HomeMy WebLinkAbout1973-11-27; Planning Commission; Resolution 9981 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 ' 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 PLANNING COMMISSION RESOLUTION NO. 998 A RESOLUTION OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF CARLSBAD REAFFIRMING THE PLANNING COMMISSION BY-LAWS POLICY NO. 1 WHEREAS, the Planning Commission has previously adopted By-laws to govern the Planning Commission Meetings; and WHEREAS, the Planning Commission believes that these By-Laws should be reviewed at this time; and WHEREAS, it has been determined that the adoption of this policy will not have a significant effect on the environment. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Planning Commission of the City of Carlsbad that upon review of the previously adopted Planning Commission By-Laws, as attached, the Planning Commission does reaffirm said By-Laws as being the approved pro-cedures for conducting Planning Commission meetings. PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED at a regular meeting of the Carlsbad City Planning Commission held on the 27th day of November, 1973, by the following vote, to wit: AYES: NOES: ABSENT: Commissioners Casler, Forman, Palmateer, Wrench and Little. None Commissioners Dominguez and Jose
• . ' MEMORANDUM TO: FROM: PLANNING COMMISSION PLANNING DEPARTMENT SUBJECT: PLANNING COMMISSION BY-LAWS AND PROCEDURES Attached is a memorandum directed to the Planning Commission from the City Attorney with reference ~o above subject,· for your review and comment. It is recommended that ~ny changes necessary should be made,and that the By-Laws and procedures be adopted. March 8, 1973 h')~~o~r DONALD A. AGATEP, t'\ Planning Director . -
. ' I MEMORANDUM DATE: March 7, 197.3 TO: Planning Commissioners FROM: City Attorney SUBJECT: By-Laws and Procedures The California Legislature added Code during their 1971 Session. actly one year ago. The Secti6n duct of city zoning hearings and Section 6580~ to the Government The measure was effective ex-p r o v i d e s s ta n d a rd s f o r th e c o n -reads in its entirety as follows: "Section 65804. Procedures governing city and county zoning hearinas. I_t shall be the purp·ose of this section to implement minimum procedural standards for the conduct of city and county zoning hearings. Further, it is the intent of the Legislature that this section pro-vide such standards to insure uniformity of, and public access to, zoning and planning hearings while main-taining the maximum control of cities and counties over zoning matters. · The following procedures shall govern city and county zoning hearings: (a) All local city and county zoning agencies shall develop and publish procedural rules for conduct of their hearings so that all interested parties shall have advance knowledge of procedures to be follows. (b) When a matter is contested and a fequest is made in writing prior to the date of the ~~aring, all local city and county planning agencies shall insure that a record of all such hearings shall be made a.nd duly preserved, a copy of which shall be available at cost. The city or county may require a deposit from the person making the request. (c) When a planning staff report exists, such report shall be made public prior to or at the beginning of the hearing and shall be a matter of public record. {d} l·lhcn any hearing is held on an application for a ch a n g e o f z o n c f o r p u l' c c 1 s o f i.l t 1 c a s t 1 0 a c r e s , a sti.lff report 1-1ith recorn1:1cnclations and the basis for such rccommcn<lations shall be include<l in the record of the hcuring .. tlot\-1ithstirndin~1 Section G5803, this section sh.ill apply to ch u rt c: 1· c d c i ti (•:; . "
V ·planning Commissioners March 7, 1973 Page 2 This office is concerned with the mandatory provisions in Sub-section (a) which require us to ad6pt fules of procedure for all Commission hearings. Our compliance with Section 65804 is now one year overdue. I would recommend that the Commission set aside a portion of their next meeting for discussion and adoption of a set of rules. A copy of the proposed rules previously be-fore the Commission is attached to this memorandum. Revisions have been made to reflect most of the Co~~ission's comments tQ -date. The Coram·ission ·should make any ·other changes necessary· and pass on the matter. It will always be possible to amend the rules after they are adopted to improve them in light of experience. One revision which should be noted was to Section 1.40 re~arding voting. The last sent~nce, which specified that an affirmative vote of four Commissioners was necessary for action, has been de-leted. If the Commissionirs desire a four-vote rule for all Commission actions, and there are-a number of good arguments in favor of such a rule, then the matter should be a part of the Municipal Code and not the By-Laws. An amendment to Chapter 2.24 of the Code regarding voting could be recommended to the Council at the same time as the Commission passed on the By-Laws and Rules. ···-Your'At-torney was ·no-t ab·1e·-to loca-te any -reference in-the Municipal Code to the vote required for Planning Commission action. State law requires four affirmative votes for adoption or amendment of any specific or general plan. All other Commission actions require only a majority of the quorum. VINCENT F. BIONDO, Jr. City Attorney VFB,Jr/ml Attach.
