2.64.160 Appeals | Moab Municipal Code

2.64.160 Appeals.

1. Any person aggrieved by the City’s access determination under this chapter, including a person not a party to the City’s proceeding, may appeal the determination to the Mayor and City Council by filing a notice of appeal.

2. If the City claims extraordinary circumstances and specifies the date when the records will be available, and, if the requester believes the extraordinary circumstances do not exist or that the time specified is unreasonable, the requester may appeal the City’s claim of extraordinary circumstances or date for compliance within thirty days after notification of a claim of extraordinary circumstances by the City, despite the lack of a “determination” or its equivalent.

1. If the appeal involves a record that is the subject of a business confidentiality claim under Section 63-2-308 of the Utah Code, the City Recorder shall:

a. Send notice of the requester’s appeal to the business confidentiality claimant within three business days after receiving notice, except that if notice under this section must be given to more than thirty-five persons, it shall be given as soon as reasonably possible;

b. Send notice of the business confidentiality claim and the schedule for the City Recorder’s determination to the requester within three business days after receiving notice of the requester’s appeal.

2. The claimant shall have seven business days after notice is sent by the City Recorder to submit further support, for the claim of business confidentiality.

1. The Mayor shall make a determination on any appeal within the following period of time:

a. Within five business days after the Mayor’s receipt of the notice of appeal; or

b. Within twelve business days after the City sends the requester’s notice of appeal to a person who submitted a claim of business confidentiality.

2. If the Mayor fails to make a determination within the time specified in subsection C1 of this section, the failure shall be considered the equivalent of an order denying the appeal.

3. The provisions of this section notwithstanding, the parties participating in the proceeding may, by agreement, extend the time periods specified in this section.

D. The Mayor may, upon consideration and weighing of the various interests and public policies pertinent to the classification and disclosure or nondisclosure, order the disclosure of information properly classified as private under Section 2.64.100 B or protected under Section 2.64.120 if the interests favoring access outweigh the interest favoring restriction of access.

E. The City shall send written notice of the determination of the Mayor to all participants. If the Mayor affirms the denial in whole or in part, the denial shall include a statement that the requester has the right to appeal the denial to the City Council, and the time limits for filing an appeal.

F. The duties of the Mayor under this section may be delegated.

G. The notice of appeal to the City Council must be filed with the City Recorder no later than thirty days after the Mayor has denied the appeal or fails to make a determination within the time specified in subsection C1 of this section.

H. The notice of appeal shall contain the following information:

1. The petitioner’s name, mailing address, and daytime telephone number; and

2. The relief sought.

I. The petitioner may file a short statement of facts, reasons, and legal authority in support of the appeal.

J. No later than three days after receiving a notice of appeal, the Recorder shall:

1. Schedule a hearing for the City Council to discuss the appeal which shall be held no sooner than fifteen days and no later than thirty days from the date of the filing of the appeal;

2. At the hearing, the City Council shall allow the parties to testify, present evidence, and comment on the issues. The City Council may allow other interested persons to comment on the issues;

3. No later than three business days after the hearing, the City Council shall issue a signed order either granting the petition in whole or in part or upholding the determination of the City in whole or in part;

4. The order of the City shall include:

a. A statement of reasons for the decision, including citations to this chapter or federal regulation that governs disclosure of the record; provided, that the citations do not disclose private, controlled or protected information,

b. A description of the record or portions of the record to which access was ordered or denied, provided that the description does not disclose private, controlled, or protected information,

c. A statement that any party to the appeal may appeal the City’s decision to district court, and

d. A brief summary of the appeal, and a notice that in order to protect its rights on appeal, the party may wish to seek advice from an attorney.

K. A person aggrieved by the City’s classification or designation determination under this chapter, but who is not requesting access to the records, may appeal that determination using the procedures provided in this section. If a nonrequestor is the only appellant, the procedures provided in this section shall apply, except that the determination on the appeal shall be made within thirty days after receiving the notice of appeal. (Ord. 93-18 § 16, 1993)