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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPlanning_Commission_February-26-2013 City of Falcon Heights Planning Commission City Hall 2077 W. Larpenteur Avenue February 26, 2013 7:00 p.m. A G E N D A A. CALL TO ORDER: 7:00 p.m. B. ROLL CALL: Black ____ Brown ____ Fite ____ Gustafson ____ Minns ____ Wartick ____ Council Liaison Harris ____ City Administrator Fischer____ Staff Liaison Jones ____ City Attorney ____ C. Election of Chair and Vice-Chair for 2013 D. Approval of the minutes for November 27, 2012 E. PUBLIC HEARING: Amendment to the Chapter 113 of the City Code concerning special events F: AGENDA ITEM: Special event ordinance – Discussion and recommendation to the City Council G. Annual review of the Planning Commission’s standing rules H. INFORMATION AND ANNOUNCEMENTS I. ADJOURN If you have a disability and need accommodation in order to attend this meeting, please notify City Hall 48 hours in advance between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. at 651-792-7600. We will be happy to help. City of Falcon Heights - Planning Commission Meeting of November 27, 2012 - Page 1 of 2 City of Falcon Heights Planning Commission Minutes November 27, 2012 PRESENT: Commissioners Black, Brown, Noble, Gustafson, Staff Liaison Jones. ABSENT: With notice, Commissioners Minns, Fite and Wartick, Council Member Harris The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by the Chair, Commissioner Black, who noted that a quorum was present. The minutes for July 24, 2012, were approved. Information and Announcements The Planning Commission will not meet in December unless urgent business should require the calling of a special meeting. Staff Liaison Jones said she did not expect any urgent business to come up. Saturday, December 1, is the opening ceremony for the new solar installation on the roof of City Hall. The public is invited. There will be a solar energy workshop after the opening. Please RSVP to City Hall for the workshop because staff needs a count of attendees. Jones thanked the Commissioners for their year of service to the City. Special thanks went to Wendy Noble who is ending her second term on the Commission. Commissioners Minns and Wartick are ending their first terms. Jones did not know if they had accepted reappointment to a second term. Commissioner Black asked if the public is being solicited to apply for Commission vacancies. Jones said applications are always open and the form can be downloaded from the website or requested by phone. Commissioners are appointed by the Mayor. Youth members are accepted on some commissions, though not the Planning Commission. Commissioner Noble reminded the audience that meetings are open to all, including workshops. Black thanked Noble for her six years of service on the Planning Commission. ADJOURNMENT: The meeting was adjourned at 7:09 p.m. to the continuing workshop on the special event ordinance. Respectfully submitted, Deborah Jones, Staff Liaison City of Falcon Heights - Planning Commission Meeting of November 27, 2012 - Page 2 of 2 Planning Commission Workshop: Special Events Commissioners were provided with a very rough “cut-and-paste” assembly of the ordinance elements favored at the October workshop. This preliminary proto-draft was based on the structure of the North St. Paul special event ordinance, with elements from the cities of Plymouth and Medina. Much of the discussion was structural, especially regarding the types of events that ordinance would not cover or would exempt from the permit requirement and those sections addressing revocation and denial. Commissioners wanted to know if the ordinance needs to be explicit about exempting private parties. Most of the models seem to include such events as exceptions. Private events on residential property would, of course, not be covered or require a permit, but there might be a private wedding or funeral or other private property at a commercial site, and that kind of exception should probably be explicit, just to remove doubt. Commissioners favored staff approval/denial of permits, with appeal to the City Council. Though they discussed including specific grounds for denial, as in the Medina ordinance, they slightly (with reservations) favored the simpler form used in North St. Paul but were willing to add specifics back in if the city attorney recommends doing so. The North St. Paul model does not include an indemnification section. This could also be added if the city attorney recommends doing so. Staff should inquire. After going through the document, Commissioners directed staff to forward it to the City Attorney to create a draft. The draft will be reviewed in another workshop in January for any final changes. Unless there are any