During the current Coronavirus (COVID-19) situation, the Hearing Examiner’s Office is doing its best to conduct day-to-day business and hearings as scheduled.  As of March 18, 2020, Mayor Victoria Woodards ordered the Tacoma Municipal Building at 747 Market Street (TMB) closed to the public in an effort to help with social distancing and stem the spread of COVID-19. City staff and the Office of the Hearing Examiner are attempting to continue scheduling and conducting hearings during this time through alternative means, primarily video conferencing via Zoom.

If you are a party to a hearing and feel that, rather than video conferencing for your hearing, an in-person hearing is necessary, you may opt to postpone your hearing until such time as in-person hearings are again feasible. Otherwise, hearings will be held by video conference until the TMB is reopened and gathering limits are lifted.

For members of the public wishing to attend any scheduled public hearing and/or offer testimony, you may offer testimony in writing at any time prior to the hearing date, and you may also participate by teleconference and offer testimony in that medium. You will need a computer, phone or tablet that has the Zoom app installed. It is free. The Hearing Examiner’s Office can be contacted as follows:

Phone: (253) 591-5195

Email: hearing.examiner@cityoftacoma.org

Website: https://www.cityoftacoma.org/government/city_departments/hearing_examiner

Hearing Schedule

The below list shows the hearings currently scheduled for the upcoming two week period. If there is no Zoom Meeting information listed yet, please check back later. We will typically have the Zoom Meeting link posted three days prior to the hearing date.

All citizens wanting to offer verbal testimony at this hearing, please contact our office at least by email at hearing.examiner@cityoftacoma.org prior to the hearing so that you can be added to a list and identified by name (or at least by phone number if you are only calling in) at the time of the hearing. We will need your contact information. Anonymous comments over the Zoom medium will not be accepted. Anyone can submit a written comment in lieu of testimony. People who do not contact our office ahead of time may still testify, but they will be at the back of the queue and will have to present their contact information via the chat function prior to testifying.

All participants will be muted until they are called on from the Hearing Examiner’s list to testify. Failure to follow protocols may lead to exclusion from the Zoom room. Depending on the number of people wishing to testify, a time limit may be imposed. The public testimony portion of the hearing comes after presentations from the City and from the applicant in order to better inform interested members of the public regarding the application under review before they offer their comments. The Examiner does not answer questions during public comment. If questions are posed, City staff of the applicant’s representatives may choose to address them during their allotted rebuttal time.

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