About the Hearings Office
Our purpose is to provide an objective hearing forum
Our Office's purpose is to provide a fast, fair, and impartial adjudication of alleged City Code violations and to provide persons adversely affected by administrative determinations and decisions with an effective and impartial appeal. We can review the legality and the appropriateness of a determination. (See Portland City Code Title 22 for more details about our scope and process.)
Cases we handle
Our staff of five employees handles hundreds of cases each year. The types of cases we handle range greatly in their subject matter. They might include a towed vehicle with exclusion from a public park, a land use application proposal, property compliance application, permit denials, and penalties and fines, among others.
How we make decisions
Our office uses a quasi-judicial decision-making model. Our role is similar to that of an administrative law judge in that we conduct an evidentiary hearing where witnesses testify and are subject to cross examination, and the parties make arguments to support their positions and produce evidence to support their claims. The Hearings Officer then makes findings of fact, applies the law as written by City Council, and issues a legal conclusion in the form of a written decision.
Portland City Code Title 22 creates a citywide uniform process by which appeals can be filed directly with the Hearings Office. This standardization and uniformity means that all the cases that fall under Title 22 follow the same timelines and rules of procedure.
Appealing a decision of the Hearings Office
Generally, the Hearings Office decisions are the final decision of the City reviewable by the court or the land use board of appeals. There is an exception, in Type III land use cases, which are appealable to City Council. For those applications, the Hearings Office provides the first public hearing, and if appealed, the second quasi-judicial review goes before City Council.