HomeMy WebLinkAboutORD2023-006 SCC Title 2 Article 2 P&Z Sponsored by: Bower
Introduction: March 13, 2023
Public Hearing: March 28, 2023
Enactment: March 28, 2023
Request for Reconsideration: March 29, 2023
Reconsideration Approved: April 10, 2023
Enactment: April 10, 2023
CITY OF SEWARD,ALASKA
ORDINANCE 2023-006
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEWARD,
ALASKA, AMENDING SEWARD CITY CODE TITLE 2, ARTICLE 2 —
SEWARD PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION
WHEREAS,the Planning and Zoning Commission is both an advisory and a quasi-judicial
commission that does vital work for City Council; and
WHEREAS, at the January 23, Special Meeting between the City Council and
Commission, the City Council voiced concerns regarding lack of commissioner attendance
impeding the work of the commission; and
WHEREAS, commissioners should have regular attendance, be well trained, and
knowledgeable of the city of Seward in order to do the important work of the commission; and
WHEREAS,Planning and Zoning meeting dates are known up to a year in advance and it
is not unreasonable to expect Commissioners to plan for and maintain a higher standard of
attendance; and
WHEREAS, failure to provide advance notice of an absence can result in the cancelation
of a meeting or lack of quorum, causing inconvenience to staff, other commission members, and
the public; and
WHEREAS, commercial development, private development, and City development can
all be impeded when Planning and Zoning meetings are canceled due to lack of a quorum; and
WHEREAS,these proposed code amendments will help raise and ensure the vital work of
the Commission is done in a quality and timely manner.
NOW,THEREFORE,THE CITY OF SEWARD ORDAINS that:
Section 1. Seward City Code Title 2 Article 2—Seward Planning and Zoning Commission
is hereby amended as follows:
111 (Deletions= Bold Striliethrougl ; Additions = Bold Underlined Italics.)
CITY OF SEWARD, ALASKA
ORDINANCE 2023-006
Article 2. - Seward Planning and Zoning Commission
2.30.210 Established.
A. Composition. There is created the Seward Planning and Zoning Commission, consisting of
seven citizens, appointed by the council al of who... that shall have resided in the city
continuously for a period of not less than one year immediately prior to the date of
application.
1. If there is more than one applicant for the position, the council shall appoint by ballot
voting.
2. Applicants must receive at least four votes in order to be appointed.
3. No officer or employee of the city may be an appointed member of the commission.
B. Chair and vice chair.
1. The commission shall select a chair and vice chair annually.
2. The chair shall preside at all commission meetings,may participate in the debate, and vote
on any matter of the commission.
3. In the absence of the chair, the vice chair shall exercise all the powers of the chair.
2.30.215 Terms of office; filling vacancies.
A. Members of the Seward Planning and Zoning Commission shall be appointed for three years;
provided that the terms of initial appointments shall be staggered so that as nearly as possible
a pro rata number of members shall be appointed each year.
B. The council may appoint any qualified person to fill a vacancy of any member of the
commission; provided, that the appointment shall be for the unexpired term of the vacancy.
C. '
member,In the first year of their appointment, commission members will attend all offered
trainings.
2.30.216 Absences.
A. In order for an absence to be excused, a commission member shall notify the city clerk and
administration. Except in emergency situations, notice will be given at least 48 hours prior
to a commission meeting stating the reason for the member's inability to attend the meeting
B. The city clerk will inform the presiding officer of the request for an excused absence prior
to the meeting and the presiding officer will rule whether the absence is excused or
unexcused.
C. When calling the roll call for the meeting, the city clerk will indicate whether a member's
absence was ruled to be excused or unexcused, and the clerk will make an appropriate
notation in the minutes.
D. If a member has two (2) consecutive unexcused absences, three (3) unexcused absences
total, misses 8 meetings in an appointment year, or has a record of attendance which shows
CITY OF SEWARD,ALASKA
ORDINANCE 2023-006
disregard for the position and hinders the function of the commission,Administration will
inform council and the council may remove the member from the commission.
E. Member attendance will be submitted in the quarterly report.
2.30.217 Staff assistance to commission.
A. The city manager, or designee, shall:
1. Assist the commission and shall be qualified by special training and experience in the
field of city planning;
2. Will be the regular technical advisor of the commission,but shall not have the power to
vote.
B. City staff shall provide a clerk to the commission. The clerk shall:
1. Properly advertise the meetings as required by the Alaska Open Meetings Act;
2. Prepare the commission packet; and
3. Attend the commission meeting and keep a record of commission proceedings.
2.30.118 Quorum.
Four members of the commission shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business; except
that, in the absence of a quorum, any number less than a quorum may adjourn the meeting to a
later date.
2.30.220 Meetings.
A. Regular meetings. Regular meetings shall be held at 7:00 p.m. in the city council chambers on
the first Tuesday of each month.
B. Special meetings. Special meetings may be held at the call of the chair or the city manager,
and at such other times as the commission may determine.
C. Meetings open to the public. All meetings and records of the commission shall be open to the
public.
D. Meeting rules of proceedings. Meetings shall be conducted under the current edition of
Robert's Rules of Order, Newly Revised Edition.
2.30.221 Meetings—Time restrictions.
A. The commission shall take no official action or address any other items on the agenda after
10:30 p.m. and shall adjourn any regular or special meeting no later than 10:30 p.m.
