(A) Planning Commission created. In order to guide and accomplish a coordinated and harmonious development within the town which will, in accordance with existing and future needs, best promote the public health, safety, morals, order, convenience, prosperity and the general welfare, as well as efficiency and economy in the process of development, the Town Planning Commission, hereinafter referred to as the Planning Commissions, is created and established as authorized by S.C. Code §§ 6-7-10, 6-7-20, 6-7-210 through 6-7-1280, as amended, and that the Planning Commission shall be organized, empowered and governed by the provisions of this section.
(Prior Code, § 2.40.010)
(B) Membership, terms, vacancies and compensation. The Planning Commission shall consist of five members to be appointed by the Town Council; provided, however, that, one member shall be appointed by each of the Town Council members. All appointees must be resident electors of the town. All appointees must be approved by full Council. The terms of office of the members shall be for four years, except that of the five members first appointed, one shall be appointed for a term of one year, one for two years, one for three years, and two for four years. Any vacancy in membership shall be filled for the unexpired term by the Town Council which shall also have the authority to remove any member for cause, on written charges, after a public hearing. All members shall serve without compensation but may be reimbursed for actual expenses incurred in connection with their official duties.
(Prior Code, § 2.40.020)
(C) Organization, meetings, rules, staff and finances. The Planning Commission shall elect a Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson from among its members. The terms of the Chairperson and other officers shall be one year with eligibility for reelection. It shall appoint a Secretary who may be an officer or an employee of the Town Council or of the Planning Commission. The Planning Commission shall adopt rules for the transaction of business and shall keep a record of its recommendations, transactions, findings and determinations; and shall meet at the call of the Chairperson and at such times as the Chairperson or Commission may determine. All meetings of the Planning Commission at which official action is taken shall be considered public record. The Commission may appoint employees and staff as it may deem necessary for its work and may make expenditures for salaries of any employees and staff, contracts with consultants and for the purchase of required equipment and supplies. The expenditures of the Commission, exclusive of gifts, shall be within the amounts appropriated for the purpose by the Town Council.
(Prior Code, § 2.40.030)
(D) General powers, duties and responsibilities.
(1) From and after the time when the Planning Commission shall have organized and selected its officers and shall have adopted its rules of procedure, then the Commission shall have all the powers, duties, responsibilities and jurisdiction set forth in S.C. Code §§ 6-7-10, 6-7-20, 6-7-210 through 6-7-1280, as amended.
(2) In general, the Planning Commission shall have the power to:
(a) Prepare and revise periodically a comprehensive plan and program for the development of its jurisdiction;
(b) Prepare and recommend for adoption to the appropriate governing authority or authorities as a means for implementing the plan and program:
1. Zoning ordinances or resolutions and maps and appropriate revisions thereof for its jurisdiction;
2. Regulations for the subdivision of land and appropriate revisions thereof within its jurisdiction and to administer the regulations that may be adopted;
3. An official map and appropriate revision thereof showing the exact location of existing or proposed public streets, highways and utility rights-of-way and public building sites, together with regulations to control the erection of buildings or other structures or changes in land use within the rights-of-way, building sites or open spaces within its jurisdiction or a specified portion thereof; and
4. A capital improvements program for its jurisdiction based on the comprehensive plan and the capital improvements necessary to implement the plan. A capital improvement program shall include an annual capital budget based on estimates of the cost of proposed projects and the means of financing them. The Commission shall submit the capital program, including the capital budget, to the governing authority or authorities as directed.
(c) Establish principles and policies for guiding action in the development of the area;
(d) Prepare and recommend to the Town Council for adoption regulations, other than those previously mentioned, promoting orderly development in accordance with the comprehensive plan;
(e) Determine whether specific proposed developments conform to the principles and requirements of the Comprehensive Plan for the growth and improvement of the area;
(f) Review and recommend to the Town Council any needed changes in the zoning regulations and/or zoning maps as well as the subdivision regulations, the official map and other codes, ordinances and controls related to the county’s development; and
(g) Keep the Town Council and the general public informed and advised as to these matters.
(Ord. 92-07, passed - -)