Any person aggrieved by a decision or action of the Department under <cite data-doc="City of Baltimore, Md., Code" data-path="|26">City Code Article 26</cite>, subtitle 15, may appeal the decision or action to the Director. A person shall be notified in writing of an appealable decision or action taken by the Department, and the notice shallbe sentvia first class mail, and by email or facsimile, to the email address or facsimile number on record for the aggrieved person. Email notification is effective as of the date of transmission by the Department. An appeal of a decision or action shall be filed by requesting a hearingwithin 10 days of the date of notification, or the date of receipt of the notice, whichever occurs first, in writing and sent to the DOT Street-cuts Section byfirst class mail to: Baltimore City Department of Transportation, Street Cuts Section, 520 Fallsway, Baltimore, MD 21202; and by email to <u>streetcuts@baltimorecity.gov</u>. If no timely request for a hearing is filed, the aggrieved person shall be deemed to have waived the right to an administrative hearing. The hearing shall be scheduled within a reasonable time after a request for a hearing is received, andDOT shall send a Hearing Notice to the aggrieved person byfirst class mail and electronic mail requesting receipt confirmation; the Hearing Notice shallset the date, time and location of the hearing, designate the Hearing Officer; and describe the purpose and nature of the hearing set forth any rules or procedures that may be required by the Hearing Officer. A Hearing Officermay be any individual member of the DOT designated as such by the Director of the DOT; but shall not be the DOT employee who made the decision or took the action being appealed; and shall have discretion to set reasonable limits forthe time for the aggrieved party to present its case; the time for the agency response; the time for, and any limits on, cross examination; and (d) the time for closing arguments. may shorten or extend any time limits designated in these regulationsat his discretion, and for good cause shown. Not later than 5 days after the date of the Hearing Notice, the aggrieved party shall advise DOT in writing, via first class mail and electronic mail requesting receipt confirmation,if it will be represented by counsel and identify its counsel; or if the aggrieved party will not be represented by counsel, designate an individual to present the aggrieved party’s case at the hearing. Formal evidence rules and trial procedures shall not apply, and the Hearing Officermay admit and give effect to evidence which possesses probative value commonly accepted by reasonable and prudent persons in the conduct of their affairs; may exclude incompetent, irrelevant, immaterial, and unduly repetitious evidence; may take judicial notice of general, technical, and scientific facts; and shall give effect to the rules of privilege recognized by law. All evidence, including records and documents, in the possession of DOT, the involved City agency or the City of Baltimore which the Hearing Officer desires to utilize maybe made a part of the record in the case, and be received in the form of copies, excerpts, or by incorporation by reference. The hearing shallproceed as follows:the Hearing Officer shall begin the hearing with a statement concerning the purpose of the hearing and the procedures that will be followed. each party may present its case by narrative or by witnesses. cross-examination of any witness shall be permitted; however, the parties will not be permitted to argue or engage in debate. The Hearing Officer may reasonably limit or terminate cross examination at any time. the Hearing Officer may question any witness or party at any time. each party may present its final arguments and summarize its position. each party shall have the right to make any additional statements before the hearing it terminated. at the discretion of the Hearing officer, the hearing may be adjourned to another date, continued, and postponed. Notwithstanding the procedures in <cite data-path="14.03.01.11|I.">Regulation .11.I</cite>., the Hearing officer may, in his discretion,decide the order and manner in which testimony and evidence is to be presented and make changes to the hearing procedure. Following the hearing, the Hearing Officer shallmake every attempt to render a decision within 30 days from the conclusion of the hearing, base the decision on the facts and evidence introduced into the record, prepare a decision of each hearing which contains the following information:date of the hearing, name of the Hearing Officer; name of the aggrieved party; names, titles and affiliations of persons in attendance; the purpose and nature of the hearing; brief description of documents, testimony and data presented; findings and conclusions of the Hearing Officer regarding the action or decision being appealed; and the decision of the Hearing officer. send a copy of the decision to the aggrieved party, or his attorney of record; byfirst class mail, or when provided, by email. Upon the direction of the Hearing Officer or the aggrieved party, a record of the proceedings may be made.The record is adequate if in the form of a tape recording. The aggrieved party shall have access to the tape-recording during City business hours, and may have a transcript made at its expense.The City shall designate the transcriber, and the cost of the transcript preparation shall be paid before the transcript is prepared. Within ten 10 days of DOT’s service of the final decision of the Hearing Officer, the aggrieved party may submit a written request for a review of the decision of the Hearing Officer,which shall be sent byfirst class mail to: Baltimore City Department of Transportation, Street Cuts Section, 520 Fallsway, Baltimore, MD 21202, and email to: streetcuts@baltimorecity.gov; if no written request for a review is filed within the time required by these rules, the aggrieved party will be deemed to have waived its rights to any further review of the decision of the Hearing Officer. If a timely request for review is made, a Review Hearing Officer shall be appointed whomay be an individual member of the DOT designated by the Director to serve as the Review Hearing Officer, but shall not bethe Hearing Officer or the DOT employee who made the decision or took the action being appealed. The review shall proceed in the following order:prior to the review proceeding, any party may submit to the Review Hearing Officer and the other party, a brief containing a statement of facts and arguments; the Review Hearing Officer shall begin the review hearing with a statement concerning the purpose of the review; any party may present a brief articulation of its arguments and summarize its position; any party may answer any questions posed by the Review Hearing Officer; the Review Hearing Officer has the discretion to request additional testimony or evidence; at the discretion of the Review Hearing Officer, the review hearing may be adjourned to another date, continued, or postponed. Following the review proceeding, the Review Hearing Officershall make every attempt to render a final decision of the review within 30 days; may affirm, reverse, or modify the Hearing Officer’s decision; shall consider the entire record; shall make his decision in writing; and shall send a copy of the decision to the aggrieved party. The decision of the Review Hearing Officer shall constitute the final decision of the Director. Under <cite data-doc="City of Baltimore, Md., Code" data-path="|26">City Code Article 26</cite>, §15-36, a party aggrieved by a final decision of the Director may appeal that decision to the Circuit Court for Baltimore City in accordance with the Maryland Rules of Civil Procedure.