(A) Establishment.
(1) The city Heritage and Architecture Commission consists of seven voting members appointed by the Mayor and approved by the City Council, and two ex officio, nonvoting members, namely an Alderman appointed by the Mayor, and the Planner of the city. The members appointed by the Mayor and approved by the City Council shall be:
(a) A member of the city Plan and Zoning Commission;
(b) A local historian; and
(c) Five members-at-large.
(2) All members who are appointed or reappointed after April 1, 1996, must be residents of the city with the exception of a member who is a state registered architect. The Mayor may recommend names to the above mentioned organizations, boards, and commissions for nomination of members with the above mentioned knowledge and experience.
(B) Term. Commissioners shall serve terms of three years. Initially, Commissioners shall serve staggered terms of two persons for three years, two persons for two years, and one person for one year. Subsequent nominations and appointments shall be made so as to replace any member representing an organization, board, or commission with another such member. All members shall hold office until their successor shall have been appointed and qualified. Vacancies after selection of the members of the first Commission shall be filled through appointment by the Mayor with the concurrence of the City Council.
(C) Chairperson and Vice Chairperson. Officers shall consist of a Chairperson, a Vice Chairperson and a Secretary. The first Chairperson of the Commission shall be designated by the Mayor upon recommendations of the organizations, boards, and commissions named in division (A) of this section and with the concurrence of the City Council. The Chairperson shall be so appointed for two years or until his membership term expires, whichever is less. Each subsequent Chairperson shall be selected by the Commission from among its members. The Chair- person of the Commission shall appoint a Vice Chair-person from the membership of the Commission. In the absence of the Chairperson and Vice Chairperson, an acting Chairperson shall be elected by the remaining members of the Commission from its members. The Chairperson shall preside at meetings of the Commission and shall otherwise supervise the affairs of the Commission. He shall sign all official documents, correspondence, statements, and recommendations generated by the Commission. The Vice Chairperson in the absence of the Chairperson, shall perform all the duties and exercise all the powers of the Chairperson.
(D) Administrator. An employee of the Community Development Department shall serve as the ex- officio Administrator to the Commission. The Administrator shall provide staff assistance to the Commission, act as the Commission’s secretary, and issue certificates of appropriateness as directed by the Commission. The Administrator shall:
(1) Be responsible for preparation of minutes of each Commission meeting, originals of which shall be kept in the office of the city Community Development Center;
(2) Provide administrative and technical assistance to the Commission to assist it in making the decisions and findings as provided hereunder;
(3) Publish and distribute to the Commissioners copies of the minutes, reports and decisions of the Commission; and
(4) Advise the Mayor of vacancies on the Commission and expiring terms of Commissioners.
(E) Commission meetings. Meetings must be open to the public unless exempted under the Illinois Open Meetings Act (“OMA”) and a public record shall be kept of the Commission’s resolutions, proceedings, and actions. The Commission shall hold regular meetings pursuant to the OMA unless a meeting is cancelled due to a lack of a quorum or a lack of business to be conducted. A special meeting of the Commission may be called by the Chairperson or upon the request of three Commission members provided that such request is submitted to the Administrator of the Commission at least 96 hours prior to the time specified for the meeting and if there is sufficient time to post the notice of the meeting and agenda at least 48 hours prior to the meeting. A quorum shall consist of four members of the Commission present and voting, and no official meeting shall be held without a quorum of the members present. The Chairperson shall be entitled to be counted in determining a quorum and to vote as a member. All resolutions shall be passed by a majority of a quorum.
(`79 Code § 150.178) (Ord. 88-130, passed 10-3-88; Am. Ord. 91-245, passed 6-4-91; Am. Ord. 96-004, passed 2-28-96; Am. Ord. 07-699, passed 2-14-07; Am. Ord. 09-041(A), passed 10-21-09; Am. Ord. 10-002, passed 1-6-10; Am. Ord. 20-097, passed 9-16-20; Am. Ord. 23-005, passed 3-1-23)