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Item No: 1B Meeting Date: Feb 5, 2007 Type of Business: Worksession Administrator Review : ____ City of Mounds View Staff Report To: Honorable Mayor and City Council and Members of the Planning Commission From: James Ericson, Community Development Director Item Title/Subject: Discuss Increasing Membership of the Planning Commission, Reappointment Process Introduction: The Mounds View Planning and Zoning Commission is an advisory body comprising of seven residents appointed by the City Council. Recently much interest has been expressed in serving on the Planning Commission, as evidenced by the seven applications for the four open seats. In addition to discussing membership levels, the Council also indicated a desire to review the policy concerning the procedures for appointment and reappointment. Both issues can be discussed at this joint meeting. Discussion: Concerning the number of members appointed to the Planning Commission, the City Code indicates that there shall be seven persons appointed to serve in three year staggered terms. A seven member board functions well and provides for a diversity of opinion and thoughts without becoming too unwieldy or unmanageable by expanding the ranks. In 1999, however, new mayor Dan Coughlin desired to increase membership on the boards and commissions to expand opportunities for residents to volunteer and participate in City advisory bodies. The Planning Commission membership was increased to nine members, however this proved to be too difficult a membership to maintain and one year later the membership was down to eight, and by the end of 2000, membership had dropped to six members. After two years of continued vacancies, the City Code was amended once again back to seven members. My experience with the nine member board was that there did not seem to be the same level of attendance commitment among some members as there was with a seven member board. The number of applications received for the Planning Commission in 2007 was an anomaly; more often it is the case that an open seat remains vacant for extended time periods. Concerning the procedure for appointing members to advisory boards and commissions, the policy and practice has evolved over time. Originally (or at least when I started in 1996) sitting commission members who desired to be reappointed were simply reappointed without reapplying or posting notice for the potentially open seat. The basis for this practice likely stemmed from the fact that it was difficult to find people willing to volunteer their time in the first place; if they wanted to continue, they should be provided that opportunity.