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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPC Bylaws Revised 2012 PLANNING COMMISSION BYLAWS ADOPTED MAY 16, 1994 Amended January 3, 1995 Amended June 19, 1995 Amended January 2, 1996 Amended January 6, 1997 Amended February 16, 1999 Amended June 7, 1999 Amended June 26, 2006 Amended November 17 , 2008 Amended October 19, 2009 Amended January 3, 2011 Amended June 2012 SECTION 100: PURPOSE 101: The purpose of the Planning Commission bylaws is to provide a set of operating procedures for the Planning Commission, and to establish a code of ethics and conduct. 102: The Bylaws shall be reviewed annually by the Planning Commission, and any changes or amendments agreed to by a majority vote of the Commission shall be recommended to the City Council for adoption at its annual meeting. The City Council conducts its annual me eting as the first meeting in January of each year. SECTION 200: STRUCTURE OF COMMISSION 201: COMMISSION CREATED : A Planning Commission is hereby created for the City, its purpose to be of an advisory nature to the City Council and staff on issues rela ted to zoning and development , except as provided by State Statute . The members of the Planning Commission shall annually elect officers in accordance with the procedures of paragraph 205 herein. 202: DUTIES OF THE COMMISSION : The duties of the Planning Commission are as follows: 1. To acquire and maintain in current form such basic information and background data that is necessary to an understanding of past trends, present conditions and forces at work to cause changes in these conditions. 2. T o prepare, dra ft and recommend amendments to the Comprehensive Plan for review by the City Council on the advice of the City Community and Economic Development Director . 3. To recommend policies to the City Council for guiding action affecting development. 4. To determine whe ther specific proposed developments conform to the principles and requirements for the Comprehensive Plan and City ordinances. M: \ Advisory Bodies and Committees \ Planning Commission \ PC Bylaws June 2012.doc 1 5. To ke e p the City Council and the general public informed and advised as to all planning and development matters. 6. To review and ma ke recommendations to the City Council on planned unit development and subdivision proposals. 7. To hold public hearings for subdivision, planned unit developments and rezoning applications and furnish the City Council with information and recommendations of such hearings. 8. To prepare and submit to the City Council within sixth (60) days after the end of the calendar year, a summary report of all variances granted to applicants from January 1 through December 31 of that calendar year. The summary report shall c ontain such information as deemed necessary and requested by the Council. 203: APPOINTMENT : The Planning Commission shall be composed of five (5) members, appointed by the City Council. Only residents of the City who are at least 18 years old shall be co nsidered for appointment. Said members shall serve three (3) year - terms st st beginning November 1 and ending October 31 . The Commission shall be representative of the citizens who live in Prior Lake. Commission members may serve additional terms upon appr oval by the Prior Lake City Council, based upon satisfactory attendance and participation, continued residence within the corporate limits of the City of Prior Lake, and in accordance with the term limit policy established herein. 204: COUNCIL LIASION : A nnually the City Council will appoint a Councilmember to serve as a Liaison between the Council and the Planning Commission. The role of the Liaison is to act as a conduit and resour c e for information by and between the Council and the Planning Commission and the Planning Commission and the Council. The Liaison shall make periodic reports to the Council on the activities of the Planning Commission. The Liaison shall communicate any Council input on a particular issue to the Planning Commission. The Liaison shall not participate in the discussion or deliberation of any matter pending before the Commission , except where the Planning Commission is meeting in a study or work session . T he Planning Commission may, at its discretion, ask the Liaison whether the C ouncil has discussed the subject under consideration and the nature of the discussion. The Liaison shall never use this occasion as an opportunity to communicate their personal position regarding the matter under consideration . A Liaison may always test ify or submit written comments at a Public Hearing in their capacity as a private citizen so long as they make clear at the beginning of their testimony or their written comments that they are speaking on their own behalf and not on behalf of the Council. VACANCIES : If the office of Chair becomes vacant, the Planning Commission shall appoint a replacement as set forth in paragraph 205 herein. If the office of vice - chair becomes vacant, the Planning Commission shall elect a successor from its membership at the next regular meeting, and such election shall be for the unexpired term of said office. If