Let me expose myself here and tell you what I do when in the Chair.
The case title and what the application is for is announced.
I ask who is representing the applicant for the record, and ask them to come forward. I ask him to summarize his request to us in about one minute or less. (This allows Commission members to sift through their papers to find the right application, and briefs the public on the item before us. This also allows the applicant to let us know of any last minute changes or additions or clarifications to his application if applicable.)
I ask the Zoning Administrator for his comments. Usually there are his staff notes that he provides for all members prior to the meeting and he summarizes any remaining items of concern.
If it is a Public Hearing, I open the Public Hearing and ask if anyone is here to speak for or against this applicatiion. If a lot of hands go up, I may announce that there will be a 10 or 15 minute total time limit on speakers on each side of the question. I ask if there is any written material to be presented by opponents. We usually have a half dozen applications each meeting and meetings can get very lengthy.
I ask that all questions to be addressed to the Chair to avoid personal confrontations between applicant and the public. I give the applicant an opportunity to respond to each question if he wishes to. If there are a lot of people in opposition, I ask the applicant to take notes of the questions and respond at the end. Then I repeat a sweep of the audience to see if there are any additional questions in response to the applicant's explanations. I give the applicant one last opportunity to respond to the second wave of questions.
I then close the Public Hearing, and ask if any Commission members have any comments, questions, or motions. The Commission members know they can ask any questions of the applicant or of the public to help them clarify points raised, but the Public Hearing has been closed and the Chair is not obligated to hear any additional comments from the public.
After discussion by the Commission, I ask for a motion to approve or deny. If no one makes such a motion, I declare that the reason we are here is to make a determination for a recommendation to the Mayor and Board of Aldermen, so I simply state, "all those in favor of the application, . . ." etc.
The city attorney, hydraulic engineer consultant, and public works chief, are sometimes present, but do not participate unless asked.
We do not tape the proceedings, but the Zoning Administrator's secretary takes summary minutes.
I will sometimes annouce (if there are a lot of people in opposition) that as a reminder, the public is not here to vote as to whether they think this application should be approved or not, but to provide the Commission (and city) with any additional information relating to the case that we might not be aware of such as prior agreements, covenants, deed restrictions, or other legal matters of record that have not been considered.
I would appreciate your suggestions on how this process may be handled better.