The Type III procedure is used by the City when making a quasi-judicial land use decision which involves discretion on the part of the decision-making body (Planning Commission or City Council). The decision is made after a public hearing and is based on standards and criteria and the application of established public policy.
Type III applications include conditional use permits, site plan reviews, land divisions, variances, and zone changes (site specific), comprehensive plan map amendments (site specific) and annexations. See Table 4.2.110.
Some Type III decisions are made by the Planning Commission, after a public hearing with an opportunity to appeal the City Council. Other Type III decisions (e.g. a zone change, annexation or comprehensive plan amendment to one or more parcels) are considered by both the Planning Commission and City Council. The Planning Commission will hold a public hearing and make a recommendation to the City Council. The City Council will also hold a public hearing and make a final decision.
A.
Pre-application conference. A pre-application conference is required for all Type III applications. The requirements and procedures for a pre-application conference are described in Section 4.2.160.C.
B.
Application requirements.
1.
Application forms. Type III applications shall be made on forms provided by the City;
2.
Submittal Information. Type III applications shall include the following:
a.
The information requested on the application form;
b.
Maps, plans and exhibits required for the specific approval being sought.
c.
A written statement or letter that explains how the application satisfies each and all of the relevant criteria in sufficient detail for review and action;
d.
Information demonstrating compliance with prior decision(s) and conditions of approval for the subject site, as applicable; and
C.
Notice of Hearing.
1.
Mailed notice. Notice of a Type III application hearing or Type II appeal hearing shall be given by City staff in the following manner:
a.
At least 20 days before the hearing date, notice shall be mailed to:
(1)
The applicant and all owners or contract purchasers of record of the property which is the subject of the application;
(2)
All property owners of record within 200 feet of the site;
(3)
Any governmental agency which has entered into an intergovernmental agreement with the City which includes provision for such notice, or who is otherwise entitled to such notice. At minimum, the City will notify the Linn County Roads Department or ODOT if the project is adjacent to a County road or a state highway. The City may notify other agencies, as appropriate, for review of the application. The failure of another agency to respond with written comments on a pending application shall not invalidate an action or permit approval made by the City under this Code.
(4)
Any person who submits a written request to receive notice;
(5)
For appeals, the appellant and all persons who provided testimony; and
(6)
For a land use district change (zone change) affecting a manufactured home or mobile home park, all mailing addresses within the park, in accordance with ORS 227.175.
b.
City staff shall prepare an affidavit of notice. The affidavit shall state the date that the notice was posted on the property and mailed to the persons who must receive notice. The affidavit will be made a part of the administrative record;
c.
At least 14 days before the hearing, notice of the hearing shall be published on the city’s website and/or in a newspaper of general circulation in the City. The newspaper’s affidavit of publication of the notice shall be made part of the administrative record;
d.
At least 14 days before the hearing, City staff shall post notice of the hearing on the property in clear view from a public right-of-way. The City shall prepare and submit an affidavit of posting of the notice which shall be made part of the administrative record.
2.
Content of Notice. Notice of the public hearing to be mailed, posted and published per Subsection 1 above shall contain the following information:
a.
The nature of the application and a summary of the proposed land use or uses which are proposed for the property;
b.
The applicable criteria and standards from the development code(s) that apply to the application;
c.
The street address or other easily understood geographical reference to the subject property;
d.
The date, time, and location of the public hearing;
e.
A disclosure statement that if any person fails to address the relevant approval criteria with enough detail, he or she may not be able to appeal to the City Council, Land Use Board of Appeals, or Circuit Court, as applicable, on that issue, and that only comments on the relevant approval criteria are considered relevant evidence;
f.
The name of a City representative to contact and the telephone number where additional information on the application may be obtained;
g.
A statement that a copy of the application, all documents and evidence submitted by or for the applicant, and the applicable criteria and standards can be reviewed at City Hall at no cost and that copies shall be provided at a reasonable cost;
h.
A statement that a copy of the City’s staff report and recommendation to the hearings body shall be available for review at no cost at least seven days before the hearing, and that a copy shall be provided on request at a reasonable cost;
i.
A general explanation of the requirements to submit testimony, and the procedure for conducting public hearings.
j.
The following notice: “Notice to mortgagee, lienholder, vendor, or seller: The Halsey Development Code requires that if you receive this notice it shall be promptly forwarded to the purchaser.”
k.
