[Ord. No. 731, § 1, 3-24-1993; Ord. No. 1118, § I, 3-10-2015]
The Community Development Board shall consist of five voting members and two associate members. The associate members shall serve as a voting member in the event that one of the voting members is absent or if one of the voting members must recuse himself or herself due to the existence of a conflict. In accordance with Article 2, Section
2-10, Article 3, Section
3-3 and Article
6 of Chapter 72 of the Acts of 2013, with the exception of the one member that shall be appointed by the Secretary of the Executive Office of Communities and Development, the Mayor shall appoint all of the remaining members to the Community Development Board subject to City Council approval. Excepting the member that is appointed by the Executive Office of Communities and Development, the members shall serve a term of five years. In the event of a vacancy, the Mayor shall appoint a successor as soon as practicable and subject to city council approval, and said successor shall fulfill the unexpired term of the member whose seat was vacated.
[Ord. No. 731, § 1, 3-24-1993; Ord. No. 1142, §§ XVII––XVIII, 9-29-2015]
There shall be appointed by the mayor, in accordance with Article 2, Section
2-10, Article 3, Section
3-3, and Section 23, paragraph (7) of the City Charter enacted by Chapter 72 of the Acts of 2013 a director of community development. The director shall appoint all personnel under his/her direction and control, subject to the approval of the mayor. All said employees shall be employees of the City of Pittsfield. The director of said department shall have responsibility for all activities of the department of community development and supervision and direction of the personnel employed therein.
[Ord. No. 731, § 1, 3-24-1993; Ord. No. 994, § I,
6-12-2007; Ord. No. 1142, § XIX, 9-29-2015]
The general powers and duties of the community development board
and/or the department of community development, in addition to, and
insofar as not in conflict with its statutory powers and duties, shall
be as follows:
In accordance with Article
10, Section
10-6(a) of the City Charter enacted by Chapter 72 of the Acts of 2013, the board may make rules for the conduct of its business and choose its officers. The board shall from time to time make any recommendations to the city council or to any of the city departments upon any matters within its scope. It may require any officer, department, board or commission of the city to furnish it with such information, records, reports, plans, data and statistics, within his/her or its knowledge or custody, as will aid the board in the performance of its duties. It may hold hearings or meetings and may require the attendance of any city official or agent to give information as to his department, and it may organize unpaid volunteer committees of citizens to consider and report on any matters of public interest.
(1) The community development board shall have all the powers of the
Pittsfield Planning Board upon abolition of the same and shall exercise
and perform all the powers and duties conferred upon planning boards
under Chapter 41 of the General Laws and shall have such other powers
and shall perform such other duties not inconsistent with such section
as may be imposed by law or ordinance.
Such duties shall include, but not be limited to, the following:
(a) Master plan. It shall be the duty of the community development board
to prepare a master plan of the city or such part or parts thereof
as the board may deem desirable and to extend perfect and update such
plan. Such plans shall be consistent with the requirements of M.G.L.A.
(b) Studies and reports. The department of community development shall
make investigations and prepare studies on issues on which it feels
require such consideration. These studies could consider any of the
elements of the master plan, taken in greater detail as individual
study, or could consist of the detailed study of a portion of the
community. Other areas for possible study could include population
growth, housing, either public or private, or the economic base of
the community.
(c) Public land and buildings. The community development board shall
review and comment or a member of the board shall be designated to
any committee which has been established to review and comment on
the purchase or sale of any public lands or buildings. This involvement
extends to the negotiations and/or actual conveyance of said land
or building. In addition, the board shall review and comment on the
exterior of any public plans for the development and treatment of
the grounds around such building.
(d) Public ways. No public way shall be laid out, altered, relocated
or discontinued, unless the proposed laying out, alteration, relocation
or discontinuance has been referred to the department of community
development board and it has been reported thereon, or has allowed
45 days to elapse after such reference without submitting its report.
(e) Capital improvement program. The community development board shall
prepare or assist the city council and/or mayor in the development
of a capital improvement program. The major function of such a program
is to make a clear statement to the community of the foreseeable capital
needs of the community; to establish the priorities of capital needs;
and to develop a systematic program to fulfill these needs to lessen
the direct impact at the time of actual need. Such a program would:
(1)
Schedule anticipated capital improvements over a future time
period (usually five years) to facilitate their funding, and
(2)
Accumulate the annual depreciated value of equipment, buildings
or other facilities in order to have money on hand to replace them.
