VRC RES 1994-001 411
V.R.C. RESOLUTION NO. 94-1
A RESOLUTION OF THE VIEW RESTORATION COMMITTEE OF
THE CITY OF RANCHO PALOS VERDES ADOPTING PROCEDURES
FOR THE CONDUCT OF HEARINGS ON VIEW RESTORATION
PERMITS AND OTHER BUSINESS
WHEREAS, California Government Code Section 65804 requires
the City to develop and publish procedural rules for the conduct of
zoning planning and lannin hearings, so that all interested parties will have
advance knowledge of the procedures to be followed; and,
WHEREAS, the View Restoration Committee serves as an
advisory agency to the City Council with respect to proposed
amendments to the View Restoration Ordinance (portions of Municipal
Code Section 17. 02. 040) ; and,
WHEREAS, pursuant to the requirements of the California
Government Code and the Rancho Palos Verdes Municipal Code, the View
Restoration Committee desires to specify procedural rules to govern
the conduct of hearings on the land use matters under their purview
(View Restoration Permit applications) ;
BE IT RESOLVED that the following procedural rules shall,
insofar as consistent with applicable State laws and City ordinances,
govern the conduct of all business, including but not limited to View
Restoration Permit hearings, before the View Restoration Committee of
the City of Rancho Palos Verdes:
1. MEETINGS, STUDY SESSIONS, SITE VISITS, AGENDAS, AND STAFF REPORTS
1. 1 Appointment:
Pursuant to Development Code Section 17. 02 .040 (A) (17) , the View
Restoration Committee consists of seven regular members and three
alternate members appointed by the City Council. The Chairperson
is appointed by the Council and the Vice Chairperson shall be
elected by a majority of the View Restoration Committee.
1.2 Quorum:
A quorum to conduct business shall consist of a minimum total of
four regular and/or alternate members of the Committee.
A minimum of four votes affirming the motion are required to
render a decision of the Committee on a View Restoration Permit.
Absent four affirmative votes, the application will be continued
within the requirements of the Permit Streamlining Act (generally
within 90 days after the Staff's determination that the
application is "complete") , until four affirmative votes on a
motion can be obtained.
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Committee members or alternate members who live or own property
within 300 feet of an applicant or a foliage owner are not
eligible to participate in deliberations or vote on that
application.
Committee members or alternate members who live or own property
within 300 to 2, 500 feet of an applicant or a foliage owner shall
determine, after consultation with the City Attorney, if the
project would affect them financially and, if so, shall notify
the Staff to disqualify them from deliberations on that
application.
1. 3 Alternate Members
The three alternate members of the View Restoration Committee
shall participate in the same capacity as the seven regular
members on all general matters before the Committee, including,
but not limited to, the adoption of rules, procedures and
guidelines; conducting study sessions and workshops; and making
recommendations to the City Council on potential amendments to
Development Code Section 17 . 02 .040. However, an alternate member
shall only participate in the consideration of a View Restoration
Permit in the event that a regular members is unable to consider
the application, due to absence or abstention from the hearing.
In such cases, alternates will be utilized on a rotating basis.
1.4 Regular Meetings:
Regular meetings of the View Restoration Committee shall be held
on the first and third Thursdays of each month. If the regular
meeting date falls on a City holiday, then the meeting will be
rescheduled to the next business day. All regular meetings of
the View Restoration Committee will be called to order at 7 :00
p.m. , unless advertised otherwise, canceled, or rescheduled.
The Committee will, except under exceptional circumstances and
with the unanimous consent of the Committee, adjourn its meetings
at 12 : 00 a.m. and mot consider new business items after 11: 00
p.m. , with any unfinished business being continued to the next
regular, adjourned, or special meeting. The City Clerk, or his
g of any her deputy, will post notice continued hearing or other
unfinished business, as may be required by law.
1.5 Special Meetings:,
An emergency or special meeting may be called at any time by the
Chairperson itof the View Restoration Committee, or by a majority
of s membership, on its own motion and at the direction of the
City Council. Written notice shall be sent by mail at least
twenty-four (24) hours before the time of a special or emergency
meeting to each member and to each local newspaper of general
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circulation, to each radio or television station, or cable
television operator, which has previously submitted a written
request for notice and any other person entitled to notice under
the Ralph M. Brown Act. The notice shall specify the time and
place of the special meeting and the business to be transacted.
