2005-27
RESOLUTION PC 2005-27
A RESOLUTION AMENDING RESOLUTION PC 99-18, ADOPTED BYLAWS FOR THE
PLANNING COMMISSION
BE IT RESOLVED that the City of Encinitas Planning Commission does repeal any
previous rules, regulations, and procedures of the Commission adopted as amended, and adopts
the following rules under which the Commission shall function:
SECTION 1: ORGANIZATION
1. A quorum of the Commission shall consist ofa majority of the five members.
2. At the first regular meeting in April, except as otherwise agreed to by a majority of the
Commission then in attendance, the Commission will appoint from among its members a
Chair and Vice-Chair. The terms of these appointments shall end at the conclusion for
the first regular meeting in April of the following year.
3. In the absence of both the Chair and the Vice-Chair at any meeting, the Commission shall
appoint a Chair pro-tem to conduct that meeting.
4. The Planning and Building Director is the Secretary to the Commission. The Secretary
may, in performance of his or her duties, appoint a Deputy Secretary to perform the
secretarial function for the Commission in hislher absence.
5. The City Attorney (or designated representative) shall act as Parliamentarian for the
Commission and may be calleo Uj:lOi> by tt" Chair :0 rule on motions or decisions made.
6. "Chair" includes Chairman and Chairwoman. Any of these terms may be used in
accordance with the desire of the person holding the office.
Planning Commission Bylaws
Page 2
SECTION 2: DUTIES OF MEMBERS
1. It shall be the duty of each member to:
a) Attend all meetings of the Commission.
b) Act upon any committee to which appointed and report and prepare
findings with the assistance of City staff as from time to time may be required 'by
the Chair.
c) Become informed concerning the General Plan, the Zoning Ordinance,
these rules and all matters which come before the Planning Commission.
d) Be discreet in the discussion of pending matters outside regular or special
meetings of the Commission and make no prejudicial comment in advance of
official action of the Commission.
e) Refrain from directing design changes or modifications during any
communication with the applicant (or applicant representative) outside the context
of a meeting of the Planning Commission. Any meeting between a Planning
Commissioner and an applicant or applicant representative shall also be attended
by a Planning Department staff member.
f) Meet with staff and other city representatives as necessary to become
informed of the facts regarding the business on the Planning Commission
agendas.
SECTION 3: RESPONSffiILITIES OF CHAIR
1. The Chair shall preside at and conduct all meetings of the Commission, administer all
rules of the Commission, and rule upon motions, resolutions, or other business transacted
by the Commission. The Vice-Chair shall, in the absence of the Chair, exercise all
responsibilities of the Chair. The Chair may appoint such committees from among the
members of the Commission as may be necessary to conduct the business and pursue the
program and purposes of the Commission.
2. The Chair shall, when called upon, represent or appoint one of the members to represent
the Commission before the City Council. Such representation shall reflect the view of the
majority of the Commission on any particular matter upon which the Commission has
acted.
Planning Commission Bylaws
Page 3
SECTION 4: DUTIES OF SECRETARY - OFFICIAL PAPERS. PLANS AND
CORRESPONDENCE
1. The Secretary is responsible for the preparation of the minutes of each meeting to report
all actions and a brief account of the facts pertinent to the actions. Minutes shall be
prepared as expeditiously as possible and copies thereof furnished to members of the
Commission with distribution of agenda materials. Recorded tapes of meetings shall be
retained by the Secretary in accordance with the record retention policy adopted by the
City Council.
2. The Secretary shall have the authority to certify to any action taken by the Commission as
recorded in the minutes of the Commission or which is otherwise documented. Such
certification shall constitute the official reporting by the Commission to fulfill all
requirements of law excepting any law, rule or request of the Commission which requires
the signature of the Chair of the Commission.
3. The Secretary is authorized to draft or sign correspondence for the Commission and take
all actions in an executive secretarial capacity for the Commission. The Chair may also
prepare letters, memoranda and other correspondence at the direction of the Commission.