an appointed member of the Planning Commission resigns, is terminated, reaches a term limit, or otherwise vacates a seat of the Commission, the Prior Lake Cit y Council shall appoint a replacement in the following manner: 1. Applications are solicited. A n otice of the vacancy is made public and individuals may be encouraged to consider the position. M: \ Advisory Bodies and Committees \ Planning Commission \ PC Bylaws June 2012.doc 2 2. The City Manager or his designee, the City Council member who ha s been appointed as the liaison to the advisory authority, or who has been appointed to serve on the work group, and the commission chair ( unless the appointment is the commission chair appointment or re - appointment, or in the case where no chair has been determined ) shall interview all candidates and make a recommendation to the full City Council. No person will sit on any advisory authority charged with the selection of the successor for that person. 3. The recommendation of the interview panel shall be pre sented to the City Council and the Council may accept or reject the recommendation. If the recommendation is rejected, the City Council shall appoint another individual or decide to reopen the vacancy to the public for new candidates. 205: OFFICERS : The P lanning Commission shall elect fr om among its membership a chair and vice - chair. The Community and Economic Development Director shall act as secretary of the Commission. 1. Chair: The Chair shall be elected by majority vote of the Planning Commission prior to the first meeting in November. The term of the chair shall begin in November and run for three years. The duties of the chair shall include approval of meeting agendas, presiding at meetings, participating with the City Council in the selection of Commi ssion members, semi - annual reporting to the City Council on all information collected under paragraph 202 and shall give an accounting of its activities and any information the Commission may consider relevant before the City Council annually or as directe d otherwise. 2. Vice - Chair: The vice - chair shall be selected annually by the Commission and shall perform the duties of the Chair in his/her absence. The vice - chair shall assume such other duties as assigned by the chair. 3. Secretary: The Secretary and shal l be responsible for recording and compiling a written summary of all official activities of the Planning Commission. 206: TERM LIMIT : It is the policy of the Prior Lake City Council to impose a three term (9 year) service limitation for all appointed pos itions to the Planning Commission. Partial terms do not count toward the term limitation. The purpose of the term limit policy is to encourage resident participation on City advisory bodies and provide community members with the opportunity to participate in their local government. 20 7 : REMOVAL OF MEMBER : Any member of the Planning Commission may be removed from office for just cause by a four - fifths (4/5) vote of the entire City Council. Such member shall be entitled , if requeste d, to a public hearing bef ore such a vote is taken. In addition, the City Council may remove a Planning Commission based on excessive nonattendance at Planning Commission meetings . The Council, in its sole discretion shall determine what constitutes excessive nonattendance. SE CTION 300: STATEMENT OF ETHICS 301: POLICY STATEMENT: The City of Prior Lake recognizes that our system of democratic representative government is dependent in large measure upon people having trust and confidence in their public officials. The public r ightfully expects that M: \ Advisory Bodies and Committees \ Planning Commission \ PC Bylaws June 2012.doc 3 governmental officials will conduct City of Prior Lake business in ways which benefit the public generally and that public office will not be used chiefly or improperly to advance personal interest. The City of Prior Lake has pledge d that the goals of fair, efficient and honest government will be fostered and that it will strive for integrity and objectivity from all of its officials . 1. The City of Prior Lake finds that the proper operation of democratic representative government requ ires that:  Elected and appointed officials be independent, impartial and responsible to the people;  Governmental decisions and policy be made in the proper channels of the governmental structure;  Public office not be used for personal gain;  The public ha ve confidence in the integrity of its government. 2. The City of Prior Lake shall adhere to the high est ethical standards that enhance the public trust in its local government by:  Creating transparency in its actions through honest and open communication; an d  Basing decisions and adopting public policies on what is in the best interests of the public and the overall community;  Supporting the public’s right to know the public’s business  Exercising fairness, optimism, responsiveness and respect in communicating with the public.  Providing a forum and p eriodic training for public officials and staff to discuss organizational values that reflect high standards and current conditions and concerns. 