1995CITY of OTSEGO
PLANNING COMMISSION
BYLAWS
Amended: July 1995
ORGANIZATION:
1. The Planning Commission officers shall be:
Chair
Vice Chair
Secretary
2. Duties of the officers:
A. Chair:
The Chair shall preside at all meetings of the
Commission.
The Chair shall preserve order and decorum and shall
decide all questions of order.
The Chair shall appoint any necessary committees and
shall appoint any committees requested by a majority of
the members.
The Chair may call special meetings by written notice
stating the purpose of such meeting and delivered at
least twenty four hours in advance of the meeting.
B. Vice Chair:
The Vice Chair shall preside at all meetings in the
absence of the Chair and perform such duties as
requested by the Chair.
C. Secretary:
The Secretary shall be responsible for insuring that
detailed minutes of all Commission meetings shall be
taken by the staff secretary and distributed to the
members at least a week before the next commission
meeting.
The Secretary shall also maintain records of site
inspection attendance and attendance of Commission
members at meetings and shall submit these records to
the staff upon a regular basis.
WORK RULES:
1. There shall be two regularly scheduled meetings the first
and third Wednesday of each month, unless an alternative
is scheduled due to an unforeseen conflict. Notice of
the change must be given in writing to members at least
four days prior to the meeting date.
2. At the first meeting in January, the Commission shall
elect from it's membership a Chair, a Vice Chair, and a
Secretary.
3. The membership of the Commission shall
consist of seven members appointed by the
City Council, one alternate member appointed
by the City Council, and a nonvoting
Council representative.
4. The alternate member shall sit at the
planning commission table during any
scheduled meeting, but the alternate shall
only vote if a member of the commission is
absent.
5. A quorum shall consist of four members.
6. A member may be excused from an individual meeting for
reasons of illness, work or out of town trips. Notice
of the members absence must be communicated to the
staff before 4:00 p.m. on the date of the meeting.
7. The order of business shall be as listed in the meeting
agenda to be prepared by the Zoning Administrator before
each meeting.
8. All Commission recommendations shall be sent to the City
Council in written meeting minutes and shall include a
record of the division of votes on each recommendation.
9. All meetings shall be open to the public.
10. Any site inspection involving 4 members or
more as a group, must be noticed as a
special Planning Commission meeting.
11. Any resolution or motion, except the motion to adjourn,
postpone, reconsider, table, or force the previous
question shall be written and included in the meeting
minutes.
12. Any resolution or motion may be withdrawn at any time
before action is taken on it.
13. When a question is under debate, no other motion shall be
entertained except to table or call for the question,
act on the question, postpone, refer to committee, or
amend Motions shall take precedence in that order and the
first two shall be without debate.
14. All motions shall be carried by a majority vote of the
members present, except call for the "question". Any
member or the Chair may call for a roll call vote on any
issue.
15. Motions can be make only by persons recognized by the
Chair.
16. Call for the question is not a motion, but only an
indication to the Chair that the person making this
statement is ready to have the motion or question acted
upon.
17. Any Commission member having a personal
interest, a financial interest, or a family
member with a financial interest in any
individual action to be considered by the
Commission, shall:
a. notify the Chair of the conflict in
advance of meeting.
b. allow the Chair to explain the potential
conflict to the Commission.
ce at the request of the Chair, the member
shall excuse himself/herself from the
Commission meeting room in advance of
the discussion and voting on this action
item.
18. In the event that a member is contacted
prior to a Commission Meeting by a citizen
with a concern regarding a pending issue,
the member must:
a. refrain from discussing any pending
planning commission business with any
individual outside of a planning
commission meeting. This includes
indicating his/her stand on the pending
issue.
b. refrain from speculating on other
commission member's stand on the pending
issue.
19. Any Commission member who conducts himself/herself
in a manner conflicting with the above By -Laws, provides
grounds for removal by the City Council.
20. These rules shall not be repealed or amended except by a
majority vote of the Commission and after notice has been
given at a previous meeting. Changes in these By -Laws
will become active upon approval by the City Council.
21. Any rule not covered by these Work Rules shall be
governed by Robert's Rules of Order.