major issues, a hearing would be held in February, 2013. City of Falcon Heights - Planning Commission Workshop of January, 22, 2013 - Page 1 of 1 City of Falcon Heights Planning Commission Minutes of the Planning Commission Workshop: Special Event Ordinance January 22, 2013, 7:00 p.m. Commissioners met for the workshop at 7:00 p.m. Present were Commissioners Gustafson, Black, Brown and Wartick, Council Member Harris, Staff Liaison Jones. Commissioners were provided with the draft special event ordinance written by the City Attorney based on the result of the November workshop. During the discussion, staff noted requests for changes and questions for the attorney. Council Member Harris asked why the State Fair was blocked out but not the “Back to the 50s” fairground event, as the latter has a worse impact in her opinion. Commissioners explained that they had decided at the November workshop to “try it.” If an initial event did not go well, that could be a basis for denying future permits or placing additional conditions on a permit, which the ordinance allows. Again, Commissioners expressed concerns about the mechanics of denying a permit. Do we need specific grounds for denial? Or is failure to meet the conditions of the ordinance enough? Can a permit be denied at the discretion of the City Administrator or designated staff? Can the ordinance say this? More attorney advice is needed on the denial issue. Commissioners also questioned the revocation provision’s ten day appeal provision. How would this serve in the case of a permit that needs to be revoked during the event itself due to failure to meet permit conditions? Does the abatement clause in the enforcement section cover this? The exempting of events of less than 200 people from the permit requirement (unless alcohol is served, in which case any event needs a permit) also came in for some questions from Commissioners. The consensus was that 200 is a very large number relative to the city’s small venues and their close proximity to residential zones. A 100 person cut-off was proposed, but this might draw in some of the specific neighborhood events Commissioners wanted to exclude from the permit requirement. The compromise number was 150. The 7 a.m. start time for set up was also questioned. Commissioners may look at restricting the hours further but did not do so at this workshop. Staff was directed to change the wording of the paragraph that gives the City Administrator authority to waive provisions under some circumstances so that it applies to individual provisions, not the whole ordinance. The draft has no provision for charging additional fees for the use of “Special Services” as defined in Section 1, except for clean-up charges in paragraph (8) of the standards section. The City of Medina has a section for special services fees and a deposit. Does Falcon Heights need to add this? It was noted that indemnification is covered in paragraph (15) Insurance. Commissioners requested the presence of an attorney at the hearing for the ordinance. The workshop was ended by consensus at about 9:00 p.m. REQUEST FOR PLANNING COMMISSION ACTION Families, Fields and Fair __________________________ The City That Soars! Description An ordinance is proposed to amend the Falcon Heights zoning code to provide for certain special events by permit. Background In 2012, at the request of the City Council, the Planning Commission studied the possibility of creating an ordinance to allow certain events by special permit. Stout’s Pub, Dino’s and the Coffee Grounds were represented at a September 25 workshop, when they outlined their event ideas and proposals in detail for the Commission. All three businesses wish to sponsor weekend outdoor tented events on a limited number of occasions during the year. These events would be an extension of their usual operations. Based on this input, the Commission’s study of other city ordinances and discussion over multiple workshops, the Commission requested a draft for an ordinance from the City Attorney. In January, 2013, the draft was reviewed by the Planning Commission, which requested some revisions. The ordinance would add to Chapter 113, the Zoning Code, Article VI, Division 4, providing for special events by permit and setting standards for the orderly, compatible and safe use of private property for public outdoor events. The ordinance would not allow events during the State Fair and one week before and after the Fair. The ordinance exempts from the permit requirement events with attendance of less than 150 (at any one time) if alcohol is not served. This means existing Coffee Grounds events would not need a permit. Budget Impact Unknown Attachment(s) Draft special event ordinance Action(s) Requested  Hold a public hearing on the proposed ordinance.  