(A) Establishment. A Planning Commission for the city is hereby continued as previously established by the City Council. The Planning Commission, which is a planning agency as allowed and defined by M.S. § 462.354, as it may be amended from time to time, shall be advisory directly to the City Council, except for other powers and duties that are imposed on it by statute, by charter or by ordinance consistent with the municipal charter.
(B) Composition. The Planning Commission shall consist of seven members who shall be appointed by the City Council and may be removed by a two-thirds vote of the City Council. Terms for Planning Commission members shall be three years. All members shall hold their offices until their successors are appointed and qualified. Vacancies during the term shall be filled by the City Council for the unexpired portion of the term. All members shall serve without compensation.
(C) Organization and meetings. The Planning Commission shall elect a Chairperson from among its appointed members for the term of one year; and the Planning Commission may create and fill other offices as it may determine necessary. The Planning Commission shall hold at least one regular meeting each month, which shall be rescheduled from its original date if there is a lack of quorum. It shall adopt rules for the transaction of business and shall keep a record of its resolutions, transactions, and findings, which shall be a public record. From time to time through the course of a year, the Planning Commission shall submit to the City Council a report of its work activities or projects during the preceding year. Expenditures of the Planning Commission shall be within amounts appropriated for such purposes by the City Council.
(D) Adoption of program of work. The Planning Commission shall prepare and adopt a program of work which may be revised from time to time. This program will outline activities proposed to be undertaken in the exercise of the Planning Commissions powers and the performance of its duties consistent with the goals and strategies adopted in the Comprehensive Plan.
(E) Preparation of Comprehensive Plan. It shall be the duty of the Planning Commission to prepare and recommend to the City Council for adoption a Comprehensive Plan for the physical development of the city as allowed and regulated under M.S. Ch. 462, as it may be amended from time to time. The Planning Commission shall periodically review the plan and recommend amendments to the City Council as allowed under state statute.
(F) Procedure for adoption or amendment of the Comprehensive Plan. Before final recommendation for Comprehensive Plan adoption or amendment to the City Council, the Planning Commission shall hold at least one public hearing thereon, notice of the time and place of which shall be given publication in a newspaper of general circulation at least ten days before the day of the hearing. The adoption of the Comprehensive Plan or any section or any amendment thereof shall be by resolution of the City Council, approved by a two-thirds vote of all of its members.
(G) Means of executing the Comprehensive Plan. Upon adoption of the Comprehensive City Plan or any section thereof, it shall be the duty of the Planning Commission to recommend to the City Council reasonable and practicable means for putting into effect the plan or section thereof. The means shall consist of a zoning ordinance which includes a zoning map, a subdivision ordinance which provides for the control of plats and changes of lot lines, and may include a plan for future streets, coordination of the normal public improvements of the city, a long-term program of capital expenditures and such other matters as will accomplish the purposes of the Comprehensive Plan.
(H) Review of recommended public works. Each department, board or commission of the city, whose functions includes preparing and recommending plans for development projects shall submit the plans to the Planning Commission for review prior to the submission of these plans to the City Council. These shall include plans, which have interdepartmental implications or pertain to implementation of the Comprehensive Plan, but not those that relate to the regular maintenance or repair of city infrastructure.
(Prior Code, § 305.04) (Ord. passed 12-18-2007; Ord. passed 7-2-2018)