(A) 
The Director will set a hearing date at the time an application is deemed complete as provided in SDC 5.1.560, if the application requires a hearing in the judgment of the Director.
(B) 
A staff report must be completed 7 days prior to the first hearing. If the report is not completed by such time, the hearing must be held as scheduled, but at the hearing or in writing prior to the hearing, any party may request a continuance of the hearing to a date that is at least 7 days after the date the initial staff report is complete. The Hearings Authority has discretion whether to grant a continuance under these circumstances.
(C) 
A copy of the staff report must be mailed to the applicant, made available at a reasonable cost to such other persons who request a copy, and filed with the Hearings Authority.
(D) 
Notwithstanding subsection (B) of this section, oral or written modifications and additions to the staff report must be allowed prior to or at the hearing.
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(A) 
Any interested person may appear and be heard in a Type 3 hearing, except that in appeals heard on the record, a person must have participated in a previous proceeding on the subject application.
(B) 
Any person appearing on the record at a hearing (including appeals) or presenting written evidence in conjunction with an administrative action or hearing has standing and is a party. A person whose participation consists only of signing a petition will not be considered a party.
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(A) 
An electronic recording of the hearing must be made.
(B) 
All exhibits presented must be marked to show the identity of the person offering the exhibit.
(C) 
Exhibits must be numbered in the order presented and must be dated.
(D) 
When exhibits are introduced, the exhibit number or letter must be read into the record.
(E) 
When a digital storage device is submitted into the record, a transcript of the contents must also be submitted.
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Prior to making a decision, the Hearings Authority or any member thereof must not communicate directly or indirectly with any party or their representative in connection with any issue involved in a pending hearing except upon notice and opportunity for all parties to participate. Should such communication – whether written or oral – occur, the Hearings Authority member must:
(A) 
Publicly announce for the record the substance of such communication; and
(B) 
Announce the parties’ right to rebut the substance of the ex parte communication during the hearing.
(C) 
Communication between City staff and members of the Planning Commission or City Council is not considered to be an ex parte contact.
(6443)
(A) 
If the Hearings Authority or any member thereof uses personal knowledge acquired outside of the hearing process in rendering a decision, the Hearings Authority or member thereof must state the substance of that knowledge on the record and allow all parties the opportunity to rebut such statement on the record.
(B) 
For the purposes of this section, a site visit by the Hearings Authority or member thereof is deemed to fall within this rule. After the site visit has concluded, the Hearing Authority or member thereof must disclose its observations and conclusions gained from the site visit on the record and allow all parties the opportunity to rebut such observations or conclusions.
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Prior to or at the commencement of a hearing, any party may challenge the qualification of the Hearings Authority, or a member thereof, for bias or conflict of interest. The challenge must be made on the record and be documented with specific reasons supported by facts. Should qualifications be challenged, the Hearings Authority or the member must disqualify themselves, withdraw, or make a statement on the record of their capacity to hear the matter.
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A hearing must be conducted as follows:
(A) 
The Hearings Authority must explain the purpose of the hearing and announce the order of proceedings, including reasonable time limits on presentations by parties.
(B) 
A statement by the Hearings Authority must declare any ex parte contacts, bias, or conflicts of interest.
(C) 
Any facts received, noticed, or recognized outside of the hearing must be stated for the record.
(D) 
Challenges to the Hearing Authority’s or its member’s qualifications to hear the matter must be stated and challenges entertained.
(E) 
At the commencement of a hearing in a quasi-judicial Type 3 decision, the Hearings Authority or their designee must make a statement to those in attendance that:
(1) 
Lists the applicable substantive criteria;
(2) 
States that testimony, arguments, and evidence must be directed toward that criteria or other criteria in the Comprehensive Plan or land use regulations which the person believes to apply to the decision;
(3) 
States that failure to raise an issue accompanied by statements or evidence sufficient to afford the Hearings Authority and the parties an opportunity to respond to the issue precludes appeal to the Land Use Board of Appeals based on that issue.
(F) 
At the commencement of the initial public hearing, the Hearings Authority or its designee must make a statement to the applicant that the applicant’s failure to raise constitutional or other issues relating to proposed conditions of approval with sufficient specificity to allow the Hearings Authority to respond to the issue precludes an action for damages in circuit court. An applicant is not required to raise constitutional or other issues relating to proposed conditions of approval unless the conditions of approval are stated with sufficient specificity to enable the applicant to respond to the conditions prior to the close of the final local hearing.
(G) 
An issue which may be the basis for an appeal to the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals must be raised not later than the close of the record at or following the final hearing on the proposal before the local government. Such issues must be raised and accompanied by statements or evidence sufficient to afford the Hearings Authority and the parties an adequate opportunity to respond to each issue.
(H) 
Order of Presentation.
(1) 
Explanation of procedural requirements.
(2) 
Open the hearing.
(3) 
Statement of ex parte contacts, bias, or conflicts of interest.
(4) 
Challenge for bias or conflicts of interest.
(5) 
Staff report.