No other business shall be considered at the meeting. Written
notice may be dispensed to any member who at, or before, the time
of the meeting files an oral or written waiver of notice with the
Director of Planning, Building, and Code Enforcement. The waiver
may also be given by telegram. Written notice will also be
dispensed with as to any member who is actually present at the
meeting at the time it convenes.
1. 6 Adjourned Meetings:
The View Restoration Committee may adjourn any regular, adjourned
regular, special, or adjourned special meeting to a time and
g � p adjournment pursuant to the
place specified in the order of adj o
procedures set forth in the Ralph M. Brown Act, Government Code
Section 54950, et seq.
1.7 Study Sessions:
The View Restoration Committee may hold a study session
as part of a regular, adjourned,(workshop) or special
meeting. When a matter is set for a study session, public
testimony will generally be limited to five minutes or more
Per person, at the discretion of the Chairperson. Public
notice for study sessions on specific matters for which
public hearings are anticipated in the future will be given
in the same manner as that required for public hearings, and
a record of the study session shall be entered into the
minutes of any such future public hearings.
1.8 Open and Closed Sessions:
Except as otherwise provided in the Ralph M. Brown Act, all
meetings of the View Restoration Committee shall be open and
public, and all persons shall be permitted to attend. The
View Restoration Committeemay, upon the advice of and with
p
the presence of the City Attorney or his or her assistant,
hold a closed session during a regular_ or special meeting,
at anytime otherwise authorized by law, to consider or
or
hear any matter which it is authorized by state law to hear
or consider in closed session.
1.9 Site Visits:
Pursuant to Development Code Section 17.02 . 040 (C) (2) (b) ,
in order to be eligible to participate in the public
hearing on a particular View Restoration Permit, the
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Committee member shall inspect the site prior to the
public hearing. It is desirable that all regular and
alternate Committee members visit each site.
In order to conduct a public hearing on a View Restoration
Permit application, all regular and alternate members
participating in the public hearing must have visited each
site prior to the hearing (as defined in the adopted View
Restoration Permit Guidelines) .
Committee members shall report at each meeting on the
status of site visits for upcoming requests. Committee
members who have not visited the site prior to the posting
of the meeting agenda shall inform the staff, so that a
determination can be made that a sufficient number of
Committee members have visited the site in order to
conduct the hearing.
Committee members are responsible for arranging visits to
the sites. No more than three Committee members may visit
a site at the same time.
1. 10 Agendas:
At least seventy-two (72) hours before a regular meeting,
copies of the View Restoration Committee's agenda shall be
posted and made available at the office of the Director of
Planning, Building, and Code Enforcement. In accordance
with the Ralph M. Brown Act, the Committee may not take
action on any item that did not appear on the posted agenda,
unless an exception is made as permitted under Government
Code Section 54954.2 . The Chairperson may rearrange the
order of presentation of items appearing on the agenda as he
or she may deem necessary or desirable for the conduct of
the meeting. No person shall be entitled to rely upon the
order in which public hearing items appear on the posted
agenda, and any public hearing on any agenda may commence
immediately upon the time the meeting is called to order.
1. 11 Staff Reports:
When staff reports exist on a View Restoration Permit
application, they shall be made public a minimum of 30 days
prior for to the hearing. Any other staff report shall be made
public at the same time the report is distributed to the
Committee, except in the case of attorney/client privilege
memorandum. Staff reports shall be prepared with
recommendations and shall include the basis for these
recommendations.
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2 . PRESENTATION OF AGENDA ITEMS
2 . 1 Minutes and Recording:
Hearings shall generally be recorded by electronic device
and shall be preserved a minimum of 30 days following the
hearing or longer, as is necessary, to allow the Recording
Secretary, or his or her deputy, to prepare minutes of the
hearing and to have them approved by the Committee. During
that 30 day period, the tape recording shall be available
for inspection- by the public.
