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Section 4: Rules of Evidence. The Board will not observe formal rules of evidence during variance hearings, but may consider any matter which the Chair concludes is reasonably reliable and calculated to aid the Board in reaching an accurate determination of the issue involved. Rulings on questions of the admissibility of evidence and exhibits will be made by the Chair and will stand unless objected to by a member of the Board, in which event the questions of admissibility will be decided by a majority of the members of the Board present. Exhibits shall be marked and identified for the record before offering them to the Chair for admission into the record of the hearing. The Chair may limit testimony or questioning that is repetitive, cumulative, argumentative, or not pertinent to the issue, and may set a time limit on the duration of the testimony if the Chair determines it to be necessary because of the number of persons seeking to testify. Section 5: Board Questions. Board members may ask questions of any witness but shall refrain from entering into any argument or debate with any witness. Section 6: Applicable Standards. In determining whether to grant or deny the variance, the Board shall consider whether practical difficulties or unnecessary hardships exist in the way of carrying out the strict letter of Title 17 of the Louisville Municipal Code. The Board may grant the variance if the spirit of Title 17 of the Louisville Municipal Code is observed, public safety and welfare are secured, substantial justice is done, and the Board makes the findings required by Section 1 of this Article VIII. The burden will be on the Applicant to establish that the requirements for granting a variance are met. Section 7: Decisions of the Board. Following the conclusion of a variance hearing, the Board may render its decision immediately or take the matter under advisement for further deliberations. Each decision of the Board shall be in writing and copies thereof shall be provided to the Applicant and to any other person requesting a copy. Section 8: Continuance. Whenever, in the opinion of the Board, a hearing cannot be completed in a reasonable hour on the original hearing date, the Board may continue the hearing to a later date. Section 9: Rehearing. The Board may rehear a previously granted or denied variance application and may modify its decision thereon only if: A. The hearing is conducted and the decision modified at a time prior to the date an appeal of the initial decision must be perfected pursuant to C.R.C.P. 1 06(a)(4); and, B. There has been a substantial change in the facts or law subsequent to the initial hearing.