350-060-0120 Oral Argument (1) The hearing before the Commission shall be on the record submitted by the county, as long as the county has based its decision upon a record made at an adjudicative hearing open to participation by persons adversely affected or aggrieved. Only parties who have submitted briefs shall be allowed to present oral argument to the Commission. (2) If the county did not base its decision upon a record made in an adjudicated hearing open to participation by persons adversely affected or aggrieved, then anyone adversely affected or aggrieved may participate in a hearing before the Commission. (3) If a party waives the right to present oral argument, the Commission shall consider the case based on that party’s brief and the brief and oral arguments presented by other parties. The parties may, with consent of the Commission, stipulate to submit a case to the Commission on briefs without oral argument. (4) The Commission shall inform the parties of the time and place of oral argument. Unless the Commission otherwise orders, the procedure for oral argument shall be as follows: (a) Members of the Commission shall have an opportunity to ask questions that they wish the parties to address in their oral arguments. (b) The appellant(s) shall be allowed 20 minutes for oral argument, which may be divided between the initial presentation and rebuttal, and which shall be uninterrupted by questions asked by members of the Commission. Multiple appellants shall share the twenty minutes for argument. (c) The respondent(s) shall be allowed 20 minutes to respond, which shall be uninterrupted by questions asked by members of the Commission. Multiple respondents shall share the twenty minutes for argument. (d) After the parties’ uninterrupted arguments, members of the Commission may ask brief questions of the parties concerning the facts of the case, the arguments made, and applicable law. Appellant(s) and respondent(s) shall each have 2 minutes to answer each question, except that the Chair may allow a longer time provided that both sides are afforded the same time to answer the question. Multiple petitioners or respondents shall share the allotted time to answer a question. (5) The Commission shall audio record all arguments, but any party may also arrange at its own expense to record the argument in a manner that does not delay or disrupt the proceeding. (6) The governing body shall ensure that all audio recordings, large maps, or exhibits and documents, which were not included in the duplicated record pursuant to 350-060-0060(1)(d), are present at the oral argument, even if the governing body chooses not to participate in oral argument. All other parties are encouraged to remind the governing body of this requirement. The governing body shall transmit such items to the Commission at the beginning of the hearing. The Commission shall have broad authority to redress a governing body’s failure to transmit such items, including but not limited to, postponing the hearing, exclusion of the item from the record before the Commission, or judicial notice of the contents of the record. (7) The Commission may consult with its staff and counsel regarding facts, legal analysis, issues and matters in the appeal. The Commission may allow, but shall not be required to allow the parties to respond to the staff and counsel’s statements to the Commission. (8) The Commission’s rules concerning ex parte contact and appearance of fairness, Commission Rules 350-16-016 and 350-16-017 shall apply. (9) The Commission shall send a Notice of Hearing in accordance with Commission Rule 350-16, which shall also include a summary of the requirements and procedures for oral argument in this section. Statutory/Other Authority: ORS 196.150 Statutes/Other Implemented: ORS 196.150, RCW 43.97.015, 16 U.S.C. § 544c(b) & 16 U.S.C. § 544m(a)(2) History: CRGC 1-2011, f. 3-23-11, cert. ef. 5-1-11 CRGC 1-2003, f. 6-23-03, cert. ef. 8-1-03 CRGC 2-1994, f. 5-4-94, cert. ef. 5-16-94