When a matter is contested and a request to copy and
preserve the recorded proceedings is made in writing to the
Director of Planning, Building, and Code Enforcement before
the date of the hearing, the contested matter may be
recorded by electronic device, at the discretion of the
Chairperson, and duly preserved. A copy of any such
recording may be purchased at its reproduction cost.
Members of the public may also record audio tapes of
meetings without permission from the Chairperson. In no way
shall any such recording be deemed the "official minutes"
of the meeting.
2 .2 Order of Presentation:
Unless the Chairperson in his or her discretion should
direct otherwise, the order of the presentation should be as
follows:
(a) Public hearing opened.
(b) Presentation of staff report, including any
environmental analysis or recommendation.
(c) Questions of staff by members of City View Restoration
Committee.
(d) Presentation of the applicants.
(e) Presentation of the foliage owners.
(f) Presentation of persons in favor of the requested
action.
(g) Presentation of persons in opposition to the requested
action.
(h) Rebuttal comments by the applicant or foliage owner, if
requested.
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(.i) Closing comments by staff.
(j) Public hearing closed.
Public hearings may be reopened by motion of the Committee
majority at any time during the meeting to permit additional
testimony and evidence, either to permit reconsideration of
an action or for any other reason. Any questions of the
applicant or foliage owner, or of the interested public,
shall be made during the public hearing.
2 .3 Rules of Evidence:
Hearings and meetings before the View Restoration Committee
need not be conducted according to formal rules of evidence.
Any relevant evidence may be considered if it is the sort of
evidence upon which responsible persons are accustomed to
rely in the conduct of serious affairs. The Chairperson may
exclude irrelevant or redundant testimony and may make such
other rulings as may be necessary for the orderly conduct of
the proceedings while ensuring basic fairness and full
consideration of the issues involved. Any Commissioner may
raise a point of order with the Chairperson to exclude
irrelevant or out-of-order testimony from the public.
Evidentiary objections shall be deemed waived unless made in
a timely fashion before the View Restoration Committee.
2 .4 Burden of Proof:
The burden of proof of all legal prerequisites to the
granting of the relief or action sought shall be upon the
party requesting such relief or action.
2 .5 Oral Evidence, Time Limits, and Number of Speakers:
A request to speak on an item must be submitted to the View
Restoration Committee Secretary prior to the completion of
the remarks of the first speaker on the item. No request
forms will be accepted after that time and no additional
speakers will be allowed to speak on the item being
discussed.
The Chairperson's instructions to the audience will
generally follow these guidelines:
1. Any person desiring to speak must first be recognized
by the Chairperson.
2 . All participants must speak from the podium.
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3 . All speakers must first state their full names and
addresses, and the names of any persons in whose behalf
they are appearing (if any) .
4. All comments must be made clearly and audibly.
5. Repetition of comments should be avoided and speakers
will be discouraged from reading a submission which has
been copied and distributed to the Committee or is
contained in the agenda packet. •
6. Normally, the applicants and foliage owners will be
limited to a five (5) minute presentation and a three
(3) minute rebuttal (if requested) . All other persons
in favor or opposed to the requested action will be
generally limited to a three (3) minute presentation
each.
7. Except when necessary for immediate clarification of a
particular point, no person shall be allowed to speak
a second time until all others wishing to speak have
had an opportunity to do so, and then only at the
discretion of the Chairperson.
8. Due to unusual complexity or a large number of speakers
on a particular case, the Chairperson, at his or her
discretion, may allocate more than five (5) minutes per
side and allow those wishing to speak on each side to
designate a spokesperson or to divide the allotted time
• among themselves.
2 . 6 Questioning of Speakers:
Any person, other than a Committee member, desiring to
direct a question to a speaker or staff member shall submit
the question to the Chairperson, who shall determine whether
the question is relevant to the subject of the hearing and
whether or not it should be answered by the speaker or staff
member. Direct questioning of speakers or staff members may
be allowed only in extraordinary circumstances, at the
discretion of the Chairperson.
