A. 
There shall be a Planning Commission consisting of seven members, all of whom shall be residents of the Town and shall be qualified by knowledge and experience in matters pertaining to the development of the Town. All seven members shall be appointed by the Town Council. The members shall be appointed to represent as many different geographical areas of the Town of Indian Head as is practicable. Members shall be appointed for terms of five years or until their successors are appointed and qualified. The respective terms of the members shall be on a staggered basis. Vacancies shall be filled by appointment by the Town Council for the unexpired term only. Members of the Commission may receive such compensation as deemed appropriate and shall be reimbursed for all necessary and reasonable expenses actually incurred in the performance of their official duties.
B. 
One member of the Town Council shall also be an ex officio, nonvoting member of the Planning Commission and shall be selected by the Mayor with the approval of the Council. The term of this member shall correspond to his official term as a member of the Council. The term on the Planning Commission of the member of the Council shall cease whenever his official tenure as a member of the Council terminates.
A. 
The Planning Commission shall establish a regular meeting schedule and shall meet frequently enough so that it can take action on all complete applications in an expeditious manner. This shall entail at least one regular meeting each month.
B. 
The Planning Commission need not conduct its meetings strictly in accordance with the quasi-judicial procedures set forth in Articles IV and V. However, it shall conduct its meetings so as to obtain necessary information and to promote the full and free exchange of ideas.
C. 
Minutes shall be kept of all Planning Commission proceedings.
D. 
All Planning Commission meetings shall be open to the public, and whenever feasible, the tentative agenda for each meeting shall be made available in advance of the meeting.
E. 
Whenever the Planning Commission is called upon to make recommendations on any proposal requiring a public hearing, the Zoning Administrator shall post on or near the subject property one or more notices that are sufficiently conspicuous in size, location, and content to provide reasonably adequate notice to potentially interested persons concerning the matter that will appear on the Commission's agenda at a specified date and time. Such notice(s) shall be posted at least two weeks prior to the meeting at which the matter is to be considered. Written notice shall be sent to adjoining property owners if and to the extent required by any regulation or requirements of the Planning Commission adopted under § 440-304B.
A. 
The Planning Commission shall annually elect one Chairman and one Vice Chairman from among its members.
B. 
The Chairman and Vice Chairman may take part in all deliberations and vote on all issues.
A. 
The Planning Commission may:
(1) 
Make studies and recommend to the Town Council plans, goals, and objectives relating to the growth, development and redevelopment of the Town.
(2) 
Develop and recommend to the Town Council policies, ordinances, administrative procedures, and other means for carrying out plans in a coordinated and efficient manner.
(3) 
Make recommendations to the Town Council concerning proposed zoning amendment requests.
(4) 
Hear and decide applications for land development and approve subdivision plats and site development plans.
B. 
The Planning Commission may adopt rules and regulations governing its procedures and operations not inconsistent with the provisions of this chapter.
A. 
From time to time, the Town Council may appoint one or more individuals to help the Planning Commission carry out its planning responsibilities with respect to a particular subject area. By way of illustration, without limitation, the Town Council may appoint advisory committees to consider the Comprehensive Plan, housing plans, economic development plans, etc.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. III)]
B. 
Members of such advisory committees shall sit as nonvoting members of the Planning Commission when such issues are being considered and lend their talents, energies, and expertise to the Planning Commission. However, all formal recommendations to the Town Council shall be made by the Planning Commission.
C. 
Nothing in this section shall prevent the Town Council from establishing independent advisory groups, committees, or commissions to make recommendations on any issue directly to the Town Council.
[Amended 8-1-2022 by Ord. No. 7-2-22]
A. 
There shall be a Board of Appeals consisting of three members to be appointed by the Town Council. The members shall be individuals who are residents of the Town. No member of the Board of Appeals shall be a member of the Planning Commission nor shall any member hold other elective or appointive office in the Town government. Appointment shall be for staggered terms of three years. If a vacancy occurs, by resignation or otherwise, among the members of the Board of Appeals, the Town Council shall appoint a member for the unexpired term. Members of the Board may receive such compensation as the Town Council deems appropriate and shall be reimbursed for all reasonable and necessary expenses actually incurred in the performance of their official duties.
B. 
The Town Council shall designate one alternate member for the Board of Appeals, who may be empowered to sit on the Board in the absence of a member of the Board.
A. 
