§ 7.0. Hearings and worksessions.

7.1 General Information. The Board holds public hearings and has worksessions. All meetings of the Board are open to the public except as otherwise expressly provided by law.

No person may engage in any conduct, including visual demonstration, such as waving or raising of placards, signs or banners, that disrupts the hearing. The wearing of armbands, badges or other objects on clothing is permitted.

A person wishing to videotape, televise, photograph, broadcast or record a hearing must obtain permission from the presiding officer. Such permission will be granted unless the activity will disrupt the hearing.

A recording of a hearing made by a member of the public or any transcript derived from such a recording may not be deemed a part of the official record.

7.2 Hearings.

7.2.1 Schedules. The Board meets at least once a week for public hearings, except during designated vacations or official holidays. If there is a backlog of cases, additional hearings will be scheduled to dispose of pending cases. If a case cannot be heard in one day, the chairman schedules an extra day or days as soon as possible.

7.2.2 Agenda. The agenda must be made available to citizens, organizations and the general public as requested.

A supply of agendas must be available for the public on the hearing day.

7.2.3 Evidentiary rules. For all hearings, the Board follows the evidentiary guidelines in section 2A-8(e) of the County Code.

7.2.4 Procedures.

a. The chairman or vice chairman conducts all hearings.

b. After a case is called, the applicant and all persons wishing to testify in support of the application state their names and addresses for the record.

c. The presiding officer then asks if there is anyone present in opposition. All persons speaking in opposition must state their names and addresses for the record. Witnesses who are temporarily absent from the hearing room or arrive late are not excluded from testifying.

d. All witnesses must be sworn.

e. Unless the Board provides otherwise, the applicants and their supporters are heard first. Each person who speaks is subject to cross-examination.

f. Following the presentation of the applicant, the opponents state their case. Each person is subject to cross-examination.

g. A group or organization is encouraged to designate a person to speak on its behalf. Citizens representing themselves may testify at a hearing without prior notice.

h. Rebuttal witnesses are then permitted.

i. Each side is permitted a closing statement.

j. Board members are free to ask questions at any time.

k. All evidence and exhibits presented to the Board and accepted must be numbered, made part of the case record and included in the case file. The Board may require photographs or reductions to be substituted for large or bulky exhibits.

l. Upon request of any party or upon its own motion, the Board may, in its discretion, visit the site which is the subject of the proceeding on reasonable notice to the parties. The parties may submit, or the Board may require, a listing of those specific areas on the site for the Board’s viewing. Parties and their representatives may be present to observe, but no testimony may be taken. The parties or their representatives are prohibited from engaging in any discussion with the Board members at the site visit. The Board must issue written findings of fact relating to the site visit in any proceeding where a site visit has been conducted. A member who has not participated in the site visit prior to the Board’s vote may not participate in the decision. However, the Board may schedule an additional site visit for the purpose of permitting an absent or new member to visit the site.

7.2.5 Continuation. If, for any reason, a hearing cannot be completed on the date originally scheduled, the Board may continue the hearing to a specific time and date. Except for administrative appeals, no further notice is necessary if the time and place of the continued hearing is announced at the time of the adjournment. If a case is continued to an indefinite time, all parties entitled to original notice and any other party the Board may designate must receive 15 days notice of the continued hearing.

7.2.6 Closing the record. As a rule the record is closed at the end of a hearing. The Board will hold the record open for at least 15 days after the conclusion of a hearing if:

a. an amended application is filed less than 10 days before the hearing or during the hearing; or

b. other circumstances occur to justify holding the record open at the Board’s discretion.

7.2.7 Transcript. A complete verbatim record of all public hearings before the Board must be made. The Board may order a transcript of any proceeding for use by the Board or the County.

Any party may order a written transcript at that party’s expense.

If a Board decision is appealed to the Circuit Court and the Board does not have a transcript of the hearing, the party who files the appeal must, within 10 days of filing the appeal, forward to the Board one original and one copy of the transcript to become a part of the record. If the Board has a transcript of the hearing, the Board will, at the appealing party’s request and expense, make two copies of the transcript.

7.3 Worksessions. Worksessions are held as needed - as a rule biweekly - to decide cases which were not decided at the close of the hearing and to consider minor modifications, correspondence and other matters which may come before the Board. The date and time of worksessions are announced, and the agenda for a worksession is posted outside the hearing room and outside the Board’s office on the morning of the day before the worksessions. All worksessions are open to the public, but only those persons permitted by the Board to offer comments may do so.

Any requests for Board consideration at a worksession must be submitted by the Thursday preceding a scheduled worksession.

Minutes of the previous worksession must be approved at the next worksession.

Editor’s note—Rule 7.2.6 is quoted and applied in Concerned Citizens of Great Falls v. Constellation- Potomac, 122 Md. App. 700, 716 A.2d 353 (1998).