(A) Committee intent. The Technical Review Committee (also known and referred to in this subchapter as the "TRC" and "the Committee") is hereby formed for the purpose of providing technical review of certain types of petitions and applications. The intent of the Technical Review Committee is to provide efficiency in the work load of the Plan Commission as well as applicants by establishing a body to make determinations regarding petitions for which the only criteria is consistency with the applicable adopted standards of the town. Further, the TRC shall provide for efficiency in the approval process of petitions determined by the Plan Commission and Town Council by providing an initial examination and report based on all applicable adopted requirements of the town. All approval processes and actions of the Technical Review Committee shall be consistent with the requirements of Indiana Law.
(2) Review authority. The Technical Review Committee shall have the authority to review the following types of petitions, forwarding comments to the Plan Commission:
(a) Re-zoning petitions;
(b) Planned unit development concept plans; and
(c) Planned unit development detailed plans.
(3) Appeal rights. All decisions of the Technical Review Committee may be appealed to the Plan Commission following the procedure outlined in this subchapter.
(B) Committee structure. The Planning Commission staff shall also serve as the staff for the Technical Review Committee. They shall distribute all appropriate materials and keep all necessary files and meeting records. The organization of the Technical Review Committee shall be as described below:
(1) The Technical Review Committee shall, at a minimum, consist of the following members: the Planning Director and other staff of the Plan Commission as determined by the Planning Director;
(2) Members of the Committee shall either be present at the time of the scheduled Committee meeting or submit written comments regarding each specific petition to the Planning Director prior to the appropriate meeting.
(a) Each committee member shall only comment on the aspects of each petition that directly relate to their area of expertise regarding the applicable adopted standards of the town.
(b) If no comments are received from any member of the Committee it shall indicate that they have no objection to any aspect of the petition, and therefore grant their individual approval.
(c) The Planning Director shall determine the action to be taken on each petition by the Committee based on the comments of the Committee members.
(3) The Planning Director shall oversee the operation of the Technical Review Committee and shall make the final determination regarding any specific aspect of a petition on which members of the Technical Review Committee disagree. In cases of disagreement and at his/her discretion, the Planning Director may forward any petition before the Technical Review Committee to the Plan Commission for a determination on the request.
(4) All petitions which are not approved by the Technical Review Committee and not forwarded to the Plan Commission shall be tabled and placed on the agenda for the next appropriate Committee meeting.
(a) Prior to that meeting the petitioner shall address the comments of the Committee, making appropriate modifications to the application materials.
(b) The petitioner shall provide appropriate copies of the revised materials prior to the next Committee meeting based on the adopted calendar of meeting and filing dates.
(c) The petitioner may withdraw any petition following the review of the Technical Review Committee by submitting a notice of such withdrawal in writing to the Planning Director. Any petitions which are withdraw and are subsequently re-filed shall be considered a new petition and shall be subject to all applicable requirements for new petitions established by this chapter.
(C) Attendance required. Either the petitioner or a representative of the petitioner shall be required to attend all Technical Review Committee meetings at which their petition shall be reviewed, if deemed necessary by Planning Director. If either the petitioner or their representative is not present, the petition shall automatically be tabled and placed on the agenda for the next appropriate TRC meeting.
(D) Meeting record. The Planning Director shall make written documentation of the comments and findings of the Technical Review Committee for each petition and make those findings available to the petitioner within three business days of the Committee's review. The written documentation shall consist of the following:
(1) A letter to the petitioner stating the action taken by the Committee; and
(2) A list of any outstanding comments made by the members of the TRC, including references to appropriate sections of adopted, applicable requirements of the town, the State of Indiana, and/or the federal government.
(E) Decision criteria. In all cases, the Technical Review Committee shall only consider the applicable adopted requirements of this chapter, the Subdivision Control Code, §§ 155.190 et seq., any adopted town construction standards, any adopted standards of the Drainage Board, and any other adopted and applicable standards of the town, the State of Indiana, and/or the federal government.
(1) In all cases in which the TRC has approval authority and a petition conforms to the applicable standards, that petition shall be approved.
(2) In no case shall any petitioner be required to make any modifications to any petition based solely on the opinions or other undocumented and adopted standards of any member of the Committee. This shall not be interpreted as prohibiting any committee member from providing comments which express their professional opinions regarding a petition being forwarded to the Plan Commission.
(F) Appeal procedure. Any applicant or interested party may appeal the decision of the Technical Review Committee to the Plan Commission. Applicants seeking relief from specific development standards or other requirements of the zoning code which are unrelated to the Committee's interpretation of the applicable requirements shall be required to obtain variance approval from the Board of Zoning Appeals.
(1) The appealing party shall be required to provide the Planning Director with written notice of the appeal within 60 days of the date of the Committee decision.
(2) The Planning Director shall place the appeal on the agenda for the next appropriate Plan Commission meeting consistent with the adopted calendar of meeting and filing dates.
(3) Public notice for the meeting shall be required, consistent with the provisions of this chapter.
(4) The Plan Commission shall consider the provisions of this chapter and all other documented, applicable standards in deciding the appeal.
(Ord. 2013-02, passed 3-11-13)