Discuss the proposed ordinance and make a recommendation to the City Council. Meeting Date February 26, 2013 Agenda Item 1 Title Special Event Ordinance Submitted By Deborah Jones, Staff Liaison Doc. #168340v.1a RNK: 1/14/2013 1 ORDINANCE NO. ____ CITY OF FALCON HEIGHTS RAMSEY COUNTY, MINNESOTA AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 113 OF THE CITY CODE CONCERNING SPECIAL EVENTS THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FALCON HEIGHTS ORDAINS: SECTION 1. Section 113-3 of the Falcon Heights City Code is amended by adding the following definitions: APPLICANT means any individual, partnership, corporation, association, society or group seeking and/or receiving a special event permit from the City. OUTDOOR means activity conducted outside of a permanent structure or building. PERSON means any person, association, partnership, firm, business trust, corporation or company. SPECIAL EVENT means any temporary, outdoor privately-sponsored event open to the general public and held on privately owned property except: (1) Any permanent place of worship, stadium, athletic field, arena, theatre, auditorium; (2) Any event conducted on the campus of the University of Minnesota or the grounds of the Minnesota State Fair; (3) Special events or activities sponsored by the City; (4) Family gatherings, including family reunions, graduation parties, baptisms, confirmations, weddings, wedding receptions, funerals and funeral processions; (5) Garage sales and residential boutique sales as regulated in Section 113-174; (6) Block parties and neighborhood meetings; (7) Any event attended by fewer than 150 persons at one time which does not require any Special Services and does not involve the sale of alcohol; Doc. #168340v.1a RNK: 1/14/2013 2 (8) Any event that is otherwise regulated by the City through the use of another regulatory manner, such as an interim use permit or conditional use permit; and (9) The use of traditional public forums as alternative channels of communication by the public, provided that such use is for the free exercise of constitutionally protected activities and does not disrupt or interfere with traffic on public streets or the use of public places by other members of the public. SPECIAL SERVICES means the exclusive allocation of City resources, including, but not limited to, city personnel, equipment, rights-of-way, property or facilities for use in conjunction with a specific event or activity, as requested by the host or sponsor of the event, or as requested by or on behalf of any person attending the event, or deemed necessary by City staff in order to maintain public safety. Special Services shall include, but not be limited to, any of the following: street closures; requiring police officers to stop or reroute traffic; special police protection; stationing emergency vehicles at or in the immediate vicinity of the event; exclusive use of City streets as a staging area or for event parking; additional street cleaning and garbage removal services; special signage, such as temporary no parking signs; the use of any City building, equipment or other property for any purpose other than the normal daily operations of the City; or the City otherwise providing exclusive services. SECTION 2. Chapter 113 of the Falcon Heights City Code is amended by adding Article VI, Division 4 to provide as follows: DIVISION 4 SPECIAL EVENTS 113-400 PURPOSE AND INTENT. The purpose of this Division is to promote the orderly, compatible and safe use of property for special events and to assure adequate provision of parking, traffic, sanitary facilities, utilities, peace and tranquility of residential neighborhoods and safety services. 113-401 PERMIT REQUIRED. No person on or after the effective date of this Division shall conduct or allow to be conducted any special event as defined in this Division without first obtaining a special event permit. No special event may be scheduled during the Minnesota State Fair or for one week prior and one week following the Minnesota State Fair. 113-402 PERMIT STANDARDS. The following standards shall apply to all special events: Doc. #168340v.1a RNK: 1/14/2013 3 (1) Maximum Number of People. The permitee shall not sell tickets to nor permit attendance at the permit location of more than the maximum number of people stated in the special event permit. (2) Sound Equipment. Sound producing equipment, including but not limited to public address systems, radios, phonographs, musical instruments and other recording devices, shall not be operated on the premises of the special event so as to be unreasonably loud or be a nuisance or disturbance to the peace and tranquility of the citizens of Falcon Heights (3) Sanitary Facilities. In accordance with Minnesota State