City Code Chapter
22.02.010 Established.
- The office of Code Hearings Officer is hereby created. The Code Hearings Officer shall act on behalf of the Council in considering and applying regulatory enactments and policies pertaining to the matters set forth in other sections of this Title. The Code Hearings Officer shall be appointed in conformance with the Civil Service rules of the City.
22.02.020 Jurisdiction.
- The Code Hearings Officer shall have jurisdiction over all cases submitted in accordance with the procedures and under the conditions set forth in this Code.
22.02.030 Definitions.
(Amended by Ordinance 190387, effective May 5, 2021.)
- A. “City” means the City of Portland’s Bureau responsible for initiating the Code Hearing request.
- B. “Code Hearings Officer” means the Code Hearings Officer appointed pursuant to 22.02.010 and any other person designated and appointed by the Code Hearings Officer to act as Code Hearings Officer in a particular proceeding or group of proceedings.
- C. “Ex Parte communication” means a direct or indirect communication about a code enforcement case pending before a Hearings Officer, between the Hearings Officer and a party to the case or their representative, which occurs outside of a public hearing. Ex parte communications do not include communications between:
- 1. The Hearings Officer and any person employed or contracted by the Hearings Office.
- 2. The Hearings Officer and the Hearings Office’s legal counsel.
- 3. Hearings Office staff (excluding the Hearings Officer) and City staff or other participants regarding procedures or for verification of evidence in record.
- D. “Mail” unless otherwise specified, means electronic mail (email) or first-class United States Postal Service mail delivery service.
- E. “Party” means:
- 1. The City of Portland.
- 2. Any person named by the City as a Respondent in the complaint.
- 3. Any person requesting and entitled to an appeal hearing pursuant to Chapter 22.10.
- 4. Any person requesting to participate at the hearing as a party or a limited party which the Code Hearings Officer determines both has an interest in the result of the proceeding or represents a public interest in such result and that the identified interest is not already adequately represented by one of the current parties.
- F. “Received” means the date and time a document is recorded as received by the Hearings Office; except that a document delivered to the Hearings Office after regularly scheduled business hours or on a Saturday, Sunday, or official City holiday or closure will be deemed to have been received on the next business day at the start of business hours.
- G. “Respondent” means the party or parties who the City alleges, in the complaint, to have committed a violation of City Code or to be responsible for such violation.
22.02.040 Enforcement.
(Added by Ordinance 170048; Amended by Ordinance 190387, effective May 5, 2021.)
- A. The City may institute appropriate suit or legal action, in law or equity, in any court of competent jurisdiction to enforce the provisions of any order of the Code Hearings Officer, including, but not limited to, a suit or action to obtain judgment for any civil penalty imposed by an order of the Code Hearings Officer pursuant to Section 22.05.010 A.5. and/or any assessment for costs or penalties imposed pursuant to Section 22.06.010 C.
- B. Unless authorized by the Code Hearing Officer, it is unlawful for any person to knowingly enter or remain in any building or structure that the Code Hearings Officer has ordered vacated pursuant to Subsection 22.05.010 C.2. In addition to any civil penalties imposed pursuant to Subsection 22.05.010 A.5., any person knowingly entering or remaining in such building or structure shall upon conviction be punished by a fine of not more than $500, or by imprisonment not exceeding six months, or both.