(A) The Town Planning Commission shall consist of five members.
(B) The members of the Planning Commission must be:
(1) Residents of the town; and
(2) Qualified by knowledge and experience in matters pertaining to the development of the municipality.
(C) At least three-fifths of all of the members must have been residents of the municipality for at least three years prior to appointment.
(D) The members of the Planning Commission must fairly represent different areas of interest, knowledge and expertise, including, but not limited to, business, industry, labor, government and other relevant disciplines. One member must be a member of the municipal governing body or a designee and one member must be a member of the administrative department of the municipality or a designee. The term of membership for these two members is the same as their term of office.
(E) The town finds that there are persons willing to serve on the Planning Commission who may also own interests in businesses that regularly conduct business in front of or with the Planning Commission staff. Such persons may have experience and expertise which would be valuable assets to the Planning Commission. For those reasons, notwithstanding any other provisions in the West Virginia Code to the contrary, any person employed by, owning an interest in or otherwise associated with a business that regularly conducts business in front of or with Planning Commission staff may also serve as a member of the Planning Commission and shall not be disqualified from serving as a member because of a conflict of interest as defined in W. Va. Code § 61-10-15 and shall not be subject to prosecution under provisions of that chapter when the violation is created solely as a result of his or her relationship with the business. This member must recuse himself or herself from any vote, discussion, participation or other activity regarding the conflicting issue.
(F) The town finds that there are persons willing to serve on the Planning Commission who may also own interests in businesses who regularly conduct business in front of or with the Planning Commission staff. Such persons may have experience and expertise which would be valuable assets to the Planning Commission. For those reasons, notwithstanding any other provisions in the West Virginia Code to the contrary, any person employed by, owning an interest in or otherwise associated with a business that regularly conducts business in front of or with the Planning Commission staff may also serve as a member of the Planning Commission and shall not be in violation of W. Va. Code 6B-2-5(g) if the member recuses himself or herself from any vote, discussion, participation or other activity regarding the conflicting issue; provided, that such members do not constitute a majority of the members of the Planning Commission at the same time.
(G) The remaining members of the Planning Commission first selected shall serve respectively for terms of one year, two years and three years. Thereafter, members shall serve three-year terms. Vacancies shall be filled for an unexpired term and made in the same manner as the original selections were made.
(H) The members of the Planning Commission shall serve without compensation, but shall be reimbursed for all reasonable and necessary expenses actually incurred in the performance of their official duties.
(I) Nominations for the Planning Commission membership shall be made by the administrative authority (Mayor) and confirmed by the governing body (Town Council).
(J) An individual may serve as a member of the Municipal Planning Commission, a county planning commission, a multicounty planning commission, a regional planning commission or a joint planning commission, at the same time.
(K) The governing body of the town may remove a member of the Planning Commission for inactivity, neglect of duty or malfeasance. The member to be removed, must be provided with a written statement of the reasons for removal and an opportunity to be heard on the matter.
(Ord. 12-7, passed 11-4-2013)