CITY of OTSEGO
PLANNING COMMISSION
BYLAWS
Amended: July 1995
ORGANIZATION:
1. The Planning Commission officers shall be:
Chair
Vice Chair
Secretary
2. Duties of the officers:
A. Chair:
The Chair shall preside at all meetings of the Commission.
The Chair shall preserve order and decorum and shall decide all questions of
order.
The Chair shall appoint any necessary committees and shall appoint any
committees requested by a majority of the members.
The Chair may call special meetings by written notice stating the purpose of
such meeting and delivered at least twenty four hours in advance of the meeting.
B. Vice Chair:
The Vice Chair shall preside at all meetings in the absence of the Chair and
perform such duties as requested by the Chair.
C. Secretary:
The Secretary shall be responsible for insuring that detailed minutes of all
Commission meetings shall be taken by the staff secretary and distributed to
the members at least a week before the next commission meeting.
The Secretary shall also maintain records of site inspection attendance and
attendance of Commission members at meetings and shall submit these records to
the staff upon a regular basis.
WORK RULES:
Page 2
1. There shall be two regularly scheduled meetings the first and third Wednesday of
each month, unless an alternative is scheduled due to an unforeseen conflict.
Notice of the change must be given in writing to members at least four days prior
to the meeting date.
2. At the first meeting in January, the Commission shall elect from it's membership a
Chair, a Vice Chair, and a Secretary.
3. The membership of the Commission shall consist of seven members appointed by
the City Council, one alternate member appointed by the City Council, and a
non-voting Council representative appointed by the Mayor.
4. The alternate member shall sit at the planning commission table during any
scheduled meeting and participate in all sessions, but the alternate shall only vote if
a member of the commission is absent.
5. A quorum shall consist of four members.
6. A member may be excused from an individual meeting for reasons of illness, work
or out of town trips. Notice of the members absence must be communicated to the
staff before 4:00 p.m. on the date of the meeting.
7. The order of business shall be as listed in the meeting agenda to be prepared by the
Zoning Administrator before each meeting.
8. All Commission recommendations shall be sent to the City Council in written
meeting minutes and shall include a record of the division of votes on each
recommendation.
9. All meetings shall be open to the public.
10. Any site inspection involving 4 members or more as a group, shall be noticed
as a special Planning Commission meeting.
11. Any resolution or motion, except the motion to adjourn, postpone, reconsider,
table, or force the previous question shall be written and included in the meeting
minutes.
12. Any resolution or motion may be withdrawn at any time before action is taken on
it.
Page 3
13. When a question is under debate, no other motion shall be entertained except to
table or call for the question, act on the question, postpone, refer to committee, or
amend. Motions shall take precedence in that order and the first two shall be
without debate.
14. All motions shall be carried by a majority vote of the members and Chair present,
except call for the "question". Any members or the Chair may call for a roll call
vote on any issue.
15. Motions shall be made only by persons recognized by the Chair.
16. Call for the question is not a motion, but an indication to the Chair that the person
making this statement is ready to have the motion or question acted upon without
further discussion.
17. Any Commission member having a personal interest, a financial interest, or a
family member with a financial interest in any individual action to be
considered by the Commission, shall:
a. notify the Chair of the conflict in advance of meeting.
b. allow the Chair to explain the potential conflict to the Commission.
C. at the request of the Chair, the member shall excuse himself/herself
from the Commission meeting room in advance of the discussion and
voting on this item.
18. In the event that a member is contacted prior to a Commission Meeting by a
citizen with a concern regarding a pending issue, the member must:
a. refrain from discussing any pending Planning Commission business
with any individual outside of a Planning Commission meeting. This
includes indicating his/her stand on the pending issue.
b. refrain from speculating on other Commission member's stand on the
pending issue.
19. Any Commission member who conducts himself/herself in a manner
conflicting with the above By -Laws, provides grounds for removal by the
City Council.
Page 4
20. These rules shall not be repealed or amended except by a five member vote of the
Commission and after notice has been given at a previous meeting. Changes in
these By -Laws will become active upon approval by the City Council.
21. Any rule not covered by these Work Rules shall be governed by Robert's Rules of
Order.