(A) Establishment and organization.
(1) Pursuant to an agreement dated 2-2-1981, the City of Raton and the County of Colfax did enter into an agreement establishing an Extraterritorial Zoning Commission, which shall hereafter be also known as the Raton-Colfax County Extraterritorial Zoning Commission, consisting of 2 members appointed by the City Commission and 2 members appointed by the Board of Colfax County Commissioners.
(2) The 4 Extraterritorial Zoning Commission members appointed by the City Commission and the County Commissioners, as required, did appoint 1 additional member from an area of the county not within the zoning jurisdiction of the municipality or within the area of the county affected by the proposed extraterritorial zoning ordinance. Said member was and must be appointed by a majority vote of the members appointed by the Board of County Commissioners and the City Commission.
(3) The members of the Extraterritorial Zoning Commission shall serve at the pleasure of the body appointing them and shall be appointed for terms as follows. Of the 2 members of the Extraterritorial Zoning Commission initially appointed by the city, 1 member shall be appointed for a 2-year term and 1 member shall be appointed for a 1-year term, in order that the members have staggered terms with holdover members for the purposes of continuity. The 2 members of the Extraterritorial Zoning Commission initially appointed by the county shall be appointed under the same arrangement involving staggered terms as the members of said Commission appointed by the city. The member of said Commission appointed by the majority of the other Zoning Commissioners shall be appointed for a 2-year term. Subsequent appointments shall all be for 2-year terms.
(4) Members of the Raton-Colfax County Extraterritorial Zoning Commission shall disqualify themselves from participation or voting on any matter which would result in the substantial change in the value of their real estate interest or the real estate interest of any person related to them, or would, in any other way, be a conflict of interest.
(B) Powers and duties.
(1) The Raton-Colfax County Extraterritorial Zoning Commission shall administer this chapter adopted by the Extraterritorial Zoning Authority in the manner provided in NMSA § 3-21-4B and § 3-21-7C.
(2) The Extraterritorial Zoning Commission shall recommend the boundaries of the various original districts and the regulations necessary to enforce the zoning restrictions.
(3) The Extraterritorial Zoning Commission shall make a preliminary report before the report is submitted to the Extraterritorial Zoning Authority for action.
(4) The Raton-Colfax County Extraterritorial Zoning Commission shall be the initial hearing body for all proceedings requesting variations from existing zoning requirements, applications for changes for zoning, and appeals from determinations of the Extraterritorial Zoning Enforcement Officer. In all such situations the Extraterritorial Zoning Commission shall conduct a public hearing at a regularly scheduled meeting, and shall thereafter submit its findings and recommendations to the Extraterritorial Zoning Authority. The recommendation shall be either for approval, for conditional approval, or for disapproval, and shall contain a brief summary of the reasoning behind the recommendations and any conditions of approval.
(5) The Extraterritorial Zoning Commission shall act in an advisory capacity to the Extraterritorial Zoning Authority in any appeal taken under the provisions of this chapter, but shall exercise no judicial or legislative authority in so doing. For that purpose it shall be the duty of the Zoning Commission to hold an open hearing on all matters appealed to the Extraterritorial Zoning Authority. Each party to the appeal shall be given 3 days’ notice in writing of such hearing.
(6) It shall be the duty of the Extraterritorial Zoning Enforcement Officer to present a statement of the controversy being appealed to the Extraterritorial Zoning Commission. Any aggrieved person, any officer, department, board or bureau of the Extraterritorial Zoning Authority affected by the decision appealed shall have the right to be heard before the Zoning Commission.
(7) The Extraterritorial Zoning Commission shall have the power to promulgate rules and regulations governing hearings held by it under this chapter, subject to the review and approval of the Zoning Authority. At the conclusion of the hearing, the Zoning Commission shall, by a majority vote, recommend to the Zoning Authority that the action appealed from either be sustained, reversed or reversed in part. Such recommendations shall be advisory only and may be considered by the Zoning Authority in considering the appeal, but shall not be binding upon it.
(8) Nothing herein contained shall prevent the Zoning Authority from hearing and determining any appeal taken under this chapter without having received the recommendation of the Extraterritorial Zoning Commission, if a report by the Commission has not been submitted to the Extraterritorial Zoning Authority within 60 days from filing of the notice of appeal as provided for in division (B)(5) of this section.
(C) Meetings. Meetings of the Extraterritorial Zoning Commission shall be held at the call of the Chairman, and at such other times as the Zoning Commission may choose. Meetings of the Extraterritorial Zoning Commission shall be open to the public, with the news media being properly notified.
(Ord. 81-1, passed 7-10-1981)