The following ethical principles shall guide the actions of the Commission and its members.
(A) Serve the public interest. The primary obligation of the Commission and each member is to serve the public interest.
(B) Support citizen participation in planning. The Commission shall ensure a forum for meaningful citizen participation and expression in the planning process, and assist in the clarification of community goals, objectives and policies.
(C) Conflict of interest. Planning Commission members shall adhere to state law regarding conflicts of interest. A member with a conflict of interest shall be required to disclose such conflict prior to consideration of the matter by the Planning Commission. A member with a conflict of interest may not attempt to influence other members or appointed staff outside the meeting. A member with a conflict of interest shall be required to recuse herself or himself from participating in, commenting on or voting on the matter in which such conflict exists.
(D) Ex parte communication/ensure full disclosure at public meetings. Each case shall be decided on the basis of the evidence placed in the record in a public meeting. Ex parte information on any application received by a Commissioner, whether by mail, telephone or other communication should be avoided. When such communication does occur, it must be made part of the public record by the Commission member. The purpose of disclosing ex parte communication is to get all information on the record so it can then be addressed, confirmed or refuted, by evidence presented by the parties during a meeting.
(E) Maintain public impartiality. Commission members may seek information from other Commission members, the counsel to the Commission, staff serving the Commission or the staff of other departments or agencies advising the Commission. Each member of the Commission has an ethical duty to avoid making public statements for or against the merits of any application before the Commission hearing is concluded and a decision or recommendation has been rendered.
(F) Faithful attendance and performance. Should circumstances arise where a Planning Commission member is unable to attend a scheduled meeting, the member shall be responsible for notifying the Chair or Building and Zoning Department staff as soon as possible. Planning Commission members shall not miss more than three consecutive meetings. A Planning Commission member may not miss more than 25% of the meetings in a year. If circumstances prevent faithful attendance and performance of Planning Commission member duties, the member will be removed from the Planning Commission or the member should knowingly resign from the Planning Commission. Attendance through remote means may only be approved the Planning Commission Chair and a Commission member must attend more than 50% of the meetings in person absent extenuating circumstances.
(G) Open Meetings Act. Commission members shall be trained annually and abide by the Open Meetings Act as described in UCA Title 52, Ch. 4, Open and Public Meetings Act.
(Ord. 2020-03, passed 2-18-2020; Ord. 2020-03A, passed 3-15-2022)