PROCEDURES FOR QUASI-JUDICIAL HEARINGS

Orlando City Code ch. 2, art. XXXII

in effect

Orlando City Code § 2.202 Purpose.

Sec. 2.202. - Purpose. The purpose of this Article is to provide adequate due process to applicants seeking quasi-judicial determinations. This Article sets forth procedures for consideration by a Hearing Officer of a decision or recommendation made by the Municipal Planning Board, Board of Zoning Adjustment, Historic Preservation Board, Appearance Review Board, Building and Fire Codes Board of Appeal or Development Review Committee when such board decision or recommendation involves a subject matter determined by resolution of the City Council to be quasi-judicial in nature. The provisions of this Article shall supersede any conflicting City Code provisions, including but not limited to procedures set forth in Chapter 2, Article XXVI, and Chapter 65. (Ord. of 9-12-1994, Doc. #27833; Ord. of 1-27-2003, Doc. #030127713; Ord. No. 2020-23, § 1, 4-13-2020, Doc. #2004131209; Ord. No. 2022-56, § 7, 9-26-2022, Doc. #2209261204)

Orlando City Code § 2.203 Definitions.

Sec. 2.203. - Definitions. (1) An "adversely-affected person" is a person who will suffer a negative effect to a protected interest as a result of the quasi-judicial action sought by the applicant. The alleged adversely-affected interest may be shared in common with other members of the community at large, but shall exceed in degree the general interests in community good shared by all persons. An association shall not be deemed to be an adversely affected person. (2) An "applicant" is a person, corporation or other legal entity who files with the City Planning Division an application for an action which has been determined by City Council to be quasi-judicial in nature. (3) A "board" or "boards" means those boards designated from time to time by resolution of the Orlando City Council to act in a quasi-judicial manner. (4) "Board recording secretary" is a person who acts as the recording secretary of the Municipal Planning Board, Board of Zoning Adjustment, Historic Preservation Board, or any other land development advisory board. (5) "Days" means calendar days unless otherwise clearly indicated. (6) "Director" means the Planning Official. (7) "Hearing Administrator" is the person designated by the City Attorney's Office to provide administrative support to the Hearing Officer. (8) A "Hearing Officer" shall be a person appointed by the City Council to perform the duties described in this Article. The Hearing Officer shall be an attorney admitted to practice law in the State of Florida and shall possess experience and expertise in at least one of the following disciplines and a working familiarity with the others: land use and environmental permitting, land planning, land economics, local government law, constitutional law (particularly with respect to the takings clause), general administrative law and for Human Relations cases: employment and housing law. (9) A "hearing request" shall mean a form promulgated and furnished by the City and used to request a quasi-judicial hearing before a Hearing Officer. (10) The "parties" in the quasi-judicial hearing shall be the City, the applicant, the petitioner, and any adversely-affected person who filed a hearing request in the matter or who has filed a Response to a Petition in Opposition to a Board Decision or Recommendation, or who has, for good cause shown, been permitted by the Hearing Officer to intervene. (11) A "quasi-judicial action" shall mean those decisions or recommendations of the boards as determined from time to time by resolution of the City Council to be quasi-judicial in nature. (Ord. of 9-12-1994, Doc. #27833; Ord. of 7-24-1995, Doc. #28649; Ord. of 1-27-2003, Doc. #030127713; Ord. No. 2020-23, § 1, 4-13-2020, Doc. #2004131209)

Orlando City Code § 2.204 Designation of Quasi-Judicial Matters.

Sec. 2.204. - Designation of Quasi-Judicial Matters. City Council shall, from time to time, examine the matters considered by the boards, and shall by resolution determine which of those matters are quasi-judicial in nature. (Ord. of 9-12-1994, Doc. #27833)

Orlando City Code § 2.205 Request for Hearing and Petition in Opposition to Board Decision or Recommendation.