Board of Health regulations and standards, adequate sanitary facilities must be provided which are sufficient to accommodate the projected number of person expected to attend the event. (4) Security. The permitee shall employ at his or her own expense such security personnel as are necessary and sufficient to provide for the adequate security and protection of the maximum number of persons in attendance at the special event and for the preservation of order and protection of property in and around the event site. No permit shall be issued unless the City’s Police Chief is satisfied that such necessary and sufficient security personnel will be provided by the permitee for the duration of the event. (5) Food Service. If food service is available on the premises, it shall be offered only by a holder of a retail food handler’s license issued by Ramsey County Health Department. (6) Fire Protection. The permitee shall, at his or her own expense, take adequate steps to insure fire protection as determined by the City Fire Chief. (7) Duration of Special Event. Special events are allowed only on the days and hours specified on the permit. Special events must end by 9:00 p.m. and may not commence before 7 a.m. All structures, equipment, displays and refuse must be removed within twenty-four (24) hours of the end time and date specified on the permit. An event may not exceed two (2) consecutive calendar days and not more than one (1) special event is allowed on a property at a time. There shall be no more than three (3) special events per calendar year per property. However, each tenant in a multi-tenant building shall be permitted one (1) special event per year. Multi-tenant buildings with less than five (5) lease-spaces shall be considered as a single property for purposes of this provision. Setting up for the event may commence not more than twenty-four (24) hours before the time and date specified on the permit. Doc. #168340v.1a RNK: 1/14/2013 4 (8) Cleanup Plan. The special event applicant is responsible for clean up. Any clean up required by the City may be charged to the applicant. Any City service that requires overtime will be at the expense of the applicant. (9) Accessory use. The special event must be accessory to or promoting the established permitted or conditional use of the site. (10) Structures. Tents, stands, and other similar temporary structures may be used, provided they are clearly identified on the submitted plan and provided that it is determined by the City Administrator that they will not impair the parking capacity, emergency access, or the safe and efficient movement of pedestrian and vehicular traffic on or off the site. (11) Parking. The submitted plan shall clearly demonstrate that adequate off-street parking for the proposed event can and will be provided for the duration of the event. Determination of compliance with this requirement shall be made by the City Administrator, who shall consider the nature of the event and the applicable parking requirements of Article VI, Division 2 of this Chapter. Consideration shall be given to the parking needs and requirements of other occupants in the case of multi-tenant buildings. Parking on public right-of-way and streets is prohibited; except that parking on local streets may be allowed on Saturday and Sunday only, provided that the petitioner arranges for traffic control by authorized enforcement officers, as approved in writing by the Police Chief, at the petitioner’s expense. If off-street parking on private property not owned by the applicant is to be used for the event, written approval from that property’s owner must be submitted with the permit application. (12) Signage. Signage related to the special event shall be in compliance with the temporary sign standards of Article VII of this Chapter and shall be allowed for the duration of the event. The City Administrator may authorize special signage for purposes of traffic direction and control; the erection and removal of such signage shall be the responsibility of the applicant. (13) Display of Permit. The approved permit shall be displayed on the premises for the duration of the event. (14) Waiver. The City Administrator may grant a waiver from any of the requirements of this Division in any particular case where the applicant can show that strict compliance with this Division would cause exceptional and undue hardship by reason of the nature of the special event or by reason of the fact that the circumstances make the requirement of this Division unnecessary. Such waiver must be granted without detriment to the public health, safety or welfare and without impairing the intent and purpose of these regulations. (15) Insurance. Before the issuance of a permit, the permitee shall obtain public liability insurance and property damage insurance with limits determined by the Doc. #168340v.1a RNK: 1/14/2013 5 City Administrator. Such insurance shall remain in full force and effect in the specified amounts for the duration of the permit. Evidence of insurance shall include an endorsement to the effect that the insurance company will notify the City Clerk in writing at least ten (10) days before the expiration or cancellation of the insurance. (16) Miscellaneous. Prior to the issuance of a permit, the City Administrator may impose any other conditions reasonably calculated to protect the health, safety and welfare of persons attendant or of the citizens of the City of Falcon Heights. 