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ATTY/POLICIES/A GUIDE TO CITY COUNCIL COMMUNICATIONS & BUSINESS <br />REV: 09-14-23 VR <br />Page 11 of 16 <br />applying legal standards to a factual situation, such as discretionary land use <br />entitlements. Accordingly, the procedure employed must be fair as well as accord <br />interested parties with a meaningful opportunity to prepare and be heard. Interested <br />parties should keep in mind that ex parte contacts with Council Members may give <br />rise to the perception that the process was not fair if Council Members have <br />information that other interested parties do not have, or ex parte contacts may give <br />rise to a perception that the Council Member is biased in favor of or against a <br />particular party. While Council Members may meet with constituents to discuss <br />pending adjudicative decisions, it is recommended that the Council Member make a <br />complete disclosure of such contact, as follows: <br />i. Where information of a specific nature is gathered by a member of the City <br />Council through contacts outside the record and the information is not <br />already on the record, the member shall disclose the contact and its <br />substance on the record prior to the commencement of the hearing to which <br />such contact relates. <br />ii. When a matter involves a mixture of adjudicatory and legislative decisions, <br />ex parte contacts and communications shall be disclosed. <br />3. Appeals. Once an appeal is filed, the City Council prefers to limit ex parte <br />communications and rely on the record as presented during the hearing. In this case, <br />the City Council members should decline to participate in any ex parte <br />communications and may wish to avoid gathering or receiving information outside <br />the noticed public meeting; but to the extent such communication occurs, they <br />should disclose this information. <br />4. Hearings involving vested rights. Vested rights involve an established property <br />interest such as revocation of a use permit. Here, the City Council’s need for discourse <br />with the public outside of a noticed meeting is less significant because the Council is <br />not considering granting a benefit and instead is contemplating a modification or loss <br />of an existing property interest. In this case, if such communication occurs, the <br />Council Member who participates in ex parte communications should disclose this <br />information. <br />E. Tentative Opinions Not Prejudgment. Council Members sometimes express tentative <br />opinions on various projects pending before them. The expression of such opinions assists <br />interested persons and the public to address the concerns expressed and makes for a <br />robust and far-ranging exploration of the issues raised by a project. The final decision is <br />nonetheless based upon the entire record, after all evidence and testimony has been <br />considered, and such tentative opinions are a necessary part of the review process and <br />do not constitute prejudgment of the project. <br />F. Procedural Protections. Nothing in these procedures shall be construed as limiting any <br />procedural protections that a party of the public may be entitled to by law over and above <br />the protections of these guidelines, based upon the facts of any particular proceeding. <br />9.A. - Page 14 of 19 <br />151