2 .7 Evidence Received Outside a Hearing:
The Committee does not encourage the receipt of information
or evidenceon a particular pending matter outside of
hearings. If any Committee member receives information
during a site visit or through any other means, which they
feel is pertinent to a pending matter, he or she shall
disclose the information or evidence so received during the
hearing on the matter. The applicant or foliage owner shall
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have the opportunity to supplement or rebut the information
or evidence so disclosed, and failure to do so shall be
deemed a waiver of any objection regarding the information
or evidence.
2 .8 City Attorney:
The Chairperson (or any member of the Committee via the
Chairperson) may request the Director of Planning, Building,
and Code Enforcement to request the City Attorney (or his or
her assistant) to explain, either in writing or orally to
Staff, as appropriate, a legal opinion on a particular
matter. The City Attorney or his or her assistant may
further advise the Chairperson on matters of evidence and
procedure which may arise, including, but not limited to,
the desirability of closed sessions to discuss pending or
potential litigation. Committee members are able to contact
the City Attorney directly with regard to any concerns about
potential conflicts of interest.
3 . MOTIONS
3 . 1 Motions - Second:
Action upon an order, resolution, ordinance, or any other
action of the Committee may be proposed by any member by a
motion. The Chairperson may make a motion only after a l l
other members of the View Restoration Committee present have
had an opportunity to make a motion on the question. Before
a motion can be considered or debated it must be seconded,
at which time it shall be on the floor and must be
considered. If not seconded, the motion is lost for lack of
a second and shall be so declared by the Chairperson.
3 .2 Amendment of Motion or Substitute Motion:
A motion on the floor may be amended at any time before
adoption or rejection. When an amendment is offered, the
View Restoration Committee will debate and take action on
the amendment before acting on the original motion. If the
amendment is not adopted, the original motion will then be
considered. If the amendment is adopted, the original
motion as amended will then be considered.
3 . 3 Withdrawal of Motion or Second:
A motion may be withdrawn by the maker at any time before
adoption or rejection, with consent of the second. A second
to a motion may be withdrawn by the seconding member at any
time before adoption or rejection of the motion. The motion
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will then be lost for lack of a second and so declared by
the Chairperson unless seconded by another person.
3 .4 Tabling a Motion:
At any time after a motion has been seconded, any member may
move to table a motion. If the tabling motion is adopted,
the original motion will remain on the floor but may not
again be considered at the meeting at which it was made.
The original motion will be considered and voted upon at a
regular meeting of the View Restoration Committee, specified
in the motion, unless again tabled at that time. If not
considered at such meeting, it will be deemed lost. If the
tabling motion is not adopted, consideration of the original
motion will continue.
3 .5 Discussion, Closure, and Question:
After a motion has been seconded, any member may discuss or
comment on the subject of the motion. The Chairperson will
recognize members of the View Restoration Committee with the
desire to speak, beginning with the motion's maker, and will
protect each speaker from disturbance or interference. When
no member wishes to discuss or comment further, the
Chairperson will call for a vote on the motion. Any member
of the View Restoration Committee may at any time move to
close the debate.
3 . 6 Motions for Reconsideration:
Motions for reconsideration of a matter may be made by any
member who voted with the prevailing majority on the matter
to be reconsidered. Any member of the View Restoration
Committee may second a motion to reconsider. Motions to
reconsider shall be made at the same meeting as the original
motion. If the matter to be reconsidered was considered at
a public hearing, the public hearing will be reopened before
additional evidence is received.
4. DECISION-MAKING
4. 1 Voting:
Approval of any motion on a general matter brought before
the View Restoration Committee shall require the affirmative
vote of a majority of the members present.
A minimum of four votes affirming the motion are required to
render a decision of the Committee on a View Restoration
Permit. Absent four affirmative votes, the application will
be continued within the requirements of the Permit
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Streamlining Act (generally within 90 days after the Staff's
determination that the application is "complete") , until
four affirmative votes on a motion can be obtained.
4 . 1. 1 Tie Votes:
Any tie vote shall constitute a denial of the motion
and may be reconsidered by a motion offered by any
member who voted on the matter. If there is no action
by an affirmative vote, the result is denial.