3. Th e City’s Statement of Ethics shall be liberally construed in favor of protecting the public’s interest in full disclosure of conflicts of interest and promoting ethical standards of conduct. 302: GIFTS AND FAVORS: No public official shall accept any valuable gift, favor or thing of value, regardless of amount whether i n the form of money, service, loan, thing or promise from any person which to the official's knowledge is concerned, directly or indirectly in any manner whatsoever in business dealings with the City. 303: USE OF EQUIPMENT AND FACILITIES: No public offic ial shall request or permit the unauthorized use of City - owned vehicles, equipment, materials, property, labor or services for personal convenience or profit. 304: CONFLICT OF INTEREST: Except as authorized in Minn. Stat. 471.88, a public officer who is authorized to take part in any manner in making any sale, lease, or contract in official capacity shall not voluntarily have a personal financial interest in that sale, lease, or contract or personally benefit financially therefrom. (Minn. Stat. Section 47 1.87) 305: A public official or local official elected to or appointed by a metropolitan governmental unit who in the discharge of official duties would be required to take an action or make a decision that would substantially affect the official's financ ial interests or those of an associated business, unless the effect on the official is no greater than on other M: \ Advisory Bodies and Committees \ Planning Commission \ PC Bylaws June 2012.doc 4 members of the official's business classification, profession or occupation, must take the following actions: 1. A dvise the City Attorney of the p otential conflict o f interest as soon as possible, pre ferably before the meeting; and 2. The City Attorney shall determine whether a disqualifying conflict of intere st exists. 3. O rally inform the commission of the potential conflict and abstain from any partici pation in that agenda item. 306: The purpose behind the creation of a rule, which would d isqualify public officials from participating in proceedings in a decision - making capacity when they have a direct conflict of interest in its outcome, is to insure t hat their decision will not be an arbitrary reflection of their own selfish interests. There is no settled general rule as to whether such an interest will disqualify an official. Each case must be decided on the basis o f the particular facts present. Amon g the relevant factors that should be considered in mak ing this determination are: (1) nature of the decision being made; (2) the nature of the pecuniar y interest; (3) the number of officials making the decision who are interested; (4) the n eed, if any, to have interested persons make the decision; and (5) the other means available, if any, such as the opportunity for review, that serve to insure that the officials will not act arbit rarily to further their selfish interests. 30 7 : MISUSE OF OFFICIAL P OSITIO N : No elected or appointed official may use his or her official position for a purpose that is, or would to a reasonable person appear to be primarily for the private benefit of the official. SECTION 4 00: CONDUCTING MEETINGS 4 01: MEETING SCHEDULE : The Planning Commission shall establis h a regular meeting schedu le. Notice of all meetings, both regular and special, shall follow the requirements of the Minnesota Open Meeting Law. All regular meetings shall be held in the City Council Chambers. 4 02: AGENDA AND MEETING FORMAT : Business of the meeting will be conducted according to the Agenda prepared by the Community and Economic Development Director. Unless extreme circumstances exist, the Community and Economic Developm ent Director shall deliver the completed agenda packets by Thursday prior to the meeting date. To meet this schedule the Community and Economic Development Director shall adhere to the submittal deadlines established by staff at the beginning of each year. A memo, report, or brief explanation of each agenda item shall be included in the Planning Commission agenda packet. The information provided by staff should serve to inform the Planning Commission of the subject matter under discussion. The information s hould explain in detail the staff comments or work, or state that the staff will present the necessary details and comments at the meeting. The meeting agenda will be prepared according to the following: 1. Call to Order 2. Roll Call 3. Approval of Minutes 4. Hearing s 5. Old Business 6. New Business 7. Announcements / Correspondence M: \ Advisory Bodies and Committees \ Planning Commission \ PC Bylaws June 2012.doc 5 8. Adjournment 4 03: MINUTE PREPARATION : The Community Development/Natural Resources Director, or his/her designee, acting as Secretary of the Commission, is responsible for the minutes of the meeting . The meeting proceedings will be taped, recorded and transcribed by the Secretary or a designated representative from staff. A DVD recording may also be prepared for the purpose of rebroadcast of the m eeting on the City’s public access cable channel. The following two requirements for minute preparation will be adhered to: 1. All motions will be typed in capital