Part 4. Planning
Commission
204.01. Establishment of commission. A city planning commission for the City of
Askov is established. The commission
shall be the city planning agency authorized by Minn. Stat. Section 462.354,
Subdivision 1.
204.02. Composition. Subdivision 1. Membership. The planning commission shall consist of
seven members from the resident population of the city to be appointed by the
mayor with the approval of the council. The appointees shall be appointed to serve staggered terms for three
years, except as noted below, commencing on the first day of January in the
year of appointment. Upon expiration of
the term, the appointee shall continue until reappointed or a successor is
appointed. In the event of any vacancy,
the mayor, with the approval of the council, shall appoint a person to complete
the unexpired term.
Subd. 2. Council
appointee. One member may be a council member or the clerk to be appointed
by the mayor with council approval, for a one-year term to expire on December
31 of each year.
Subd. 3. Ex-officio
members. Other persons may serve in
an ex-officio capacity as the council may in its discretion deem
appropriate. They may share a voice on
matters coming before the Commission and may serve any capacity on committees;
however, they shall have no voting power and are not eligible to hold office.
Subd. 4. Voting
privileges. Each of the seven regular planning commission members shall
have equal voting privileges.
Subd. 5. Loss
of Membership. Any member may be
removed for cause by majority vote of the city council upon written charge and
after public hearing.
204.03. Organization, meetings, etc. At the first
regular meeting in January, the commission shall elect a chairman, a vice
chairman, and a secretary from among its appointed members, each for a term of
one year; and the commission may create and fill such other offices as it may
determine. The commission shall hold
regular meetings the first Monday of each month at 7:00 p.m. in the community
center. Special meetings may be called
by the chairman, or by any two members, on three days' written or verbal notice
to each member. Written minutes of
meetings shall be kept by the secretary and filed with the clerk prior to the
next regularly scheduled council meeting, but shall be subject to approval at
the next planning commission meeting.
A quorum shall consist of at least four regular
members for the transaction of business at any regular or special meeting. All members, except ex-officio members, shall
have equal voting rights.
No expenditures by the commission shall be made unless
and until authorized for the purpose by the council.
The following shall be the order of business of
meetings of the Commission:
1. Roll call
2. Reading of minutes of previous meeting
3. Communications
4. Reports of committees
5. Unfinished business
6. New business
7. Adjournment
Except where these rules and regulations otherwise
provide, Robert's Rules of Order, Revised, shall govern parliamentary procedure.
On or before January 1 of each year the commission
shall submit to the city council a report of its work done during the preceding
year.
These Rules and By-laws may be amended by majority
vote at any regular or special meeting, provided that at least three days'
written notice has been given to the members, which notice shall contain the
proposed amendments to be voted upon. Any such amendments become effective at
the time they are adopted.
204.04. Duties and powers of the
commission, comprehensive plan. Subdivision 1. Plan. The planning commission shall have the powers and duties given city
planning agencies generally by law. The
commission shall also exercise the duties conferred upon it by this code. It shall be the purpose of the planning
commission to prepare and adopt a comprehensive plan for the physical
development of the city, including proposed public buildings, street
arrangements, and improvements, efficient design of major thoroughfares for
moving of traffic, parking facilities, public utilities, services, parks, and
playgrounds, a general land use plan, and other matters relating to the
physical development of the city. Such
plan may be prepared in sections, each of which shall relate to the
comprehensive plan program. After the
commission has prepared and adopted the comprehensive plan, it shall
periodically, but at least every three years review the comprehensive plan and
any ordinances or program implementing the plan.
Subd. 2. Means
of executing plan. Upon the adoption
of a comprehensive plan or any section thereof, it shall be the concern of the
planning commission to recommend to the council reasonable and practical means
for putting into effect such plan or section thereof in order that the same
will serve as a pattern and guide for the orderly physical development of the
city and as a basis for judging the timely disbursements of funds to implement
the objective. Means of effectuating the
plan shall, among other things, consist of a zoning ordinance, subdivision regulations,
capital improvements, programming and technical review, and recommendations of
matters referred to the planning commission by the council.
Subd. 3. Zoning Ordinance. The planning commission shall review all
proposed amendments to the zoning ordinance, take part in public hearings, and
make recommendations to the council as may be prescribed by the zoning
ordinance.
Subd. 4. Special
permits. The planning commission may
make recommendations on all requests for a conditional use permit under the
terms of the zoning ordinance. The
commission shall report its recommendations to the council for action.
Subd. 5. Subdivisions. The planning commission may make
recommendations in relation to the subdividing of land as prescribed by the
ordinance; the commission shall report its recommendations to the council for
action.
Subd. 6. Capital
improvement program. The planning
commission and city officers shall endeavor to create a descriptive list of
proposed improvements for the ensuing five-year period. The planning commission shall also request
from the local school district a similar list of its proposed public works.
The planning
commission shall list and classify all such proposed public works and shall
prepare a coordinated program of proposed public works for the ensuing year and
for a projected five-year period. Such
program shall be recommended by the planning commission to the council and to
such other officers, departments, boards, or public bodies as have jurisdiction
over the recommended planning or construction of such public works.
204.05. Variances. All applications for variance shall be
referred to the planning commission and forwarded with or without
recommendations directly to the council for its decision.