23.91.012

A. Date and Notice. If a person requests a contested hearing, the hearing shall be held within sixty (60) days after the written response to the citation requesting such hearing is received. B. Hearing. Contested hearings shall be conducted pursuant to the procedures for hearing contested cases contained in Section 3.02.090 and the rules adopted by the Hearing Examiner for hearing contested cases, except as modified by this section. The issues heard at the hearing shall be limited to those that are raised in writing in the response to the citation and that are within the jurisdiction of the Hearing Examiner. The Hearing Examiner may issue subpoenas for the attendance of witnesses and the production of documents. C. Sufficiency. No citation shall be deemed insufficient for failure to contain a detailed statement of the facts constituting the specific violation which the person cited is alleged to have committed or by reason of defects or imperfections, provided such lack of detail, or defects or imperfections do not prejudice substantial rights of the person cited. D. Amendment of Citation. A citation may be amended prior to the conclusion of the hearing to conform to the evidence presented if substantial rights of the person cited are not thereby prejudiced. E. Evidence at Hearing 1. The certified statement or declaration authorized by chapter 5.50 RCW submitted by an inspector shall be prima facie evidence that a violation occurred and that the person cited is responsible. The certified statement or declaration of the inspector authorized under chapter 5.50 RCW and any other evidence accompanying the report shall be admissible without further evidentiary foundation. 2. Any certifications or declarations authorized under chapter 5.50 RCW shall also be admissible without further evidentiary foundation. The person cited may rebut the Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections evidence and establish that the cited violation(s) did not occur or that the person contesting the citation is not responsible for the violation. F. Disposition. If the citation is sustained at the hearing, the Hearing Examiner shall enter an order finding that the person cited committed the violation. If the violation remains uncorrected, the Hearing Examiner shall impose the applicable penalty. The Hearing Examiner may reduce the monetary penalty in accordance with the mitigation provisions in Section 23.91.010 if the violation has been corrected. If the Hearing Examiner determines that the violation did not occur, the Hearing Examiner shall enter an order dismissing the citation. G. Appeal. The Hearing Examiner's decision is the final decision of the City. Any judicial review must be commenced within twenty-one (21) days of issuance of the Hearing Examiner's decision in accordance with RCW 36.70C.040. (Ord. 127303 , § 44, 2025; Ord. 124919 , § 170, 2015; Ord. 122407 , § 10, 2007; Ord. 121477, § 67, 2004; Ord. 119896, § 8, 2000; Ord. 119473, § 8, 1999)