The Planning Commission shall be comprised of seven members who shall be appointed by the Mayor. The chairperson shall serve for a two year term, expiring at the end of each odd numbered year. The six remaining members shall serve three year terms, with the terms of two members to expire at the end of each year.
In addition to such other authority as may be provided in this Act, the City Planning Commission shall have the power and authority to employ experts and staff and to pay for their services and such other expenses as may be necessary, not exceeding in all the appropriation that may be made for such Commission by the Common Council of the City of Norwich.
The City Planning Commission may adopt rules and regulations in respect to procedure before it and in respect to any subject matter over which it has jurisdiction under any statute, ordinance, local law or resolution.
The City Planning Commission shall prepare and may change a comprehensive Master Plan for the development of the entire area of the City of Norwich, which Master Plan shall show existing and proposed streets, bridges and tunnels and approaches thereto, viaducts, parks, public reservations, roadways in parks, sites for public buildings and structures, zoning districts, routes of public utilities and such other features existing and proposed as will provide for the protection and improvement of the City of Norwich and its further growth and development, and will afford adequate facilities for the public housing, transportation, distribution, comfort, convenience, public health, safety and general welfare of its population. The Master Plan and all modifications thereof shall be on file in the office of the City Planning Commission and certified copies thereof shall be filed in the office of the City Engineer and City Clerk.
The City Planning Commission may advertise and hold public hearings when it desires, notice of which hearings shall be advertised at least once in the official newspaper of the City of Norwich at least five (5) days before each such hearing.
The authority having final jurisdiction over any matter in which the said City Planning Commission also has jurisdiction in accordance with the aforementioned laws shall not proceed to such final action until such City Planning Commission has made its final report thereon to such authority, but if such City Planning Commission shall not have made its final report thereon within forty-five (45) days from the date of reference thereto, the authority having final jurisdiction may proceed to final action. This section shall not be construed to prevent the Common Council from granting, in any specific case, such longer period as it may fix within which said City Planning Commission may make its final report, and if such longer period is granted, the authority having final jurisdiction shall not, in the absence of such report, proceed to final action until that longer period shall have elapsed.
No plan, plat or description showing the layout of any highway or street upon private property or of building lots in connection with or in relation to such highways or streets within the limits of this municipality shall be received for record in the office of the Clerk of Chenango County until a copy thereof shall have been filed with the City Planning Commission and it has certified with relation to its approval or its refusal to approve. Before such approval shall be given, formal offers of cession of all streets, highways and parks not marked by notation on the plat as being retained under private ownership shall be filed with the City Planning Commission, and a public hearing shall be held by such Commission after being advertised as provided in Section 155 herein. The City Planning Commission may thereupon approve, modify and approve, or disapprove of such plat. The approval required by this section or refusal to approve shall take place within forty-five (45) days from and after the time of submission of the plat to the City Planning Commission for approval; otherwise such plat shall be deemed to have been approved and the certificate of the City as to the date of submission of the plat for approval and the failure of the City Planning Commission to take action within such time shall be issued by the City Clerk on demand and shall be sufficient in lieu of the written endorsement or other evidence of an approval herein required. The ground of refusal shall be stated in the records of the City Planning Commission. The approval by the City Planning Commission or the certificate of the City Clerk as to the date of submission of the plat and the failure of the City Planning Commission to take action within such time shall be issued by the City Clerk on demand and shall be sufficient in lieu of the written endorsement or other evidence of an approval herein required. The ground of refusal shall be stated in the records of the City Planning Commission. The approval by the City Planning Commission to take action thereon within forty-five (45) days shall expire ninety (90) days after the date of such approval or of such certificate, unless within such ninety-day period such plat shall have been duly filed or recorded by the owner in the office of the County Clerk. The City Clerk is hereby authorized and charged with the duty of filing in the office of the County Clerk a certificate showing that the said City Planning Commission has been so authorized and that the City Clerk shall issue the aforementioned certificate of failure to take action as aforesaid.
Before the approval by the City Planning Commission of a plat, such plat shall show in proper cases and when required by the City Planning Commission, a park or parks suitably located for playground or other recreational purposes. In approving such plats the City Planning Commission shall require that the streets and highways shall be of sufficient width and suitable grade and shall be suitably located to accommodate the prospective traffic, to afford adequate light and air, to facilitate fire protection, and to provide access of fire-fighting equipment to buildings and to be coordinated so as to compose a convenient system conforming to the Master Plan; that the land shown on such plats shall be of such character that it can be safely used for building purposes without danger to health or peril from fire, flood or other menace; that suitable monuments have been placed at such block corners and other necessary points as may be required by the City Planning Commission, and the location thereof is shown on the map of such plat; that the parks shall be of reasonable size for the neighborhood playgrounds or other recreational uses; that all streets or other public places shown on such plats shall be suitably graded and paved and that sidewalks, street lighting standards, curbs, gutters, street trees, water mains, sanitary sewers and storm drains or combined sewers shall be installed in accordance with standards, specifications and procedure acceptable to the appropriate municipal departments, or that alternatively a performance bond sufficient to cover the full cost of the same as estimated by the City Planning Commission or other appropriate municipal department designated by the City Planning Commission shall be furnished to the municipality by the owner; provided, however, that the City Planning Commission may waive, subject to appropriate conditions and guaranties, for such period as it may determine, the provision of any or all such improvements as in its judgment of the special circumstances of a particular plat or plats are not requisite in the interests of the public health, safety and general welfare. Such performance bond shall be issued by a bonding or surety company approved by the City Attorney of the city, or a performance bond executed by the owner with security acceptable to the legislative body, and shall also be approved by the City Attorney as to form, sufficiency and manner of execution. Such performance bond shall run for a term to be fixed by the City Planning Commission, but in no case for a longer term than three (3) years, provided, however, that the term of the performance bond may be extended by the City Planning Commission with consent of the parties thereto. If the City Planning Commission shall decide at any time during the term of the performance bond that the extent of the building development that has taken place in subdivision is not sufficient to warrant all the improvements covered by such performance bond, or that required improvements have been installed as provided in this section and required by the City Planning Commission in sufficient amount to warrant reduction in the face amount of such bond, the City Planning Commission, after due notice and public hearing, may modify its requirements for any or all such improvements and the face value of such performance bond shall thereupon be reduced by an appropriate amount so that the new face value will cover the cost in full of the amended list of improvements required by the City Planning Commission, and any security deposited with the bond may be reduced proportionately. In the event required improvements have not been installed within the term of the performance bond, the legislative body may thereupon declare the performance bond in default and collect the sum remaining payable thereunder, and upon receipt of the proceeds thereof the city shall install such improvements as are covered by such performance bond and commensurate with the building development that has taken place in the subdivision, but not exceeding in cost the amount of such proceeds.
In making such determination regarding streets, highways, parks and required improvements, the City Planning Commission shall take into consideration the prospective character of the development, whether dense residence, open residence, business or industrial.
Insofar as provisions of law, other than those contained in this local law, require approval of a plat, map or plan of land as a prerequisite of its record, or to allow it to be recorded, said provisions shall not be in force insofar as they apply to plats, maps and plans of land within the limits of this municipality.
The City Planning Commission is authorized and empowered, simultaneously with approval of such plat mentioned in Section 157, to conform the zoning regulations of the land so platted as shown on the official Zoning Map of the city, and to make such reasonable change therein as may be necessary or proper to improve or protect the interest of the city in its public health, safety and general welfare.