2021-03-02_09b Election of OfficersMEMORANDUM
TO: PLANNING COMMISSION
FROM: ANDREW PEREZ, ASSOCIATE PLANNER
SUBJECT: ELECTION OF CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR
D ATE: MARCH 2, 2021
SUMMARY OF ACTION:
Annual appointment of a Chair and Vice Chair to serve for the next one-year period.
IMPACT ON FINANCIAL AND PERSONNEL RESOURCES:
There is no cost or staffing impact from this action.
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the Planning Commission elect a Chair and a Vice Chair to serve
effective the second meeting in March 2021, and continuing until its second regular meeting
in March 2022.
BACKGROUND:
City Council Resolution No. 09-2077 established by-laws that govern the Planning
Commission organization and the conduct of its meetings. The by-laws state that at the
second regular meeting in March, the members of the Planning Commission shall elect a
Chair and Vice-chair, who shall hold office for one (1) year. The Chair and Vice-chair shall
carry out the duties for those positions as described in the by-laws (Attachment 1).
For the Commission’s reference, an election protocol is outlined below. This is a suggested
procedure and the Commission can vary from it in whatever manner is deemed appropriate,
with the goal of having an orderly process to select the Chair and Vice Chair.
1.The Presiding Officer shall conduct the election of Commission Officers.
2.Call to select all nominations for Chair (no second necessary). Presiding Officer to
repeat each nomination as it is made.
3.Call for motion to close nominations.
4.The Commission will vote, beginning with the first nominee, until a nominee
receives a majority of votes and a Chair is selected.
5.Call to select all nominations for Vice Chair (no second necessary). Presiding
Officer to repeat each nomination as it is made.
6.Call for motion to close nominations.
7.The Commission will vote, beginning with the first nominee, until a nominee
receives a majority of votes and a Vice Chair is selected.
ALTERNATIVES:
1.Elect a Commission Chair and Vice Chair;
Item 9.b - Page 1
PLANNING COMMISSION
ELECTION OF CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR
MARCH 2, 2021
PAGE 2
2. Do not elect a Commission Chair and Vice Chair and provide staff with direction; or
3. Provide other direction to staff.
ADVANTAGES:
The current process provides an orderly and fair procedure for electing a Chair and Vice
Chair.
DISADVANTAGES:
No disadvantages have been identified regarding this item.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW:
No environmental review is required for this item.
PUBLIC NOTIFICATION AND COMMENTS:
The Agenda was posted in front of City Hall and on the City’s website in accordance with
Government Code Section 54954.2.
Attachment:
1. Resolution 09-2077 - Planning Commission by-laws
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RESOLUTION NO. 09-2077
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF ARROYO GRANDE
PLANNING COMMISSION AMENDING THE BY-LAWS
SECTION I
WHEREAS. the City Council of the City of Arroyo Grande, pursuant to Sections 65000
through 65906 of the Government Code, appointed the Planning Commission and
provided the powers and duties as outlined in Title 9, Chapter 1, Section 110 of the
Municipal Code; and
SECTION II
NOW, THEREFORE, the Planning Commission of the City of Arroyo Grande resolves
that the following amended By-laws are hereby adopted, governing the organization of
the Planning Commission and the conduct of Planning Commission meetings:
A.
B.
BY-LAWS
Attendance of Members:
Absence from three (3) consecutive regular meetings or 25% of the regular
meetings during any one-year period, without formal consent of the City Council
may be deemed to constitute the resignation of such member and the position
declared vacant.
Officers:
1. Selection
a. At its second regular meeting in March the members of the Planning
Commission (hereinafter the "Commission") shall elect a Chair and a
Vice-chair, who shall hold office for one year. Their duties shall be
such as are usually carried out by such officers.
