A. Subject to the provisions of CVMC 1.40.060, the City Manager or designee shall serve notice pursuant to CVMC 1.40.030 upon a party whose permit, license or entitlement has been denied, or is to be suspended or revoked, or against whom administrative enforcement action is proposed, that they shall be allowed 10 calendar days (30 days for out-of-state residents per Code of Civil Procedures Section 415.40) to request an administrative hearing to appeal or contest that proposed action before it will become final. The request for hearing must be made no later than 10 calendar days from the date of notification of the proposed action. The proposed action by the City Manager shall become final and conclusive if not appealed or contested. Except as provided in CVMC 1.40.060, the proposed action shall be stayed if properly appealed, and be made final following the issuance of a decision by a hearing officer pursuant to subsection (H) of this section.

B. Upon the filing of a request for a hearing or an appeal and payment of the required fee, the City Manager shall appoint a hearing examiner who shall be neutral and unbiased as to the specific factual matter in contention and experienced in the general subject matter. The hearing examiner may be appointed either from within the City staff or outside sources. The City Manager may provide compensation to outside sourced hearing examiners.

C. The fee to request a hearing or an appeal of an administrative citation or civil penalty shall be equal to the amount of the fine identified on the administrative citation or the amount of the civil penalty, but not more than $1,000. If the hearing officer determines that the issuance of the administrative citation or assessment of the civil penalty was not appropriate based on the evidence provided, then the appeal fee will be refunded to the party that requested the appeal. If the appeal is denied, the fee shall be applied as payment of, or toward, the administrative citation or civil penalty. The fee to request a hearing or an appeal of all other types of administrative orders, unless specified otherwise in the Municipal Code, shall be in the form of a deposit, the amount to be determined by the City Manager based on the anticipated staff cost to conduct the hearing. If the cost of the hearing or appeal exceeds the deposited amount, the requesting party shall be responsible for payment of the additional costs incurred. If the hearing officer determines that the administrative order is not supported by the evidence, the entire deposited amount will be returned to the party that requested the appeal.

D. The hearing examiner shall notify the appellant of the time and place for the hearing in accordance with CVMC 1.40.030, allowing a minimum of 10 calendar days from the date the notice is mailed before the hearing is to be held.

E. The hearing examiner shall conduct the administrative hearing in accordance with CVMC 1.40.050 and issue a written decision promptly to all parties upon the conclusion of the hearing, unless the appeal or request for hearing is withdrawn by the requesting party. The hearing examiner may impose conditions and deadlines for corrective action and reduce, waive or conditionally suspend any fines or penalties proposed when the hearing examiner concludes, based upon the evidence, that such action is equitable and more likely to bring about compliance with the proposed order.

F. The hearing examiner’s decision shall be based upon findings supported by evidence. The standard of proof required to render the decision shall be that of a preponderance of the evidence. A preponderance of the evidence is established when the weight of the evidence supporting the existence of a fact in contention has the more convincing force, when balanced against that evidence refuting the existence or applicability of the same fact in contention.

G. The hearing may not be used as a substitute for discovery pursuant to the Code of Civil Procedure, and any inquiry or discovery in violation of this subsection is not competent or admissible against the party against whom it is to be used upon appropriate motion or objection of that party.

H. A final decision shall be issued by the hearing examiner. The date of mailing of the final decision by the hearing examiner to the party by first class mail, with certificate of service attached, shall constitute the date of the exhaustion of administrative remedy. A party shall be advised by the hearing examiner that it has 90 days, pursuant to the California Code of Civil Procedure Section 1094.6, from that date in which to file for a writ of mandamus or other applicable judicial review, except that if the determination is made as to a decision imposing an administrative penalty, fine or charge under CVMC 1.41.100, the time to appeal to the municipal court is limited to 20 days pursuant to California Government Code Section 53069.4. Failure to file for judicial review within the applicable time limit makes the final decision nonappealable and confirmed. Until a timely request for judicial review is filed, enforcement of the final decision may proceed in due course.

I. The City will use its best effort to tape record the hearing, but is not legally obligated to do so. Any recording will be retained for not to exceed two years. The private party may also record the proceedings. A party may request a transcript of the proceedings, if prepared, or be provided a copy of any recording, if made, upon payment of the costs of preparation or duplication. (Ord. 2718 § 3, 1998).