Planning and Zoning Hearings Board
Section 130 Planning and Zoning Hearings Board. There is hereby created in the City of Hillsboro , a Planning and Zoning Hearings Board, herein referred to as the Hearings Board. Said Hearings Board shall consist of nine (9) members. Three (3) members shall be graduates of a law school accredited by the State of Oregon Supreme Court; of these three (3) one person shall serve as Hearings Board Chair, the second and third shall serve as alternate Hearings Board Chairs. The other six (6) members will be chosen at large. For the purpose of hearing a particular application, the Board shall consist of three (3) members, including the chair or one of the alternate chairs, and two (2) of the six (6) at-large members selected on the basis of availability.
(1) Term of Office: Vacancies. The Members of the Board shall be appointed by the Mayor and approved by the City Council. Except as provided by this Section, the term of office shall be three years and shall expire on December 31 of the year the term ends. The terms shall be staggered so that the terms of two at-large members expire each year for three consecutive years. The term of the Chair and Alternate Chairs also shall be staggered so that a term ends each year for three consecutive years. The term of a person appointed to fill a vacancy created by resignation, death, or removal of a member shall expire at the end of the term of the vacating member.
(2) Function of the Board. The Board shall conduct public hearings and make determinations on applications for conditional uses, modifications of nonconforming uses, variances, changes to the zoning map (zone changes) and such other applications as the Council or Planning Commission shall from time to time delegate according to the procedure set forth in this Ordinance. The Chair shall adopt procedures for the order of arguments, marking of exhibits and such other procedures necessary for a fair and orderly hearing. All other public hearings required by this Ordinance shall be conducted by the Planning Commission or the City Council.
(3) Decision of the Board. Within 10 days after the conclusion of the hearing, the Chair shall submit to the two other participating Board Members the proposed decision, including a summary transcript of the hearing, findings of fact and conclusions, and the Chair's recommendations for granting or denying the application. Within 10 days of receiving the proposed decision, the other Board Members shall submit a statement in writing agreeing with or objecting to the Chair's recommendation. If both members object to the recommendation, the Chair will direct the City Recorder to renotify all persons necessary of the need for a public meeting, at which time the Board will make a final determination and prepare a written decision. If no final decision can be reached at the public meeting, the application will be forwarded to the City Council along with the written recommendation from each member of the Board hearing the matter. The Council will then make the final determination. In the event that only one Board member objects to the proposed decision, or if there is unanimous agreement, the decision shall be considered adopted by the Board. The decision as adopted shall be signed by the Chair of the Board.
(Section 130 Amended by Ord. No. 4458/8-96.)