(a) Organization. The Planning and Zoning Commission shall consist of seven (7) members, one of whom shall be the Mayor (or the Mayor's designee) and one who shall be a member of City Council appointed by the President of Council for a one year term.
The term of the other five (5) members shall be five (5) years, except that, of the five (5) members first appointed after the effective date of this Charter, one (1) shall be appointed for a term of one (1) year, one (1) for two (2) years, one (1) for three (3) years, one (1) for four (4) years, and one (1) for five (5) years.
The Planning and Zoning Commission shall adopt rules and bylaws governing the holding of meetings, both regular and special, the transaction of its business, the filing of papers and applications, the conducting of hearings, and the manner of the exercise of its powers. Where Council by ordinance provides for the manner of exercise of such powers, the provisions of the ordinance shall be followed. At its first meeting each year, the Planning and Zoning Commission shall choose one of its members to serve as Chairman and may recommend to the Mayor a candidate for appointment as Secretary.
(b) Powers and Duties. The Planning and Zoning Commission shall recommend to Council a comprehensive plan for the physical development of the Municipality or the redevelopment of any area or district therein, which plan shall include the location of public ways, properties, bridges, schools, utilities, buildings, parks, playgrounds, and recreation areas, and the reservation and acquisition of lands therefor. It shall prepare and recommend to Council ordinances creating areas, zones, and districts of permitted and excluded use, including rules, regulations, restrictions, and limitations governing:
(1) The plan, design, height, floor area, number of stories, and size of structures;
(2) The area and size of lots;
(3) The subdivision and platting of lands and the improvement and development thereof;
(4) The percentage of land occupancy and housing unit density of the occupied land;
(5) The size of yards, courts, and open spaces;
(6) The location, use, and occupancy of public and private buildings, structures, and land for trade and industry;
(7) The use of land for off-street parking areas, parks, playgrounds, residences, and farms;
(8) Protection of the City's environmental resources;
(9) And all other such uses or purposes, both public and private, pertaining to each, as will promote the general welfare of the Municipality and its inhabitants.
(10) It shall be the duty of the Planning and Zoning Commission to hear and decide all appeals made for exceptions to and variances from ordinances governing zoning in the Municipality. The Commission shall also hear and decide all appeals from decisions of officials administering or enforcing zoning or building ordinances and regulations.
(11) The Planning and Zoning Commission shall perform such other duties and shall have such other powers as Council may provide for.
(c) Mandatory Referral. No public building, street, boulevard, parkway, park, public land, playground, aviation field, utility, dock, wharf, dam, bridge, tunnel, or part thereof shall be constructed or authorized to be constructed, purchased, or sold; nor shall any street, avenue, parkway, boulevard, or alley be opened for any purpose whatsoever, widened, narrowed, relocated, vacated, or its use changed; nor shall any ordinance referring to zoning or other regulations controlling the use or development of lands be passed or become effective or binding upon the Municipality unless and until Council shall have first submitted the proposal or ordinance to the Planning and Zoning Commission for report and recommendation.
No action of Council shall be taken overruling the action of the Planning and Zoning Commission except by an affirmative vote of at least two-thirds (2/3) of the members of Council. Failure of the Planning and Zoning Commission to act within forty-five (45) days on any matter before it may, at the discretion of Council, have the same effect as approval by the Planning and Zoning Commission.
Council, by ordinance, may ratify, reverse, or modify any decisions of the Board. The applicant making the appeal or Council itself may request a public hearing before Council prior to Council ruling on any decision of the Board. In such case, Council shall provide the procedure for such hearing and ruling. The decision of the Planning and Zoning Commission shall become effective thirty (30) days after notification of the decision is mailed to the applicant and the Clerk of Council unless Council takes action on the decision or the applicant notifies the Clerk of Council in writing of his request for a Council ruling on the decision.
Failure of Council to act within thirty (30) days after such request or to rule within fifteen (15) days after a public hearing shall constitute a ratification of the decision of the Board. A Council ruling modifying or reversing a decision of the Board shall require an affirmative vote of at least two-thirds (2/3) of the members elected to Council.
Failure of the Board to make a decision within sixty (60) days after the date of receipt of an application for a hearing shall constitute a denial of the application and a ruling in favor of the ordinance or decision in question. (Amended 11-8-16.)