Sec. 2.205. - Request for Hearing and Petition in Opposition to Board Decision or Recommendation. (1) Any decision or recommendation rendered by a board in a quasi-judicial matter may be considered by a Hearing Officer when a hearing request is filed with the board recording secretary by an applicant, the Director on behalf of the City, or an adversely-affected person, within five (5) working days of the public announcement of the board's decision or recommendation, regardless of when such decision or recommendation is reduced to writing. Hearing request forms may be obtained from the board recording secretary. Persons, other than the City, requesting a hearing shall pay to the recording secretary the fee prescribed therefor as set from time to time by resolution of the City Council. City employees, in their capacity as such, shall be deemed to be parties solely for the purposes of participating in the hearing, and communication between City employees and elected officials, or between City employees and the Hearing Officer regarding scheduling or other such matters unrelated to the subject matter of the hearing, shall not be deemed to be ex parte communication. Any person who could have filed a hearing request and who fails to timely do so, and any person who could have filed a response to a Petition in Opposition to Board Decision or Recommendation and fails to do so in a timely manner, shall be deemed to have waived his or her rights to a quasi-judicial hearing. (2) Any person who has filed a hearing request shall, within fifteen (15) days of filing such request, file an original and two copies of a Petition in Opposition to the Boards' Decision or Recommendation with the Hearing Administrator. In addition, if the Petition is filed by someone other than the applicant, the petitioner shall serve a copy of the petition on the applicant by hand delivery or by first class mail, postage prepaid, and addressed to the applicant at the address stated on the application the application filed with board. The petition shall contain: (a) the name and address of the petitioner or petitioners, and an explanation of how his/her substantial interests will be affected by the board's recommendation; (b) a statement of all disputed issues of material fact. If there are none, the petition must so indicate; (c) a concise statement of the ultimate facts alleged, as well as the City Code sections, Growth Management Plan policies, goals and objectives, or other authorities implicated, or upon which petitioner relies in support of his/her petition; and, (d) other information which the petitioner contends is material. (3) Failure to file the petition in a timely manner shall result in an automatic denial of the appeal with prejudice with no hearing being necessary. A petitioner may only amend a timely filed petition by order of the Hearing Officer upon good cause shown. (4) Within five (5) working days of the receipt of a Petition, the Hearing Administrator shall notify the applicant and all members of the public who entered an appearance at the board meeting or who submitted written objections, recommendations or comments, that a Petition in Opposition to the Board's Decision or Recommendation has been filed. The Hearing Administrator need not notify the applicant if the applicant is the person who has filed the Petition in Opposition. The notice shall indicate who filed the Petition and when it was filed. The notice shall state that the applicant, the City, and adversely-affected persons may file a Response to the Petition in Opposition with the Hearing Administrator, with a copy to the petitioner, within twenty (20) days from the date the Petition was filed. The notice shall also advise where copies of the petition may be obtained under the Florida Public Records Law. The Hearing Administrator shall automatically forward a copy of the petition to the Hearing Officer, along with a copy of the board's minutes reflecting the board's action. (5) The Hearing Administrator shall forward a copy of all responses to the Hearing Officer. (6) All subsequent pleadings, including, but not limited to, motions, shall be originally filed with the Hearing Administrator with copies to all other parties of record with a certificate of service reflecting the same. (Ord. of 9-12-1994, Doc. #27833; Ord. of 7-24-1995, Doc. #28649; Ord. No. 2020-23, § 1, 4-13-2020, Doc. #2004131209)

Orlando City Code § 2.206 Pre-Hearing Procedures.

