It is hereby determined that the level of work and the amount
of time that the Town of Dover Planning Board must put in to properly perform
its functions have greatly increased over the past few years. In order to
respond to the level and complexity of the applications and to facilitate
the processing of such applications, it is necessary to create two Planning
Board Co-Chair positions in place of the current Chairperson position.
In addition to the above reasons, the creation of two Co-Chair
positions will allow the Planning Board to function more readily if there
is a conflict of interest between an applicant and a Co-Chair or if illness
or any other situation prevents one Co-Chair from carrying out his or her
duties.
This article is intended to amend and/or supersede Subsection
1 of § 271 of the Town Law, which relates to the designation of
a Planning Board Chairperson, to provide for the designation of two Planning
Board Co-Chairs in place of the Chairperson.
In the event that there are not two qualified members able to
fill both Co-Chair positions, the Town Board shall designate only one person
to serve as Chairperson.
The duties and responsibilities of both Co-Chair positions are
the same as those of the Chairperson under the Town Law. Both Co-Chairs must
abide by the Planning Board rules and regulations adopted by the Planning
Board and are subject to the same attendance and training requirements as
other members of the Planning Board.