Morrisville Unified Development Ordinance - May 2020

Article 2: Administration Section 2.4. StandardReview Procedures 2.4.7. Boardof Adjustment or Town Council Reviewand Decision

A. Public Hearing Procedures 1. General

If the application is subject to a hearing (see Table 2.3, Summary Table of Development Review Procedures), the Board of Adjustment or Town Council, as appropriate, shall hold a hearing on the application in accordance with the following procedures. a. On being properly recognized by the person chairing the hearing, any person may appear at the public hearing, either individually or as a representative of an organization, and submit 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 Board of Adjustment) 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 it deems competent and material to the application under consideration , and may exclude testimony or evidence it determines to be irrelevant, immaterial, incompetent, unreliable, or unduly repetitious. 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 presentedby 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 Board of Adjustment 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. c. All persons who will testify at the hearing shall be sworn in or affirmed.

Morrisville, NC

May 26, 2020

Unified Development Ordinance

Page 2-23