Sec. 2.206. - Pre-Hearing Procedures. (1) Hearing Officers. The City shall negotiate and enter into contracts with Hearing Officers from time to time, and shall maintain an alphabetical list of such Hearing Officers. Cases shall be assigned to Hearing Officers on a rotating basis. If a Hearing Officer is unable to accept a case because of a conflict, time constraints, or any other reason, the case shall be assigned to the next Hearing Officer on the list. The Hearing Administrator shall notify all parties of the assignment of the particular hearing officer to a matter as soon as possible after the assignment has been made and accepted. (2) Disqualification of Hearing Officer. Unless good cause is shown, all motions for disqualification shall be filed with the Hearing Administrator no later than five (5) days after the moving party has been notified of the assignment of the particular hearing officer. The motion shall be accompanied by an affidavit stating particular grounds, which shall be limited to those for which a judge may be disqualified. The affidavit must state facts sufficient to show that the movant has a well-founded fear that the movant will not receive a fair and impartial hearing. Unless denied as untimely, the motion shall be ruled on by the Hearing Officer before whom the case is pending. If the motion and affidavit are found legally sufficient, the Hearing Officer shall disqualify himself or herself, after which the matter will be given to the next available Hearing Officer on the list. (3) Pre-Hearing Stipulation. At any time after a matter has been assigned to a Hearing Officer, the Hearing Officer may direct the parties to confer for the purpose of clarifying and simplifying the issues, discussing possibilities of settlement, examining documents and other exhibits, exchanging names and addresses of witnesses, resolving other procedural matters, and entering into a pre-hearing stipulation. (4) Pre-Hearing Conference. No less than twenty-five (25) and no more than thirty-five (35) days after a petition is filed, the Hearing Officer shall schedule and conduct a pre-hearing conference with the parties. The pre-hearing conference may be conducted by telephone. At the pre-hearing conference, the Hearing Officer shall schedule a time for the final hearing. Additional pre-hearing conferences may be scheduled as deemed necessary by the Hearing Officer. At a pre-hearing conference the Hearing Officer may also: (a) rule on all pending motions; (b) schedule the service of motions, pleadings, and other papers, and schedule, limit, order, or expedite exchange of witness and exhibit lists; (c) pursue the possibility of settlement; (d) take any other action to further the progress of the proceeding; and, (e) enter an order reciting the action taken at a pre-hearing conference and any stipulations made. Any such order shall govern the subsequent course of the proceeding, unless modified to prevent injustice. (5) Intervention. An adversely-affected person may file a motion to intervene in the proceedings. The motion shall be filed with the Hearing Administrator no later than ten (10) days prior to the final hearing. The adversely-affected person shall furnish copies of such motion to all parties. The motion shall contain allegations sufficient to demonstrate that the intervenor is entitled to participate in the proceeding as a matter of constitutional or statutory right or pursuant to the City Code, or that the substantial interests of the intervenor are subject to determination or will be adversely affected through the proceeding. The motion also shall state why the adversely-affected person could not have filed an original petition or response. Good cause must be shown for allowing an adversely-affected person to intervene. Mere negligence shall not be grounds for allowing an adversely-affected person who could have filed a petition or response to intervene. The motion shall also be in conformance with the requirements of an original petition as set forth in Section 2.205. Any party may make written objections to the motion to intervene within five (5) days after receipt of the motion. The Hearing Officer shall rule on the motion to intervene prior to the hearing or at the commencement of the hearing. (6) Hearing before Council. Notwithstanding anything in this Code to the contrary, the City Council may, at any time after a request for hearing [h]as been timely filed and before the hearing described in section 2.207 of this Code, enter an order to hold the quasi-judicial hearing before the City Council instead of before a hearing officer. Such an order shall have the effect of automatically staying proceedings before the hearing officer pending the outcome of the hearing at City Council. The order electing to hold the hearing before the City Council must include the proposed date, time, and place of the hearing and must also provide reasonable time for each adversely-affected party to be heard on the quasi-judicial matter. This subsection applies only to quasi-judicial matters reviewed by the City's Municipal Planning Board. In deciding whether to issue an order pursuant to this subsection, the City Council must consider the following: (a) the number of adversely-affected parties, with preference given to holding the hearing before a hearing officer where many adversely-affected parties are present; and (b) the size of the proposed development, with preference given to holding the hearing before a hearing officer where the development program is great or the land area covered by the development is large; and (c) the factual and legal complexity of the matter, with preference given to holding the hearing before a hearing officer where the questions of law and fact are complex or novel; and (d) the time-sensitivity of the quasi-judicial application, with great preference given to holding the hearing before the City Council where the inherent delay of holding the quasi-judicial hearing before a hearing officer is unfair or unreasonable in light of demonstrable time-constraints on the proposed development related to financing or market conditions, or where the development review process is imposing an unfair or unreasonable delay on the applicant or other adversely-affected party. Additionally, great preference shall be given to holding the hearing before the City Council where the Municipal Planning Board recommended approval (or approval with conditions) of the quasi-judicial application and the City Council finds that the inherent delay of holding the hearing before a hearing officer will unreasonably prejudice the applicant or other adversely-affected party. After conducting a quasi-judicial hearing pursuant to an order entered under this subsection, the City Council may immediately render a decision on the quasi-judicial application or may refer the application back to the Hearing Officer. (Ord. of 9-12-1994, Doc. #27833; Ord. of 7-24-1995, Doc. #28649; Ord. No. 2016-96, § 1, 12-12-2016, Doc. #1612121203; Ord. No. 2020-23, § 1, 4-13-2020, Doc. #2004131209)

Orlando City Code § 2.207 Hearing.