113-403 APPLICATION PROCEDURES. A written application for a special event permit shall be filed on forms provided by the City with the City Clerk not less than thirty (30) days before the date proposed for holding the special event. The written application shall be signed by the person, persons, or parties conducting the event and shall be accompanied by the fee payable hereunder. Upon submission of an application for a special event permit, City Staff will review the request and advise the applicant of the need for additional information, if any. 113-404 FEES. The fee for a special event license shall be as established by the City Council. 113-405 GRANTING A PERMIT. Permits shall may be issued by the City Administrator if the Administrator determines the requirements of this Division have been met. If the City Administrator determines the activity dies not meet these criteria, such application shall be denied. 113-406 DENIAL OF PERMIT. If the City Administrator denies the permit, the permit applicant may appeal the decision to the City Council by filing a notice of appeal with the City Clerk within ten (10) days. 113-407 TRANSFERABILITY. No permit granted under this Division shall be transferred to any other person or place without consent of the City Administrator, upon written application made therefore. 113-408 ENFORCEMENT AND PENALTIES. (a) The Police Department and other such officers, employees, or agents as the City Council or City Administrator may designate, shall enforce the provisions of this Division. Doc. #168340v.1a RNK: 1/14/2013 6 (b) The holding of a special event in violation of any provision of this Division shall be deemed a public nuisance and may be abated as such. (c) Any person violating any provision of this Division is guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be subject to the penalties set forth in Minnesota Statutes. 113-409 REVOCATION OF PERMIT. The permit for a special event may be revoked by the City Administrator for failure to comply with the provisions of this Division and conditions of the permit. The revocation may be appealed to the City Council by filing a written notice of appeal within ten (10) days of the revocation with the City Clerk. ADOPTED this ______ day of _______________, 2013, by the City Council of Falcon Heights, Minnesota. CITY OF FALCON HEIGHTS BY: _______________________________________ P e t e r L i n d s t r o m , M a y o r ATTEST: __________________________________________ Bart Fischer, City Administrator/Clerk FALCON HEIGHTS PLANNING COMMISSION PLANNING COMMISSION STANDING RULES February 26, 2008; Revised June 28, 2011 INTRODUCTION In the belief that the best decisions are made by the best informed decision makers and that the public decision process is best served when the public has every opportunity to present views, the following rules are established to govern regular and special commission meetings as well as formal public hearings. There are several goals behind these rules. 1. In general, free and open discussion by all interested parties should be an essential part of the decision making process. 2. The commission process should have as little procedural overhead as possible. 3. Time is better spent on substantial matters rather than pro forma matters. MEMBERSHIP The formal commission membership consists of seven to nine appointed commissioners. All seven to nine have one vote each and all can introduce motions. For purposes of leading the meeting, the chair, or in the absence of the chair, the vice-chair will be considered the chairperson. In the absence of the chair and vice- chair, the Commission shall name an acting chair for the duration of the meeting. RULES Agenda 1. To be considered, an item must be on the agenda and the agenda must be distributed to all the commission members and any other persons having responsibility for an item at least three working days prior to the meeting. Distribution may be made by electronic media, including the city website. An agenda can be modified with addenda by a majority vote but this should be used only for minor items or items with extreme time constraints. 