Any rent increase approved by the administrative hearing officer shall be made effective as of the date for which it was originally noticed, unless the administrative hearing officer imposes a different effective date as a condition of approval under Section 2.46.570.

D. A retroactive increase shall not be imposed on any homeowner or tenant who was not a homeowner or tenant of the park at the time the notice of rent increase was given, unless the landlord gave the homeowner or tenant notice of the pending petition in writing prior to or at the time that person became a homeowner or tenant.

(Ord. 594 § 2 (part), 1988).

Unless a notice of error is filed under Section 2.46.620, the decision of the administrative hearing officer shall be final and binding on the landlord and all homeowners and tenants who are parties to the hearing either personally or through their designated representatives, fifteen days from the postmarked date the decision is mailed by the city manager under Section 2.46.570. If a notice of error is filed, the decision shall be final and binding as of the postmarked date the decision is mailed by the city manager under Section 2.46.620.

(Ord. 594 § 2 (part), 1988).

Any party alleging that the administrative hearing officer's statement of decision contains mathematic or clerical inaccuracies may file a notice of error with the city manager within fifteen days of the mailing of the decision by the city manager. The city manager shall refer such allegations to the administrative hearing officer who shall review the decision, make any corrections warranted, and refile the statement of decision within five working days of referral by the city manager. The city manager shall mail copies of the refiled decision to the landlord and all affected homeowners and tenants.

(Ord. 594 § 2 (part), 1988).