Sec. 2.207. - Hearing. (1) Hearing. The hearing shall commence not more than forty-five (45) days after the date the Petition was filed, unless all parties stipulate in writing to a later hearing date. Each party shall have the right: to present evidence relevant to the issues; to cross-examine opposing witnesses; to impeach any witness regardless of which party called the witness to testify; and to rebut evidence presented against it. (2) Oath. The Hearing Officer shall have the power to administer oaths. All testimony shall be under oath. (3) Consideration. The hearing is a de novo proceeding and the Hearing Officer shall consider all relevant evidence, including the Recommendation and argument of the Planning Official, and argument of the applicant and any other parties of record. After taking testimony from the parties, and prior to closing argument by the parties, the Hearing Officer shall provide a reasonable opportunity for members of the public to make relevant comments regarding the application. (4) Burden of Proof. The party filing the hearing request shall have the burden of coming forward with the evidence and the burden of proof. The decision of the Hearing Officer shall be based on competent substantial evidence after applying the criteria set forth in the Orlando City Code and any applicable administrative, federal and state case law in effect at the time the hearing request was filed. (5) Formality. Formal rules of evidence shall not apply. Any relevant evidence shall be admitted. Hearsay evidence may be admitted, but shall not form the sole basis upon which the Hearing Officer's decision is made. Irrelevant and unduly repetitious evidence shall be excluded. The hearing shall be conducted in a manner to ensure that procedural and substantive due process is afforded the applicant. (Ord. of 9-12-1994, Doc. #27833; Ord. of 1-27-2003, Doc. #030127713; Ord. No. 2020-23, § 1, 4-13-2020, Doc. #2004131209)

Orlando City Code § 2.208 Recommended Order.

Sec. 2.208. - Recommended Order. All parties of record may submit proposed findings of fact, proposed conclusions of law, proposed recommended orders, and legal briefs on the issues within a time designated by the Hearing Officer. The Hearing Officer shall file a recommended order with the Hearing Administrator, approving or denying, in whole or in part, the request of the applicant. The recommended order shall be issued by the Hearing Officer within twenty (20) days of the date of the hearing, unless all parties stipulate, in writing, to a later date. The Hearing Officer's recommended order shall contain findings of fact and conclusions of law, and shall provide the legal description of the property to which it applies. All parties shall have no less than five days to file exceptions to the recommended order with the Hearing Administrator before the Hearing administrator schedules consideration of the recommended order by City Council. (Ord. of 9-12-1994, Doc. #27833; Ord. of 7-24-1995, Doc. #28649; Ord. No. 2020-23, § 1, 4-13-2020, Doc. #2004131209)

Orlando City Code § 2.209 City Council Consideration of Recommended Order.

Sec. 2.209. - City Council Consideration of Recommended Order. (1) Action by City Clerk. Upon receipt of a recommended order from the Hearing Officer, and after the deadline for receipt of exceptions thereto, the Hearing Administrator shall forward the recommended order and exceptions, if any, to the City Clerk who shall schedule the order for consideration by the City Council at the next regularly scheduled City Council meeting. (2) City Council Consideration of Recommended Order. City Council's consideration of a Recommended Order is a quasi-judicial matter, and must be based on, and limited to, the testimony and evidence in the record that was made and considered by the Hearing Officer. To avoid the introduction of new testimony and evidence and to ensure the integrity of this quasi-judicial process, City Council will not entertain comments from the public. However, City Council may address questions to staff, to the parties, or to anyone else at its discretion. In addition, Council may, on its own motion allow staff and each party up to ten (10) minutes for oral presentation or argument. Neither staff nor parties may submit new evidence to the City Council and must confine presentations to evidence made part of the record before the Hearing Officer. City Council shall adopt the recommended order, adopt the recommended order with changes, or direct staff to prepare a revised order. Council shall not change any findings of fact reached by the Hearing Officer without stating its reasons for such change. If Council directs staff to prepare a revised order, the revised order shall be transmitted to the parties and presented to City Council within twenty-five (25) calendar days. (Ord. of 9-12-1994, Doc. #27833; Ord. of 7-24-1995, Doc. #28649; Ord. No. 2020-23, § 1, 4-13-2020, Doc. #2004131209; Ord. No. 2020-29, § 1, 6-15-2020, Doc. #2006151201)

Orlando City Code § 2.210 Settlement Stipulations.

Sec. 2.210. - Settlement Stipulations. At any time after the hearing request is filed and prior to the hearing, the Director or his designee may negotiate a settlement stipulation with the parties, which settlement stipulation shall not be final until approved by City Council. After such settlement stipulation is approved by all of the parties, including the City Council, the pending hearing shall be automatically dismissed. (Ord. of 9-12-1994, Doc. #27833; Ord. of 7-24-1995, Doc. #28649)

Orlando City Code § 2.211 Reserved.

Source: City of Orlando, Florida, City Code and City Charter (Municode Library, library.municode.com)URL: https://library.municode.com/fl/orlando/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=TITIICICO_CH2AD_ARTXXXIIPRQUDIHEFetched: 11/1/2026