1. There is hereby created a commission to be known and designated as the Planning Commission of Ballard, Utah, to be appointed and to hold office as is set forth hereunder, pursuant to §10-9a-301 of Utah State Code (as amended).
2. The Planning Commission shall consist of five (5) members, and two (2) alternative members, each to be appointed by the MayortheMayor with the advice and consent of the City Council.
3. The PlanningThePlanning Commission should consist of members from various fields of expertise.
4. The five members of the Planning Commission and two alternates shall be residents of the City. In making appointments to the Planning Commission the following criteria shall be considered by the City Council: 
   1. Geographic location. An effort should be made to provide a reasonable geographic distribution of members throughout the City.
   2. Education, occupation, and expertise. While it is desirable to have members with a wide variety of background and training, consideration should also be given to skills, knowledge, expertise, and experience in the areas of land use planning, zoning, subdivision development, or related fields, the processes involved, and the members role therein.
5. Alternatives may fully participate in work meetings, but will only be allowed to participate in regular or special meetings of the Planning Commission when they are needed to fill a vacancy during the temporary absence of a regular member. Alternatives may only vote while filling the vacancy of a primary member. Alternatives shall take turns when filling in for an absent member. It shall be the duty of the Chair of the Planning Commission to determine the order and turns of the alternatives.

The terms of office for the Planning Commission members will be four (4) years. The Planning Commission members' terms will be staggered so that no more than two (2) members' terms will expire at the same time. Each member shall hold office until their successor is appointed and qualified.

The City Council may fix per diem compensation for the members of the Planning Commission, based on necessary and reasonable expenses and on meetings actually attended.

The Planning Commission shall have the powers, duties and responsibilities provided by State law, by this ordinance, and as are from time to time lawfully delegated by the Ballard City Council. Specifically, the Planning Commission's authority is to:

1. Prepare, or cause to be prepared, the General Plan all elements thereof, and amendments thereto, and to submit such plan, elements, or amendments to the City Council;
2. Prepare or cause to be prepared all land use ordinances, including the subdivision and zoning ordinance, official maps, all standards, and requirements thereof, and all amendments thereto, and to submit such ordinances, official maps, standards, requirements, and all amendments zoning maps, official maps, and amendments to the City Council;
   
3. When indicated as the Land Use Authority, review and approve, approve with conditions or modifications, or deny all conditional use applications;
   
4. When indicated as the Land Use Authority, review and approve, approve with conditions or modifications, or deny subdivision applications, and when indicated as a Reviewing Body recommend approval, approval with conditions or modifications, or denial of subdivision applications as authorized by the subdivision ordinance;
   
5. Act as an Appeal Authority when required by the subdivision or land use ordinances;
   
6. Advise the City Council on matters as the City Council may direct;
7. Adopt bylaws, policies, and procedures for the conduct of the duties and meetings of the Planning Commission, for the consideration of applications and for any other purposes deemed necessary by the Planning Commission, provided that such bylaws, policies, and procedures are approved by the City Council before taking effect.
8. Exercise any other powers that are necessary to enable it to perform its functions.

The Planning Commission may adopt rules and procedures, as it may deem necessary for the proper conduct of its business. The Mayor shall appoint a recording secretary to serve the Planning Commission. The Planning Commission shall keep a record of its proceedings andthe minutes will be the official record of all proceedings, attested to by a majority vote of the members of the Commission. This record shall be open to inspection by the public after the City receives a written request and has an opportunity to schedule an appointment.

1. The Planning Commission shall elect a chairperson and chairperson or "chair" and vice chairperson or "vice chair" and such other officers as deemed necessary from among its members, whose terms will be for one year starting in January and ending in December.
2. In the absence of the Chair, the Vice Chair shall act as Chair and shall have all powers of the Chair. The Chair, or in the Chair's absence, Vice Chair, shall be in charge of all proceedings before the Planning Commission, and shall take such actions as necessary to preserve order and the integrity of all proceedings before the planning commission.

The Planning Commission shall conduct regularly scheduled meetings. These regularly scheduled meetings shall be noticed on the City Administrative Building's bulletin board and during December of each year, the subsequent year's scheduled meetings shall be published in the local newspaper pursuant to State statutes. The Planning Commission may call for special meetings. Special meetings may be requested by a majority vote of the Planning Commission or by the Chair. If a matter is postponed due to the lack of a quorum, the Chair shall reschedule the matter to the next available Planning Commission meeting. The Recording Secretary will notify interested parties and all members of the Planning Commission of the date of the continued meeting. All meetings of the Planning Commission shall be open to the public.

1. Three (3) members of the Planning Commission shall constitute a quorum. No meeting shall be called to order, nor may any business be transacted without a quorum being present. The Chair shall be included for the purposes of establishing a quorum and shall act as a voting member of the Planning Commission.
2. All actions of the Planning Commission shall require the vote of a majority of the total members of the Planning Commission. A majority vote of the Planning Commission shall consist of at least a majority of members present.
3. The Planning Commission shall transmit reports of its decisions and recommendations to the City Council. Any member of the Planning Commission may also make a concurring or dissenting report or recommendation to the City Council.
4. All decisions of the Planning Commission shall become effective on the date of the meeting when the decision is made, unless a different date is designated in the rules of the Planning Commission or the Planning Commission designates a different date when the decision is made.

The Planning Commission may, upon the approval of the City Council, employ experts and staff, including consultants and a secretary, and pay expenses, exclusive of gifts, as may be reasonable and necessary for carrying out the duties defined in this ordinance; given, that expenditures may not exceed the amount appropriated for the operation of the Commission by the City Council.

Vacancies of appointed members occurring other than through the ending of terms will be filled for the remainder of the unexpired term by appointment from of the City Council. The Mayor with the consent of the City Council shall have the right to remove any member for nonperformance of duty. Nonperformance of duty will include a repeated failure to attend Planning Commission meetings defined as an absence of three (3) consecutive meetings or twenty-five percent (25%) of meetings in a calendar year.