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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2022-03-02; Planning Commission; Resolution 7442PLANNING COMMISSION RESOLUTION NO. 7442 A RESOLUTION OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF CARLSBAD, CALIFORNIA, ADOPTING PLANNING COMMISSION PROCEDURES The Planning Commission of the City of Carlsbad hereby resolves as follows: The Planning Commission is charged with reviewing for conformance with law and city policy all land use developments, elements of the general plan, city ordinances, local facilities management plans, and other plans and programs requiring discretionary approval within the City of Carlsbad. Projects are reviewed for consistency with the general plan, zoning, the growth management plan, local facilities management plans, and the local coastal program, among other things. In reaching its decisions, the Commission must at all times be sensitive to citizen concerns as expressed in public hearings and public correspondence, while at the same time ensuring the long-term welfare of the city and acting with consistency and continuity in its application of the law and city policies. In the same manner, the Commission must weigh the needs and desires of applicants who come before it. To assist them in reaching their decisions, the Commissioners will receive ongoing technical and background information and guidance from the staff, including instruction on matters of policy, city standards and procedures, City Council decisions and staffs recommendations as to what provides the greatest benefit to the citizens of Carlsbad. The Commissioners are also expected, on their own initiative, to take such additional steps as they feel necessary to discharge their duties in a well- informed and conscientious manner. The Commission's actions are final in some instances, and in matters reserved by the Council, advisory only. The goal of the Commission in all matters is to act in the best interests of the City of Carlsbad and its citizens as a whole. Planning Commission Resolution No. 7345 is hereby rescinded and replaced in its entirety by this resolution. Chapter 1.20 of the Carlsbad Municipal Code contains procedures applicable to the conduct of Planning Commission Meetings. In regard to the application of Chapter 1.20 to the conduct of business by the Planning Commission references in Chapter 1.20 to "City Council" should be replaced with "Planning Commission", the word "Mayor" should be replaced with "Chairperson", the word "Council Member" with "Planning Commissioner", and "City Manager" with "City Planner". The following procedures and rules for the conduct of Planning Commission Meetings are adopted to supplement the requirements contained in Chapter 1.20 and 2.15 of the Carlsbad Municipal Code: Sections: I. Officers: A. Powers and duties of Chairperson II. Meetings of the Planning Commission A. Types of meetings: 1. Regular 2. Study sessions or workshops B. Voting: 1. Disqualification for conflict of interest 2. Failure to vote C. Meeting Agenda: 1. How and when prepared 2. Preparation of resolutions D. Correspondence: 1. Available at meeting 2. Authority of City Planner E. Conduct of business: readiness for meeting F. Call to order G. Roll call H. Order of business Ill. Public Hearings: A. When held B. Procedure and order of business C. Continuation D. Termination of public testimony E. Decision F. Closing G. Reopening IV. Resolutions: A. Commission action B. Adoption V. Correction of documents VI. Failure to observe procedures VII. Ralph M. Brown Act I. OFFICERS: A. POWERS AND DUTIES OF CHAIRPERSON: 1. The Chairperson of the Commission shall be the Presiding Officer at all meetings of the Planning Commission. 2. The Chairperson may move, second debate, and vote from the Chair. The Chairperson shall not be deprived of any of the rights and privileges of a Commissioner by reason of acting as Chairperson. 3. The Chairperson, or such person as the Chairperson may designate, may verbally restate each motion immediately prior to calling for the vote. Following the vote, the Chairperson shall announce whether the motion carried or was defeated. PC RESO NO. 7442 -2- 4. The Chairperson shall be responsible for the maintenance of order and decorum at all meetings, and shall decide all questions of order and procedure, subject, however, to an appeal to the Commission, in which case the matter shall be determined by majority vote of the Commission. 5. The Chairperson shall sign all resolutions and other documents requiring their signature which were adopted in their presence unless he or she is unavailable, in wh ich case an alternate Chairperson may sign such documents. II. MEETINGS OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION: A. TYPES OF MEETINGS: 1. Regular Meetings: The Planning Commission shall hold regular meetings on the first and third Wednesday of each month at the hour of 5:00 PM, in the Council Chambers at the City Hall, 1200 Carlsbad Village Drive, Carlsbad, or such other place as shall be duly noticed. If, by reason of fire, flood or other emergency, it shall be unsafe to meet in the Council Chambers, the meetings may be held for the duration of the emergency at such other place as designated by the Chairperson of the Commission, or if the Chairperson fails to act, by a majority of the quorum of the Commission. When the day for any regular meeting falls on a legal holiday, such meeting shall be held at the same hour and place on the next succeeding day not a holiday or such other time as designated by the Planning Commission. At least 72 hours before a regular meeting, the agenda of the meeting shall be posted in a location that is freely accessible to members of the public. No action shall be taken on any item not appearing on the agenda. 