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Verlegas: disclose ex parte contacts and avoid independent site research in land‑use cases
Summary
The city attorney advised that quasi‑judicial proceedings demand special care: members should avoid ex parte contacts and independent site visits or outside research that could create procedural grounds for reversal.
Victor Verlegas described quasi‑judicial proceedings, such as land‑use applications, where boards act in a fact‑finding role. He warned that ex parte contacts — private communications about a pending application — can undermine fairness and sometimes lead a court to send a decision back: "When those happen, if it rises to a certain level that it basically destroys the procedural nature of this application, usually what will happen is the court will send it back," he said.
He advised that if a board member had a contact about an application they should disclose the communication at the hearing so the record is transparent; he also cautioned against independent site visits or doing computer research that is not part of the public record, and recommended that evidence be introduced in public hearings or staff reports.
