A tape recording shall be made of each public hearing. The secretary shall record the minutes. The minutes shall include each decision of the commission, with findings made and the vote of each member of the commission for the respective decision. A copy of the minutes shall be signed by the secretary and submitted to the commission for approval within two weeks.
(AR No. 77-80; AO No. 80-79; AR No. 82-258; AR No. 86-39)
A. 
Formal rules of evidence shall not apply to any proceeding before the commission. The chair may exclude or terminate testimony not deemed to be relevant in the case before the commission. On opening a public hearing the petitioner shall present his or her oral evidence or waive the oral presentation.
B. 
Testimony of persons appearing before the commission shall be limited as follows: petitioner (including all his or her representatives), ten minutes; representatives of groups, five minutes; individuals, three minutes. The petitioner may reserve a maximum of five minutes for rebuttal at the end of the public hearing. The commission may extend the time period for any person where it deems the additional testimony to be new and necessary to its decision on the case.
C. 
Cross examination shall be permitted only through the chair. Municipal staff and members of the commission may, through the chair, question the applicant and other persons who have testified. Any interested party may direct questions to the staff or any person testifying by submitting the question to the chair. The chair shall redirect the question to the appropriate person unless he or she determines it to be irrelevant or that presenting the question will unreasonably disrupt or delay the proceeding. The presiding officer of the commission may modify or restrict the scope, extent or method of cross examination in order to assure the fundamental fairness of the proceedings before the commission, to prevent undue delay, irrelevant cross examination or harassment of persons offering testimony to the commission.
(AR No. 77-80; AO No. 80-79; AR No. 82-258; AR No. 86-39; AR No. 90-276)
All parties shall have the right to subpoena witnesses and documents using a form provided by the municipal clerk and submitted to the clerk for issuance at least five working days before the date of the hearing.
(AR No. 77-80; AO No. 80-79; AR No. 82-258; AR No. 86-39)
A. 
Every decision made by the commission shall be based on and include findings of fact and conclusions. Every finding of fact shall be supported in the record of the proceedings. The findings shall be sufficient to provide a reasonable basis for understanding the reasons for the decision. In considering and applying any applicable approval criteria, the commission shall make specific findings as to why the criteria have or have not been met.
B. 
The planning director shall prepare proposed written findings of fact and decision to submit to the commission at its next regularly scheduled meeting, or as soon thereafter as feasible.
C. 
Commission review of the written findings of fact and decision shall have priority over regular agenda items, and shall be approved, as amended by the commission if necessary, and become the final appealable decision of the commission.
D. 
Within 20 days of the approval of the final appealable decision pursuant to subsection C above, a party of interest must file an appeal of the commission's final appealable decision, pursuant to Municipal Code chapter 21.03.
(AR No. 82-258; AR No. 86-39; AR No. 2004-215(S), § 2, 12-7-2004; AR No. 2005-15, § 1, 2-15-2005; AO No. 2022-70, § 2, 7-26-2022)
A. 
Upon its own motion at any time before a decision on the matter is made, at the request of a commission member or a person appearing before the commission, the commission may postpone any matter before the commission for cause stated on the record. Re-notice of the new time for hearing is only necessary if the postponement is for more than four weeks or if no date certain is set for the hearing at the time of postponement.
B. 
When the commission has only a quorum in attendance a petitioner shall have the option of postponement without prejudice on the case before the commission.
(AR No. 82-258; AR No. 86-39; AR No. 90-276)
A. 
No commission member shall participate in any decision in which the commission determines either that such member has a conflict of interest, as defined in Anchorage Municipal Code section 3.60.070, or that such member has a personal interest or involvement in the case which would prevent that member from fairly evaluating the case, or that, based on all surrounding circumstances, participation by such member would create the appearance of impropriety in the proceedings. The commission's determination shall take into consideration the interest of the public in a commission which has familiarity with the community and its past and future development. No member shall be excused from participation solely on the basis of personal familiarity with the case or the parties involved.
B. 
Any commission member who has a possible conflict of interest in a pending matter shall bring this information to the attention of the chair before the staff begins its presentation or as soon thereafter as the commissioner recognizes his or her possible conflict. It shall be the responsibility of each commission member to fully disclose facts showing any known conflict of interest or other personal interest or involvement. Where appropriate under section R21.10.202.B, the conflict may be discussed in executive session.
C. 
A commission member who has a possible conflict of interest in a matter for decision may participate in that decision only upon the affirmative vote of a majority of all remaining commission members present. Such vote shall be recorded on the public record.
D. 
Ex parte contacts are prohibited by Anchorage Municipal Code section 3.60.065. If, however, a commission member obtains information from outside of the public hearing process, whether through inadvertent ex parte communications with interested parties or through specific personal knowledge of a case, he or she shall fully disclose the information or knowledge to the commission during the public hearing, along with the source of that information. Such ex parte communications or personal knowledge of a case shall not constitute a conflict of interest or other basis for excuse from participation in any case. Ex parte contacts shall be also prohibited for matters under reconsideration by the commission except that the commission member may communicate with the petitioner, neighbors, and others for further information.
E. 
Any member excused under this section shall not further participate on the commission in any manner for the matter on which he or she abstains.
(AR No. 77-80; AO No. 80-79; AR No. 82-258; AR No. 86-39)