700 CMR 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has been revoked may make a written request for an appeal hearing before a hearing examiner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.
3:20: Municipal Authority
Nothing in 700 CMR 3.00 shall be construed as prohibiting any municipality from imposing
stricter limitations than those set forth in 700 CMR 3.00.