2017-04-10 Joint Meeting Exh A (Amend Commission Rules)

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CLARKSON: So the Planning Commission publishes its agenda, and three days later anybody that decides that they might want to become an intervenor has to pay their filing fee and application to intervene. JACKSON: Yes, but I think I may have misspoke. If you could just give me one minute. CLARKSON: Surely. Well, let me just say that I’m confused about how anybody could know what the application was even all about until the application was presented to the Commission, and so how can you know you’re going to want to intervene prior to learning what it’s all about? ARAI: No, I understand your concern. What’s imbedded in the rules currently is basically what’s prescribed by state law. State law basically requires publication of a hearing, I think a minimum of six days, prior to the conduct of a hearing, which is what the County Council follows. However, because of the obligation of publishing in the newspaper, the timing of such publications in the newspaper, the Department has practiced and has done everything it can to provide at least somewhere in the neighbor of 20 days’ notice ahead of your meetings. We’ve done it consistently, and I know it’s somewhat relying on the Department to have that, to provide that courtesy up and beyond the minimum requirements in your rule, but we’re simply, the rule is simply aligning itself with the requirements of state law. But as a matter of practice, we generally provide about close to 20 days’ notice. So that gives, you know, we’re talking 13, two weeks, roughly, lead time heading into our hearing, or your hearing I should say. JACKSON: If I can just add to that, too, there’s also other ways that the public is notified, as well as the surrounding property owners; so when the application is first accepted by the Department, the surrounding property owners are notified within ten days of acceptance, and a sign is posted on the property by the applicant, so people who drive by or are just in the area will see that. And those are usually posted and provided to the neighbors within, like I said, ten days after accepting the application, which is typically two and a half months before your first hearing. So there are other methods of notification. CLARKSON: And then anybody that wants to could come in and actually get the application — JACKSON: Yes. CLARKSON: — read what it’s all about and decide whether they want to intervene? JACKSON: Yes. CHURCH: And it happens. HO: Also just to add, it’s usually the surrounding property owners that actually have interest and are the ones that usually intervene, so yeah, they get notified first, like she said, about two months out. So they get, you know, proper notice in that situation. JACKSON: So Commissioner Clarkson, did you still have concern with where this language was situated in Rule 4? Or does the — 6 EXHIBIT A