2. Duties
a. Chair
The Chair shall:
1)
2)
3)
4)
Preside at all meetings;
Call special meetings except as provided in C.2.a.;
Appoint persons to all committees subject to confirmation by
the Commission;
Execute documents on behalf of the Commission;
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ATTACHMENT 1
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RESOLUTION 09-2077
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5) Ensure that all Commission business is conducted in
accordance with law;
6) Assist staff in determining agenda items: and
7) Perform such other duties as are assigned by the
Commission.
b. Vice-Chair
The Vice-Chair shall:
1) Preside at meetings in the absence of the Chair; and
2) Perform such other duties as are assigned by the Chair or
Commission.
c. Secretary to the Commission
The Secretary to the Commission shall:
1) Keep permanent and complete records of the proceedings of
the Commission;
2)
3)
Join with the Chair in executing all instruments of writing
requiring formal execution on the part of the Commission:
Post Commission agendas in the manner required by law.
d. Secretary to the Commission
C. Meetings:
The Secretary to the Commission may be designated by the
Community Development Director to fulfill such duties as assigned
by the Commission.
1. Regular Meetings
a. The regular meetings of the Commission shall be held on the first
and third Tuesday of each month at 6:00 p.m. in the City Council
Chambers, Arroyo Grande, California.
b. A motion will be required to continue discussion of agenda items
after 10:00 p.m.
2. Special Meetings
a.
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A special meeting may be called by the Chair or by the Secretary to
the Commission at the written request of at least three members;
provided that written notice of such special meeting so called shall
be received by each member of the Commission at least 24 hours in
advance of the time fixed for the meeting, and which notice shall
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RESOLUTION 09-2077
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b.
contain the time, the place, and shall set out the business to be
transacted. Notice may be dispensed with by written waiver of each
member.
The Secretary of the Commission shall notify the public and the
press of all special meetings of the Commission, pursuant to the
Brown Act.
3. Adjournment
The Commission may at any meeting adjourn over to the next regular
meeting by a majority vote, or, may recess to a stated time, date and place
for continuance of the meeting.
The Commission may, by Resolution, amend these By-laws and designate
a different day, time or place on which to hold regular meetings; notice of
such change of regular meetings must be posted on the door of the present
hearing place and given to each local newspaper of general circulation,
radio or television station requesting written notice at least 5 days prior to
the next meeting.
D. Quorum:
1. Three members of the Commission shall constitute a quorum for the
transaction of Commission business.
2. Should there not be a quorum present, the members present may adjourn
to a later date, or adjourn to a Workshop/Study Session.
3. In the absence of both the Chair and Vice-Chair at any meeting, but a
quorum existing, a chair shall be selected Pro Tern by the Commissioners
present and the business transacted as though the regular officers were
present.
4. If an item is continued for more than two consecutive Commission meetings
due to a lack of a quorum, it may be referred to the City Council by the
Chair.
E. Committees:
F.
1. Special committees for particular purposes may be created by the presiding
officer with consent of the Commission.
Voting:
1. The Chair of the Commission, or presiding officer if another Commissioner
presides, shall be entitled to vote with the other Commissioners in the
transaction of any business and in all matters coming before the Commission.
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RESOLUTION 09-2077
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2. Commission action for adoption or amendment to the General Plan,
Development Code, Specific Plan, and Planned Development (PD)
Ordinance projects shall require the affirmative vote of at least three
members.
3. The affirmative vote of a majority of the Commission present shall be
required for the approval of all other Commission business.
4. One member may demand a roll call of the ayes and noes on any question.
5. When a member of the Commission abstains from voting on any matter
before it because of a potential conflict of interest, said abstention shall not
constitute nor be considered as either a vote in favor of or opposition to the
matter being considered.
6. The order of voting shall be that the motion maker shall vote first, the
Commissioner seconding the motion shall vote second, the remaining
Commissioners alphabetical with the Chair always voting last.
7. The minutes of the Commission's proceeding shall show the vote of each
member for roll call votes, including if they were absent or abstained to vote
on a matter considered.
8. A member shall disqualify himself/herself from voting in accordance with the
Conflict of Interest Law. When a person disqualifies himself/herself, he/she
shall state prior to the consideration of such matter by the Commission that
he/she is disqualifying himself/herself due to a possible conflict of interest,
state the general nature of the conflict of interest, and shall then leave the
voting area.