(f) Zoning. The community development board shall develop, as necessary,
amendments or revisions to the zoning ordinance; conduct site plan
reviews as may be required by the zoning ordinance; conduct special
permit proceedings, when designated as the special permit granting
authority by the zoning ordinance; and assist other city departments
and agencies in zoning-related matters.
(g) Subdivisions. In accordance with the subdivision control law, Chapter
41, Section 81k et seq., of the General Laws, the community development
board shall develop and adopt regulations pertaining to the subdivisions
of land; review, evaluate and act on preliminary and definitive subdivision
plans, and make determinations to whether a plan requires approval
as a subdivision.
(2) Said board shall also have the same powers and duties as the Pittsfield
Redevelopment Authority upon its abolition and shall exercise and
perform all the powers and duties conferred upon redevelopment authorities
under Chapter 121B of the General Laws and shall have such other powers
and shall perform other duties not inconsistent with such sections
as may be imposed by law or ordinance.
(3) It shall also have the same powers and duties as the industrial development
financing authority upon abolition of the same. It shall have all
of the powers granted industrial development financing authorities
under Chapter 40D of the General Laws. In addition to all the powers
granted to the authority by said Chapter 40D, the board shall also
have the power to finance said waste disposal facilities pursuant
to Chapter 40D Section 21 of the General Laws and pollution control
facilities pursuant to Chapter 40D and Section 22 of the General Laws.
It shall have such other powers and shall perform other duties not
inconsistent with such section as may be imposed by law or ordinance.
(4) It shall also have the same powers and duties as the former Pittsfield
Industrial and Development Commission upon abolition of the same and
shall exercise and perform all the powers and duties conferred upon
industrial and development commissions by Chapter 40, Section 8A,
of the General Laws and shall have such other powers and shall perform
such other duties not inconsistent with such section, as may be imposed
by law or ordinance.
Among the powers and duties of the Board are that it shall conduct
researches into industrial conditions, investigate and assist in the
establishment of educational or commercial projects, including projects
involving private enterprise, for the purpose of expanding or strengthening
the local economy, and shall seek to coordinate the activities of
unofficial bodies organized for said purposes, and may advertise,
prepare, print and distribute books, maps, charts and pamphlets which
it its judgement will further the purposes for which it is established
(MGL c. 40, § 8A).
(5) The Department of Community Development shall have the same powers
as the office of community and economic development (OCED) upon abolition
of the same and the Director shall have such powers and perform such
duties as may be imposed by law or ordinance. The Department shall,
by direct action or contact, administer the City’s community
development program and have the following duties to undertake and
coordinate:
(a) Planning functions of review, evaluation, coordination and recommendations
for City programs and procedures as they relate to urban renewal,
housing, physical arid economic development;
(b) Community planning for all activities, in particular those relating
to urban renewal, housing, physical and economic development;
(c) To provide for review, evaluation and coordination that allows for
representation of all City agencies and departments engaged in related
activities;
(d) To submit all recommendations and opinions to the Mayor;
(e) To advise the Mayor and all appropriate parties of the availability
of funds to supplement activities provided for by general tax levy;
(f) Application for and administration of such funds as directed by the
Mayor;
(g) To assure compliance of said programs with all applicable laws, rules
and regulations;
(h) To perform other such duties as may from time to time be assigned
and to provide assistance to such City agencies and departments as
may from time to time be requested.
(6) The Board shall also have all of the authority and powers of a consolidated
department of community development as outlined in Chapter 43C of
the General Laws. All powers of the Pittsfield Planning Board, Pittsfield
Redevelopment Authority, Pittsfield Industrial and Development Commission,
Pittsfield Industrial Development Financing Authority are hereby assigned
to the consolidated Department of Community Development upon their
abolition.
(7) The Department of Community Development shall be responsible for
providing services to the Parks Commission regarding all park programs
and recreation activities, including use of parks and park facilities.
The Director of Community Development or the Director’s designee
shall meet with the commissions and boards that oversee the parks
and develop programs and guidelines in accordance with the recommendations
of the commissions and boards.
[Ord. No. 731, § 1, 3-24-1993]
If any provision or section of this article shall be held invalid,
then such provision or section shall be considered separately and
apart from the remaining provisions or sections of this article, which
shall remain in full force and effect.
