§ 5. Meeting procedures.

A.

General Rules .

1.

Order of Appeals. Items shall be considered in the order set forth on the Agenda, unless otherwise ordered by majority vote of Board members present at the meeting.

2.

Appearances. Any person may appear in person at a meeting or may be represented by an attorney or by a duly authorized agent. All persons wishing to appear before the Board shall sign in on a form furnished by the Staff Attorney and located at the meeting room's entrance. The Board shall have the right to exclude testimony of anyone who has failed to sign in at the meeting.

a.

Appellant's Failure to Appear. If an appellant fails to appear before the Board as scheduled and has not requested to postpone or to continue the hearing as provided in Section 3 above, then the Board, in its discretion, may take one of the following actions:

i.

Postpone the hearing until the next regularly scheduled Board meeting; or

ii.

Dismiss the appeal based on the appellant's failure to prosecute the appeal; or

iii.

Rule on the merits of the appeal, provided that each Board member participating in such a vote acknowledges on the record that he or she has reviewed all materials in the record, including any written arguments, evidence, or testimony.

3.

Written Arguments. The Board may consider written motions, memoranda, or other written argument from the appellant, an appellee, or a party of record.

a.

Submission Deadline. All written materials must be submitted to the Staff Attorney no later than seven calendar days before the hearing date. If the submission deadline falls on a holiday, then the submission deadline is the business day preceding the holiday. The Staff Attorney shall not accept late submissions. The Board may consider written materials after the filing deadline at the hearing, at the Chair's discretion.

b.

Service on Opposing Party. An appellant or appellee that files written material with the Board must provide a copy by electronic or ordinary mail to their opposing party within 24 hours from the date that those written documents were filed with the Board.

4.

Burden of Proof. An appellant bears the ultimate burden of proof by the preponderance of the evidence.

5.

Decorum. The Chair has the duty to maintain decorum at all times during a meeting. All persons appearing before the Board must clearly state their first and last name and their personal address or business address for the record before speaking. All speakers must speak clearly into the microphone provided in front of them and must not speak over other parties. No one shall speak from the audience. The Chair retains the right to expel from a meeting any person exhibiting a lack of decorum or causing disruptive or combative behavior.

6.

Sworn Testimony. All persons providing testimony at a meeting shall be sworn by the Staff Attorney at the beginning of the meeting or prior to testifying.

a.

Attorneys. Attorneys shall not be sworn, unless he or she is acting as a witness or providing testimony rather than serving as an advocate and providing argument.

7.

Ex Parte Communication. Board members must not engage in conversation with any interested party, or members of the public, about appeals and similar subjects related to matters that will be the subject of deliberation and judicial discretion outside of a scheduled hearing.

8.

Criminal Offenses against Public Administration. Board members are public officials whose duties and actions are protected from threats of violence and intimidation, among others. Board members must report immediately to the City Solicitor any instances or attempts of bribery, intimidation, retaliation or obstruction of official business by an appellant or any other party.

9.

Parliamentary Rules. The Board shall follow rules and procedures set forth herein in the conduct of its meetings. Where these rules and procedures are silent, Roberts' Rules of Order may be applied by the Chair.

B.

Record Hearing Procedure . The following procedures shall apply to an appeal taken from a decision issued by the Zoning Hearing Examiner or Historic Conservation Board:

1.

Argument. The Board shall only hear argument from an Appellant and an Appellee, which argument shall be based on the evidence and testimony received by the decision-maker at the proceeding below, which proceeding is the subject of the appeal. The Chair may limit or exclude any testimony that the Chair deems, in his or her discretion, to be outside the scope of the record before the Board.

2.

Motion for Additional Evidence. An appellant or appellee may submit to the Board a motion to hear additional evidence. The Board must approve any such motion by majority vote. An appellant must submit a motion to hear additional evidence within 21 calendar days of filing the notice of appeal. An appellee must file a motion for additional evidence with its notice of appearance.

3.

The Chair shall preside over record hearings as follows; however, the Board may interrupt any speaker to ask questions or to make any comments:

a.

Call Item. The Chair shall call the agenda item.

b.

Argument by the Appellant. The Chair shall call the appellant to present its position, arguments, and contentions.

c.

Argument by an Appellee. The Chair shall call the appellee to present its position, arguments, and contentions. In those cases where there is more than one appellee, the Chair shall provide each appellee and opportunity to present; however, the Chair, in his or her discretion, may limit duplicative and redundant arguments.

d.

Rebuttal. The Chair shall call the appellant to rebut or refute any position, argument, or contention presented by an appellee.

e.

Closing Statements. The Chair shall offer the appellant and appellee an opportunity to present closing statements. An appellee shall present first, followed by the appellant.

f.

Board Action. The Chair shall entertain a motion to deliberate, a motion for a determination of the outcome of the appeal, a motion to continue the hearing, or such other action permitted by applicable law.

C.

De Novo Hearing Procedure . The following procedures shall apply to an appeal taken from a decision issued by the Director of Buildings and Inspections or his or her designee.

1.

The Chair shall preside over de novo hearings as follows; however, the Board may interrupt any speaker to ask questions or to make any comments:

a.

Call Item. The Chair shall call the agenda item.

b.

Presentation by the Appellant. The Chair shall call the appellant to present its position, arguments, contentions, and to offer and examine witnesses and present evidence in support of its position. The Chair, in his or her discretion, may limit or restrict the appellant's presentation to those matters that are relevant to the appeal.

c.

Cross Examination of the Appellant. In those cases where an attorney is representing an appellee, the Chair shall permit the attorney for the appellee to cross-examine the applicant's position, arguments, contentions, and evidence in support of its position immediately following the testimony proffered by the appellant or its witness. In those cases where there is more than one appellee, the Chair shall permit the attorney for each appellee an opportunity to cross-examine the appellee or its witnesses.

d.

Presentation by the City Appellee . In challenges to code enforcement actions initiated by the City, the Chair shall permit the City appellant to present arguments, contentions, evidence, and testimony for appeals concerning the code enforcement action.

e.

Presentation by Appellee. If there is an appellee, the Chair shall call the appellee to present its position, arguments, contentions, and to offer and examine witnesses and present evidence in support of its position.

f.

Multiple Appellees. In those cases where there is more than one appellee, the Chair shall permit each appellee to present its position, arguments, contentions, and to offer and examine witnesses and present evidence in support of its position.

g.

Cross Examination of an Appellee. If the Appellant is represented by an attorney, the Chair shall permit the appellant's attorney to cross-examine all opposition witnesses purporting to refute the appellant's position, arguments, and contentions.

h.

Comments from Persons with Standing. Any person with standing under the Zoning Code may appear before the Board to speak on the appeal. The Chair shall provide each person two minutes to testify before the Board. The Chair, in his or her discretion, may cut off such testimony at any time. Any Board member may also move to cut off such testimony at any time.

i.

Cross-examination of Persons with Standing. The Chair shall permit attorneys for the appellant and appellee to cross-examine the position, arguments, and contentions of each person with standing immediately following that person's testimony.

j.

Rebuttal. The Chair shall call the appellant to rebut or refute the opposition's position, arguments, and contentions.

k.

Closing Statements. The Chair shall offer the appellant and appellee an opportunity to present closing statements. An appellee shall present first, followed by the appellant.

l.

Board Action. The Chair shall entertain a motion to deliberate, a motion for a determination of the outcome of the appeal, a motion to continue the hearing, or such other action permitted by applicable law.