Resolution 10-004 Adopts SV Planning Commission Rules of Procedure CITY OF SPOKANE VALLEY
SPOKANE COUNTY,WASHINGTON
RESOLUTION NO. 10-004
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF SPOKANE VALLEY, SPOKANE COUNTY,
WASHINGTON, ADOPTING THE CITY SPOKANE VALLEY PLANNING
COMMISSION RULES OF PROCEDURE
WHEREAS, pursuant to the provisions of Spokane Valley Municipal Code Section 18.10.030
establishes the rules for the Spokane Valley Planning Commission and mandates that the Planning
Commission shall adopt rules and procedures as are necessary for the conduct of business, subject to the
approval of the city council; and
WHEREAS, the Planning Commission adopted Rules of Procedure which were last updated June
22, 2006; and the rules call for updating every two years; and
WHEREAS, the Planning Commission revised their rules December 10, 2009 which provided
clarification and reflects current practice.
NOW THEREFORE, be it resolved by the City Council of the City of Spokane Valley, Spokane
County, Washington as follows:
Section 1. Adoption of Spokane Valley Planning Commission Rules of Procedure. The
Spokane Valley City Council hereby adopts the Spokane Valley Planning Commission Rules of
Procedure as amended December 10, 2009,which are attached hereto and made a part hereof.
Section 2. Effective Date. This Resolution shall be in full force and effect upon adoption.
Adopted this 9`h day of February 2010.
CITY OF SPOKANE VALLEY
r r,
Thomas E. Towey, Mayor
ATE_ / Approved as to form:
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Christine Bainbridge, City Clerk 0 ice of Vie City Attorney
Resolution 10-004 Planning Commission Rules
City of Spokane Valley
Planning Commission
RULES OF PROCEDURE
Updated 06-22-2006
Updated 12-10-2009
We, the members of the Planning Commission of the City of Spokane Valley, State of
Washington, pursuant to the City of Spokane Valley Municipal Code (SVMC) 18.10, do hereby
adopt and publish the following Rules of Procedure
ORGANIZATION AND RULES OF PROCEDURE
1. Name
A. The "City of Spokane Valley Planning Commission," hereinafter referred to, as
the "Commission" is an advisory body created by the City Council for purposes
consistent with SVMC 18.10.
2. Location
A. The Commission offices shall be the City Hall of the City of Spokane Valley.
3. Officers
Unless otherwise required by a vacancy in office, the Commission shall organize every
year in accordance with SVMC 18.10.
A. Officers of the Commission shall be elected from its membership; the officers
shall be Chair, Vice Chair, and other appropriate officers that the Commission
may choose to approve and appoint by majority vote.
B. The Chair shall preside over the Commission and exercise all powers incidental
to the office, retaining however, the full right as a member of the Commission to
propose motions, second motions and have a vote recorded on all matters of the
Commission.
C. The Vice-Chair shall, in the absence of the Chair from any meeting, perform all
the duties incumbent upon the Chair, and retain the full right as a member of the
Commission in the same manner as the Chair.
4. Secretary of the Commission
A. The Director of the Department of Community Development or his/her designee
shall serve as the Secretary to the Commission.
B. The Secretary shall provide for a recording of all Commission meetings,
including public hearings and shall ensure that summary minutes of all public
hearings are prepared and filed in the public record.
C. The Secretary will conduct and record a roll call of the Commission members at
each meeting, public hearing and study session.
5. Election of Officers
A. Officers shall be elected at the first regular meeting in the 12th calendar month
of each year, by majority vote of the membership of the Commission. Terms of
office shall run from January 1 until December 31 or until a successor has been
elected. No Commission member shall serve more than two full consecutive
terms as Chair of the Commission. No member shall serve as vice-chair for
more than two full consecutive terms.
B. A vacancy in any office will be filled by a special election, to be held at a
convenient time with a majority present. In the event that the office of Chair is
vacated, the vice-chair shall serve in that capacity until the required special
election is held. Any member of the Commission is eligible to fill the vacancy.
However, no member can hold two office positions.
6. Quorum
A. A quorum shall consist of four members of the Commission and no action can be
taken in the absence of a quorum except to adjourn the meeting to a subsequent
date. A quorum must be present for public hearings and study sessions.
7. Voting
A. The affirmative vote of a majority of those present shall be necessary for the
adoption of any motion or other general matter.
B. For the conduct of business dealing with matters, which require adoption or
changes to the City's Comprehensive Plan and the election of officers, at least
four affirmative votes must be cast. Each member of the Commission is entitled
to one vote but no proxy shall be allowed.
