a. There shall be a city planning commission to consist of the chair and twelve other members. The mayor shall appoint the chair and six other members of the commission, the public advocate shall appoint one member, and each borough president shall appoint one member. Members shall be chosen for their independence, integrity and civic commitment. Appointments of all members, except for the chair, shall be subject to the advice and consent of the council. For such appointments by officials other than the mayor, the procedure for obtaining the advice and consent of the council shall be the same as the procedure provided for in section thirty-one for appointments by the mayor. Except as otherwise provided in section one hundred ninety-one, no member shall hold any other city office. Members other than the chair shall be appointed for a term of five years; provided, however, that of the members other than the chair, one member appointed by the mayor and one member appointed by a borough president shall serve for terms to expire on the thirtieth day of June, nineteen hundred ninety-one; one member appointed by the mayor and one member appointed by a borough president shall serve for terms to expire on the thirtieth day of June, nineteen hundred ninety-two; one member appointed by the mayor and one member appointed by a borough president shall serve for terms to expire on the thirtieth day of June, nineteen hundred ninety-three; one member appointed by the mayor and one member appointed by a borough president shall serve for terms to expire on the thirtieth day of June, nineteen hundred ninety-four; and two members appointed by the mayor, the member appointed by the public advocate and one member appointed by a borough president shall serve for terms to expire on the thirtieth day of June, nineteen hundred ninety-five. The borough presidents shall determine by lot the length of the term to be served by the member first appointed by each borough president. The appointing officials shall make their first appointments to the commission on or before the first day of March, nineteen hundred ninety. The commission members so appointed shall assume office on the first day of July, nineteen hundred ninety. Members of the commission shall serve until their successors have been confirmed. Any vacancy occurring other than by expiration of term shall be filled by the official who appointed the member in the same manner as the original appointment. A person so appointed shall serve for the unexpired portion of the term of the member succeeded. Terms shall begin on the next date after the expiration date of the preceding term.
b. Members, except for the chair, shall not be considered regular employees of the city for purposes of chapter sixty-eight. The agency served by the members of the commission shall for purposes of chapter sixty-eight be deemed to be both the commission and the department of city planning. No member, while serving as a member, shall appear directly or indirectly before the department, the commission, or any other city agency for which the conflicts of interest board shall, by rule, determine such appearance creates a conflict of interest with the duties and responsibilities of the member. No firm in which a member has an interest may appear directly or indirectly before the department or commission. For purposes of this section, the terms "agency," "appear," "firm," and "interest" shall be defined as provided in chapter sixty-eight.
c. One of the members other than the chair shall be designated by the mayor as vice-chair and shall serve as vice-chair at the pleasure of the mayor. The vice-chair shall possess the powers and perform the duties of the chair when the chair is absent or while a vacancy exists in the office of the chair, and shall at such times serve as director of city planning.
d. The city planning commission shall be responsible for the conduct of planning relating to the orderly growth, improvement and future development of the city, including adequate and appropriate resources for the housing, business, industry, transportation, distribution, recreation, culture, comfort, convenience, health and welfare of its population.
e. The city planning commission shall oversee implementation of laws that require environmental reviews of actions taken by the city. The commission shall establish by rule procedures for environmental reviews of proposed actions by the city where such reviews are required by law. Such rules shall include procedures for (1) selection of the city agency or agencies that will be responsible for determining whether an environmental impact statement is required in connection with a proposed action and for preparation and filing of any such statement required by law, (2) participation by the city in environmental reviews involving agencies other than city agencies and (3) coordination of environmental review procedures with the land use review procedures set forth in this charter. The director of city planning and the commissioner of the department of environmental protection shall assign from the staffs of such departments an office of environmental coordination, which shall provide assistance to all city agencies in fulfilling their environmental review responsibilities.
f. Not later than the thirty-first day of December, nineteen hundred ninety-two and every four years thereafter, the commission shall file with the mayor, the council, the public advocate, the borough presidents, and community boards, a zoning and planning report. The report shall include (1) a statement of the planning policy of the commission, which policy shall take into consideration, among other things, the ten-year capital strategy, the four-year capital program, the report on the social, economic and environmental health of the city issued pursuant to section sixteen, the strategic policy statements provided for in section seventeen and plans approved pursuant to section one hundred ninety-seven-a, (2) a summary of the significant plans and studies completed or undertaken by the department of city planning in the preceding four years, (3) an analysis of those portions of the zoning resolution that merit reconsideration in light of the planning policy of the commission and (4) proposals for implementing the planning policy of the commission whether by amendment of the zoning resolution, development of plans or otherwise.