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HomeMy Public PortalAbout1999-58 Adopting procedures and rules for the hearing of quasi-judicial mattersRESOLUTION NO. 99-58 A RESOLUTION OF THE VILLAGE COUNCIL OF THE VILLAGE OF KEY BISCAYNE, FLORIDA; ADOPTING PROCEDURES AND RULES FOR THE HEARING OF QUASI- JUDICIAL MATTERS; PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. WHEREAS, quasi-judicial proceedings require the observation of certain procedural safeguards in order to ensure that fundamental due process is accorded; and WHEREAS, decisions of the Village Council in quasi-judicial proceedings must be based on competent substantial evidence which is placed in the record at the hearing on the matter; and WHEREAS, the Village Council has directed that the appropriate rules be adopted by resolution; and WHEREAS, it is in the best interest of the citizens and property owners of the Village of Key Biscayne to adopt rules of procedure for quasi-judicial matters which will place all interested persons on notice of how these hearings will be conducted. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE VILLAGE COUNCIL OF THE VILLAGE OF KEY BISCAYNE, FLORIDA: Section 1. That the procedures attached hereto as Exhibit "A," are hereby adopted and will govern the hearing of quasi-judicial matters in the Village of Key Biscayne. Section 2. This resolution shall take effect immediately upon adoption. PASSED AND ADOPTED this 8th day of Jun CONCHITA ALVAREZ, CMC, VILLAGE CLER APPROVED AS TO FORM AND LEGAL SUFFI RICHARD Y V� AGE ATTORNEY JOE I. RA • . ' A • R ►4%1, . 41AP C:\MyDocuments\WordDatAWSNP&GAKeyBiscayne\quasi judicialprocedures adoption.doc6/2/99 8:16 AM I QUASI-JUDICIAL HEARING PROCEDURES AND RULES FOR EX PARTE COMMUNICATIONS L Scope and Applicability. These procedures shall apply to all quasi-judicial hearings held by the Village Council. The Village Attorney shall determine which matters are quasi-judicial in nature and shall direct the Village Clerk to designate specially such matters on the agenda. H. Proceedings. The Mayor, Vice Mayor or other presiding officer (the "Presiding Officer") shall conduct the proceedings and maintain order. The Village Attorney shall rule on all evidentiary and procedural issues and objections, and advise the Village Council as to the applicable law and necessary factual findings. Hearings shall be conducted informally, but with decorum. Formal rules of procedure shall not apply except as set forth below; however, fundamental due process shall be accorded. M. Unauthorized Communications. In all quasi-judicial hearings, all rulings must be based only upon the evidence presented at the hearing. Ex-parte communications shall be governed by ordinance 0- 97-8. IV. Conduct of Hearing. A. The Presiding Officer shall call the proceeding to order and announce that the hearing has begun. B. The Presiding Officer shall announce the matter to be heard. C. The Village Attorney or Presiding Officer shall explain the rules concerning procedure, testimony, and admission of evidence. D. The Village Attorney shall inquire whether all parties, members of the public and Councilmembers agree to waiving the quasi-judicial hearing. E. If the quasi-judicial hearing is not waived, the Village Clerk shall swear in all witnesses who are to testify at the hearing. F. The order of proof shall be as follows: 1. A representative of the Village's staff shall briefly describe the Applicant's request, introduce and review all relevant exhibits and evidence, report staffs recommendation, and present any testimony in support of staffs recommendation. 2. The Applicant (or his or her representative or counsel) shall present evidence and testimony in support of the application. 3. Any other persons present who wish to submit relevant information to the Village Council shall speak next. 4. The Applicant will be permitted to makes final comments, if any. 5. The Village's staff will make fmal comments, if any. G. The Village Attorney will advise the Village Council as to the applicable law and the factual findings that must be made to approve or deny the application. H. The Village Council will conduct open deliberation of the application. The Presiding Officer shall have the discretion to reopen the proceeding for additional testimony or argument by the parties when an outcome substantially different than either the granting or denial of the application is being considered. After deliberations, a vote shall be taken to approve, approve with conditions or deny the application. V. Examination by Councilmembers. Councilmembers may ask questions of persons presenting testimony or evidence at any time during the proceedings until commencement of deliberation. VI. Cross -Examination of Witnesses. After each witness testifies, the Village staff representative, the Applicant's representative and/or any interested person present shall be permitted to question the witness. However, cross-examination shall be limited to matters about which the witness testified. 2 VII. Rules of Evidence. A. All evidence of a type commonly relied upon by reasonably prudent persons in the conduct of their affairs shall be admissible, whether or not such evidence would be admissible in a court of law in Florida. Irrelevant, immaterial, harassing, defamatory or unduly repetitive evidence shall be excluded. B. Hearsay evidence may be used for the purposes of supplementing or explaining other evidence, but it shall not be sufficient by itself to support a finding unless it would be admissible over objection in a civil action. C. Documentary evidence may be presented in the form of a copy or the original. VIII. Statements of Counsel Statements of counsel, or any non -attorney representative, shall only be considered as argument and not testimony unless counsel or the representative is sworn in and the testimony if based on actual personal knowledge of the matters which are the subject of the statements. IX. Continuances and Deferrals. The Village Council shall consider requests for continuances and may grant continuances in its sole discretion. X. Transcription of hearing. A. The Village Clerk shall preserve the official transcript of the hearing through tape recording and/or video recording. B. The Applicant, or any other interested person, may arrange, at their own expense, for a court reporter to transcribe the hearing. XL Maintenance of Evidence and other documents. The Office of the Village Clerk shall retain all of the evidence and documents presented at the hearing unless any such evidence is too large to be stored by the Clerk. In that event, such evidence will be stored in the Building, Zoning and Planning Department. 3 XII. Failure of Applicant to Appear. If the Applicant or their representative fails to appear at the time fixed for the hearing, and such absence is not excused by the Council, the Council may proceed to hear the evidence and render a decision thereon in absentia. C:1My Documents\ WoniDataIWSHP&G1Key Biscayne1QUASIPRO2.D005/27/99 6:59 PM 4