During the meeting, it became apparent that the applicant for the sole agenda item had not arrived nor communicated their absence to the city staff. The board discussed the situation and, with advice from the attorney present, opted to give the applicant additional time to appear due to inclement weather. When the applicant failed to show up within the allotted time, the board had to decide whether to proceed without them.

The board expressed discomfort with the idea of hearing the application in the applicant’s absence. There was a consensus that the applicant should be present, especially since no prior objections or formal opposition from the community had been recorded, but the staff had recommended conditions for approval that were not yet discussed with the applicant.

Ultimately, the board decided it was prudent to defer the hearing, allowing the applicant another opportunity to be present and participate in the process. This decision was made to ensure fairness and the integrity of the quasi-judicial proceedings. The board instructed the city staff to reach out to the applicant and clarify the importance of their presence at the rescheduled hearing.

In addition to addressing the application’s deferral, the board approved the minutes from the February 28th, 2024 meeting and confirmed the presence of future applications for the next month. There were no comments from the staff, and the board briefly mentioned an incident of getting locked out as a learning experience.