TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: Councilor Julie Hoy, Ward 6
SUBJECT:
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Motion from Councilor Julie Hoy regarding Council consideration of Planning Commission applicants.
Ward(s): All Wards
Councilor(s): All Councilors
Neighborhood(s): All Neighborhoods
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MOTION:
I move that all current applications for the Salem Planning Commission be provided to all City Council members, and that City Council, at the October 14, 2024 City Council meeting, determine if additional applicants, beyond those recommended by the Boards and Commissions Committee, be interviewed for potential appointment to the three vacant Planning Commission positions.
DISCUSSION:
Council Rule 18 provides that the Boards and Commissions Committee is responsible for reviewing and making recommendations for filing vacancies on the City’s boards and commissions. The Committee is set to meet this week and may review applications for three vacant Planning Commission positions. The Committee will then recommend applicants to be interviewed and potentially appointed by the City Council.
This motion would provide all the current applications for the Planning Commission to all city councilors and would give City Council an opportunity to supplement the applicants recommended by the Committee with additional applicants as determined by Council.
The Committee’s past practice has been to not provide City Council a list of all applicants for any board or commission vacancies, and Council votes only on applicants as recommended by the Boards and Commissions Committee. I believe the Planning Commission is one of the most important decision-making bodies of the City. Planning Commissioners are appointed for a four year term, and Commissioners have significant influence on development under review by the City. Therefore, I believe, given our current housing crisis, it is appropriate that City Council directly determine which applicants are considered by the Council for Planning Commission.
I will be unavailable from September 10th through 22nd. I originally submitted a request by email to the City Manager and Boards and Commissions Committee to delay their next meeting to allow me to attend and learn more about the applicants.
City Attorney’s note:
Per Council Rule 5(j), a councilor motion regarding “new business” must be submitted in writing by 9:00 a.m. on the Tuesday preceding the next council meeting. This motion is not timely under the rule. The rule further provides that an item of new business provided after this deadline may be added to the agenda as an addition, but shall not be acted upon at the meeting where first presented. Therefore, unless council decides to suspend this rule, council may not take action on this motion until its next meeting on September 23, 2024. Council Rule 26 requires a 2/3 majority vote of councilors present to suspend a council rule.
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