§ 26-58. Hearing on notices of revocation.

(a)

Appointment of hearing officer. From time to time, the county manager shall appoint and retain one or more hearing officers to hear notices of revocation issued under section 26-57. Each of the hearing officers shall be a licensed attorney with the Florida Bar who has practiced law in the state for at least five years, and who has experience in land use law, real estate law, local government law or administrative law. None of the hearing officers shall be representing clients before any agency of the county government during the period in which they serve as hearing officers on any land use or code enforcement issue. None of the hearing officers or the law firms with which they may be associated shall be representing clients in any judicial or administrative proceeding in which the county is an adverse party on any land use or code enforcement issue.

(b)

Term, compensation. Each hearing officer shall serve at the pleasure of the county council and shall be compensated at a rate or rates to be fixed by the county council.

(c)

Ex parte communication.

(1)

No county employee, elected official, or other person who is or may become a party to a proceeding before a hearing officer shall engage in an ex parte communication with the hearing officer. However, the foregoing does not prohibit discussions between the hearing officer and county staff that pertain solely to scheduling and other administrative matters unrelated to the merits of the application.

(2)

If a person engages in an ex parte communication with the hearing officer, the hearing officer shall place on the record the pending case all ex parte written communications received, all written responses to such communications, a memorandum stating the substance of all oral communications received, and all oral responses made, and shall advise all parties that such matters have been placed on the record. Any party desiring to rebut the ex parte communications shall be entitled to do so, but only if such party requests the opportunity for rebuttal within ten days after notice of such communication. If the hearing officer deems it necessary due to the effect of an ex parte communication received by him, the hearing officer may withdraw from the case.

(3)

Any person who makes an ex parte communication prohibited by subsection 26-58(c)(1), and any hearing officer who fails to place in the record any such communication, shall render the proceeding void.

(d)

Prohibited from acting as agent or attorney for subject matter. A hearing officer, any firm with which he or she is or may become associated, is prohibited for a period of three years after rendition of a decision from acting as an agent or attorney on any matter involving property which was the subject of the proceeding in which the hearing officer presided.

(e)

Hearings.

(1)

All hearings shall be open to the public and conducted within 30 days after the receipt of a request for hearing by the license holder.

(2)

The participants before the hearing officer shall be the license holder, witnesses for the license holder, county staff and witnesses for the county.

(3)

County staff and license holder shall each be limited to 30 minutes to present their case, including rebuttal. For good cause shown, the hearing officer may grant a party additional time.

(4)

Testimony and evidence shall be limited to matters directly relating to the notice of revocation. Irrelevant or unduly repetitious testimony or evidence may be excluded.

(5)

All testimony shall be under oath. The hearing officer shall adopt rules of procedure governing the hearings.

(6)

To the maximum extent practicable, the hearings shall be informal. Reasonable cross examination of witnesses shall be permitted, but questioning shall be confined as closely as possible to the scope of direct testimony. The hearing officer may call and question witnesses or request additional evidence as he or she deems necessary and appropriate. The hearing officer shall decide all questions or procedure and standing.

(7)

At the conclusion of the hearing the hearing officer shall issue findings of fact, based on evidence of record and conclusion of law, and shall determine whether the county has established by substantial competent evidence that the license holder has violated any ordinance provision set forth in the notice of revocation.

(f)

Filing of decision. The original of the hearing officer's written decision shall be filed with the zoning enforcement official, and copies shall be mailed to the county attorney and the license holder.

(Ord. No. 2007-07, § VI, 6-7-07; Ord. No. 2008-12, § II, 5-22-08)