2. Study Session or Workshop: The Commission may from time to time adjourn to meet in study sessions. The purpose of such sessions shall be for hearing reports from the staff and reviewing, discussing and debating matters of interest to the Planning Commission. No official action shall be taken at a study session . Study sessions shall be considered public meetings, in accordance with the Ralph M. Brown Act, and shall be open to the public. However, the comments of the public in such session shall be subject to the discretion of the Chairperson. B. VOTING : 1. Disqualification for conflict of interest: If a Commissioner has reason to think a conflict of interest may exist, he/she shall give the facts of the matter to the City Attorney and request advice thereon prior to the meeting. Any Commissioner who is disqualified from voting on a particular matter by reason of a conflict of interest shall publicly state or have the Chairperson state the nature of such disqualification in the open Commission meeting. A Commissioner who is disqualified by reason of a conflict of interest in any matter shall request and be given the permission of the Chairperson to step down from the Commission seat and leave the chamber. A Commissioner stating such disqualification shall not be counted as a part of a quorum and shall be considered absent for the purpose of determining the outcome of any vote on such matter. PC RESO NO. 7442 -3- 2. Failure to vote: Every Commissioner should vote unless disqualified by reason of conflict of interest. A Commissioner who abstains from voting acknowledges that a majority of the quorum may decide the question voted upon. C. MEETING AGENDA: 1. How and when prepared: In order to facilitate the orderly conduct of the business of the Commission, an agenda shall be prepared for each regular meeting containing the specific items of business to be transacted and the order thereof. Items of business may be placed on the agenda by the majority vote of the members of the Commission, the City Planner or the City Attorney. Whenever feasible, each item on the agenda shall contain the project name and case number, location (within the city}, brief description, the specific Commission action requested and a staff recommendation. At least 72 hours before a regular meeting, the agenda of the meeting shall be posted in a location that is freely accessible to members of the public. 2. Preparation of Resolutions: All resolutions shall be prepared by the City Planner or City Attorney. No resolution shall be presented to the Commission unless its form has been approved by the City Attorney. This approval need not be indicated on the resolution. D. CORRESPONDENCE: 1. Available at meeting: a. Correspondence received specific to an agenda item shall become a part of the record for that agenda item and be filed with the Minutes Clerk of the Commission. Correspondence shall not be read aloud at a Commission meeting unless requested by a majority vote of the Commission. b. Sufficient copies of each item of correspondence shall be provided so that each Commissioner, City Planner and City Attorney will have a copy in a timely manner. In addition, three additional copies for public inspection at the meeting shall be provided. 2. Authority of City Planner: The City Planner is authorized to open and examine all mail or other written communications addressed to the Planning Commission, except correspondence addressed to individual Planning Commission members, and to give it warranted attention to the end that all administrative business referred to in said communications and not requiring Planning Commission action may be acted upon between Commission meetings provided that all communications and any action taken pursuant thereto shall be reported to the Planning Commission. a. Correspondence deemed to be of an important or urgent nature may be submitted for Commission consideration at a Planning Commission meeting. E. CONDUCT OF BUSINESS: READINESS FOR MEETING: At the time set for each regular meeting, each member of the Commission, the City Planner, Minutes Clerk, City Attorney and such department heads or others as have been requested to be present shall take their regular places in the Council Chambers. The business of the Commission shall be conducted in substantially the order and in the manner herein provided. PC RESO NO. 7442 -4- F. CALL TO ORDER: The Chairperson, or in their absence the Vice-Chairperson, shall take the chair at the hour appointed for the meeting and shall call the Commission to order. In the absence of the Chairperson and the Vice-Chairperson, the City Planner shall call the Commission to order, whereupon a temporary Chairperson shall be elected by the Commission members present. Upon the arrival of the Chairperson or the Vice-Chairperson, the temporary Chairperson shall relinquish the chair at the conclusion of the business then before the Commission. Whenever the term 'Chairperson' is used in these rules, and the Chairperson is absent, it shall apply equally to the Vice-Chairperson, and if they are also absent, to the Chairperson elected pursuant to this section. G. ROLL CALL: Before proceeding with the business of the Commission, the Minutes Clerk or Chairperson shall call the roll of the Commission Members and the names of those present shall be entered in the minutes. H. ORDER OF BUSINESS: The order of business established on the agenda shall be followed unless the Chairperson, with the consent of a majority of the Commission, permits a matter to be taken out of the regular agenda order: 1. Call to Order 2. Pledge of Allegiance 3. Roll Call 4. Approval of Minutes 5. Comments from the public on items not listed in the Agenda 6. Statement of Planning Commission Procedures 7. Continued Items 8. Public Hearing(s) 9. Non-public Hearing(s) 10. Planning Commission Member Comments 11. City Planner Comments 12. City Attorney Comments 13. Adjournment Ill. PUBLIC HEARINGS: A. WHEN HELD: 1. Whenever by law the Commission is required to hold a public hearing on any matter before it, such hearing will be held in accordance with the rules contained in the Carlsbad Municipal Code Chapter 1.20 and procedures set forth in this resolution. Nothing herein shall prohibit or limit the Commission from holding a public hearing on the matter before it, whether required by law or not. Nothing herein shall prohibit or limit any member of the public from addressing the Commission in accordance with the procedures provided for in these rules irrespective of whether or not a public hearing is held. 2. All public hearings shall be scheduled to begin at a time certain which shall be the hour the Commission convenes. The Commission shall hold such hearings in order, in accordance with the schedule on the agenda at that time or as soon thereafter as practicable. PC RESO NO. 7442 -5- B. PROCEDURE AND ORDER OF BUSINESS: 1. The Chairperson shall announce that it is the time and place for a public hearing scheduled on the agenda. 