(a) Officers. The planning board shall hold an organizing meeting annually in the month of August. At that meeting, the planning board shall elect one of its members to serve as chair and preside over the board's meetings and one member to serve as vice-chair to serve as acting chair in the absence of the chair. The persons so designated shall serve in these capacities for one year and shall be eligible for reelection. Vacancies in these offices may be fille for the unexpired term only.
(b) Meetings.
(1) Other than the organizing meeting, meetings of the planning board shall be held at the call of the chair and at such other times as the majority of the board may determine. All meetings of the planning board shall be open to the public. The board shall keep minutes of its procedures, snowing the vote of each member upon each question, or, if absent or failing to vote, an indication of such fact and final disposition of all matters before the board, all of which shall be of public record. The concurring vote of four-fifths of the members of the board shall be necessary to grant a variance. A majority of the members shall be required to make an advisory or legislative decision or decide any other quasi-judicial matter or to determine an appeal made in the nature of certiorari.
(2) Vacant positions on the planning board and members who are disqualified from voting on a quasi-judicial matter shall not be considered members of the planning board for calculation of the requisite majority if there are no qualified alternates available to take the place of such members.
(c) Quasi-judicial procedures.
(1) Notice of hearing. The planning board shall set a hearing on an appeal of an administrative decision, a variance request, a special use permit, or any other quasi-judicial matter within a reasonable time, not to exceed 60 days, following receipt of an appropriate notice or application. The planning board shall give notice of the hearing to the person or entity whose appeal or application is the subject of the hearing; to the owner of the property that is the subject of the hearing if the owner did not initiate the hearing; and to the owners of all parcels of land abutting the parcel of land that is the subject of the hearing. The notice(s) shall be sent by registered mail at least ten days, but not more than 25 days, prior to the date of the hearing. Within that same time period, the village shall prominently post a notice of the hearing on the site that is the subject of the hearing or upon an adjacent street.
(2) Administrative materials and evidence.
a. All applications, reports, and written materials relevant to the matter being considered shall be transmitted in written or electronic form to the planning board and to the appellant or applicant and to the landowner if that person is not the appellant or applicant at least five days prior to the hearing. Such materials shall become part of the hearing record unless objected to and excluded.
b. The chair or any member temporarily acting as chair is authorized to rule on jurisdictional and evidentiary issues, including, but not limited to, the timeliness of an appeal or the standing of a party. The chair's rulings may be appealed to the full planning board at the hearing.
c. All testimony before the planning board in a quasi-judicial matter must be under oath and recorded. The chair or any member temporarily acting as chair or the village clerk are authorized to administer oaths to witnesses in any matter coming before the planning board.
d. The planning board through its chair or any member temporarily acted as chair may subpoena witnesses and compel the production of evidence as permitted by state law.
(3) Voting.
a. A simple majority shall be required to decide all quasi-judicial matters or to determine an appeal made in the nature of certiorari, except that the concurring vote of four-fifths of the members shall be necessary to grant a variance.
b. Vacant positions on the planning board and members who are disqualified from voting on a quasi-judicial matter shall not be considered members of the planning board for calculation of the requisite majority if there are no qualified alternates available to take the place of such members.
(4) Decisions.
a. The planning board shall determine contested facts and make its decision within a reasonable time, not to exceed 15 days following the date of the hearing. Every quasi-judicial decision shall be based upon competent, material, and substantial evidence in the record. Each quasi-judicial decision shall be reduced to writing, reflect the planning board's determination of contested facts and their application to the applicable standards, and be approved by the planning board and signed by the chair or other duly authorized member of the board.
b. A quasi-judicial decision is effective upon filing the written decision with the village clerk.
c. The zoning official shall deliver the decision of the planning board within a reasonable time by personal delivery, electronic mail, or first-class mail to the appellant or applicant, landowner, and any person who has submitted a written request for a copy prior to the date the decision becomes effective. Following delivery, the zoning official shall certify to the village clerk that proper notice has been made.
(Ord. No. 29, § 6.2, 8-17-1991; Ord. No. 2006-1008, 10-26-2006; Ord. No. 2021-0607, § 1, 6-28-2021)