4. The Secretary shall, as possible, provide to each member all supporting information, and
minutes of the previous meeting, not less than six calendar days prior to the day of the
meeting.
SECTION 5: MEETINGS AND HEARINGS
1. Th;: regular meetings of the Planning Commission &hall generally be held ill ille City
Council Chambers in City Hall, 505 South Vulcan Avenue, Encinitas, California, on the
first and third Thursday of each month generally commencing at 6:00 p.m.
2. Special meetings or regularly adjourned meetings may be held in any other public
building in the City if the location, time and date thereof, is either announced during
previous regular meeting or notice is given in accordance with state law.
3. A quorum of the Commission at any regular meeting may by formal action change the
regular meeting date(s) for the following month. The Secretary shall give notice of such
change by posting notice thereof on the City Hall bulletin board.
Planning Commission Bylaws
Page 4
4. The Secretary may cancel any meeting with approval of the Chair if a quorum of the
Commission cannot be convened or there are no scheduled matters for the particular
meeting date. In such event the Secretary shall give notice to each member as early as is
practical and shall post the notice of cancellation on the City Hall bulletin board.
SECTION 6: BUSINESS
1. In the absence of a quorum the Secretary shall continue all business to a date certain,
report these facts at the door of the Council Chambers, and record them in the records of
the Commission.
2. The order of business and agenda ofthe meeting shall be arranged by the Secretary to best
serve the people who have received notices of Planning Commission hearings.
3. The Chair may alter the order of the agenda unless overruled by majority vote of the
Commission.
4. The Pledge of Allegiance will be conducted by a Commission member or other person
invited by the Chair prior to commencement of the meeting.
5. Public hearings shall be conducted in accordance with procedural rules adopted by the
Planning Commission. When any issue which is a subject of a public hearing is not
resolved by the Commission following the conclusion of the hearing in the same meeting,
such issue shall be carried over automatically to the next regularly scheduled meeting for
action, unless the Commission continues it to a date certain.
6. The Chair may close a hearing.
7. Any matter on the agenda other than an issue involving a public hearing may be
continued, tabled or dropped from the agenda in accordance with the desires of the
majority of the Commission.
8. Any business of the Commission including public hearings, which for any reason cannot
be completed at the time and place originally advertised, may be adjourned to a later date.
The announcement to this effect made at the meeting shall constitute sufficient notice to
all parties concerned; however, the Secretary may re-advertise a hearing.
9. The Planning Commission may not begin a new hearing after 10:00 PM unless approved
by a majority of the Commission.
Planning Commission Bylaws
Page 5
SECTION 7: VOTING AND ACTIONS
1. Only Commissioners present at the meeting may vote. Each member may cast one vote.
Any Commissioner may abstain from voting but shall state the reason for such abstention.
Any abstaining member shall not be counted in the number of members needed to
achieve a quorum for that particular vote.
2. Any member who has been disqualified from voting shall not participate m the
Commission discussion of the item.
3. The affirmative vote of three members present shall be required in taking any action in
favor of any motion.
4. If after 2 votes a motion fails to garner the number of required affirmative votes, such
action shall be reported to the City Council as "No Action". In such case, the Secretary
shall notifY the applicant and schedule the item for a City Council Agenda. The action
and any recommendations of the Planning Commission shall be reported to the City
Council in the agenda report for the item.
SECTION 8: CONFLICTS OF BYLAWS. RULES. AND POLICY
1. To the extent that any provision contained within this Resolution conflicts with the
municipal code or any City Council established rule or policy, such code or rule or policy
shall govern.
2. Any provision in this Resolution may only be waived pursuant to a four-fifths vote of the
Commission.
PASSED AND ADOPTED at a regular meeting of the Planning Commission held on July 21,
2005, by the following vote, to wit:
AYES:
Avis, Bagg, Chapo, McCabe, Snow
NOES:
N/A
ABSENT:
N/A
ATTEST:
1~~at,{kA/
Patrick urphy, Secretary
Encinitas Planning Commission
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