2. Prior to all Commission public hearings copies of the Commission's agenda with attachments, including the staff report, if any, shall be available at the Office of the City Planner at least twenty-four hours prior to commencement of the hearing; provided, however, the Commission may allow in its discretion the filing of supplemental materials which shall be made public at the commencement of the hearing. Any materials presented to the Commission which have not previously been made available for public inspection shall be made available as soon after the meeting as practicable. 3. The order of the hearing shall be as follows unless otherwise required by law: a. Presentation of Staff Report b. Questions from the Commission to Staff c. Presentation, if any, by the Applicant d. Questions from the Commission to the Applicant e. Testimony of Public f. Response of Applicant g. Termination of public testimony h. Discussion by Commission -Further Questions of Staff i. Planning Commission Vote j. Public Hearing Closed 4. The Commissioners should raise issues or concerns during the course of a public hearing so that the applicant or the public has an opportunity to address those issues. If a proposed condition is discussed for the first time after the public testimony is closed, the Chairperson shall allow sufficient time to the applicant to address the change or addition. Members of the general public may also be allowed to address the change if directly impacted by the proposed condition. C. CONTINUATION: At anytime that it appears to the Chairperson or a majority of the Commission through the Chairperson, that inadequate evidence has been presented to afford judicious consideration of any matter before the Commission at the time of a public hearing, or for other just cause, a continuation of said hearing may be ordered to afford the applicant, the public, or the city staff adequate time to assemble additional evidence for the Commission's consideration. Any continuation ordered by the Commission through its Chairperson may be to a date certain, which said date shall be publicly announced in the Council Chambers and shall constitute notice to the public of the time and place that further evidence will be taken . No further notice is necessary; however, the continuation may be to a date uncertain, in which case it shall be announced that the matter will be re-noticed. If the hearing is continued to a time less than 24 hours after the time specified in the notice of hearing, a copy of the notice of continuance of hearing shall be posted immediately following the meeting at which the order of continuance was made. The public announcements provided for herein shall constitute notice to the applicant and public of time and place when further evidence will be taken by the Commission. The Commission shall also have the option to set the matter to a new hearing. D. TERMINATION OF PUBLIC TESTIMONY: When the public has no further evidence to present, when in the opinion of the Chairperson no new public evidence is being presented or when in the opinion of the Chairperson the evidence is not substantive, the Chair may close the presentation of evidence. PC RESO NO. 7442 -6- E. DECISION: 1. When neither the applicant, the public, nor the city Staff have further evidence to produce, or when in the opinion of the Chairperson sufficient evidence has been presented, no further evidence either oral or written will be accepted by the Commission; provided, however, that this rule may be relaxed by the Chairperson or the majority of the Commission through the Chairperson when it appears that good cause exists to hear further evidence concerning the matter which is the subject of the public hearing. The Commission shall consider all evidence properly before it in accordance with these procedures. The Commission shall then act upon the item. The Commission may instruct the City Planner to return with the documents necessary to affect the decision, including findings as may be appropriate to the matter. Upon return of such documents, the Commission shall determine if the findings are supported by the evidence before it at the hearing and if the decision is supported by the findings and, after making any changes, render its decision by taking action on the documents. The Commission's decision is not final until adoption of the documents. 2. A Commissioner who was absent from all or a part of a public hearing shall not participate in a decision on the matter unless they have examined all the evidence including listening to a recording of the oral testimony, if a recording is made, or listening to a recording of the minutes or reading a transcription of same and can represent that they have a full understanding of the matter. F. CLOSING: Following a vote by the Commission, the Chairperson shall close the public hearing. G. REOPENING: A public hearing on any matter once closed cannot be reopened on the date set for hearing unless the Chairperson determines that all persons who were present when the hearing closed are still present. Nothing herein, however, is intended to prevent or prohibit the reopening of a public hearing at any subsequent regular or special meeting of the Commission. No public hearing may be reopened without due and proper notice being given to the applicant and the public designating the time and place of said opening. V. RESOLUTIONS: A. COMMISSION ACTION: Formal Commission .action on all items before it shall be made by resolution. When necessary the resolution shall contain appropriate findings and declarations. B. ADOPTION: 1. Where a particular resolution has been prepared and is before the Commission, it shall be adopted by motion, second, discussion and vote. It is not necessary to read the resolution by title or in full provided it is identified by the Chairperson. Upon request of any member of the Commission, the resolution shall be read by title or in full. 2. Where a particular resolution has not been prepared, a motion to direct the City Planner to prepare the document and return it to the Commission is in order. 3. Where necessary, a resolution may be presented verbally in motion form together with instructions for written preparation. Upon execution of such a resolution, it shall become an official action of the Commission. PC RESO NO. 7442 -7-