4. 1.2 Abstentions:
Abstentions shall not count as votes for the purpose of
determining whether there has been an affirmative vote
of a majority of the members present, but shall be
counted for the purpose of determining whether a quorum
is present, unless the abstention was due to a conflict
of interest, in which case the Committee member cannot
be included in the quorum.
4 . 1. 3 Roll Call:
Voting upon a motion may, at the discretion of the
Chairperson, and shall, upon the request of any member,
be by roll call. When voting is not by roll call, the
Chairperson may, in the absence of objection by any
member of the View Restoration Committee, declare an
item to be unanimously approved.
4 . 1.4 Motions Include Staff Recommendations:
A motion to adopt or approve staff recommendations or
simply to approve the action under consideration shall,
unless otherwise particularly specified, be deemed to
include adoption of all proposed findings and execution
of all actions recommended in both the written staff
report on file on the matter,and any oral staff report
presented during the hearing.
4 . 1. 5 Absentees:
A View Restoration Committee member who is absent from
any portion of a hearing on a View Restoration Permit
is ineligible to participate on that particular
application. However, a Committee Member may vote on
any other matter before the Committee at the time it is
acted upon, provided that he or she has either reviewed
the approved minutes of the hearing or listened to the
staff tape recording of the entire portion of the
hearing from which he or she was absent, provided that
V.R.C. Resolution No. 94-1
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a tape recording exists, and if she or he has examined
all of the staff report or minutes presented during the
portion of the hearing from which he or she was absent
and states for the record before voting that the member
deems himself or herself to be as familiar with the
record and with the evidence presented at the hearing
as he or she would have been had he or she personally
attended the entire hearing.
4 . 2 Findings:
On any matter for which state law or City ordinance requires
the preparation of written findings, the staff report
submitted on- the matter will contain findings proposed for
adoption by the City View Restoration Committee. Any motion
directly or impliedly rejecting the proposed findings should
include a statement of alternative or modified findings or
a direction that the matter under consideration be continued
for a reasonable period of time in order for staff to
prepare a new set of proposed findings consistent with the
evidence which has been presented and the decision which is
anticipated.
4. 3 Consent Items:
Items that require little or no discussion by the View
Restoration Committee may be considered as consent items.
The View Restoration Committee will act on these items in
one motion at the beginning of the meeting. Approval by the
View Restoration Committee of consent items means that the
staff recommendation was approved along with the findings
and conditions set forth in the staff report. Any member of
the View Restoration Committee, the applicant, or members of
the public may request that consent items be considered in
their regular order on the agenda. Removal of an item from
the consent calendar is subject to approval by a majority of
the Committee members present.
4.4 Continuances:
Upon a showing of good cause and by request of the
applicant, member of the public, or member of the View
Restoration Committee, the Chairperson, at the time set for
a hearing on a particular item, may order the hearing to be
continued to a specified date and time. Upon the request of
any member of the View Restoration Committee, continuance
decisions shall be made by a motion and roll call vote of
all members present.
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5. CONSTRUCTION AND EFFECT
5. 1 Construction:
These procedural rules shall be construed and applied so as
to ensure a full and fair hearing of relevant evidence which
is offered on a land use matter and to facilitate an orderly
analysis of evidence and issues by the View Restoration
Committee. Adoption and implementation of these rules is
intended to be consistent with the provisions of California
Government Code Section 65010 (b) .
5.2 Chairperson's Rules of Order:
When there is no provision of these rules of procedure
applicable to the conduct of the meeting or hearing of the
View Restoration Committee, the Chairperson shall devise
appropriate rules and make final decisions on any points of
order which may arise with the concurrence of the majority
of the Committee.
PASSED, APPROVED, and ADOPTED this 16th day of June 1994.
I 'Vsia/01640z„ Oak
Lawrence E. Clark
Chairman
•
Bret -, . B, rnar. , AI CP
Dire. or of Planning, Building
and Code Enforcement, and
Secretary to the View Restoration
Committee
(STAFF REPORTS DISK#13[PG]-RESPROCE.VRC)
•
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