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HomeMy WebLinkAbout3256 Amending AMC 2.30 Designating the Municipal Court as the Administrative Appeal BodyORDINANCE NO. 3256 AN ORDINANCE AMENDMENT TO AMC 2.30 UNIFORM ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS PROCESS DESIGNATING THE MUNHPAL COURT AS THE ADMINISTRATIVE APPEAL BODY Annotated to show deletions and additions to the Ashland Municipal Code sections being modified. Deletions are bold lined through, and additions are bold underlined. WHEREAS, Article 2. Section 1 of the Ashland City Charter provides: Powers of the City. The City shall have all powers which the constitutions, statutes, and common law of the United States and of this State expressly or impliedly grant or allow municipalities, as fully as though this Charter specifically enumerated each of those powers, as well as all powers not inconsistent with the foregoing; and, in addition thereto, shall possess all powers hereinafter specifically granted. All the authority thereof shall have perpetual succession. THE PEOPLE OF THE CITY OF ASHLAND DO ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Amending 2.30 to designate the Municipal Court as the Administrative Appeal body. 2.30.010 Definitions A. Department Head The person holding the position of Department Head for any department of the City of Ashland, or any agent, employee, or designee of the Department Head authorized to perform the duties of the Department Head by express written delegation of the Department Head B. Director. The person holding the position of director for any department of the City of Ashland, or any agent, employee, or designee authorized to perform the duties of the director by express delegation of the director. C. Hearing Officer. The Municipal Judge shall serve as the Hearing Officer. In the event that the Municipal Judge is unavailable or has a conflict of interest, the Hearing Officer shall be the City Manager, or an outside party not affiliated with the City of Ashland, who is hired or selected by the City to conduct hearings on appeals The C" Manager- or- an outside par4y not affiliated with the C-Ity of Ashland that is hked aff selected by the City to ne„.l..nt a beo Ang on an appeal; (Ord. 3192 § 34, amended, 11/17/2020; Ord. 2971, added, 10/21/2008) 2.30.020 Administrative Appeals Process Any person aggrieved by the decision of a Department Head or Director may appeal such action to a Hearing Officer through the following procedures if the Ashland Municipal Code chapter granting the City Department Head or Director authority to make the decision expressly ORDINANCE NO. 3256 Page 1 of 3 authorizes use of this appeals process. Land use decisions subject to AMC Chapter 18 shall not be subject to the appeals process in this chapter. Appeals processes are as follows: A. A person appealing the Department Head's or Director's action shall, within 10 Days of such action and mailing of written notice, file a written notice of appeal with the City ReeoF ^- Municipal Court. The written notice of appeal shall include the name and address of the appellant, a statement of the authority or jurisdiction for the appeal, a statement of the appellant's standing or right to be heard, the nature of the decision being appealed, a short and plain narrative statement including the reason(s) the original decision is alleged to be incorrect, with reference to the particular sections of the Ashland Municipal Code involved, and the result the appellant desires on appeal. B. The Ci*y Reeora^N Municipal Court shall fix the time for the appeal to be heard by the Hearing Officer, place the hearing of the appeal upon the calendar of the Hearing Officer, and notify the appellant in writing of the time fixed no less than ten days prior to that time, unless the appellant agrees to a shorter time. C. The appellant shall pay a nonrefundable appeals fee to facilitate the appeal. Appeal Fees shall be set by resolution of the Ashland City Council. and may be adjusted by Resolution— off the -4-shland City Gounell. D. The parties shall be entitled to appear personally and by counsel and to present such facts, evidence and arguments as may tend to support the respective positions on appeal. E. The Hearing Officer shall afford the parties an opportunity to be heard at an appeal hearing after reasonable notice. The Hearing Officer shall take such action upon the appeal as he or she sees fit. The Hearing Officer's decision shall be the final decision of the City, and it shall be issued in writing. The Hearing Officer shall at a minimum: 1. At the commencement of the hearing, the hearings officer shall explain the relevant issues involved in the hearing, applicable procedures and the burden of proof. 2. At the commencement of the hearing the hearings officer shall place on the record the substance of any written or oral ex parte communications concerning any relevant and material fact in issue at the hearing which was made to the officer outside the official proceedings during the pendency of the proceeding. The parties shall be notified of the substance of the communication and the right to rebut the communication. Notwithstanding the above, the Parties are prohibited from engaging in ex parte communications with the hearing officer. 3. Testimony shall be taken upon oath or affirmation of the witnesses. 4. The Hearings officer shall insure that the record developed at the hearing shows a full and fair inquiry into the relevant and material facts for consideration for the issues properly before the hearings officer. 5. A verbatim, written or mechanical record shall be made of all motions, rulings and testimony. The record need not be transcribed unless requested for purposes of rehearing or Court review. The City shall require a deposit for costs of transcription or a copy of such transcription. ORDINANCE NO. 3256 Page 2 of 3 6. Written testimony may be submitted under penalty of false swearing for entry into the record. All written evidence shall be filed with the C-4 recorder- Municipal Court no less than (5) five working days before the date of the hearing. 7. Informal disposition may be made of any case by stipulation, agreed settlement, consent order or default. F. The action of the department head or Director shall be stayed pending the outcome of an appeal properly filed pursuant to this section. G. Failure to strictly comply with the applicable appeal requirements, including but not limited to the required elements for the written notice of appeal, time for filing of the notice of appeal, and payment of the applicable appeal fee, shall constitute jurisdictional defects resulting in the summary dismissal of the appeal. H. If the appellant loses on appeal, the appellant will be held financially responsible for the cost to the City of Ashland for the appeal, including but not limited to the cost of hiring an independent Hearing Officer. (Ord. 2992, amended, 10/06/2009; Ord. 2971, added, 10/21/2008) SECTION 2. Severability. Each section of this ordinance, and any part thereof, is severable, and if any part of this ordinance is held invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, the remainder of this ordinance shall remain in full force and effect. SECTION 3. Codification. Provisions of this Ordinance shall be incorporated in the City Code and the word "ordinance" may be changed to "code", "article", "section", "chapter" or another word, and the sections of this Ordinance may be renumbered, or re -lettered, provided however that any Whereas clauses and boilerplate provisions (i.e. Sections 3-5) need not be codified and the City Recorder is authorized to correct any cross-references and any typographical errors. The foregoing ordinance was first read by title only in accordance with Article X, Section 2(C) of the City Charter on the _� day of CU D 14 4 , 2025, and duly PASSED and ADOPTED this Tday of , 2025. PASSED by the City Council this day of on cl,'re4, , 2025. ATTEST: V" � A Ze� Alissa Kolodzinski, City Recorder SIGNED and APPROVED this day of C,,w , 2025. Tonya GrMiam, Mayor Reviewed as to form: D eting City Attorney ORDINANCE NO. 3256 Page 3 of 3