Monroe County Planning Commission
Rules of Procedure
The Monroe County Planning Commission, in Section 9.5-22(b)(10) is granted the authority to adopt such rules of procedure necessary for the administration of their responsibilities not inconsistent with this article to govern the commission’s proceedings.
Conduct of Meetings
1. The Planning Director is instructed not to place any application or proposal on the Planning Commission agenda, unless and until in the professional judgment of the Director, all the exhibits required by the LDRS are included in the application, that the application is generally in compliance with the technical requirements of the LDRS and that the application provides all the information reasonably needed by the Commission to make its decision. The applicant may either revise the application in accordance with the recommendations of the Planning Director or may request, in writing, the application be submitted to the Planning Commission at the next regularly scheduled meeting that will meet the advertisement requirements.
2. Staff reports and accompanying materials must be submitted to the Planning Commission Coordinator no later than ten (10) working days before the meeting date to be considered at the meeting. Any additional information from the applicant, and any written materials, maps and pictures from the general public must be submitted to the Planning Commission Coordinator no later than five working days before the meeting date to be considered at the meeting. If any additional information is submitted on the fifth working day prior, it must be submitted no later than 12:00 Noon to be considered by the Commission. It is impossible to adequately understand, evaluate and respond to information without adequate time for review by staff and the Commission.
Please Note: a majority vote is required by the Planning Commission to allow any materials submitted later than the five (5) working day deadline to be entered into the record. These materials may only be submitted in person by staff, the applicant or the general public the day of the public hearing and (10) copies of all material must be given to the Planning Commission Coordinator at the beginning of the meeting.
3. In presentation by speakers at the public hearing, the Commission shall generally allow wide latitude in allowing persons to speak, reserving the right to limit presentations that are not relevant to the application under review or are repetitive of points previously made. The Chairman may limit presentations to three minutes per individual speaker or five minutes to those representing an organization. The first person representing the organization will be allowed the five minutes. Subsequently, all other speakers on behalf of that organization have three minutes to address the Board. The Commission may request proof of authority to speak for an organization or proof that an organization exists.
Once an individual has addressed the Board, he or she may be permitted to return to the podium once for clarification purposes only; only after everyone has spoken and each speaker will be limited to one (1) minute, unless the issue involved is quasi judicial in nature. In that case, the applicant may return to the podium to conclude his or her position at the end of the public hearing.
4. Discourtesy and disorderly or contemptuous conduct or personal attacks shall be considered a breach of privileges of the Planning Commission and shall not be tolerated. The Chairman may request the individual to leave the meeting and any testimony heard thereafter will not be considered by the Commission in making its decision.
5. During the public hearing all comments and discussions concerning the proposal under review shall be made at the podium, to the Planning Commission, into the microphone and, if televised, visible to the TV audience. Questions shall not be directed to staff by the presenter or others in the audience, although public comment on the staff presentation may result in the Commission asking a question of staff to clarify an issue.
6. All discussions between Commission members and applicants, their agents or members of the general public regarding quasi-judicial matters to be decided by the Planning Commission shall take place at public hearings and be part of the public record. Ex parte communications between the applicant, their agents or members of the general public and a Planning Commission member should not occur. However, if any information is communicated to a Planning Commission member regarding quasi-judicial issues, the Commissioner must disclose that information at the public hearing prior to any discussion of the item.
7. For quasi judicial hearings involving development applications, requests for variances, etc., the following will be the order of presentation, unless varied at the meeting by the Commission. The staff will first present its report, followed by the applicant. The hearing will then be opened for public comment. After public comment, the applicant will have an opportunity make concluding remarks and/or respond to public comments. The Commissioners will then deliberate the matter and conduct their vote. At any time during the hearing, Commissioners may ask questions of the staff, applicant or speakers.
Decisions
1. Deliberations of the Planning Commission and decisions on all matters shall be made at the public meeting at which the applications or proposal is heard, unless the Commission considers additional time for deliberation necessary and continues the hearing to the following appropriate meeting.
2. An application may not be withdrawn by the petitioner after the vote has been ordered by the chairman.
3. When the vote on a motion is evenly divided, the motion shall be deemed to have failed.
4. A motion to reconsider a previous vote by the Board shall be in order only if made by a member who voted with the prevailing side, or if the member did not vote on the original question.
PASSED AND ADOPTED by the Planning Commission of Monroe County, Florida at a regular meeting held on the 5th day of December, 2007
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