2. Since there will be audience and possibly cable TV viewers not familiar with each item, the chair, or person appointed by the chair, will give a brief explanation of each item as it is addressed. 3. The order of items on the agenda need not be followed absolutely. The chair may adjust the order in the interest of: a. Filling in time before a scheduled item, i.e., a public hearing. b. Grouping several items to best make use of consultant time. c. Accommodating individuals who have attended the meeting specifically to provide input on an item. City of Falcon Heights Planning Commission Standing Rules, Revised 2011 Page 1 of 4 Process - Regular and Special Planning Commission Meetings 1. For these proceedings the commission will use the 'open discussion' procedure. That is, discussion is open to any member before or after a motion is made. This privilege is also extended to the city planner and any of the consultants who may have an interest in or can contribute to the item at hand. 2. At the discretion of the chair, this privilege is also extended to those members of the audience who wish to provide input. The chair may also rule out of order any input felt to be redundant, superfluous or irrelevant. 3. The chair can make liberal use of the "unanimous consent" procedure. That is, items that in the judgment of the chair are likely to be unanimously approved, can be introduced for approval with the statement "If there are no objections, ... stands approved (or denied)." If any commissioner has an objection, then the item reverts to the standard motion procedure. This "unanimous consent" procedure cannot be used for items requiring formal votes, i.e. resolutions. 4. The standard motion procedure is changed to not require a second. A motion need only be made to be considered. This also applies to amendments. 5. To eliminate confusion, only one amendment will be considered at a time and that amendment must be germane to the motion. An amendment cannot itself be amended. If a change to an amendment is deemed appropriate, the amendment should be withdrawn and reintroduced accordingly. 6. The general mode of voting will be by acclamation but with enough clarity that the individual votes can be recorded in the minutes. If in doubt, the secretary can request a clarification. 7. The meeting will be electronically recorded and the recording will be retained for at least 6 months following approval of the minutes for that meeting and shall, if possible, be made accessible on the city website during that period. The standard retention can be extended if in the judgment of the city planner such action is warranted. 8. If the commission action is the result of a resident request and that request is denied in whole or in part, reasons of fact supporting the denial will be made part of the public record. 9. No commission meeting will extend beyond 10:00 P.M. except by unanimous vote. This rule is not subject to the modification or suspension provisions of the Standing Rules. City of Falcon Heights Planning Commission Standing Rules, Revised 2011 Page 2 of 4 Process - Public Hearings Since a public hearing is a more formal procedure and often requires certain procedures and actions to be legal, the meeting rules are changed accordingly. 1. The primary aim of a public hearing is to take input from the public. To accomplish this in the most effective manner the chair will introduce the hearing with an explanation of the issues. This explanation will be given by the chair or a person designated by the chair. The use of explanatory visual aids is encouraged. 2. Following the explanation and before public input is taken, the chair will state the areas where input will be appropriate, the maximum time to be allotted to any individual presenter and any other rules deemed appropriate to guarantee that all concerned parties have a fair and adequate opportunity to be heard. The chair will then open the hearing to input from the public. 3. At the discretion of the chair, all individuals wishing to speak must fill out and submit an identification form and speak into a recording microphone. Individuals not wishing to speak in public may provide a written statement. The commission may take up to 15 minutes to review written statements presented at the meeting. If the commission decides to not act on the issue at the public hearing meeting, it may by majority vote extend the time where written input will be taken to a day no later than 1 week before the next meeting where a deciding vote is planned. 4. All speakers are expected to be business-like, to-the-point and courteous. Anyone not abiding by these rules will be considered out-of-order. 