letters 2. Names of the commissioners will be listed after their vote on the motion. The official minutes shall be prepared and presented to the Plan ning Commission at the next regularly scheduled meeting. The minutes shall be reviewed by the Planning Commission and the presiding officer shall call for any additions or corrections. If an addition or correction is presented, the change must be specific as to place, paragraph, and sentence. Approval of the minutes so modified requires a motion, second and a majority vote of the members present at the meeting. If there are no corrections, the presiding officer shall state “ the minutes are approved as read . ” The Community Development/Natural Resources Director is responsible for the maintenance and filing of the minutes. The following procedure will be used in filing of the minutes: 1. All minutes of the Planning Commission will be kept on file in the office of the City Community and Economic Development in a hard copy, on microfilm, or in digital format. Written meeting minutes adopted by the Planning Commission are permanent records. 2. All the audio taped proceedings, excluding public hearings, must be kept f or a minimum of one year from the date of recording. 3. All audio taped proceedings that include public hearings must be kept for seven years from the date of recording. 4. All meetings video taped for the purposes of re - broadcast on the City’s local cable chann el will not be retained outside of their use for re - broadcasts. A copy of the minutes of the meeting shall be distributed together with the agenda for the upcoming meeting. The minutes and Planning Commission Agenda will be distributed to the Mayor and Ci ty Council members, Planning Commission members, selected City staff, and selected residents and individuals indicated on the mailing list kept by the Community and Economic Development Secretary. Remarks made by a member of the Planning Commission may be entered into the minutes by stating that he/she desires to go on the record. These remarks shall be entered into the minutes by the Secretary by way of synopsis or verbatim record, if required by a member. 4 04: ROLES AT MEETING : 1 On the majority of agen da items, if not all items, the time for direct citizen input, comments and questions will be immediately after the City Staff report and/or presentation. During this time period, every member of the public desiring to speak shall address the presiding off icer (by raising a hand or standing up) and upon M: \ Advisory Bodies and Committees \ Planning Commission \ PC Bylaws June 2012.doc 6 recognition, shall confine their remarks to the issue under consideration. The presiding officer shall let all present speak once before permitting persons to speak again on the same subject. 2 Immediately af ter citizen input is finished on the issue, the members of the Planning Commission take turns addressing the issue. Any Planning Commission member may recognize a member of the public for the purpose of asking question(s) relating to the matter under consi deration by the Planning Commission . Members of the Planning Commission must use judgment and discretion when recognizing members of the public to answer a question during the time they have the floor. 3 Members of the general public, interested parties or their authorized representatives may address the Planning Commission by written communications in regard to matters under discussion. Written communications may be read aloud at the meeting if so requested by the author and will become part of the record. The communication(s) shall be read by the presiding officer or her/his designee. 4 One member of the Planning Commission shall serve as the Chair and one as Vice - Chair. The Vice - Chair shall preside at all meetings when the Chair is absent from the meeting. When the Vice - Chair is presiding at the meeting he/she shall assume the authority and responsibility of the presiding officer at the meeting. 5 If in the event the Chair and Vice - Chair are absent, the Director of Community Development/Natural Resources shal l call the meeting to order and preside until such a time that the Planning Commission elects among itself a member to preside at the meeting. After a member of the Planning Commission has been selected to preside over the meeting, the Community Developmen t/Natural Resources Director shall step down. The presiding officer, at all times, shall be allowed to vote in the same manner as all other Commissioners. 6 The presiding officer has two unique powers: interpreting and applying the rules of procedure; and r ecognizing speakers from the audience. That official shall have the obligation to be impartial and objective in conducting the meeting. 7 The presiding officer shall open all public hearings at the predetermined time and date. The presiding officer shall, f or informational purposes, state the purpose of the hearing or read the public notice calling for the hearing into the record of the meeting proceedings. 8 The presiding officer shall recognize all speakers from the audience, except when a member of the Pla nning Commission has the floor and they expressly recognize a member of the audience who desires to speak on the issue under consideration. 