Code of Massachusetts Regulations
700 CMR - DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Title 700 CMR 3.00 - Control And Restriction Of Billboards, Signs, And Other Outdoor Advertising Devices
Section 3.19 - Request for an Appeal; Administrative Review of Notices of Denial or Revocation of a Permit or License

(1) Any applicant who is denied a request for a permit or license or whose permit and/or license has been revoked may make a written request for an appeal hearing before a hearing examiner designated by the Department. The request for hearing must be received by the Director within 30 days after receipt of the notice of denial or notice of revocation. The request for hearing must be sufficient to identify the applicant requesting the hearing and each outdoor advertising structure for which a hearing is requested. The hearing is informal, the rules of evidence do not apply, and the decision of the hearing examiner is final, subject to judicial review as provided by M.G.L. c. 30A, § 14. The applicant will be notified by mail within a reasonable time of the decision following the hearing. Each written appeal decision contains a statement of the reasons for the decision. Failure to appear at the date, time, and place specified on the hearing notice automatically results in the denial of the appeal. The act of mailing the request for hearing does not constitute receipt by the Director. An applicant shall not be entitled to a hearing if the applicant fails to request a hearing within 30 days after receipt of the notice of denial or notice of revocation. Upon receipt of a request for a hearing, the Director shall forward the request to a hearing examiner for the Office of Outdoor Advertising. Hearings for notices of denial or revocation of a permit or license shall be conducted in accordance with M.G.L. c. 30A and 801 CMR 1.00: Standard Adjudicatory Rules of Practice and Procedure within the time set forth in 700 CMR 3.19.

(2) The hearing examiner is authorized to dismiss any request for administrative review and terminate any further proceedings if the applicant fails to appear at the time and place for a hearing as scheduled by the hearing examiner.

(3) The hearing examiner shall give written notice of the hearing to the applicant and Director by fixing a time and place for a hearing, at which time the applicant and Director or designee may appear and present evidence. The hearing examiner shall issue this notice not less than 15 days prior to the date fixed for the hearing.

(4) The decision of the hearing examiner shall be final subject to judicial review under M.G.L. c. 30A.

(5) Where the provisions of 700 CMR 3.00 provide for deadlines after the "receipt" of notification, the date of the receipt shall be established by the date of certified mail delivery or other competent evidence. If the Director mails a notice to the last known address of a person on record with the Department and if delivery is refused or cannot be made to that address, the date of receipt shall be presumed to be ten days after the date the notice was mailed.