5. The commission will refrain from initiating a discussion during the public input phase of the hearing except to clarify points brought up. These 'point of information' requests should be held to a minimum. 6. Once the public testimony phase is complete the chair will announce the public hearing to be closed and the commission will revert back to its open discussion mode of operation. From this point on, public input will only be appropriate when solicited by the commission. 7. Voting on any motion that results from a public hearing may be by roll call if requested by a commissioner. 8. It shall be the intent of the commission to vote on the issue at the same meeting as the public hearing and as close in time to the public hearing as possible. Should it be necessary to defer voting until a later date, that procedure will be clearly explained to the audience. 9. No public hearing will extend beyond 9:30 p.m. 10. If the motion contains conditions, as may occur in conditional use or variance requests, those conditions will be conveyed in writing to the requestor. 11. If the public hearing is the result of a resident request and that request is denied in whole or in part, reasons of fact supporting the denial will be made part of the public record. City of Falcon Heights Planning Commission Standing Rules, Revised 2011 Page 3 of 4 City of Falcon Heights Planning Commission Standing Rules, Revised 2011 Page 4 of 4 ADOPTION/MODIFICATION/SUSPENSION These rules with the exception of the mandatory 10:00 P.M. adjournment, can be adopted, modified or suspended in whole or in part by a 3/4 vote of the commission. If suspended, they are automatically reinstated at the next meeting. Should they be suspended or a situation occurs that is not covered by the standing rules, Sikkink's Seven Motion System (attached) will apply. ANNUAL REVIEW These rules will be reviewed annually in January. INTERPRETATION The chair will interpret the rules. However, the chair's interpretation can be appealed by any commission member and can be overruled by a majority vote. History  Annual review by the Commission on 2/24/09 – No changes  Annual review by the Commission on 1/26/10 – No changes  Annual review by the Commission on 2/22/11 – Change recommended to clarify sequence of events in Process – Public Hearings, Item 2. Change approved 6/28/2011 SIKKINK’S SEVEN MOTION SYSTEM General Rules for a Simplified System of Parliamentary Procedure 1. The purpose of this decision making system is to allow efficient decision making that represents a majority position. Any motion, request, discussion or proposal, which seems to have as its purpose unreasonable delay, manipulation, or the goal of serving individual ends rather than group ends, can be ruled out of order by the chair. Such a ruling by the chair will be subject to the motion called appeal. 2. Free and open discussions are valued in this decision making system. For that reason, most motions are discussable and the motion to restrict discussion requires a 2/3 vote in order to pass. In recognizing persons for discussion, the chair first recognizes the person who made the motion, next recognizes other persons and always recognizes a person who has not spoken over a person who has already participated in the discussion. As far as possible, the chair should try to alternately recognize persons representing different viewpoints. 3. In examining the chart on the following page, you will note that five of the seven motions are amendable. However, only one amendment at a time may be considered. As soon as that amendment is passed or defeated, another amendment may be proposed. 4. The number in front of the motion listed indicates the rank of each motion. Thus, #1 – General motions are lowest in rank, and #7 – Restrict Debate motions are highest in rank. Two rules apply: (1) You usually cannot consider two motions of the same rank at the same time, and (2) If a motion of one rank is being considered, a motion of the same rank or lower rank is usually out of order, but a motion of higher rank is in order. While these rules generally apply, the chair may allow some flexibility in certain circumstances. These situations almost always occur with motions #5, 6 and 7. For example, if #7 - “Restrict Discussion” is being discussed and a member wants a secret ballot vote on the matter, Request, while lower in rank, could be used to accomplish this purpose. The chair is allowed to make all decisions on exceptions, but all such decisions are subject to appeal. Im p o r t a n t N o t e : T h e p r e v i o u s p a g e a n d t h e c h a r t b e l o w a r e t a k e n v e r b at i m f r o m t h e e x i s t i n g A d m i ni s t r a t i v e M a n u a l o f t h e Ci t y o f F a l c o n H e i g h t s , n o w i n r e v i s i o n . P l ea s e n o t e t h a t i n t h e c h a r t , t h