The purpose of the Planning Commission hereby created shall be to review all land use applications prior to the Town Council action and make formal recommendations based on this Chapter as well as any related ordinance or plan.

(Ord. No. 3.43, Art. I, § 2.1, 6-3-1987; Ord. No. 3.118, § 1, 7-21-2016)

The Planning Commission shall have power, except as otherwise provided by law:

(1)

To make and adopt a Town Master Plan.

(2)

To review and approve conceptual plans, when applicable.

(3)

To review and make recommendations to the Town Council for amendments to this Chapter and for rezoning of land.

(4)

To review and make recommendations to the Town Council for other planning and zoning matters.

(Ord. No. 3.43, Art. I, § 2.2, 6-3-1987; Ord. No. 3.118, § 1, 7-21-2016)

(a)

The Planning Commission shall consist of five members appointed by the Town Council. All of the members of the Planning Commission shall be residents of the Town and shall be appointed for three-year terms.

(b)

Two associate members to the Planning Commission may be appointed by the Town Council. Each associate member shall be a resident of the Town. In the event that any regular member of the Planning Commission is temporarily unable to act owing to absence from the Town, illness, interest in a matter before the Planning Commission or any other cause, his or her place may be taken by an associate member during such temporary disability. The term of associate members of the Planning Commission shall be two years.

(c)

Any member of the Planning Commission may be removed by the Town Council for nonperformance of duty or misconduct. Vacancies for either regular or associate members shall be filled for the remainder of the unexpired term by the Town Council.

(d)

Members of the Planning Commission shall receive no compensation by the Town, except for reimbursement for actual expenses incurred and mileage for attending official and special meetings.

(e)

The Planning Commission shall elect from its members a Chairperson and a Vice Chairperson, whose terms shall be for one year. Other positions may be created by the Planning Commission when needed.

(f)

The Planning Commission shall adopt such rules and regulations governing its proceedings as it may consider necessary or advisable. Such rules and regulations shall be consistent with the guidelines of this Chapter, the Town Charter and appropriate state statutes.

(g)

The Planning Commission shall meet when necessary to review and process applications and other requests submitted to the Planning Commission. An agenda of items shall be made available to the public before the meeting.

(h)

A quorum shall be four regular or associate members of the Planning Commission. No meeting shall be held unless a quorum is present. In the absence of a quorum, any convened meeting shall be terminated by the presiding members within a reasonable time after gathering. A majority vote of the voting members present is required for a recommendation or determination. In the event of a dissenting vote by one or more members of the Planning Commission, a roll call vote shall be recorded in the minutes of the meeting.

(i)

A secretary to the Planning Commission shall be appointed by the Town Council to be present at all regular and special meetings of the Planning Commission. The secretary shall take the minutes of the meeting in an appropriate manner approved by the Planning Commission. The minutes shall be made a matter of public record within a practical time after the official meeting of the Planning Commission and will be available at the Town Hall. Anyone wishing to have a transcript of the proceedings may have a court reporter present at his or her own expense.

(Ord. No. 3.43, Art. I, § 2.3, 6-3-1987; Ord. No. 3.63, §§ 1, 2, 6-19-1997; Ord. No. 3.118, § 1, 7-21-2016)

(a)

Review. The Planning Commission shall review responses from referral agencies, staff comments and recommendations and the proposal submitted by the applicant on planning or zoning matters at a public meeting held to discuss the request.

(1)

Whenever the Planning Commission decides to continue review of a matter before it, it may do so without further notice to affected parties or posting of the property. The matter continued shall be scheduled to a time certain, not to exceed 30 days from the date of the meeting at which it was to be heard, unless the Planning Commission receives written consent from the applicant to extend the time period up to an additional 30 days.

(2)

The failure of the Planning Commission to act on any proposal within the specified review period shall be considered by the Town Council as a recommendation for approval of the request submitted for its review. The Planning Commission shall notify the applicant of the decision of the Planning Commission in writing within one week after the meeting at which the decision is made.

(b)

Recommendation. After reviewing a proposal, any related information and discussion on the proposal, the Planning Commission shall:

(1)

Make one of the following written recommendations to the Town Council for its review and action:

a.

Approval of the proposal without conditions;

b.

Conditional approval of the proposal indicating the conditions; or

c.

Denial of the proposal indicating the reason for the recommendation of denial.

(2)

Continue the request until a date and time certain in order to obtain more information about the request before it.

(Ord. No. 3.43, Art. I, § 2.4, 6-3-1987; Ord. No. 3.118, § 1, 7-21-2016)