,. . •·· .. f Exfti:b'it "A'·' CITY OF CARLSBAD PLANNIN4 COMMISSION . BY-LAHS Pursuant to Chapter 2.24, Title 2 of the Carlsbad Municipal Code, the Planning Comr:ii ss ion hereby adopts these By.:.Laws as fo 1101-,s: ARTICLE 1 MEETINGS SECTION 1.10 REGULJ\R MEETINGS -Regu.lar meetings of the Planning Commission shall be held in the Council Chambers of City Hall, 1200 Elm Avenue, Carlsbad, California, commencing at the hour of 7:30 P.M. on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of each month, provided that if the regular meeting date falls on a legal holiday, said meeting shill be held at the same time and place on the next succeeding day which is not a holiday. At such regular meetings, the Planning Commission shall .c.ci'nsider all matters properly brought before it \·lithout the necessity of prior notice thereof given to any member, except as provided in Section 1.70. SECTION 1.20 SPECIAL MEETINGS -Special me~tings of the Planning Commission may be called by order of the Chairman, or in his absence, by the Vice-Chairman, or by 1-iritten request of four or more members of the Planning Corrrnission. Notice of a special meeting shall be given to the members of the Planning Commission, and shall be published in a local newspaper not less than ten (10) days prior to such meeting. . .. SECTION 1.30 QUORUM -Upon conducting the roll call, a majority of not less thc:i.n four (4) members shall constitute a quorum for all Planning Commission r.1cctings. In event there is no quorum formed, the Chairman, Vice-Chain:1c1n, Chairman Pro-Tempore or Secretary, as the case may be, may adjourn the meeting and such adjournment shall serve as sufficient notice to continue all mutters pending before the Planning Commission to its next regular meeting.
BY-LAWS Page 2 SECTION 1.40 VOTING -At all meetings of the Planning Commission, each member in attendance shall be entitled to cast one (1) vote. Voting shall be cast by voice, except for Resolutions, which case voting shall be cast by roll call vote. In the event that any member of the Planning Commission shall have a personal interest of any kind whatsoever in any matter pending before the Planning Commission, he shall so disclose his interest and disqualify himself from voting on such matter. The Secretary shall so record in the official minutes that no vote was cast by such member. SECTION 1.50 CONDUCT -The Chairman shall preside over all meetings of the Planning Commission. In the absence of the Chairman, the Vice-Chairman shall preside. In the absence of both the Chairman and Vice-Chairman, the members present shall elect a Chairman Pro-Tempore who shall only preside over the meeting at which he is elected. SECTION 1.60 ABSENCES -If any member is absent from any Planning Commission meeting due to illness or an unavoidable absence, he shall notify the Secretary as soon as feasibly possible and such notice shall be deemed absence for cause. If any member has prior knowledge that he will, in fact, be absent from any Planning Commission meeting, he shall notify the Secretary any time prior to such meeting for which he will be absent. In any case, if any member does not notify the Secretary of his absence, such absence shall be deemed an absence without cause. If any member is absent without cause from three (3) successive meetings of the Planning Commission, the office of such member shall be deemed vacant and the term of such member ipso facto terminated. The Chairman of the Planning Commission shall immediately thereafter inform the Mayor. SECTION 1.70 PROCEDURES -It shall be the duty of the Secretary to prepare and transmit an agenda for every meeting of the Planning Commission. Each member shall receive a copy of the agenda not less than three (3 days prior to the date of the meeting at which such agenda is to be considered. Pending business for every regular meeting of the Planning Commission shall be taken up and appear on the agenda in the following order: CALL TO ORDER ROLL CALL APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS ORAL COMMUNICATIONS PUBLIC HEARINGS