e m o t i o n s w e re p u t i n o r d e r o f r a n k f r o m h i g h e s t ( # 7 ) to lo w e s t ( # 1 ) . Ty p e o f M o t i o n / R a n k P u r p o s e Ap p l i e s T o W h a t Si t u a t i o n s Ne e d s Re c o g n i t i o n Ne e d s Se c o n d Ca n B e Di s c u s s e d Am e n d a b l e Vote Required 7. R e s t r i c t D i s c u s s i o n (h i g h e s t r a n k ) To s t o p o r l i m i t di s c u s s i o n Al l d i s c u s s a b l e mo t i o n s Ye s Y e s Y e s Y e s 2 / 3 6. A p p e a l T o l e t t h e g r o u p v o t e o n a c h a i r ’ s d e c i s i o n To d e c i s i o n o f t h e ch a i r p e r s o n No Y e s Y e s N o M a j o r i t y 5. R e q u e s t N o t a m o t i o n b u t a w a y to q u e s t i o n , c h a l l e n g e , or s e e k h e l p An y a p p r o p r i a t e si t u a t i o n N o N o N o N o Chair decides subject to appeal 4. P o s t p o n e T o d e l a y a c t i o n o n a n y ge n e r a l m o t i o n t o a fu t u r e t i m e Ge n e r a l m o t i o n s Ye s Y e s Y e s Y e s M a j o r i t y 3. R e f e r T o h a v e a g e n e r a l mo t i o n s t u d i e d b y a co m m i t t e e Ge n e r a l m o t i o n s Ye s Y e s Y e s Y e s M a j o r i t y 2. M e e t i n g T e r m i n a t i o n T o r e c e s s d u r i n g a me e t i n g o r t o e n d a me e t i n g Ma d e t o r e c e s s o r ad j o u r n Y e s Y e s Y e s Y e s M a j o r i t y 1. G e n e r a l ( l o w e s t r a n k ) T o b r i n g u p b u s i n e s s f o r ma j o r i t y d e c i s i o n s b y t h e gr o u p Fo r d o i n g bu s i n e s s Y e s Y e s Y e s Y e s M a j o r i t y City of Falcon Heights Administrative Manual and City Policies Section II: Commissions B. PLANNING COMMISSION 1. Purpose. The commission shall be the city planning agency authorized by Minnesota Statutes, Section 462.354, Subd. l, which includes guiding future development of land, services, and facilities to ensure a safe, pleasant and economical environment for residential, commercial, and public activities; and to promote the public health, safety, and general welfare of the community by: a. establishing community objectives and policy; b. making recommendations to the council regarding petitions and applications for rezoning, special use permits, etc. c. reviewing and making recommendations on all matters relating to or affecting the physical development of the city. 2. Composition & Qualifications. The commission shall consist of not less than seven nor more than nine members to be appointed by the mayor and approved by the council as follows: a. Members of the commission shall be appointed according to their ability to contribute to and perform the functions, powers and duties imposed upon the commission. b. Members of the commission shall be eligible voters residing within the city. 3. Terms, Vacancies, Oaths. The term of office of all commission members shall be three years. Except for appointments to fill a vacancy, an appointment in any year shall be deemed effective as of January l of such year for purposes of computing the term. No member shall serve more than two consecutive three year terms or more than eight consecutive years on the Planning Commission and until an existing term of office expires. Members shall hold office until their successors are appointed. All members shall serve without compensation, but may be reimbursed for expenses as authorized and approved by the city council. 4. Removal. Commission members shall be subject to removal for cause, by a four-fifths vote of the city council. Failure to attend meetings regularly shall be one basis for removal. 5. Organization, Officers. Each commission shall elect a chairperson from among its appointed members for a term of one year. The commissions may create and fill such other offices as determined necessary. 6. Meetings, Records, Reports. The commissions shall hold scheduled meetings, not less than one per calendar quarter. They shall adopt rules for the transaction of business and shall keep written public records of resolutions, recommendations and findings. On or before February l5 of each year, the commissions shall submit to the council work reports for the preceding calendar year. 7. Commission's Duties. In fulfillment of its purpose the commission's duties and responsibilities shall be to: a. exercise duties given planning agencies by law and any duties conferred upon it by the zoning code and by the city council. b. periodically, but at least once every two (2) years, review the comprehensive plan, any additions or amendments, and any capital improvement program the council has adopted to implement the plan; and if deemed necessary, revise the comprehensive plan, adopt the amendments or the new comprehensive plan, amend the capital improvement program, and make recommendations to council.