Laserfiche WebLink
KNOWLES: Thank you, Commissioner Paishon-Duarte. Is there any discussion? <br /> PAISHON-DUARTE: Quick question. Are there any, fellow Commissioners, are there any <br /> disadvantages or—the motion, the option that's on the floor for us hiring a hearings officer to <br /> conduct and then making a final determination—do we see any disadvantages? <br /> KNOWLES: Did you have something to say, Commissioner Vitousek? <br /> VITOUSEK: Well, I would defer to the Deputy Director who'd have more experience in the <br /> contested case proceedings. <br /> KNOWLES: That's what II think the one of the things that comes into play is budget. Is that <br /> correct? <br /> DARROW: One of theI mean, it really has to do with the complexity of the matter; some cases <br /> are very complex. We've been involved in contested cases that generate voluminous amounts of <br /> time and material, and it may be way beyond what the typical, you know, commissioner can put <br /> aside to be able to do that. The benefit of hiring a hearings officer is allowing a separate review. <br /> They maintain all the records. They provide all that information and a recommendation to the <br /> Commission, and again, as Vice Chair Knowles mentioned, the final approval, or decision, is <br /> made by the Commission. So there,this one, I, I cannot, you know, give advice whether or not <br /> it's complex or not, that's something you folks need to decide, but it really has to do with looking <br /> at the entire matter and whether or not the Commission as a whole or individual Commissioners <br /> can make that commitment to be able to go through a contested case hearing. <br /> KNOWLES: Commissioner Vitousek. <br /> VITOUSEK: Well, I feel as though we wouldn't be able to really determine the complexity of <br /> this, having not received a background <br /> KNOWLES: I concur. <br /> VITOUSEK: or a recommendation on the matter. So, with that,we don't really know how <br /> much is going to be involved in it. And it's certainly beyond the amount of volunteer work that I <br /> would like to do, you know, it can be a full-time job for a period of time, so I wouldn't personally <br /> enjoy that. And I feel like a hearings officer who is being paid to do it would handle it effectively, <br /> and then any recommendations coming out of the contested case would still be the authority of the <br /> Planning Commission to say yes or no to those recommendations. So we are not ceding any <br /> authority by having a hearings officer; we are letting them do the leg work,work out all this detail <br /> in advance, and then make the final decision based on all the information that's been collected. <br /> KNOWLES: Yes. <br /> 17 <br /> EXHIBIT B <br />