Commission receives guidance on hearing options, record periods and the 120‑day land‑use clock

At the start of the meeting staff provided a training on hearing procedures and timing aimed at helping commissioners choose among options when public hearings present new evidence or large volumes of testimony.

Rachel Vickers described the four options commissioners commonly use: continue the hearing to a date and time certain; close the oral portion and leave the written record open to a date certain; close the hearing and schedule deliberations later; or close the hearing and commence deliberations. She told commissioners, “If anyone requests additional opportunity to submit evidence, that has to be granted,” citing ORS 197.797 as the legal basis for allowing additional evidence under some circumstances.

Vickers explained the trade-offs between continuing a hearing (which preserves oral testimony but consumes more calendar time) and leaving an open record period (which pauses or does not pause the land-use clock depending on applicant agreement). She also outlined common open-record structures — for example, a 7-7-7 model where the first 7 days accept new evidence, the second 7 allow rebuttal, and the final 7 are for the applicant’s final argument — and recommended open-record periods when many late submissions arrive.

Commissioners worked through multiple scenarios during the presentation (e.g., appeals involving new traffic points, high-turnout text amendments, applicant-requested continuances) and generally agreed that staff should use open-record periods where practicable to avoid clock issues and late-night meetings. The training closed with staff offering to be available for one-on-one follow-up.