Hearing Examiner

The position of the Administrative Hearing Examiner shall review and interpret land use regulations, conduct hearings, make decisions and recommendations on land use applications, hear administrative appeals on permits, decisions or determination made by city officials, and review and hear other matters as provided for in the Bremerton Municipal Code and other ordinances.

The City Council created the hearing examiner system in November 2001 to ensure that fair and impartial decisions are made on project permits that are quasi-judicial in manner and administrative decisions by city departments. Additionally, the Hearing Examiner provides judgment on code enforcement actions.

DEFINING QUASI-JUDICIAL
The Hearing Examiner serves as a city official on quasi-judicial matters. Quasi-judicial generally relates to a specific site, might involve a public hearing, usually affects specific parties and includes evidence for or against the proposal. These types of decisions are different than legislative actions, such as adopting new zoning ordinances, which tend to affect a much wider area and involve many more people. (Note: planning matters involving legislative action go through the City Planning Commission and require City Council approval.)

DUE PROCESS
Quasi-judicial decisions, as a matter of law, require constitutional guarantees of due process. When the City fails to follow proper due process, exposure can occur to court orders requiring payment of monetary damages to the applicant. In Washington State, proper due process includes the following:

appearance of fairness by the decision maker (Chapter 42.36 RCW);
proper notice of the hearing;
a proper hearing process;
a complete record; and
a decision or recommendation based on the record that meets legal requirements.

ROLE
The Hearing Examiner's serves in a role similar to that of a judge. The Hearing Examiner ensures that parties receive proper due process; and issues final decisions on some land use applications and makes recommendations to the City Council on others. In the case of code enforcement hearings, the Hearing Examiner determines whether a violation occurred and if so what monetary penalties are accessed.

THE PUBLIC'S ROLE IN QUASI-JUDICIAL ACTIONS
Anyone interested in the outcome of project approval process has a right to be heard. You can present oral and/ or provide written testimony for or against the proposal. Public testimony ensures that a complete record is available for a decision. When providing testimony, it is very important to present facts because facts are the foundation for issuing a decision. The decision must meet the legal criteria, which comes from applying city's ordinances and state statutes. If the legal criteria are satisfied, the decision must be to approve, even if popular opinion is contrary. If the criteria are not satisfied, the decision must be not to approve.

TYPES OF HEARINGS
Hearing on Land Use Application
The City can hold only one open record hearing on a land use application involving a quasi-judicial decision (Chapter 36.70B RCW). The purpose of the hearing is to give the public an opportunity to present evidence to be included in the official record. Participation by everyone with an interest is highly encouraged. The official record becomes the source for making the final decision.

Administrative Appeal Hearing
When a person, who is a party of record, disputes a decision by a city department, they can appeal the decision to the Hearing Examiner as a means for a timely and fair resolution to their dispute. Appeal hearings are generally closed record and limited to the parties of record so the opportunity for public comment is limited.

Code Enforcement Hearing
Code enforcement actions involve nuisances and life safety issues. Code enforcement hearings are similar to traffic court and are not open to public testimony.

THE CITY'S ADMINISTRATIVE HEARING EXAMINER
The City of Bremerton has a contract with the firm of Sound Law Center to provide hearing examiner services. Their philosophy is to provide an objective review of the facts of an application and then apply the goals and ordinances of the city to make a decision. They encourage all interested persons to present all relevant facts at the hearings through oral or written testimony. They try to create an atmosphere at the hearing that demonstrates courtesy to witnesses and acknowledgement of their opinions. Below is a summary of their credentials and experience.

Theodore Paul ("Ted") Hunter received his law degree from the University of Washington and was trained in mediation techniques at Willamette and Harvard Universities. His trial experience involved representation in land use matters for developers and environmental groups at all levels of the state and federal courts. Mr. Hunter also served as Legal Counsel to the Washington State Legislature on energy and environmental matters. He was selected as the Chief Negotiator for the Legislature in matters involving land use proposals at the U. S. Hanford Nuclear Reservation. He established and is past Chair of the Dispute Resolution Section of the Washington State Bar and is a member of the Association for Conflict Resolution. He is a Land Use Hearing Examiner and Mediator for over twenty cities and counties in Washington State.

You can link on to their webpage at http://www.soundlawcenter.com to learn more.

PROHIBITED EX PARTE CONTACTS
Because the Hearing Examiner hearings are quasi-judicial, all persons are prohibited from contacting the examiner outside the public hearing for the purpose of influencing a decision. Any contacts made, must be publicly disclosed at the hearing. Similarly, contacting a member of the City Council for the purpose of influencing a decision on a quasi-judicial action before them can lead to disqualifying that councilmember from the decision. If a person believes that ex parte communications have occurred, it should promptly be brought to the attention of the affected official.