(A) The Planning Commission for the city is hereby established.
(B) (1) The Planning Commission shall consist of seven members. Four members shall be appointed by the City Council and may be removed by a four-fifths vote of the Council. The City Engineer and the City Attorney shall be members ex officio and the Council shall select one member of the Commission from among its own members.
(2) (a) Members shall by appointed for terms of four years, holding their offices until their successors are appointed and qualified.
(b) The terms of ex officio members shall correspond to their respective official tenures. Vacancies during the term shall be filled by the Council for the unexpired portion of the term. Every appointed member shall before entering upon the discharge of his or her duties take an oath that he or she will faithfully discharge the duties of his or her office. All members shall serve without compensation.
(C) (1) The Commission shall elect a Chairperson from among its appointed members for a term of one year and the Commission may create and fill other offices as it may determine. The Clerk-Administrator-Treasurer shall act as Secretary of the Planning Commission, but he or she shall not be a member.
(2) The Commission shall hold at least one regular meeting each month. It shall adopt rules for the transaction of business and shall keep a record of its resolutions, transactions and findings, which record shall be a public record. On or before January 1 of each year, the Commission shall submit to the City Council a report of its work during the preceding year. Expenditures of the Commission shall be within amounts appropriated for the purpose by the City Council.
(D) (1) Upon the appointment and organization of the Commission, it shall proceed with the preparation and adoption of resolution of a program of work outlining activities proposed to be undertaken in the exercise of its powers and the performance of its duties.
(2) The program will include:
(a) An outline of data and information to be assembled as a basis for the city plan;
(b) An outline of subjects to be covered by the city plan; and
(c) An outline of types of procedure necessary to make the city plan effective.
(3) The Planning Commission may, by resolution, revise its program of work from time to time.
(E) It shall be the function and duty of the Planning Commission to prepare and adopt a comprehensive city plan for the physical development of the city, including proposed public buildings, street arrangements and improvements, public utility services, parks, playgrounds and other similar developments and the use of property, the density of population and other matters relating to the physical development of the city. The plan may be prepared in sections each of which shall relate to a major subject of the plan, as outlined in the Commission’s program of work.
(F) (1) Before adopting the city plan for any section of it or any substantial amendment thereof, the Commission shall hold at least one public hearing thereon, notice of the time and place of which shall be given by publication in a newspaper of general circulation at least ten days before the day of the hearing. The adoption of the city plan or of any section or amendment thereof shall be by resolution of the Commission, approved by the affirmative votes of not less than four-fifths of its total membership.
(2) The Commission may from time to time amend or add to the city plan or section thereof as herein provided for the adoption of the original plan whenever changed conditions or further studies by the Commission indicate that the amendment or addition is necessary.
(3) An attested copy of the plan or of any section, amendment or addition to the city plan adopted by the Planning Commission shall be certified by the City Council.
(G) (1) Upon the adoption of the city plan or any section thereof, it shall be the duty of the Planning Commission to recommend to the City Council reasonable and practical means for putting into effect the plan or section thereof in order that the same will serve as a pattern and guide for the orderly physical development of the city and as a basis for the efficient expenditure of the funds thereof relating to the subjects of the plan.
(2) The means shall consist of a zoning plan, the control of subdivision plats, a plan of future streets, coordination of the normal public improvements of the city, a long term program of capital expenditures and other matters as will accomplish the purpose hereof.
(H) The Planning Commission, upon its own motion, may and, upon instructions by the City Council, shall prepare a revised zoning plan for the city. Before recommending the plan to the City Council, the Planning Commission shall hold at least one public hearing thereon after a notice similar to that required by division (F) above. The same procedure shall apply for the preparation of any plan of proposed right-of-way for future streets or highways or the future widening of existing streets or highways, or for the reservation of lands for other purposes.
(I) (1) The Planning Commission, with the assistance of the City Engineer, may and, upon the instruction by the City Council, shall prepare an official map of the platted and unplatted portions of the city and adjoining territory or portions thereof indicating upon the map the proposed future extension or widening of streets of the city within the existing platted and developed, territory or across the unplatted territory.
(2) After the map has been prepared and a hearing on it has been held, as provided in division (H) above, it shall be submitted to the Council, which shall thereupon consider the map and may adopt it or any part of it with the amendments as it deems advisable.
(3) Before adoption by the Council, a public hearing shall be held upon the proposal at least ten days after a notice thereof has been published in a newspaper published in the city.
(4) After the map has been adopted by the Council and filed with the Register of Deeds whenever any existing street or highway is widened or improved, or any new street is opened, or lands for other public purpose are acquired by action of the city, it shall not be required of the proceedings to pay for any building or structure placed without a permit or in violation of conditions of a permit after the filing of a map within the limits of the mapped street or outside of any building line that may have been established upon the existing street, or within any area, thus reserved for public purposes.
(J) (1) Every proposed plat of land within the city or within two miles of the units of the city and not within a town which itself requires the approval of plats shall be submitted to the City Council before being filed and no plat of land shall be filed unless and until the same shall first have been approved by the City Council.
(2) Any person who violated this provision or who sells land or offers land for sale or contracts for the sale of land by reference to or her other use of any plat before the plat has been approved by the Planning Commission and the City Council in accordance with the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine. Before acting on the plat, the City Council shall submit the same to the Planning Commission for its recommendations.
(3) The Planning Commission, within 40 days after any such plat has been referred to it by the City Council, shall act on the same and shall make its recommendations with respect thereto. The recommendations may consist of:
(a) Recommendation that the City Council approve the plat;
(b) Recommendation that the City Council disapprove the plat, in which case the recommendation shall include a statement of the specific reasons of the recommendation; or
(c) Recommendation that the City Council approve the plat after specified changes for revisions are made therein, which recommendation may include the condition that a revised plat containing the changes or provisions be submitted to the Planning Commission in which case the revised plat shall be so submitted to the Planning Commission for its further consideration and recommendations before action thereon by the City Council. The City Council must either approve or deny an application for a preliminary plat within 120 days after a complete application for a preliminary plat has been received, unless a longer time has been agreed to in writing by the applicant. The City Council must either approve or deny an application for a final plat within 60 days after a complete application for a final plat has been received, unless a longer time has been agreed to in writing by the application.
(K) No change shall be made in the zoning plan, future street and public lands plan or regulations governing the platting of land after the plans or regulations have been adopted by the City Council until the proposed change has been referred to the Planning Commission for report thereon and an attested copy of the report has been filed with the Council and the ordinance or resolution or establishment of any of the plans or specifications shall be adopted by the City Council until the ordinance or resolution has been referred in the Planning Commission for a report thereon and an attested copy of the report has been filed with the Council. Failure of the Planning Commission so to report within 40 days or such longer period, as may be designated by the Council, after the reference shall be deemed to be approved of the proposed change.
(L) (1) Each officer, department, board or commission of or in the city whose functions include recommending, preparing plans for or constructing public works shall, at least three months before the end of each fiscal year, submit to the Planning Commission a list of the proposed works recommended by the officer, department, board or commission for planning, initiation or constructing during the ensuing fiscal year. The Planning Commission shall request from the local school district a similar list of its proposed public works. The Planning Commission shall list and classify all such proposed public works and shall prepare a coordinated program of proposed public works for the ensuing fiscal year.
(2) The program shall be recommended by the Commission to the Council and to such other officers, departments, boards or public bodies as have jurisdiction over the recommending, planning or constructing of public works. A copy of the recommended program of public works shall be included in the annual report of the Planning Commission provided for in division (C) above.
(Ord. 109, passed 2-17-66)