Establishment; purpose

The  Zoning Revisions Committee (hereinafter referred to as the Committee) is hereby established, the purpose of which is to assist The Planning Board to identify, develop and recommend where appropriate zoning ordinances that serve to implement the Sustainability Plan as adopted on May 22, 2008 (check date?). The committee shall be organized as a sub-committee of the Planning Board and its charge shall be threefold;

·        To review current zoning and recommend revisions as appropriate that will serve to implement the goals of the Northampton Sustainability plan

·        To serve as an additional technical resource to the Planning Board in matters of zoning revisions.

·        To provide a wide range of opportunities for public input to the zoning revisions process.

Membership

Committee shall consist of nine voting members, residents of the City who shall be appointed by the Planning Board. The composition of the Committee shall be as follows;

·        Three appointees shall have the technical skills and experience to address zoning, land use and planning issues.

·        Three appointees will represent broad based community concerns(e.g. representatives of neighborhood, civic or housing related organizations)

·        One member will represent environmental/conservation concerns (e.g Broad Brook Coalition, local Land Trust, Arcadia Wildlife Sanctuary)

·        One appointee will represent economic development concerns (e.g. Chamber of Commerce, real estate concerns, commercial or residential developers)

·        One member will represent the Planning Board

The voting members shall serve without compensation

The Director of Planning and Development and Building Commissioner or their designees shall be ex officio members of the Committee. They shall not be entitled to vote on the making of recommendations.

All appointments will be for a two year term.

Filling vacancies.

Whenever any vacancy shall occur on the Committee, it shall be filled by the appointing authority (Planning Board). Any person appointed to fill a vacancy on the Committee shall represent the constituency that the original member represented and hold office for the unexpired term of the person whom s/he succeeds.

 Organization, Officers.

The members of the Committee shall elect one member to serve as Chairperson and one member to serve as Vice-chair. Elections will be held annually.

The Chairperson may establish subcommittees to carry out the work of the Committee. The Committee may appoint nonvoting members who shall serve without compensation as subcommittee members. Subcommittees may consist of committee members as well as those who are not members of the Committee. These subcommittees will meet as needed, with the meetings being publicly posted in advance according to the Open Meeting Law. (See MGL c. 39, § 23B). Chairpersons of the subcommittees may be selected by the members of the subcommittees.

The Committee can establish additional rules and requirements relating to voting and membership. Such rules shall be incorporated into a corresponding bylaw

Meetings, Quorums

The Committee shall meet on a regular basis, but in any case, at least quarterly. Special meetings may be called by the Chairperson. It shall inform the City Clerk of the time and place of any meeting and shall hold all meetings in accordance with the provisions of the Open Meeting Law and any other applicable state or federal statutes.  

A quorum shall consist of 51% of the active voting members. A majority vote of a quorum shall be sufficient to approve any motion.

Duties and functions.

A.      It shall be the duty of the Committee to assist the City in the review and revisions of current zoning ordinances that serve to further the Goals of the Northampton Sustainability plan. The Committee shall recommend changes, additions, deletions in said ordinances to the Planning Board; if such zoning ordinances do not exist or if new ordinances are deemed necessary, to advise and assist the Planning Board in the formulation of these ordinances so as to achieve the City’s sustainability and land use goals.

B       The Committee will develop a priority list of ordinance sections to be reviewed and provide a timeline to the Planning Board for proposing recommended revisions and additions.

E.      The Committee shall have the power to create ad hoc committees and task forces for the carrying out of the purposes of the Committee. Such ad hoc committees and task forces may be comprised of Committee or non-Committee individuals

F.      The Committee shall have the power to adopt its own procedures and bylaws as it deems necessary to fulfill its responsibilities.

Sunset Clause

The Committee shall be active for a period of two years at which time the Planning Board shall make a determination to either conclude or extend the activities of The Committee.