Hearings before the hearing officer.

Houston Code of Ordinances § 10-332

in effect

Sec. 10-332. - Hearings before the hearing officer. (a) The city attorney may recommend to the hearing officer rules and procedures as are reasonable and necessary for the enforcement of this article. (b) The building official shall designate a city employee to maintain the office of the hearing officer and to preserve all records of the hearing officer for at least three years after the records are created and as otherwise required by law. (c) Notice of all hearings before the hearing officer shall be given as required by Subchapter A of Chapter 214, Texas Local Government Code, and by this Code. (d) In each public proceeding before the hearing officer, the first order of business shall be for the building standards official to state whether or not he intends to request entry of an order, declaration, or directive related to a subject of the proceeding. The building standards official's statement shall be noted in the minutes or other record of the proceeding. Subject to subsection (f) of this section, if the building standards official states that he intends to request entry of an order, declaration, or directive related to a subject of the proceeding, the hearing officer shall cause the proceeding to be recorded by a court reporter, a video recorder, or other means sufficient to ensure the availability of a record for judicial review. (e) Any person who complies with the requirements of this subsection may record a public proceeding before the hearing officer by any reasonable method that does not disrupt, delay, or otherwise burden the proceeding. Otherwise, the proceeding may not be recorded. In each public proceeding before the hearing officer, the second order of business shall be for the hearing officer to ask if any person present intends to record the proceeding. Any person who answers in the affirmative shall state his name and mailing address and tender to the hearing officer for review a valid, government-issued identification document, which document must include the person's photograph. The names and addresses of all persons answering in the affirmative shall be noted in the minutes or other record of the proceeding. This subsection is not applicable to persons recording the proceeding at the request of the hearing officer. (f) A record proceeding conducted by the hearing officer shall be recorded by a court reporter certified by the Texas Court Reporters Certification Board. The building standards official shall pay a reasonable and customary fee to the court reporter for the recording services. Any person, including an employee of the city, may purchase a transcript of the proceeding (or a physical or electronic copy of a transcript of the proceeding, if available) after payment of a reasonable and customary fee to the court reporter. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this subsection, the building standards official shall not pay any fee to a court reporter who is an employee of the city. (g) A proceeding conducted by the hearing officer may be postponed once for good cause shown; the existence of "good cause" shall be determined by the hearing officer in the exercise of his sole but reasonable discretion. (h) Unless otherwise provided by this article, in a proceeding before the hearing officer in which the building standards official requests entry of an order, declaration, or directive, the factual and legal basis for the request shall be presented to the hearing officer by a person designated by the building standards official, which person may be an assistant city attorney. During the proceeding, the following persons may present testimony and other evidence on relevant issues and may cross-examine witnesses: (1) The building standards official; (2) An owner, resident, sublessor, or lessee of the property that is the subject of the proceeding; (3) A person who has a lien against, or other legal interest in, the property that is the subject of the proceeding, according to: a. The real property records of the county in which the property is located; or b. A publicly available database maintained by the appraisal district in which the property is located; (4) An owner, resident, sublessor, or lessee of a property adjoining the property that is the subject of the proceeding; (5) A licensed attorney authorized to represent a person listed in subparts (1)—(4) of this subsection; and (6) Any other person whom the hearing officer reasonably concludes is likely to further his understanding of the evidence or to assist his determination of a fact in issue. (i) Before testifying, each witness shall be required to declare that he will testify truthfully, by an oath or affirmation administered by the hearing officer and in a form calculated to awaken the witness's conscience and to impress the witness's mind with his duty to testify truthfully. (j) If no person having a possessory or other legal interest in the property appears before the hearing officer on the date and at the time for which the proceeding has been noticed, the building standards official shall proceed with the presentation of the evidence of the alleged violation(s). (k) Upon consideration of the evidence and arguments presented at the proceeding, the hearing officer shall issue a written order that sustains one or more of the allegations of the building standards official or that dismisses one or more of the allegations and that orders relief, if and as authorized by this article, provided that any relief ordered by the hearing officer shall be reasonably proportionate to the threat to human health or safety presented by the violation. The order may include findings by the hearing officer, but findings are not required. (l) Promptly after the hearing officer has issued a written order under this section, the building standards official shall give notice of the order in the manner required by Subchapter A of Chapter 214, Texas Local Government Code, and by this Code. (m) Without the necessity of a hearing, the building standards official shall provide in recordable form a release of an order entered pursuant to this division upon: (1) Payment of any fee required by this Code; and (2) Presentation to the building standards official of: a. A certificate of compliance issued by the Houston Public Works; or b. A written report of a timely, personal inspection of the subject property by an employee of the department of neighborhoods, from which report the building standards official reasonably has concluded that all actions required by the subject order have been completed. (Ord. No. 2011-108, § 4, 2-9-2011; Ord. No. 2011-697, § 10, 8-10-2011; Ord. No. 2018-11, § 50, 1-10-2018)

Source: City of Houston, Code of Ordinances and City Charter (Municode Library, library.municode.com)URL: https://library.municode.com/tx/houston/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=COOR_CH10BUNEPR_ARTIXBUST_DIV2ADHEBEHEOF_S10-332HEBEHEOFFetched: 10/26/2026