The City Manager, subject to the approval of the City Council, may appoint a planning and zoning Hearings Officer to serve the City Council. Said Hearings Officer shall conduct hearings, make decisions or recommendations on applications for such matters as approved in this chapter.
(Ord. 2018-05 §1)
The Hearings Officer shall be a member in good standing of the Oregon State Bar Association and shall be paid such compensation as agreed between such Hearings Officer and the City of Molalla.
(Ord. 2018-05 §1; Ord. 2019-06 §1)
Public hearings before the Hearings Officer shall be subject to the following rules of evidence: All interested persons shall be allowed to testify. A verbatim record of the proceeding shall be made by written, mechanical or electronic means. This record need not be transcribed except upon review of the record.
A. 
All evidence offered and not objected to may be received, unless excluded by the Hearings Officer on the Hearings Officer's own motion. Evidence received at any hearing shall be of the quality that reasonable persons rely upon in the conduct of their everyday affairs. Evidence may be received in written form at or prior to the hearing.
B. 
The Hearings Officer may exclude irrelevant, unduly repetitious, immaterial or cumulative evidence. Any erroneous admission of evidence by the Hearings Officer shall not preclude action or cause reversal on appeal unless shown to have substantially prejudiced the rights of a party.
C. 
All evidence shall be offered and made a part of the record in the case, except for matters stipulated to and except as provided in subsection B of this section, no other factual information or evidence shall be considered in the determination of the case. Documentary evidence may be received in the form of copies of excerpts or by in-corporation by reference.
D. 
The Hearings Officer may take notice of judicially cognizable facts, and take notice of general, technical or scientific facts within the Hearings Officer's specialized knowledge.
E. 
Every party is entitled to an opportunity to be heard and present and rebut evidence.
(Ord. 2018-05 §1)
A. 
A party may challenge the Hearings Officer on the grounds of bias, ex-parte contact, or that the Hearings Officer has a legal conflict of interest. A written challenge must be delivered by personal service to the City Recorder and the Planning Department not less than three calendar days preceding the time set for public hearing.
B. 
A challenge of the Hearings Officer's decision shall be entered in the record of the action.
(Ord. 2018-05 §1)