(a) Membership. The Planning Commission shall consist of seven (7) members: the Mayor; one member of Council or a person appointed by Council to act in its stead as its designee; and five (5) members appointed by the Mayor subject to the approval of a majority of the members elected to Council. Appointed members shall hold no other municipal office or appointment. The Mayor shall have the right to remove any appointed member he or she has appointed for cause. The Council shall have the right to remove the member it has appointed for cause.
(b) Terms of Office. Present members of the Planning Commission shall continue to serve until their terms are completed. Members may succeed themselves. The term of members appointed by the Mayor shall be for four (4) years. The term of the member appointed by Council shall be two (2) years. (Amended 11-7-23.)
(c) Vacancy. A vacancy occurring during the term of any member shall be filled for the unexpired term in the manner authorized for an original appointment.
(d) Compensation. The members of the Planning Commission shall serve without compensation unless otherwise provided by ordinance.
(e) Duties. The Planning Commission shall meet at least once a month. It shall be the function and duty of the Planning Commission to act as the Platting Commissioner of the Municipality and as such it shall have control of planning and shall provide regulations covering the platting of all lands within the Municipality or within three miles thereof in cooperation with other municipalities, so as to secure the harmonious development and to provide for the coordination of streets with other streets and with the official municipal plan and to provide for open spaces for traffic, utilities, access of fire fighting apparatus, recreation, light and air, and for the avoidance of congestion of population. It shall make such regulations as it deems necessary as to the manner in which streets and other public ways shall be graded and improved; the manner in which and the extent to which water, sewer and other utility mains, piping or other facilities shall be installed, or establish any other conditions precedent to the approval of a proposed plat. The Commission shall make plans and maps of the whole or any portion of the Municipality and of any land outside the Municipality which, in the opinion of the Commission, bears a relation to the planning of the Municipality and to make changes in, additions to, and extensions of such plans or maps when it deems the same advisable. It shall have such powers as may be conferred on it by ordinance of the Council concerning the plan, design, location, removal, relocation and alteration of any public building or structure or those located on public streets or property, the location, relocation, widening, extension and vacation of streets, parkways, playgrounds and other public places, the zoning and rezoning of the Municipality for any lawful purpose and such other powers as now or may hereafter be conferred upon it by ordinance of Council or the general laws of Ohio. All plans and recommendations made by the Planning Commission shall be submitted to Council for approval before the same shall be considered as official unless otherwise provided by ordinance of Council.
(f) Funds. A sufficient sum shall be appropriated by the Council each year to carry out the planning provisions of this Charter.
(g) Mandatory Referral to Planning Commission. No public building, street, boulevard, parkway, park, playground, bridge, tunnel, publicly or privately owned utility or part thereof shall be constructed or authorized to be constructed in the Municipality, nor shall any street, avenue, parkway, boulevard or alley be opened for any purpose whatsoever, nor shall any street, avenue, parkway, boulevard or alley be widened, narrowed, relocated, vacated, or its use changed, or any ordinance referring to zoning or other regulations controlling the use or development of land, be adopted unless and until it shall have been submitted to the Planning Commission for report and recommendation. Any matter so referred to the Planning Commission shall be acted upon by it within sixty (60) days from the date of referral unless a different period of time be provided by Council. If the Planning Commission shall fail to act within the time allotted, it shall be deemed to have approved such matter. Any provision or any resolution, ordinance or order disapproved by formal action of the Planning Commission shall require a two-thirds (2/3) vote of all members of the Council for adoption or authorization. If any plan, design or other proposal concerning the character, extent, location, or use of any public improvement or public property or change thereof within the territorial limits of the Municipality does not, under the law or Charter provision covering same, fall within the province of the Council or other official or agency of the Municipality, then the submission to the Planning Commission shall be by the State, County, district, school, township or other official body, board or commission having jurisdiction over such public improvement or property in accordance with the provisions of the general law of the State of Ohio. The Planning Commission's disapproval may be overruled at any time after seven (7) days' written notice by the excepting body to the Planning Commission stating the reason for such exception. Such overruling disapproval must be adopted by at least two-thirds (2/3) of the membership of such excepting body.
(h) Mandatory Referral to Electors. Whenever the number of dwelling units in multiple-family dwelling units exceeds fifteen percent (15%) of the total of all dwelling units in the Municipality, any rezoning or zoning for apartment multiple-family dwelling use (excluding two-family, townhouse, and cluster dwelling use) approved by the Planning Commission and Council shall be submitted by Council to the electorate at the next general election, or at a special election within one hundred twenty (120) days if the applicant for zoning or rezoning agrees to assume all costs of the election and post bond with the City Fiscal Officer. The applicant shall further agree to authorize the City Fiscal Officer to advertise, and assume the obligations to pay, for a notice of the posted bond and the requested land use change in at least three (3) newspapers of general circulation, or all newspapers of general circulation, whichever shall be the lesser number of said newspapers. The said notices shall be placed in the newspapers three (3) times before election, each notice to be two (2) weeks apart, with the last of such notices to be published within one (1) week prior to the date of the election. If there be no applicant to rezoning or zoning the foregoing required advertisement shall be done at the request of Council. Approval by a majority of the electors voting thereon is mandatory for the zoning or rezoning to pass.
(Amended 11-2-04.)
(Amended 11-2-04.)