San Anselmo Municipal Code Ch. 1 Planning Commission

There is hereby created a Planning Commission in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 3 of Title 7 of the Government Code of the State. The Commission shall consist of seven (7) members who shall be appointed by a majority vote of the whole Council. Any member of the Commission may be removed at any time, without cause, by a majority vote of the whole Council.

(§ 1, Ord. 250, as amended by § 1, Ord. 373, § 3, Ord. 608, eff. January 7, 1971, and Ord. 735, eff. July 14, 1977)

(§ 1 A, Ord. 250, as added by § 2, Ord. 373; repealed by Ord. 735, eff. July 14, 1977)

The members of the Planning Commission shall serve for four (4) year staggered terms, each expiring on August 18 of the appropriate year. If a vacancy shall occur other than by expiration of term, the vacancy shall be filled by appointment for the unexpired portion of the term. All members of the Commission shall serve without compensation.

(§ 2, Ord. 250, as amended by § 3, Ord. 373, § 3, Ord. 608, eff. January 7, 1971, and Ord. 735, eff. July 14, 1977)

The Planning Commission shall elect a chairman from among its appointed members for a term of one year. The Commission shall adopt rules for the transaction of its business and shall keep a record of its proceedings and of all resolutions, transactions, findings, and determinations, all of which shall be public records. The Commission shall in all other respects perform all of the duties and may exercise all of the powers and privileges specified and provided for in or incidental to the State Planning Law, which is incorporated by reference in this chapter as fully and completely and to the same extent as if fully set forth in this chapter.

(§ 3, Ord. 250, as amended by Ord. 735, eff. July 14, 1977)

It is a policy of the Town that all applications requiring Planning Commission review shall not be continued for more than ninety (90) days after it is first agendized, except on a showing of good cause consistent with state law and approved by the Planning Director.

(§ 1, Ord. 1026, eff. July 11, 2002)

With respect to appeals, provisions of this section shall prevail over any other conflicting sections of this Code which relate to processing of appeals under Title 10.

(a) Intent. Any action of the Planning Commission may be appealed to the Town Council by any person. Any member of the Town Council may call up any decision of the Planning Commission for review by the Town Council by employing the procedures described in this section.

(b) Filing, form and fee.

(1) Any appeal permitted under this section shall be filed with the Town Clerk within ten (10) calendar days of the date of the decision of the Planning Commission.

(2) A notice of appeal shall specifically state the reasons upon which the appeal is based, including but not limited to:

(i) Whether the determination, decision or interpretation is in accordance with Title 10;

(ii) Whether the determination, decision or interpretation is in error or constituted an abuse of discretion;

(iii) Whether the determination, decision or interpretation was not supported by the record or the facts presented to the decision makers.

(3) The appeal shall be accompanied by the required fee as set by Town Council resolution.

(4) A notice of review shall be in writing and filed with the Town Clerk within ten (10) calendar days of the date of the decision of the Planning Commission. The notice of review shall state only that the Town Councilmember filing a notice of review believes the Planning Commission determination should be reviewed by the Town Council. No fees shall be required in filing a notice of review.

(c) Once an appeal or a notice of review has been timely filed, withdrawal of the appeal or the notice of review by the appellant or the Town Councilmember filing the notice of review, shall not divest the Town Council of jurisdiction to consider and act upon the appeal or the notice of review if the town council determines that the public interest is best served in hearing the matter.

(d) Completeness of an application for an appeal. The Planning Director shall review the application of an appeal for completeness. If the application is found not to be complete, the Planning Director shall notify the appellant within five (5) days after the application of the additional information needed to make the application complete. The applicant shall have ten (10) calendar days from the service of said notice to provide additional information on the appeal. At the end of the ten (10) calendar days, all information provided by the applicant regardless of completeness shall be forwarded to the Town Council for consideration at the hearing. The gathering of additional information can occur concurrently with setting and noticing the hearing.

(e) Stay of Planning Commission action. The filing of an appeal or notice of review shall automatically stay the subject Planning Commission action until the appeal or review has been determined.

(f) In all cases, the Town Clerk shall endeavor to set the hearing date of an appeal or notice of review not later than thirty (30) calendar days after the appeal or notice of review has been filed. With respect to an appeal, the Town Clerk shall consult with the Planning Director regarding the completeness of the application and shall set a date which will allow the applicant the appropriate time to provide additional information on the appeal.

The directory time limit referred to above shall become mandatory only when State law associated with a specific type of action so requires.

(g) Noticing. With respect to an appeal, the Planning Department shall notice the appeal according to the applicable sections of all State and local laws, rules and regulations. With respect to a notice of review, the Planning Department shall give at least ten (10) calendar days' notice of the hearing.

(h) Resolution. Upon conclusion of the hearing whether of an appeal or by virtue of a notice of review, including any continued hearing, the Town Council shall determine the appeal or the review based upon the testimony and documents produced before it and any site visits. The Town Council may sustain, modify, reject, or overrule any recommendations or rulings of the Planning Commission and may make such findings and determinations as are consistent with State law, this Code and other applicable rules and regulations.

(§ 1, Ord. 894, eff. January 21, 1988, as amended by § 2, Ord. 988, eff. November 13, 1997)

The Planning Director has the authority to deem withdrawn any application filed under Title 10 Planning and Zoning, that has been inactive for 180 days or more. An application is inactive when requested materials, funds, or other information necessary to process the application are not submitted by an applicant or an applicant's representative. Once an application is deemed withdrawn, the applicant will be required to submit a new application, including fees, plans, exhibits and other materials, in compliance with this Title to secure a permit.

(Ord. No. 1109, § 1, 9-27-2016)