The Board of Appeals shall establish a regular meeting schedule and shall meet frequently enough so that it can take action on all complete applications in an expeditious manner.
B. 
The Board shall conduct its meetings in accordance with the quasi-judicial procedures set forth in Articles IV and V.
C. 
All meetings of the Board shall be open to the public, and whenever feasible, the tentative agenda for each Board meeting shall be made available in advance of the meeting.
D. 
The Board shall keep an audio recording of all proceedings and minutes showing the vote of each member upon each question or, if absent or failing to vote, indicating such fact, which shall be immediately filed in the office of the Board and shall be a public record.
A. 
A quorum for the Board of Appeals shall consist of a majority of the regular Board membership (excluding vacant seats). A quorum is necessary for the Board to take official action.
B. 
A member who has withdrawn from the meeting without being excused as provided in § 440-309 shall be counted as present for purposes of determining whether a quorum is present.
C. 
All actions of the Board of Appeals shall be taken by majority vote, a quorum being present.
A. 
The concurring vote of the majority of the Board membership (excluding vacant seats), a quorum being present, shall be necessary to reverse any order, requirement, decision, or determination of the Administrator or to decide in favor of the applicant any matter upon which it is required to pass under any ordinance or to grant any variance.
B. 
Once a member is physically present at a Board meeting, any subsequent failure to vote shall be recorded as an affirmative vote unless the member has been excused in accordance with Subsection C or has been allowed to withdraw from the meeting in accordance with Subsection D.
C. 
A member may be excused from voting on a particular issue by majority vote of the remaining members present under any of the following circumstances:
(1) 
If the member has a direct financial interest in the outcome of the matter at issue; or
(2) 
If the matter at issue involves the member's own official conduct; or
(3) 
If participation in the matter might violate the letter or spirit of a member's code of professional responsibility; or
(4) 
If a member has such close personal ties to the applicant that the member cannot reasonably be expected to exercise sound judgment in the public interest.
D. 
A member may be allowed to withdraw from the entire remainder of a meeting by majority vote of the remaining members present for any good and sufficient reason other than the member's desire to avoid voting on matters to be considered at that meeting.
E. 
A motion to allow a member to be excused from voting or excused from the remainder of the meeting is in order only if made by or at the initiative of the member directly affected.
F. 
A roll call vote shall be taken upon the request of any member.
A. 
The Board of Appeals shall annually elect one of its members to serve as Chairman, who will preside over the Board's meetings, and one member Vice Chairman, who will preside over the Board's meetings in the absence of the Chairman. The person so designated shall serve in this capacity for a term of one year.
B. 
The Chairman or any member temporarily acting as Chairman may administer oaths to witnesses coming before the Board.
C. 
The Chairman and Vice Chairman may take part in all deliberations and vote on all issues.
A. 
The Board of Appeals shall hear and decide:
(1) 
Appeals from any order, decision, requirement, or interpretation made by the Administrator, as provided in Article V.
(2) 
Applications for special exception uses, as provided in Article IV.
(3) 
Applications for variances in the Critical Area District, as provided in Article IX, § 440-957.
(4) 
Applications for variances, as provided in Article V.
(5) 
Questions involving interpretations of the Zoning Map, including disputed district boundary lines and lot lines, as provided in Article V.
(6) 
Any other matter the Board is required to act upon by any other Town chapter.
B. 
The Board may adopt rules and regulations governing its procedures and operations not inconsistent with the provisions of this chapter.
Except as otherwise specifically provided, primary responsibility for administering and enforcing this chapter shall be the Town Manager. The Town Manager may assign responsibility to one or more individuals. The person or persons to whom these functions are assigned shall be referred to in this chapter as the "Zoning Administrator" or "Administrator." The term "staff" is sometimes used interchangeably with the term "Administrator."
The Zoning Administrator shall have the power to administer this chapter on a day-to-day basis. The Administrator shall also prepare staff comments on such matters as required by this chapter or when so directed by the Town Council, Planning Commission, or Board of Appeals. The Administrator is primarily responsible for ensuring that this work is completed on a timely basis. The planning director, if there is one, may serve as the Zoning Administrator.
The Town Council is the local elected legislative body. The Town Council's primary responsibility relative to this chapter shall be to make final decisions on zoning amendment petitions and to make such appointments as identified in this chapter. In considering proposed changes in the text of this chapter or in the Zoning Map, the Council acts in its legislative capacity and must proceed in accordance with the requirements of Article XX.