9 The presiding officer has the responsibility to facilitate discussion by the Planning Commission. This may occur in a variety of ways, including:  Interpret and apply rules of procedure  Decide whether motions are properly made.  Decide whether motions are in order.  Decide whether questions of special privilege ought to be granted.  Decide when to recognize speakers.  Call for motions or recommend motions. M: \ Advisory Bodies and Committees \ Planning Commission \ PC Bylaws June 2012.doc 7  Expel disorderly persons from the meeting.  Enforce speaking procedures. 10 If a motion is unnecessary, unsuitable for consideration, and/or proposed at an inopportune time for the purpose of delaying or embarrassing other, t he presiding officer may rule the motion out of order on her/his own initiative. 11 The presiding officer is responsible for maintaining order at the meetings. Although meetings must be open to the public, no person who is noisy or unruly has a right to rema in in the Council Chambers. When individuals abuse their rights to be present, the presiding officer, subject to overrule by the Planning Commission, can order their removal from the room. 4 05: PUBLIC HEARING FORMAT : Public hearings shall be conducted in the following manner: 1 The presiding officer announces the agenda item that is the subject of the public hearing. 2 It is the intent of the Planning Commission to open all public hearings at the time indicated in the public hearing notice, or as soon as possible thereafter. From a practical standpoint, not all hearings can be opened at their designated time The Planning Commission may delay the start of a hearing until the pending business is acted upon. However under no circumstances may a public hearin g be opened prior to the time specified in the notice and published in the official newspaper. 3 Staff and/or a consultant make a presentation or report on the subject matter of the public hearing. 4 At the conclusion of any presentation or remarks by Staff and/or a consultant, the presiding officer asks the Planning Commission members if they have questions of the Staff or consultant. 5 The presiding officer requests a motion and second from a member of the Planning Commission to open the public hear ing and calls for a vote. 6 The presiding officer declares the public hearing opened, announces the time and then proceeds to ask for citizen input, comments and questions. 6.1 Members of the public, interested parties or their authorized representative s may address the Planning Commission orally. If the speaker intends to present written or hard copy materials to support their presentation to the Planning Commission , they must provide the Staff, at the time of their presentation or before, copies of th e original for distribution to Commissioners ; City Staff and the Recording Secretary. The materials will be included in the public record. If the speaker intends to present audio or video materials to support their presentation to the Planning Commission , such materials must be in an electronic format that is compatible with the City’s existing equipment. An audio or video presentation may not introduce testimony from any person other than the author. The electronic materials must be submitted to the St aff by 12:00 noon of the day of the meeting. 6.2 If unable to attend the meeting, members of the public, interested parties or their authorized representatives may submit written comments and M: \ Advisory Bodies and Committees \ Planning Commission \ PC Bylaws June 2012.doc 8 supporting materials. Nine (9) copies of the comments and mate rials must be submitted to the City Staff prior to the Planning Commission meeting. The comments and materials will be distributed to C ommissioners , City Staff, and the Recording Secretary. The written comments and materials will become part of the recor d, but will not be read aloud at the meeting 6.3 Recorded testimony if unable to attend a meeting. Members of the public, interested parties or their authorized representatives may submit testimony to the Planning Commission using a prerecorded audio or video communication . An audio or video communication must be in an electronic format that is compatible with the City’s existing equipment. An audio or video presentation may not introduce testimony from any person other than the author. The author of th e recorded testimony must provide nine (9) copies to the City Staff at least seven calendar days prior to the meeting in order to allow Staff an opportunity to view the presentation on the City’s equipment to make certain there are no technical difficultie s with the equipment. It is the responsibility of the individual using an audio or video format to consult with the City to determine compatibility. The City Department responsible for the agenda item will also prepare a brief summary of the audio or vid eo presentation. The presentation and the summary will be provided to the Planning Commission as part of the agenda package. The presentation and the summary will become a part of the public record. Generally, a genda p ackages are distributed to members of the Planning Commission on the Wednesday preceding the meeting. 