Page 3 , UNFINISHED BUSINESS NEW BUSINESS LATE ITEMS ADJOURNMENT Any matter, purstiant to law, that requires a public hearing, shall be set for a tirr.e, date and place certain by the Planning Commission. The Secretary shall then cause such matter to be noticed and published in the manner prescribed by 1 a1-1. ARTICLE 2. MEMBERSHIP Section 2.10 NUMBER -The Planning Commission shall consist of seven (7) members, each of which shall be app·ointed by the Mayor and approved by the City Council. SECTION 2.20 TERMS -Each member of the Planning Commission shall be appointed for a term of four (4) years, Should a vacancy occur other than by expiration of a term, such vacancy shall be filled by appointment for the unexpired portion of such vacated term. SECTIO// 2.30 OFFICERS -The officers of the Planning Commission .. shal"I .consist .of .a Chairman, Vice-Chairman and a Secretary. The Chairman and Vice-Chairman shall be elected by majority vote· of the members of the Planning Commission. The Secretary shall be the Director of Planning, and shall only be an ex-officio member serving to participate in all discussion, but without any vote. The terms of office for the Chairman and Vice-Chairman shall be governed by and at the discretion of the members of the Planning Commission. ARTICLE 3 RULES AND REGULATIONS SECTION 3.10 DUTIES -The Planning Corrmission shall perform the duties and have all-the rights, p01·1ers and privilege~ specified and provided for by Ordinances of this City, or by State Law. SECTIO/l 3.20 MU;lJT[S /\ND RECOt'.DS -It shull be the duty of the Secretary to keep the ot7Tcf5l-minutes of all meetings of the Planning Commission and to rn~intain all other official records pursuant to law including complete files of all proceedings and actions taken by the Planning Commission in conncc ti on the rc1·1ith. The Sec re ta ry s ha 11 transmit to each mcr.1bcr of the Pl,rnning Co:r:niission il full and complete cory of the minutes, incluclinsi copies of 2ny resolutions referred to therein, not more tlwn ten 10) dJys follm·1ing uny regul<1r meet"ing.'
B Y-LAl·IS Page 4 SECTION 3.30 RULES OF PROCEDURE -All meetings and Public Hearings of the Planning Commis~ion shall be conducted and governed by these By-Laws and the Rules of Procedure for the conduct of busi-ness as contained in Appendix I hereto. Further guidance as necessary may be obtained from the latest edition of Roberts Rules of Order. SECTION 3.40 AMEND~ENTS -These By-Laws may be amebded at any meeting of the Planning Iommission upon its own ~ction. APP·ENDlX I CONDUCT OF BUSINESS It must be remembe~dthat Commissioners are appointed by the Mayor·on approval of the City Council to serve as a recommending body for legislative enactments vested in the Council. 'The State of Califorriia follows the Council type of government where it is the function of the representatives to do that which in their best judgment is proper, the same of which applies to the Planning Com-mission. Furthermore, the State of California does not follow the "Town Meeting" type of government \·1here the people legislate. Therefore~. the Planning Commission has the authority to limit debate on any subject ind to act in good faith regardless of the viewpoints of limited minorities. The purpose of meetings is for the Planning Commission to debate openly on particular matters, to hear public expression· thereon, and to inform the public of \-Jhat the Planning Commission-is doing. rlo Planning Commission is infallible and it is proper that public opinion be sought, but no Commissioner can permit his judgment to become subservient to the criticism of Planning Com-mission meeting attendants.· Conversely, Commissioners should remem-ber that they are not free agents in recommending the administration of the affairs of government. It is the responsibility of the Chairman upon advice of the City Attorney to control debate so that repetitive or irrelevant remarks are not made, and so that everyone has had a chance to~sir-eak before others speak for a second time, and to expedite the business at hand. The responsibility of making recomm~ndations is not easy nor without its problems, but it is the responsibility of Commissioners to vote and recommend issues, regardless of personal hesitation. The purpose of government is to balance, legally, fairly and without favor, the limitations, restrictions or losses that are to be placed upon the indiviclual(s) aguinst the good, the benefit or welfare of, or to a majority of the people. ..