C. No member may participate or vote on a matter unless the member has been in .
attendance at all public hearings regarding such matter or has listened to the
taped recording of the public hearing and reviewed the written record of the
matter in question
8. Meetings
A. There shall be at least one regular meeting each month with additional meetings
scheduled as necessary. Regular meetings shall be scheduled on the 2nd and
4th Thursdays of the month, commencing at 6:00 p.m. and ending not later than
9:00 p.m. Meeting ending time can be extended by a majority vote of the
commission. Meetings may be used for general planning matters, study
sessions or public hearings as described below.
1. Meetings on General Planning Matters. General planning matters to be
reviewed by the Commission will be typically be preceded by a study
session of the Commission to discuss the issues with Community
Development Department staff. Generally, no testimony from the public
shall be taken at a study session.
2. Public Hearing Meeting. A public hearing is a meeting wherein general
business and public hearing items, such as the Comprehensive Plan and
development regulations are discussed and decided.
3. Scheduled meetings may be canceled or convened at other times if
deemed necessary by the Chair or, in the absence of the Chair, by the
Vice-Chair. Notice of cancellation shall be given personally to
Commission Members and to the public by posting a notice at
Commission offices.
4. The recommended order of business for meetings is:
(a) Call to order by Chair.
(b) Pledge of Allegiance.
(c) Roll call by recording secretary.
(d) Approval of Agenda.
(e) Approval or amendment of minutes.
(f) Public Comment
(g) Commission Members Report
(h) Administrative Report.
(i) Commission Business.
a. Old Business
b. New Business
(i) For the Good of the Order.
(k) Adjournment.
B. Planning Commission meetings shall be held in accordance with the
requirements of the Open Meetings Act, RCW Chapter 42.30.
C. Special meetings and study sessions may be called:
1. By the request of the Chair, or, in the Chair's absence, by the Vice-Chair.
2. By the written request of three or more members of the Commission.
3. By agreed motion of the Commission.
9. CONDUCT OF HEARINGS
A. Actions for a Planning Commission Public Hearing.
1. Prior to the start of the public hearing, the Chair may require that all
persons wishing to be heard shall sign in with the Secretary, giving their
names and addresses, the agenda item, and whether they wish to speak
as proponent, opponent, or otherwise. Any person who fails to sign in
shall not be permitted to speak until all those who signed in have done
so. At any public hearing, persons who have signed in and wish to be
heard shall be given an opportunity to be heard.. The Chair, subject to
concurrence by the majority of the Commission, may establish time limits
and otherwise control presentations. The Chair may change the order of
speakers so that testimony is heard in the most logical groupings, (i.e.,
proponents, opponents, adjacent owners, vested interests, etc.)
B. The Chair introduces the agenda item, opens the public hearing, and announces
the following Rules of Order:
1. All comments by proponents, opponents, or the public shall be made
from the speaker's rostrum, and any individual making comments shall
first give his/her name and address. This is required because an official
recorded transcript of the public hearing is being made.
2. It is not necessary to be a proponent or opponent in order to speak.
If you consider yourself neither a proponent nor opponent, please speak
during the proponent portion and identify yourself as neither a proponent
nor an opponent.
3. No comments shall be made from any other location, and anyone making
"out of order" comments shall be subject to removal from the meeting.
4. Demonstrations, applause or other audience participation during or at the
conclusion of anyone's presentation are prohibited. It is distracting to the
Commission and persons testifying.
5. These rules are intended to promote an orderly system of holding a
public hearing, to give persons an opportunity to be heard and to ensure
that individuals are not embarrassed by exercising their right of free
speech.
C. When the Commission conducts a hearing to which the Appearance of Fairness
Doctrine applies, the Chair (or in the case of a potential violation by that
individual, the Vice Chair) will ask if any Commission member knows of any
reason which would require such member to excuse themselves pursuant to the
Appearance of Fairness Doctrine. The form of the announcement is as follows:
All Commission members should now give consideration as to whether they
have:
(1) A demonstrated bias or prejudice for or against any party to the proceedings;
(2) A direct or indirect financial interest in the outcome of the proceeding;
(3) A prejudgment of the issue prior to hearing the facts on the record, or
(4) Had ex parte contact with any individual, excluding administrative staff, with
regard to an issue prior to the hearing. Please refer to Section 16(B) for more
specific information on how to proceed where there has been an ex parte
communication.
If any Commission member should answer in the affirmative, then the
Commission members should state the reason for his/her answer so that the
Chair may inquire of administration as to whether a violation of the Appearance
of Fairness Doctrine exists.
CONDUCTING THE PUBLIC HEARING
The Chair announces the matter and opens the public hearing stating the date
and time.
The Chair allows staff to describe the matter under consideration and place
matters in the public record.
The Chair inquires as to whether Commissioners have any questions of staff. If
any Commission member has questions, the appropriate individual will be
recalled.