(6) 
Applicant testimony.
(7) 
Testimony by those in favor of the application.
(8) 
Testimony by those neutral.
(9) 
Testimony by those opposed to the application.
(10) 
Applicant rebuttal.
(11) 
Staff comment.
(12) 
Questions from or to the chair may be entertained at any time at the Hearings Authority’s discretion prior to close of hearing.
(13) 
Close the hearing.
(14) 
Close of the record.
(15) 
Deliberation.
(16) 
Decision.
(I) 
In appeal proceedings, the applicant is the party who initiated the application which is under appeal. Those person(s) opposed to the application must testify under the “Testimony by those opposed to the application” portion of the appeal proceeding. Those persons in favor of the application must testify under the “Testimony by those in favor of the application” portion of the appeal proceeding.
(J) 
The record must be available for public review at the hearing.
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(A) 
After an application is deemed accepted a hearing date must be set. A hearing date may be changed by the City staff, or the Hearings Authority up until the time notice of the hearing is mailed. After the notice of hearing is mailed, changes in the hearing date must be processed as a continuance in accordance with SDC 5.1.570, unless a new notice of hearing is provided at the City’s expense.
(B) 
If an applicant requests that a hearing date be changed before notice of hearing is mailed, such request can be granted only if the applicant agrees that the extended time period for the hearing will not count against the 120-day time limit set forth in ORS 227.178.
(6443)
(A) 
Except as set forth herein, the record must be closed to further testimony or submission of further argument or evidence at the end of the presentations before the Hearings Authority.
(B) 
If the hearing is continued or the record is held open under SDC 5.1.570, further evidence or testimony must be taken only according to the provisions of that subsection.
(C) 
Otherwise, further testimony or evidence will be allowed only if the record is reopened under SDC 5.1.570, Reopening the Record.
(D) 
An applicant must be allowed, unless waived, to submit final written arguments in support of its application after the written record has closed to other parties, within such time limits as the Hearings Authority sets. The Hearings Authority must allow applicant at least 7 days to submit their argument, which time is not counted against the 120-day time limit.
(6443)
(A) 
Grounds.
(1) 
Prior to or at the initial hearing, an applicant must receive a continuance upon any request if accompanied by a corresponding extension of the 120-day time limit. If a continuance request is made after the published or mailed notice has been provided by the City, but at least 7 days prior to the hearing, the hearing place must be posted with notification of cancellation and a revised notice with the new hearing date, place and time must be mailed to all persons who received the original notification. The applicant is responsible for any costs for providing notice of the continuance. If a continuance request is made less than 7 days prior to the hearing, the Hearings Official must take evidence at the scheduled hearing date from any party wishing to testify at that time after notifying those present of the continuance.
(2) 
Any party is entitled to a continuance of the initial evidentiary hearing or to have the record left open in such a proceeding in the following instances: upon the party’s request made prior to the close of the hearing for time to present additional evidence or testimony.
(3) 
Any party is entitled to a continuance of the initial evidentiary hearing where additional documents or evidence containing new facts or analysis are submitted by any party less than 7 days before the hearing, or upon a showing that denying a continuance would prejudice the party’s substantial procedural rights.
(B) 
Except for continuance requests made under subsections (A)(1)-(3) above, the choice between granting a continuance or leaving the record open is at the discretion of the Hearings Authority. After a choice has been made between leaving the record open or granting a continuance, the hearing is governed thereafter by the provisions that relate to the path chosen.
(C) 
Hearing Continuances.
(1) 
If the Hearings Authority grants a continuance, the hearing must be continued to a date, time, and place certain at least 7 days from the date of the initial hearing.
(2) 
An opportunity must be provided at the continued hearing for persons to rebut new evidence and testimony received at the continued hearing.
(D) 
Leaving Record Open. If the Hearings Authority leaves the record open for additional written evidence or testimony after the conclusion of the hearing, the Hearings Authority must allow for response to written evidence or testimony submitted during the period the record is held open.
(E) 
A continuance or record extension granted under this subsection is subject to the 120-day time limit unless the continuance or extension is requested or otherwise agreed to by the applicant. When the record is left open or a continuance is granted after a request by an applicant, the time during which the 120-day time limit is suspended includes the time period made available to the applicant and any time period given to parties to respond to the applicant’s submittal.
(6443)
(A) 
The Hearings Authority may reopen the record at its discretion, either upon request or on its own initiative. The Hearings Authority must not reopen the record at the request of an applicant unless the applicant has agreed in writing to an extension or a waiver of the 120-day time limit.
(B) 
Procedures.
(1) 
Except as otherwise provided for in this section, the manner of testimony (whether oral or written) and time limits for testimony to be offered upon reopening of the record is to be at the discretion of the Hearings Authority.
(2) 
The Hearings Authority must give written notice to the parties that the record is being reopened, stating the reason for reopening the record and how parties can respond. The parties must be allowed to raise new issues that relate to the new evidence, testimony, or criteria for decision-making that apply to the matter at issue.
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