Morrisville Unified Development Ordinance - June 2023.1

Article 2: Administration Section 2.4. Standard Review Procedures 2.4.7. Planning and Zoning Board or Town Council Review and Decision

documents, materials, and other written or oral testimony in support of or in opposition to the application. b. Before start of the meeting, persons intending to speak at the public comment session shall register to speak, providing their name, home or business address, and if appearing on behalf of an organization, the name and mailing address of the organization. Persons actually speaking at the session shall begin by identifying themselves. c. The person chairing the hearing may place reasonable and equitable time restrictions on the presentation of testimony and the submittal of documents and other materials. d. The body conducting the hearing may, on its own motion or at the request of any person, continue the public hearing to a fixed date, time, and place, for good cause. e. The proceedings of the hearing shall be recorded by any appropriate means. If a sound recording is made, any person shall be entitled to listen to the recording or make copies, at that person ’s expense , in the Planning Department (for hearings conducted by the Planning and Zoning Board) or in the offices of the Town Clerk (for hearings conducted by the Town Council). 2. Quasi-Judicial Hearings If the application being heard requires a quasi-judicial hearing (see Table 2.3, Summary Table of Development Review Procedures), the hearing shall be subject to the following additional procedures: a. The applicant bears the burden of demonstrating that the application complies with applicable standards of this Ordinance, which shall be demonstrated by competent, material, and substantial evidence. The burden is not on the Town or other parties to show that the standards have not been met by the applicant. b. The body conducting the hearing is not bound by the rules of evidence, or limited to consideration of evidence that is admissible in a court of law. It may consider all testimony and evidence the Board Chair deems competent and material to the application under consideration, and may exclude testimony or evidence it determines to be irrelevant, immaterial, incompetent, unreliable, unduly repetitious, or from those without standing. Appeals of the Chair’s inclusion or exclusion of material, as well as the timeliness of an appeal or the standing of a party, shall be appealed to the full board. d. On being properly recognized by the person chairing the hearing, the applicant, Town staff, or other affected party may be granted an opportunity to ask questions of any other person who has testified at the hearing or to rebut any testimony, comments, documents, or materials presented by such person. Any such inquiry or rebuttal shall be limited to matters raised directly by the testimony being questioned or rebutted. B. Review and Decision The Planning and Zoning Board or Town Council shall consider the application, relevant support materials, staff report, the recommendation from the Planning and Zoning Board (if applicable), and any comments made at a public hearing (if required), and shall make one of the decisions authorized for the particular type of application, based on the review standards applicable to the application type, as set forth in Section 2.5, Application-Specific Review Procedures. 1. The Planning and Zoning Board or Town Council shall clearly state the factors considered in its decision and the basis or rationale for the decision. 2. If the review involves a quasi-judicial hearing, the decision shall be reduced to writing, be signed by a duly authorized member of the Planning and Zoning Board or Town Council, as appropriate, include findings of fact based on competent, material, and substantial evidence presented at the c. All persons who will testify at the hearing shall be sworn in or affirmed.

Morrisville, NC

October 1, 2021

Unified Development Ordinance

Page 2-21