A statement that after the public hearing closes, the City will issue its decision, and the decision will be mailed to the applicant and to anyone else who submitted written comments or who is otherwise legally entitled to notice.
D.
Conduct of the Public Hearing.
1.
Hearing Procedures and Opening Statement. At the commencement of the hearing, the presiding officer, or designee, shall state and/or make available to those in attendance all of the following information and instructions:
a.
The applicable approval criteria by Code chapter that apply to the application;
b.
Testimony and evidence shall concern the approval criteria described in the staff report, or other criteria in the comprehensive plan or land use regulations that the person testifying believes to apply to the decision;
c.
Failure to raise an issue with sufficient detail to give the hearing body and the parties an opportunity to respond to the issue, may preclude appeal to the state Land Use Board of Appeals or Circuit Court on that issue;
d.
At the conclusion of the initial evidentiary hearing, the hearing body shall deliberate and make a decision based on the facts and arguments in the public record.
e.
Any participant may ask the hearing body for an opportunity to present additional relevant evidence or testimony that is within the scope of the hearing; if the hearing body grants the request, it will schedule a date to continue the hearing or leave the record open for additional written evidence or testimony.
2.
Testimony - Presenting and receiving evidence.
a.
The hearing body may set reasonable time limits for oral presentations and may limit or exclude cumulative, repetitious, irrelevant, or personally derogatory testimony or evidence;
b.
No oral testimony shall be accepted after the close of the public hearing. Written testimony may be received after the close of the public hearing only as provided by this section; and
c.
The City may schedule a site visit for the hearings body to visit the property and the surrounding area. The hearings body may use information obtained during the site visit to support their decision, if the information relied upon is disclosed at the beginning of the hearing and an opportunity is provided to dispute the evidence.
d.
Member of the hearings body may visit the property to familiarize him or herself with the site and surrounding area, but not to independently gather evidence. At the beginning of the hearing, the member shall disclose the circumstances of the site visit and shall allow all participants in the hearing to ask about the site visit.
3.
The record.
a.
The hearings body, in making its decision, shall consider only facts and arguments in the City’s land use file and the public hearing record and not testimony or evidence rejected by the presiding officer.
b.
The hearings body may take notice of facts not in the hearing record (e.g., local, state, or federal regulations; previous City decisions; case law; staff reports).
c.
Upon announcing its intention to take notice of such facts in its deliberations, the hearings body must allow persons who previously participated in the hearing, to request the hearing record be reopened, as necessary, to present evidence concerning the newly presented facts.
4.
Continuing the Public Hearing. If the hearings body decides to continue the hearing, the hearing shall be continued to a date, time, and place at least seven days after the date of the first evidentiary hearing. An opportunity shall be provided at the continued hearing for persons to present and respond to new written evidence and oral testimony. If new written evidence is submitted at the continued hearing, any person may request, before the conclusion of the continued hearing, that the record be left open for at least seven days, so that the person can submit additional written evidence or testimony in response to the new written evidence. In the interest of time, after the close of the hearing, the hearing body may limit additional testimony to arguments and not accept additional evidence.
5.
Leaving the Record Open for Submittal of Additional Testimony. If the hearings body leaves the record open for additional written evidence or testimony, the record shall be left open for at least seven days after the hearing. Any participant may ask the hearings body in writing for an opportunity to respond to new evidence submitted during the period the record was left open. If such a request is filed, the hearings body shall reopen the record.
a.
When the hearings body re-opens the record to admit new evidence or testimony, any person may raise new issues which relates to that new evidence or testimony;
b.
An extension of the hearing or record granted pursuant to this section is subject to the limitations of ORS 227.178 (“120-day rule”), unless the applicant waives his or her right to a final decision being made within 120 days of filing a complete application; and
c.
If requested by the applicant, the hearings body shall allow the applicant at least seven days after the record is closed to all other persons to submit final written arguments, but not evidence, provided the applicant may expressly waive this right.
E.
Ex Parte Contacts and Conflicts of Interest.