.. . CY-LAWS Page 5 • r In accordance with Section 3.30, Article 3, the following repre-sents the typical Conduct of Business and should be used as a: reference: CALL TO ORDEP--The presiding officer shall call the meeting to order by announcing -"The Planning Commission of the Citi'of ~arlsbad, California is now in session." ROLL CALL -The presiding officer shall instruct the Secretary to call the rol1 by announcing -"Roll Call" ·APPROVAL ·oF "MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING -The presiding officer shall announce -"The reading of the minutes of.the Planning Commission meeting of · (date) is now in order." If there are no corrections, the minutes may be approved as mailed by saying -"Mr. Chairman, I move that the minut~s of the Planning Commission meeting of (date) be approved a~ mailed." "Mr. Chairman, I second the motion." The presiding officer announces -"It has been moved and seconded that the Planning Commission meeting of (date) as ma i 1 e d . I f there a r.e no object i on s , ·ordered." · minutes of the be approved (paµse) so WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS -The presiding officer shall call for the first order of communications by saying -"Mr. Secretary are there any writt~n communications now pending before the Planning Commission?" The Secretary will present written communications as they appear on the agenda. The presiding officer shall inquire -"Does any member wish to make a comment regarding the communication?" If so, each member shall address his remark through the presiding officer by saying -"Mr. Chairman, I. • . •• etc." Follo1·1ing comments, the presiding officer says -,.,; "If there are no further comments, (pause) the communi-cation is ordered to be received and filed."
Page 6. -,-. ORAL COt·t"lllnICATI011S -The presiding officer shall call for the second order of communications by saying -11Is there any member of the audience who desires to address the Planning Commission? •..•..•••• If so, will you please come fon1ard and state yo·ur name and address for the record." Foll01'ling comments, the presiding officer shall state -"If there are no further comments, (pause) the ·· Comnrission ·shall entertain the next item of business." PUBLIC HEARIMGS -The presiding officer shall call for the first -order of public hearings by saying -"Mr. Secretary, are there any public hearings now pending before the Planning Commission?" The Secretary \'Ii 11 present the pub 1 i c hearings as they appear on the Agenda by announcing - · "This is the time and place set for public hearing in the matter of (Case No.) All notices have been mailed and published in the manner prescribed by l a1·1 and (number) written correspond_ence has been received." The presiding officer declares the public he_aring open by announcing -"The Public hearing is now open on the matter of (case no.) Mr. Secretary, will you present the.Staff Repcrt." The Secretary will present the Planning Department report on the case pending before the Planning Commission. Upon conclusion of the Planning Department's presentation, the presiding officer shall inquire -"Is the applicant or his representative present and do they \'Ii sh to speak?"
I \4~'-# • • _ Upon conclusion of the appli~ant's testimony, the presiding officer sha 11 ask "Are there any persons present wishing to present evidence in favor of the.application?" Upon conclusion of testimony in favor of the application, the-·pre-siding officer shall ask -"Are there any persons present wishing to present evidence in opposition to the application?" Upon conclusion of the opposing testimony, the presiding officer shall offer the applicant or his representative rebuttal by inquiring -"If the applicant or his representative has rebuttal testimony that he desires to introduce, it will now be received." · Upon conclusion of the rebuttal testimony, the presiding officer sha 11 inquire -· "any quest_i.ons?" Any member may request a clarification of the testimony presented at the public hearing. Each member wishing such clarification shall address his question through the presiding officer by saying -a Mr. Chairman, I have a question for •••• etc." Upon conclusion of re-examination, should , for any reason, any member of the Planning Commission not be satisfied with the evidence submitted, he should so state by saying -"Mr. Chairman, I ..• . . . . . . . •• etc." During the course of the public hearing, if the Planning Commission is not satisfied that sufficient evidence has been presented, the public hearing may be held_open and continued by saying -"Mr. Chairman, I move that the public hearing in .-:.·the matter of (case ~_2 __ J_ be continued to the Planning Co~mission ~ccting of (date) to allow the (appl icc1nt, opponents, Plannwglic-pt., etc.) sufficient tine to introduce additional evidence in this mi\lter." "Mr. Chai ri:1an, I second the mot ion." The presiding officer announces -"It 11,1'..i been 111ovcd and seconded that the public lica~ing in the matter of(ci1c;e no.) be continuc~d to the • · ..