7 After all persons have been heard, the presiding officer will ask twice whether there are any other persons in attendance who want to be heard on the matter pending. If there is no o ther testimony, the presiding officer requests a motion. There are two possible motions, seconds and votes:  A motion and second to close the public hearing. Once the vote is taken, the public hearing is closed. The presiding officer announces, for the record, the time the public hearing is closed: or  A motion and second to continue the public hearing to a date certain. The presiding officer, in consultation with the City Staff and Commissioners , shall select and announce a time and date certain for th e continued public hearing. No additional publication or notice requirements are needed if a hearing is continued to a later specified date. No public hearing may be continued more than once without re - notice, publishing the time, date, location and subjec t of the public hearing. 8 The Planning Commission addresses the subject matter through deliberation. The Planning Commission may ask questions of the Staff. If the public hearing has been closed C ommissioners should refrain from calling upon a member of the public except for the sole purpose of asking a question that can be answered by a “yes” or “no” response. The presiding officer will call upon each member of the Planning Commission for their comments and reaction to information received from the Staff presentation or public hearing comments. M: \ Advisory Bodies and Committees \ Planning Commission \ PC Bylaws June 2012.doc 9 9 If the public hearing has been closed, rather than continued until a date certain, the Planning Commission may take action on the subject matter. 4 06: QUORUM AND VOTING : At each meeting a majority of all the members appointed, at least three out of five, shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. The voting options available to the Planning Commission when a vote has been initiated are: aye ( affirmative ); nay ( negative vote ); and a qu alified abstention. When a vote is to be taken, the presiding officer shall first call for the ayes, then the nays, and if applicable, shall call for abstentions. The votes of each member shall be recorded in the minutes. If a member of the Planning Commis sion is absent during a vote, the member’s vote for the official minutes shall read as “absent”. SECTION 5 00: MOTIONS AND RESOLUTIONS 5 01: The Planning Commission may take formal action in one or two methods - motions , or resolutions. All motions in an y form require a second unless otherwise stated below. All votes of the Planning Commission in any of the two methods require a majority vote for approval unless otherwise specified below or prescribed by statute. 5 02: MOTIONS : A motion is a matter of pa rliamentary procedure. Motions are a formal method of bringing business before the Commission and for stating propositions on which a decision will have to be made. It also can be used in the form of a proposal so that the Planning Commission can act by re solution. Motions may be used to introduce resolutions, to amend them, and to take any other actions concerning them. Motions may also be used for action on simple administrative acts, such as approving the monthly department reports, or directing the Comm unity Development/Natural Resources staff. Every motion shall be stated in full and be reasonably understood, to the extent practical, before it is submitted to a vote by the presiding officer. 5 03: RESOLUTIONS : Resolutions are normally used to refle ct the Planning Commission position on items of business that do not require or warrant an ordinance. Resolutions may be enacted on a motion, which has been duly seconded, and received majority vote. The Community Development/Natural Resources Dir ector will maintain a record of all resolutions and will be responsible for the proper numbering and execution of each resolution adopted by the Planning Commission. SECTION 600: SCOPE OF POWERS AND DUTIES 6 01: POWERS AND DUTIES: The Commissi on shall act in an advisory capacity to the Prior Lake City Council and shall advise the City Council on issues related to zoning and development identified in Section 200 , except as provided by State Statute, or as assigned to the commission . T he Commi ss ion Chair shall give an accounting of the Commi ssion ’s activities with respect to its goals and objectives before the City Council. Additionally, specific powers, duties and responsibilities may be assigned to the Commi ssion upon approval of the City Coun cil. M: \ Advisory Bodies and Committees \ Planning Commission \ PC Bylaws June 2012.doc 10 502: SUBCOMMITTEES : The Commi ssion may divide its membership into Subcommittees as it deems necessary to implement its goals and objectives. SECTION 7 00 : AMENDMENTS 7 01: AMENDMENTS : These bylaws shall be reviewed by the Commission annually. The Commission may recommend revised Bylaws to the City Council for final approval. M: \ Advisory Bodies and Committees \ Planning Commission \ PC Bylaws June 2012.doc 11