1.14.150 Contested Hearing – Procedure.
The Hearing Examiner shall conduct a hearing to contest a violation pursuant to Chapter 2.33 SMC when such hearing is properly and timely requested. The City and the person or entity to whom the notice of civil violation was issued may participate in the hearing and each party, or its legal representatives, may call witnesses and present evidence and rebuttal, subject to the following:
A. The City shall have the burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence that a violation has occurred.
B. The parties are responsible for securing the appearance of any witnesses they may wish to call; neither the City nor the Hearing Examiner shall have the burden of securing any witnesses on behalf of the person who is contesting the violation(s) or seeking to mitigate the penalties.
C. Because formal rules of evidence shall not apply to any such hearing, the Hearing Examiner shall allow hearsay testimony by the parties and not require proof of chain of custody for evidence that is presented; provided, the Hearing Examiner shall determine the weight to be assigned to any evidence presented.
D. Any notes, reports, summaries, photographs, or other materials prepared by the parties shall be admitted into evidence if requested; provided, the parties are free to argue the weight that should be assigned by the Hearing Examiner to any evidence submitted.