The public is entitled to an impartial hearing body as free from potential conflicts of interest and prehearing ex parte (outside the hearing) contacts as reasonably possible. Where questions related to ex parte contact are concerned, members of the hearing body shall follow the guidance for disclosure of ex parte contacts contained in ORS 227.180. Where a real conflict of interest arises, that member or members of the hearing body shall not participate in the hearing, except where state law provides otherwise. Where the appearance of a conflict of interest is likely, that member or members of the hearing body shall individually disclose their relationship to the applicant in the public hearing and state whether they are capable of rendering a fair and impartial decision. If they are unable to render a fair and impartial decision, they shall be excused from the proceedings. A communication between City staff and the hearings body is not considered an ex parte contact.
F.
The Decision Process.
1.
Basis for decision. Approval or denial of an appeal of a Type II Administrative decision or a decision on a Type III application shall be based on standards and criteria in this Code. A decision made on an appeal of a Floodplain Development Permit or determination made by the Floodplain Plain Administrator shall also be based on applicable criteria contained in Chapter 3, Section 3.7.130 and/or Chapter 5, Section 5.2.150.C.
2.
Findings and conclusions. Approval or denial shall be based upon the criteria and standards considered relevant to the decision. The City’s findings and conclusions shall explain the relevant criteria and standards, state the facts relied upon in rendering the decision, and justify the decision according to the criteria, standards, and facts;
3.
Form of decision. The City will issue a final written Notice of Decision including or referencing the findings and conclusions stated in subsection 2, which either approves, denies, or approves with specific conditions. The hearings body may also issue appropriate intermediate rulings when more than one permit or decision is required;
4.
Decision-making time limits. A final decision for any Type II Administrative Appeal or Type III action shall be made by the hearings body within ten business days after the close of the deliberation, unless the presiding officer extends the time period for making the decision.
G.
Notice of Decision. Written notice of a Type II Administrative Appeal decision or written notice of a Type III decision shall be mailed to the applicant and to all participants of record within ten (10) business days after the hearings body decision. Failure of any person to receive the mailed Notice of Decision shall not invalidate the decision, provided that a good faith attempt was made to mail the notice.
The Notice of Decision shall contain all of the following information:
1.
A description of the applicant’s proposal and the City’s decision on the proposal, which may be a summary, provided it references the specifics of the proposal and conditions of approval in the public record;
2.
The address or other geographic description of the property
3.
A statement of where the City’s decision can be obtained;
4.
The date the decision shall become final, unless appealed; and
5.
A statement that all persons entitled to notice may appeal the Planning Commission’s decision to City Council pursuant to Section 4.2.140.I, or may appeal the City Council’s decision to the state Land Use Board of Appeals, as applicable.
H.
Final Decision and Effective Date. The decision of the hearings body on any Type II appeal or any Type III application is final for purposes of appeal on the date the Notice of Decision is mailed by the City. The decision is effective on the day after the appeal period expires. If an appeal is filed, the decision becomes effective on the day after the appeal is decided by the City Council. The notification and hearings procedures for Type III applications on appeal to the City Council shall be the same as for the initial hearing.
I.
Appeal of a Planning Commission Decision. The Planning Commission’s decision may be appealed to the City Council as follows:
1.
Who may appeal. The following people have legal standing to appeal:
a.
The applicant or owner of the subject property; and
b.
Any other person who testified orally or in writing during the subject public hearing before the close of the public record.
2.
Appeal filing procedure.
a.
Notice of appeal. Any person with standing to appeal, as provided in subsection 1, above, may appeal a Type III Quasi-Judicial Decision by filing a Notice of Appeal according to the following procedures.
b.
Time for filing. A Notice of Appeal shall be filed with the City within 14 days of the date the Notice of Decision is mailed.
c.
Content of notice of appeal. The Notice of Appeal shall be accompanied by the required filing fee and shall contain:
(1)
An identification of the decision being appealed, including the date of the decision;
(2)
A statement demonstrating the person filing the Notice of Appeal has standing to appeal;
(3)
A statement explaining the specific issues being raised on appeal; and
(4)
If the appellant is not the applicant, a statement demonstrating that the appeal issues were raised during the comment period.
3.
Scope of appeal. The appeal of a Type III Quasi-Judicial Decision shall be a hearing de novo before the City Council. The appeal shall not be limited to the application materials, evidence and other documentation, and specific issues raised in the review leading up to the Quasi-Judicial Decision but may include other relevant evidence and arguments. The City Council may allow additional evidence, testimony, or argument concerning any applicable standard, criterion, condition, or issue.