[Ord. of 12-6-1994]
Pursuant to the Charter, the home rule powers granted to the City and provisions of the Maine Revised Statutes, as well as rulings of state courts relating to the foregoing, the City council does hereby adopt this division to regulate the affairs and doings of the City planning board.
[Ord. of 12-6-1994, § 1]
The membership of the planning board, and provisions relating thereto with regard to vacancies, shall be in accordance with article VI, section 10 of the Charter as from time to time amended. Associate members shall be nonvoting members, except when designated by the planning board chair to vote due to the absence of a regular voting member, or due to the inability of a regular voting member to vote because of bias, conflict of interest, or any other reason which would prevent a regular voting member from participating.
[Ord. of 12-6-1994, § 2]
Any member of the planning board may be removed by a majority vote of the voting members of the City council if the council finds just cause or a violation of the attendance requirements established in this division or for an intentional violation of the provisions of section 70-59 or 70-60. Such removal shall occur only following notice and opportunity for hearing before the City council.
[Ord. of 12-6-1994, § 3]
Members shall be required to regularly attend planning board meetings. A member who fails to attend three consecutive meetings or fails to attend at least 75% of all regular and special planning board meetings held during the preceding twelve-month period may be removed for cause. Such removal shall occur after notice and opportunity to be heard before the City council. In considering whether to remove a member for attendance violations, the City council shall have broad discretion to determine whether the attendance violations were substantially justified or excused due to health, business or other personal considerations of an extremely serious nature, which substantially justify the failure to attend. It is the intent of this provision to grant the City council broad discretion in reaching its conclusion with regard to such issue.
[Ord. of 12-6-1994, § 4]
The voting members of the planning board shall elect a chair and recording secretary from its members. The term of all officers shall be for one year, with eligibility for reelection. Elections shall occur at the first regular meeting of the planning board during the month of September.
[Ord. of 12-6-1994, § 5]
When any person who under state law would generally be construed as having legal standing to address a particular application or project before the board claims bias on the part of any planning board member, the chair shall designate an associate member to sit with the balance of the planning board to consider the alleged bias. The person so charged shall not vote. Upon a majority vote of the planning board so constituted, the issue of bias shall be resolved. If there is no bias found by the board as so constituted, the person so charged may return to the board as a voting member with regard to the project or application for which bias was charged. Conflicts of interest as defined under state law shall likewise be ruled upon in the same manner by the planning board. For the purpose of this section, bias shall be construed as holding an opinion concerning an application or a project prior to review thereof, which would prevent that person from making an impartial decision regarding the application or project, thereby depriving the applicant or any opponent having legal standing of due process and a right to a fair and objective hearing. Both opponents and proponents of a project with sufficient legal standing may raise issues of bias or conflict of interest.
[Ord. of 12-6-1994, § 6]
The chair of the planning board, in addition to the powers otherwise enumerated in this division, shall preside over the meetings of the planning board and shall rule on procedural issues which may come before the planning board, and such rulings shall be final. It is the intent of this provision to grant to the chair of the planning board maximum discretion in conducting planning board meetings and ruling on procedural matters which properly are raised at a meeting. In the absence of the chair at a scheduled planning board meeting, the recording secretary shall become the acting chair, or in the case of disability of the planning board chair a majority of the voting members of the planning board shall select a temporary chair, who shall be designated chair pro tem, who shall have all of the duties and powers of the chair described in this section during the meeting, or in the event of an extended absence or disability of the regular planning board chair shall have, between meetings, for a period designated by the planning board, the powers conferred upon the planning board chair contained in this division.
[Ord. of 12-6-1994, § 7]
The planning board shall hold regular board meetings on the second and fourth Wednesday of each month and may call special planning board meetings by either of the two following methods. The chair may call a special planning board meeting. Four-fifths of the voting members of the planning board may call a special planning board meeting by signing a notice of the meeting indicating the time and place of the meeting and serving such notice in person to or leaving such notice at the usual dwelling place of each member of the board and the City manager and notifying at the same time both of the local weekly newspapers published in the City.
[Ord. of 12-6-1994, § 8]
Except with the consent and approval (outside of a regular planning board meeting) of the planning board chair or the City manager, no planning board member shall incur expense or seek legal opinion from either the City attorney or the Maine Municipal Association legal services staff. This prohibition shall extend only to the solicitation of legal advice with regard to matters before the planning board and shall not be construed to impair the right of any member at his own expense to procure such legal services as he may feel are necessary and desirable to represent the member's personal interests.
[Ord. of 12-6-1994, § 9]
Except with approval of the planning board chair or the City manager, no planning board member shall, outside of a regular or special planning board meeting, communicate or engage in contact with any applicant or agent or employee or attorney of any applicant having an application or project pending before the planning board. This shall not apply to contact unrelated in any way to such application.