The Chair allows proponents, opponents and the public to offer testimony and
evidence on the pending matter. The Chair may allow Commission members to
ask questions of any person at the conclusion of their testimony.
At the conclusion of the public testimony, the Chair asks staff if there is_any
additional information, testimony or evidence to submit for the record.
The Chair either closes or continues the public hearing. Additional testimony
may not be requested or considered after the closing of the public hearing,
unless the Chair declares the record open until a date certain for the purpose of
receiving written testimony or materials.
The Chair inquires if there is a motion by any Commission member. If a motion is
made, it shall be in the form of an affirmative motion. Affirmative motions are
preferred to prevent "approval by default" of a failed negative motion. Following
the motion and its second, discussion occurs among Commission members.
The Chair inquires if there is any further discussion by the Commission
members.
The Chair inquires if there are any final comments or recommendations from
staff.
The Chair inquires of the Commission members if they are ready for the
question.
The Secretary records a roll call vote.
The Chair may direct staff to prepare findings for approval.
D. Pre-filing of testimony or evidence is encouraged and may be delivered to the
Department of Community Development in advance of a hearing.
10. Agenda, Staff Reports and Minutes for Regular Meetings.
A. Typically, a copy of the agenda for every regular meeting of the Planning
Commission shall be sent to each member up to seven (7) days prior to the date
of the meeting.
B. If available, staff reports will be sent to Planning Commission members with the
agenda. Agendas and staff reports will be made available to applicants and the
public at the same time.
11. Minutes and Communications with the City Council.
A Minutes of all meetings shall be kept and the complete files of proceedings and
actions taken in connection therewith shall be considered the public record and
filed with the City Clerk.
The Secretary shall provide the Commission members with a set of minutes of
the previous meeting. These minutes shall be considered for approval by the
Commission at a regularly scheduled public meeting and upon approval shall
become part of the official record of action of the Commission. Minutes shall
also be transmitted as correspondence to the City Council for general
information.
B The assigned City Council Liaison may attend meetings for the purposes of
communications with the Council as set forth in the "CITY OF SPOKANE
VALLEY GOVERNANCE COORDINATION MANUAL."
12. Recording of Meetings
Proceedings of all public hearings, meetings, study sessions and any special meetings
shall be recorded and retained.
13 Code of Conduct
A. Prohibited Acts. Members of the Commission are prohibited from:
1. Acting in a manner, which would result in neglect of duty, misfeasance or
malfeasance in office.
2. Acting in a manner that intentionally disrupts Commission meetings.
3. Missing six (6) or more regularly scheduled meetings or study sessions in
a 12-month period without such absence being excused by the
Commission.
4. Using his or her position to secure special privileges or exemptions for
himself, herself, or others.
5. Directly or indirectly giving or agreeing to receive compensation, gifts,
rewards, or gratuities from any source, except the City of Spokane Valley,
for a matter connected with or related to the services as a member of the
Commission, unless otherwise provided by law.
6. Accepting employment or engaging in business or professional activities
that he or she might reasonably expect would require or induce said
member to disclose confidential information acquired by reason of
membership on the Commission.
7. Disclosing confidential information gained by reason of his or her
membership on the Planning Commission or using such information for
his or her personal gain or benefit.
14. Conflict of Interest
A. Any Commission member having a direct or indirect interest in, or who would
benefit from any matter, shall disclose this interest and shall, if deemed
appropriate by that commissioner or required by law, refrain from participating or
voting on the matter.
15. Appearance of Fairness
A. The Commission shall adhere to the applicable requirements of the appearance
of fairness doctrine, RCW Chapter 42.36.
B. During the pendency of any quasi-judicial proceeding, no Commission member
may engage in ex parte communications with proponents or opponents about a
proposal involved in the pending proceeding, unless the Commission member:
(1) places on the record the substance of such oral or written communications;
and (2) provided that a public announcement of the content of the
communication and of the parties' right to rebut the substance of the
communication shall be made at each hearing where action is taken or
considered on the subject. This does not prohibit correspondence between a
citizen and Commission members if the correspondence is made part of the
record, when it pertains to the subject matter of a quasi-judicial proceeding.
(RCW 42.36.060)
16. Review of These Rules of Procedure
The Planning Commission shall review these rules of procedure on the first anniversary
of their adoption and the odd numbered years thereafter. Any amendments identified by
the Planning Commission shall be forwarded to the City Council for review and
ratification.
KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS:
That the undersigned Secretary of the Spokane Valley Planning Commission does hereby
certify that upon review and majority vote, the above and forgoing rules have been duly adopted
by the members of said Commission.
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BY: Q�'t�Q�%Y( , i1 .
ecretary of the Commis '
Date: c,Q-(q /c2,Ove