(A) Membership requirements. Qualifications for membership shall be set by state law, membership of the Commission shall consist of not less than five nor more than 15 members appointed by Town Council. Members of the Commission shall be residents of the town, qualified by knowledge and experience to make decisions on questions of community growth and development; provided, that at least half the members so appointed shall be owners of real property. One member of the Commission may be a member of the Town Council and one member may be a member of the administrative branch of government of the town, the term of each of these two members shall be coextensive with the term of office to which they have been elected or appointed unless the Council, at the first regular meeting each year, appoints others to serve as their representatives.
(B) Terms. Terms for members are set by state law. Each member shall be appointed to hold office for a four year term running concurrent to the term of office of the Town Council. Vacancies shall be filled by the Town Council for the remainder of the unexpired term within 60 days.
(C) Certified Planning Commissioners' training. The Planning Commission recognizes that all members should understand their roles and responsibilities as defined by the Code of Virginia. All newly appointed members to the Planning Commission are expected to undergo training, as deemed adequate by the Town Manager, within 24 months of appointment.
(D) Absences. In accordance with the Code of Virginia, more than four consecutive or absences at 25% of all meetings in any one fiscal year shall be considered nonperformance of duty and cause of removal from the Commission.
(E) Removal. Members of the Commission may be removed by the Town Council for nonperformance of duty, misconduct in office, upon failure to declare a conflict of interest, or matters of moral turpitude upon vote by the majority, after written charges have been prepared and a hearing conducted.
(F) Resignation. A member may resign from the Commission by sending a written notice of resignation to the Town Council or Commission Chairperson.
(G) Compensation. The Council may provide compensation to Commission members for:
(1) Reimbursement of actual expenses incurred by members of the Commission;
(2) Compensation to such members, or any of them, for their services; or
(3) Both.
(1998 Code, § 2-243) (Ord. passed 5-13-1997; Ord. O-2002-2, passed 2-12-2002; Ord. O-2018-01, passed 5-2-2018; Ord. O-2023-15, passed 9-19-2023)