SAGUACHE COUNTY — The following guidelines for public hearings are found in the Saguache County Oil and Gas regulations, some of which are contained in the Saguache County Land Development Code. They are similar to the guidelines used in other counties in Colorado.
These items in the code are presented for those wishing to testify at the upcoming hearing on revisions to marijuana-related regulations in the Land Development Code. There are no other available county documents discoverable at this time that outline procedures for public hearings for Saguache County.
XXI. 11. CONDUCT OF PUBLIC HEARING. A public hearing shall be conducted in accordance with the following process:
11.1. Rights of All Persons. Any person may appear at a public hearing and submit evidence, including oral testimony, either individually or as a representative of an organization. Comment may also be submitted in written form before or during the hearing, or within a period of time after the hearing has closed as designated by the review body chairperson.
11.2. Order of Proceedings. The order of the proceedings shall be as follows:
11.2.1. Applicant’s Presentation. At its option, the applicant may make an oral or a written presentation that informs persons at the hearing of the nature, location, and scope of the proposed Operation. This presentation shall not be made by County staff or consultants, and may be waived by the Chairperson if there are no members of the public at the hearing, and the applicant has previously explained the proposed Operation to the review body conducting the hearing.
11.2.2. Questions by Review Body. The review body may ask questions of the Land Use Department, or the applicant, or anyone else who is present.
11.2.3. Public Comments. Public comments shall be heard. Written comments that have been received at least 5 business days prior to the date of the hearing shall be reported by the Land Use Department and acknowledged to be
11.2.4. Ex Parte Communications. Members of decision-making bodies shall not engage in ex parte communications about applications under review or reasonably anticipated to come under review. If an ex parte communication is attempted by telephone, in person, by telefax or other means outside a regularly scheduled meeting, the member of the decision-making body involved shall first attempt to stop the party from the prohibited behavior, then document the communication and notify the Land Use Administrator by telephone or in written form. The Land Use Administrator shall then enter the documentation into the public file. The Land Use Administrator shall report that documentation at the next meeting or hearing on the application. No ex parte communication shall be considered by a decision-making body, or any of its members, in making a decision… (Ex parte contact is the communication of a judge or elected official with only one party of a case in a private setting without the knowledge of or input from the other parties to the case.)
11.2.5. Applicant Response. The applicant may respond to any comments made by the public, the Land Use Department, or the review body.
11.2.6. Land Use Department Response. The Land Use Department may respond to any statement made by the applicant, the public, or the review body.
11.3. Time Limits for Testimony. The chairperson conducting the public hearing shall set reasonable time limits for testimony or presentation of evidence. If any testimony or evidence is so limited, the person offering that testimony or evidence shall have an opportunity to enter it into the record in writing at the public hearing.
11.4. Continuance of Public Hearing. At the conclusion of the hearing, the body conducting it may continue the public hearing to a fixed date and time. An applicant shall have the right to request, and be granted on a showing of good cause, one continuance of each required hearing. All subsequent continuances shall be granted at the discretion of the body conducting the public hearing and upon a finding that good cause has been shown for the continuance.
11.5. Closure of Public Hearing and Acceptance of Written Testimony after Closure. If the hearing is not continued, it shall be closed. At the close of the hearing, the chairperson of the body conducting the hearing may leave the record open for a defined period of time during which only written comment will continue to be accepted. If no such time period is defined, no further written comment shall be accepted after the hearing is closed, except that any public comments received in writing prior to the hearing, but after the report prepared by the Land Use Department pursuant to Section 11.2.3. shall be included in the record.
11.5.1. No Ex Parte Comments Accepted. The chairperson shall announce that there shall be no ex parte comments accepted by members of the decision-making body.
11.5.2. All Written Comments Received become Part of Record. All written comments, along with supporting data and references, received within the specified comment period shall be made a part of the record and shall be available for public inspection at the Planning Department when the hearing was conducted by the Planning Commission. When the hearing was conducted by the Board, copies of all such comments shall be available at the Administration Office. All timely written submittals shall be made a part of the record of the proceeding.
11.5.3. Record of Public Hearing. The body conducting the public hearing shall record the public hearing by any appropriate means, including audiotape or videotape and written minutes. The written and taped record of oral proceedings, including testimony and statements of personal opinions, the minutes of the hearing and other meetings of the review body, all applications, exhibits and papers submitted in any proceeding before the decision-making, administrative or review body, the Land Use Department’s report, and the decision of the review and decision making bodies, shall constitute the record. Those materials, on presentation to the county, shall become the property of the county and shall not be removed form county possession without proper written authorization from the custodian of the record.  
11.5.4. Materials Are Part of Public Record. Said materials shall be public information, available to the public at the Land Use Administration office during regular business hours. The Department, as official custodian of those records, may make such rules with reference to the inspection of such records as are reasonably necessary for the protection of such records and the prevention of unnecessary interference with the regular discharge of the duties of the Land Use Department.