G. Minutes:
All motions. orders, and resolutions, and such other matters as the Commission
orders shall be entered into the minutes.
H. Conduct of Meetings:
All business of the Commission shall be conducted according to "Robert's Rules of
Order."
I. Resolutions:
J.
Resolutions shall be numbered consecutively and must be signed by the Chair and
Secretary to the Commission and shall be kept in a resolution file, and may be
referred to by number.
Order of Meetings:
1. Unless the Chair directs, the order of business shall be as follows:
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a. The Chair shall take the chair precisely at the time appointed for the
meeting and shall immediately call the Commission to order.
b. Members present and absent shall be recorded.
c. The minutes of any preceding meeting shall be submitted for
approval.
d. Any member of the audience may comment on any matter that is not
listed on the agenda. A time limit of 3 minutes may be imposed on
each individual speaker if the Chair so directs.
e. The public shall be advised of the procedures to be followed in the
meeting.
f. The Commission shall then hear and act upon those items outlined
on the agenda.
g. Agenda Item for Approved Minor Use Permits: All approved Minor
Use Permits listed on the Agenda for Commission and Public
Information shall be subject to a 10-day appeal period.
h. Planning Commission/Community Development Director Comments
and Items.
i. Adjournment
K. Presentation or Hearing of Proposals:
The following shall be the order of procedure for public hearings or other proposals
concerning City matters, unless the Chair in his/her discretion shall otherwise
direct
1. The Chair shall announce the item listed on the agenda.
2. If a request is made for continuance, a motion may be made and voted
upon to continue the item to a definite time and date, or continue
indefinitely. If a previously advertised public hearing item is continued
indefinitely, the item must be legally re-advertised.
3. The staff shall be asked to present the substance of the agenda item, staff
report, recommendation, and answer technical questions of the
Commission.
4. Order of Testimony:
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a. Applicant's statement
b. Statements from the public
c. If determined by the Chair to be necessary, a rebuttal from the
applicant
d. Public hearing closed
e. The Commission shall then deliberate and either take action on the
matter or continue the matter to another date and time certain, or
indefinitely.
L. Rules of Testimony:
1. Persons presenting testimony to the Commission are requested to give their
name and address for the record. They may also be requested to
voluntarily sign the attendance sheet.
2. If there are numerous people in the audience who wish to participate on an
issue, and it is known that all represent the same opinion, a spokesperson
should be selected to speak for the entire group. The spokesperson will
have the opportunity of speaking for a reasonable length of time and of
presenting a complete case.
3. To avoid unnecessary cumulative evidence, the Chair may limit the
individual and/or total amount of time allocated for public testimony on a
particular issue.
4. Irrelevant and off-the-subject comments will be ruled out of order.
5. The Chair will not permit personal remarks regarding the staff or individual
Commissioners during a public hearing. Complaints should be submitted in
writing or presented verbally as a separate item on the agenda.
6. No person shall address the Commission without first securing the
permission of the Chair to do so.
M. Review and Amendments Procedure:
1. These By-laws may be reviewed at the second meeting in July of each year
by a subcommittee with members appointed by the Chair with the consent
of the Commission. The review subcommittee shall present their
recommendation for amending or not amending these Rules to the
Commission.
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2. In addition, the By-laws may be amended at any meeting of the Planning
Commission by a majority (3 affirmative votes) of the Commission provided
that notice of the proposed amendment is received by each Commissioner
not less than five (5) days prior to said meeting.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Community Development Director shall furnish
copies of this Resolution to the Planning Commission and copies of these By-laws shall
be available for public inspection at City Hall.
On motion by Commissioner Keen, seconded by Commissioner Ruth, and by the
following roll call vote to wit:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
Commissioners Keen, Ruth and Chair Ray
Commissioners Barneich and Brown
None
the foregoing Resolution was passed and adopted this 3rd day of February 2009 and
becomes effective immediately.
LYN REARDON-SMITH
SECRETARY TO THE COMMISSION
AS TO CONTENT:
ROB STRONG --
COMMUNITY DEVEL
Revised 02-03-09
ENT DIRECTOR
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