The City Planning and Zoning Commission, hereinafter referred to as the Commission, consists of seven members appointed by the Council. The Commission members shall be residents of the City and shall not hold any elective office in the City government.
(Code of Iowa, Sec. 414.6 and 392.1)
The Commission shall have and exercise the following powers and duties:
1. Selection of Officers. The Commission shall choose annually at its first regular meeting one of its members to act as Chairperson and another as Vice Chairperson, who shall perform all the duties of the Chairperson during the Chairperson’s absence or disability.
(Code of Iowa, Sec. 392.1)
2. Adopt Rules and Regulations. The Commission shall adopt such rules and regulations governing its organization and procedure as it may deem necessary.
(Code of Iowa, Sec. 392.1)
3. Zoning. The Commission shall have and exercise all the powers and duties and privileges in establishing the City zoning regulations and other related matters and may from time to time recommend to the Council amendments, supplements, changes, or modifications, all as provided by Chapter 414 of the Code of Iowa.
(Code of Iowa, Sec. 414.6)
4. Recommendations on Improvements. The design and proposed location of public improvements shall be submitted to the Commission for its recommendations prior to any actions being taken by the City for the construction or placement of such improvements. Such requirements and recommendations shall not act as a stay upon action for any such improvement if the Commission, after 30 days’ written notice requesting such recommendations, has failed to file the same.
(Code of Iowa, Sec. 392.1)
5. Review and Comment on Plats. All plans, plats, or re-plats of subdivisions or re-subdivisions of land in the City or adjacent thereto, laid out in lots or plats with the streets, alleys, or other portions of the same intended to be dedicated to the public in the City, shall first be submitted to the Commission and its recommendations obtained before approval by the Council.
(Code of Iowa, Sec. 392.1)
6. Fiscal Responsibilities. The Commission shall have full, complete, and exclusive authority to expend, for and on behalf of the City, all sums of money appropriated to it and to use and expend all gifts, donations, or payments that are received by the City for City planning and zoning purposes.
(Code of Iowa, Sec. 392.1)
7. Limitation on Entering Contracts. The Commission shall have no power to contract debts beyond the amount of its original or amended appropriation as approved by the Council for the present year.
(Code of Iowa, Sec. 392.1)
8. Annual Report. The Commission shall each year make a report to the Mayor and Council of its proceedings, with a full statement of its receipts and disbursements and the progress of its work during the preceding fiscal year.
(Code of Iowa, Sec. 392.1)