§ 2-396. Hearing before special magistrate.

(a)

Powers. The special magistrate shall have the power to:

(1)

Adopt procedures for the conduct of hearings.

(2)

Subpoena alleged violators and witnesses for hearings.

(3)

Subpoena evidence.

(4)

Take testimony under oath.

(5)

Assess and order the payment of civil penalties as provided herein.

(b)

Scheduling of hearing. Upon receipt of a named violator's timely request for an administrative hearing in accordance with section 2-395, the special magistrate shall set the matter down for hearing on the next regularly scheduled hearing date or as soon thereafter as practicable.

(c)

Notice of hearing. The special magistrate shall send a notice of hearing by first class mail to the named violator at his last known address. The notice of hearing shall include the following:

(1)

Name of the code enforcement officer who issued the notice;

(2)

Factual description of alleged violation;

(3)

Date of alleged violation;

(4)

Section of the code allegedly violated;

(5)

Place, date and time of the hearing;

(6)

Right of violator to be represented by a lawyer;

(7)

Right of violator to present witnesses and evidence;

(8)

Notice that failure of violator to attend hearing may result in civil penalty being assessed against him; and

(9)

Notice that requests for continuances will not be considered if not received by the special magistrate at least ten calendar days prior to the date set for hearing.

(d)

Regular meetings. The special magistrate shall conduct hearings on a monthly basis or upon the request of the county manager or designee. No hearing shall be set sooner than 20 calendar days from the date of issuance of the notice of violation in accordance with section 2-393.

(e)

Continuances. A hearing date shall not be postponed or continued unless a request for continuance, demonstrating good cause, is received in writing by the special magistrate at least ten calendar days prior to the date set for the hearing.

(f)

Public hearings. All hearings of the special magistrate shall be open to the public. All testimony shall be under oath. Failure of the alleged violator to attend the hearing shall be deemed an admission of the violation.

(g)

Minutes. Minutes of the meeting shall be prepared by county staff. The alleged violator shall be solely responsible for retaining the services of a court reporter in the event a verbatim transcript is desired.

(h)

Staff support. The county manager shall provide clerical and administrative personnel as may be reasonably required by each special magistrate for the proper performance of his duties.

(i)

Presentation of case. Each case before a special magistrate shall be presented by the county manager or designee.

(j)

Conduct of hearing; evidence. The hearing need not be conducted in accordance with the formal rules relating to evidence and witnesses. Any relevant evidence shall be admitted if the special magistrate finds it competent and reliable, regardless of the existence of any common law or statutory rule to the contrary. Each party shall have the right to call and examine witnesses, to introduce exhibits, to cross-examine opposing witnesses on any matter relevant to the issues, to impeach any witness, and to rebut the evidence against him.

(k)

Conduct of hearing; burden of proof. The special magistrate shall conduct a de novo hearing, determine whether to uphold or reverse the citation and make findings of fact based on evidence in the record. The burden of proof which shall be met by the county is preponderance of the evidence. The fact-finding determination of the special magistrate for purposes of a civil violation notice shall be limited to whether the violation alleged did occur and, if so, whether the person named in the civil violation notice can be held responsible for that violation. The fact-finding determination of the special magistrate for purposes of a notice of assessment shall be strictly limited to length of time that the violation existed. The special magistrate shall either affirm or reverse the decision of the code enforcement officer at the conclusion of the hearing. If the special magistrate reverses the decision of the code enforcement officer and finds the named violator not responsible for the code violation alleged in the civil violation notice, the named violator shall not be liable for the payment of any civil penalty. If the decision of the special magistrate is to affirm, then the following shall be included in the final administrative order:

(1)

Amount of civil penalty.

(2)

Administrative costs of hearing.

(3)

Date by which the violation must be corrected to prevent imposition of continuing violation penalties, if applicable.

(l)

Costs. In the event the special magistrate upholds the citation, he may impose the reasonable costs of the administrative hearing and the costs and expenses of the county for investigation and enforcement, in addition to the civil penalty, as part of the final administrative order. The county shall provide proof of said costs at the hearing.

(Ord. No. 2009-20, § II, 8-20-2009)