TO: Mayor and Council
FROM: Andrew Miller, Town Attorney
Jeremy Knapp, Community Development Director
DATE: December 6, 2018
CONTACT:
Staff Contact Andrew Miller, 480-348-3526
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AGENDA TITLE:
Title
Discussion of Recommendations on Changes to the Rules and Procedures for the Planning Commission, Board of Adjustment and Hillside Building Committee; and Procedures for Adopting Future Changes to Rules
Body
BACKGROUND:
As part of the Council's discussion on governance changes, the Council determined that some changes to the Rules of Procedure for the Planning Commission ("Commission") and Board of Adjustment ("Board") should be explored, and that rules should be adopted for the Hillside Building Committee ("Committee," which currently has no adopted rules of procedure). Council Members had observed that having unclear rules of procedure on certain issues (or no rules at all), had led to frustration for both residents and Town staff when the rules did not address certain situations.
A Town Manager working group was organized to discuss some potential solutions to some of the problems that the Council had identified. The working group consisted of the Town Manager, Town Attorney, Vice-Mayor Bien-Willner (who is the Council liaison to the Commission) and Council Member Scott Moore (a former Board and Commission Member). The working group identified four problem areas where some changes to the rules for the aforementioned public bodies would be useful: 1) late submittal of materials by applicants or residents/general public; 2) surprise submittals of documents or electronic materials on the night of a meeting; 3) lack of clarity on allotted speaking times for "spokespersons" for residents or neighborhood groups; and 4) clarity on timing requirements and agenda setting for motions to reconsider a motion or action from the prior meeting. [Note: more detailed discussions on the problem areas and some potential solutions are contained in the ...
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