1. The time for conclusion of business and adjournment is mandatory.
2. In the event the commission's business has not been completed by the time set herein, the
commission may recess the meeting to another day, call a special meeting to complete the
agenda and adjourn, or adjourn.
B. If the meeting is adjourned without making other provisions for completion of the agenda
items, then such uncompleted matters shall be presented at the next regularly scheduled
commission meeting under the agenda section for unfinished business.
CITY OF SEWARD,ALASKA
ORDINANCE 2023-006
C. The commission shall not adjourn prior to 10:30 p.m. unless all agenda items have been
addressed,and presentations and comments by members of the general public have been heard.
2.30.223 Voting.
The affirmative votes of at least a majority of those Commissioners present shall be required for
official action unless a larger majority is required by law.
2.30.224 Minutes.
A. The clerk to the commission shall keep minutes of all meetings.
B. The minutes shall record the vote of each member on every question.
C. The minutes shall be filed with the City Clerk's Office and shall be a public record.
2.30.225 Powers and duties.
A. The commission shall perform the following duties:
1. Interpret the provisions of this title and make compliance determinations when requested
by the administrative official;
2. Review and act upon requests for variance permits, conditional use permits, and other
matters requiring consideration under the Seward Zoning Code;
3. Review the City of Seward Comprehensive Plan on an annual basis and conduct a
minimum of one public hearing. Said recommendations shall be forwarded to the council
for consideration; and
4. Promote public interest and understanding of comprehensive planning, platting, zoning,
land management and other issues relating to community planning and development.
B. The commission shall act in an advisory capacity to the city council regarding the Seward
Zoning Code,Seward Comprehensive Plan,Official Zoning Map,Official Land Use Plan Map,
and other duties as requested by the city council.
C. The commission shall act in an advisory capacity to the Kenai Peninsula Borough Planning
Commission regarding the following matters:
1. Subdivision plat proposals;
2. Right-of-way and easement vacation petitions;
3. Kenai Peninsula Borough Comprehensive Plan and Coastal Zone Management Plan
development,updates and amendments; and
4. City of Seward Comprehensive Plan amendments not otherwise delegated to the City of
Seward.
D. The commission shall have no authority to solicit or commit city funds without first obtaining
approval of the city council.
2.30.230 Compensation of commissioners.
A. Commissioners shall be compensated for service on the planning and zoning commission at
the rate of$100 per month; and
B. Each commissioner shall be paid quarterly on the payday for the first pay period ending in
January, April, July and October of each year.
CITY OF SEWARD,ALASKA
ORDINANCE 2023-006
Section 2.This ordinance shall take effect ten(10)days following its enactment.
ENACTED by the City Council of the City of Seward,Alaska,this 10th day of April,2023.
THE CITY OF SEWARD,ALASKA
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Sue McClure,Mayor
AYES: Barnwell, Finch, DeMoss, Osenga, Wells, Calhoon, McClure
NOES: None
ABSENT: None
ABSTAIN: None
ATTEST:
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City Council Agenda Statement
Meeting Date: March 13, 2023
To: City Council
Through: Janette Bower, City Manager
From: Jason Bickling, Community Development Director
Subject: Ordinance 2023-006: Amending Seward City Code Title 2 Article 2
Seward Planning and Zoning Commission
Background and justification:
At the January 23rd Special City Council Meeting with Boards and Commissions, the Council voiced
their concern with commissioner attendance. Attendance issues have caused a significant
disruption to Commission business with several meetings having to be cancelled for no quorum.
Historically, there have been issues with attendance with Commissioners having seasonal
residency or travelling for a decent portion of the year. These proposed changes would require
that Commissioners would reside physically in Seward on a year-round basis.
We have modified the current council code and created section 2.30.216 Absences. Much of
this was taken from current City Council requirements. We have defined what excused and
unexcused absences are as well as some limits around those. The proposed changes would put
the onus on administration, and not the commission, to report attendance quarterly and to note
attendance concerns where Council would possibly need to act.
Commissioners need to be familiar with Seward and its inner workings as they have influence on
our guiding documents (The Comprehensive Plan, the Municipal Land Inventory and Use Plan,
etc.) The proposed changes would make it so that at the time of application they need to be a
resident within city limits (as it is now) but they have needed to have resided in the Seward, Bear
Creek, or Lowell Point areas for at least one year at the time of application.
We offer two trainings per year, one on content and one on procedure. Unfortunately, these are
not always well attended. This would require new commissioners to take that training in their first
year as it is important to establish them in their position.
Comprehensive and Strategic Plan Consistency Information
This legislation is consistent with (citation listed):
Comprehensive Plan: 2.2.8, 3.2.2
Strategic Plan:
Other:
81
Certification of Funds
Total amount of funds listed in this legislation: $ 0
This legislation (✓):
Creates revenue in the amount of: $
Creates expenditure in amount of: $
Creates a savings in the amount of: $
Has no fiscal impact
Funds are (✓):
Budgeted Line item(s):
Not budgeted
X Not applicable
Fund Balance Information
Affected Fund (✓):
General SMIC Electric Wastewater
Boat Harbor Parking F1 Wat F1 Healthcare
Motor Pool Other
Note:amounts are unaudited
Fund Balance/Net position — unrestricted/unassigned $
Finance Director Signature:
Attorney Review
XeYes Attorney Signature:
Not applicable Comments:
Administration Recommendation
eAdopt ordinance
Other:
82