I U!;;J\.,;. V• Planning Commission meeting of (date). Roll Call. Assuming that the motion has carried, the presiding officer announces -0 (Case No.) has been continued to the Planning Commission meeting of {date) and such action shall constitute sufficient notice to all parties concerned." Again, during the course of the public hearing, should the Plahning Commission b2 satisfied that the evidence presented is sufficient enough to render an action, the Chairman 1•1ill declare the hearing -closed--by-saying -01 declare the public hearing in the matter of (case no.) closed and no further evidence sha 11 be received." Whenever the Planning Commission is considering a public hearing, it shall serve as a quasi-judicial body, and its responsibility shall only be to judge the issue solely upon the evidence presented during such public hearing. No open discussion during a public hearing pending before the Planning Cor.:nission shall be permitted. The members shall bear constantly in mind that the Planning Commission serves successively in tl•:o (2) capacities: First, it is a quasi-judicial body when considering public hearings, and; Second, it is a fact-finding body when any action is to be -rendered on all matters pending before it. Followin~ action to close a public hearing, the presiding officer shall recognize any member of the Planning Commission who wishes to be heard. Open discussion among the Planning Commission n'.embers and ex-officio staff only shall be permitted. Participation from the audience is expressly prohibited. When debate has terminated, action to either approve or deny the application may be initiated by a Commissioner proposing a motion as follo\'ls: "Mr. Chairman, I move the adoption of a Resolution of iapproval or denial) for the reasons in Staff Report and subject to the concfitio-ns therein (additional factual findings, reasons or conditions should be added as appropriate~ · "Mr. Chairman, I second the motion." The presiding officer shall state the motion and call for discussion under the question, if any. At this point, if there is no further discussion, the presiding officer shall orclc:· the resolution read by saying -"Mr. Secretory, please read the resolution."
u1-Lr\n'J Page 9 The Secretary will read the resolution by title only. Following the reading of the title, the presiding officer shall move, with the consent of the Commission, that further reading be waived. On consent of the Conmiission, the Cl1airman then announces -"It has -been moved and seconded to adopt the resolution, roll call .. " If the motion is approved by the vote required by law for the par-ticular action of the Planning Commission, the resolution is passed and adopted. If the motion is not approved by the required number of members, the motion fails and the resolution is not passed or adopted and subsequent motions may then be introduced_ and such action shall fol-low the same course as outlined above. UNFINISHED BUSINESS -'l'he presiding officer shall call for the first order of unfinished business by saying -"Mr. Secretary, is there any unfinished business now before the Commission?" The Secretary will present all matters, as they appear on the agenda for which the PlannintJ .Commission is required to render an action. NEW BUSINESS -Any new business appearing on the agenda shall have an ctction rendered by the Planning Commission, and in any case, the debate is limited to members and ex-officio merrbers only. In the case of any other business which is to be considered by the Planni~g Commission, any member may introduce such business as he deems im-portant ur.der this order of business. LATE ITEMS -The Secretary may, from time to time, present other Eusiness matters which in his judgment may be of importance to the Planning Commission, but which \-1ere filed after the final date for closing the agenda. Such matters may be considered for disposition, but in any such case, the Planning Corunission s;1all have the sole -· discretion as to whether such matters will, in fact, be considered. ADJOURNtlENT -Upon conclusion of the dispensing with all business matters pending, the Planning Co~nission shall adjourn its meeting. Such adjournment shall automaticctlly constitute, without any further notice, that such 1neeting shall reconvene at the next scheduled meeting date, ti.me and place as provided for in Section 1.10, Article 1. HEVISED l\S OP 3··7-7 3