Court Case Confirms Elected Officials Must Give Appearance of Being Fair at Hearings
by William R. Galstan on February 12, 2015
posted in Zoning,
It’s common knowledge that an elected official who has an economic interest in a matter coming before the agency cannot participate in the decision. But how about an official who has such strong feelings about the application that it seems his or her mind was made up prior to the hearing? In a recent case, Woody’s Group v. City of Newport Beach, the state Court of Appeal underscored existing law by stating that officials must at least give the impression that they are open-minded about the outcome of applications coming before them. A restaurant and bar had filed an application with the ... Continue Reading
