Town of Bethany Beach, DE
Sussex County
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Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Chapter 60: Planning Commission
[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Council of the Town of Bethany Beach 11-16-2007 by Ord. No. 432. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Subdivision of land — See Ch. 410.
Zoning — See Ch. 425.

§ 60-1 Commission created; membership; appointment.

A. 
There is hereby created a Planning Commission consisting of not less than five nor more than nine members. A person holding Town elective office as well as the Town's Building Inspector shall be ex officio members of the Planning Commission while the members of the Planning Commission shall be residents or property owners of the Town who do not hold any elective office of the Town. An ex officio member may discuss and comment upon any matter before the Planning Commission, but shall not have a vote. No ex officio member shall hold an office on the Planning Commission. The Planning Commission shall make its own rules of procedure and determine its time of meeting. All meetings and records of the Planning Commission, as defined in Chapter 100, Title 29, Delaware Code, shall be open to the public.
B. 
The members of the Planning Commission shall be appointed by the Mayor and confirmed by the Town Council. The Planning Commission shall annually elect a Chairperson from among its members.
C. 
Members of the Planning Commission may be removed by the Town Council for cause (e.g., inefficiency, neglect of duty or malfeasance in office) after a public hearing and by a vote of a majority of the Town Council.
D. 
Members of the Planning Commission shall serve without compensation but may be reimbursed for out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with the duties prescribed for the Planning Commission; provided that no member of the Planning Commission shall be reimbursed for any expense in excess of $100 without the approval of the Town Council and/or the Town Manager.

§ 60-2 Terms of appointment.

A. 
The term of appointment for members of the Planning Commission shall be for three years, beginning at the October Planning Commission meeting, except that the initial terms shall proceed as follows:
Members
Expiration Date
(years)
2
3
2
2
1
1
B. 
A vacancy occurring otherwise than by expiration of a term shall be filled for the unexpired term in the same manner as an original appointment.

§ 60-3 Powers and duties.

A. 
The Planning Commission shall plan for the development, improvement and beautification of the Town.
B. 
Comprehensive Plan.
(1) 
The Planning Commission shall prepare a Comprehensive Plan for the Town or portions thereof as the Planning Commission deems appropriate. It is the purpose of this section to encourage the most appropriate uses of the physical and fiscal resources of the municipality and the coordination of municipal growth, development and infrastructure investment actions with those of other municipalities, counties and the state through a process of Municipal Comprehensive Planning [22 Del. C. § 702(a)].
(2) 
After a Comprehensive Plan or portion thereof has been adopted by the municipality, the Comprehensive Plan shall have the force of law and no development shall be permitted except as consistent with the Plan [22 Del. C. § 702(d)].
(3) 
The Planning Commission may review and amend the Comprehensive Development Plan from time to time by a majority vote of the Planning Commission, subject to approval by the Town Council.
C. 
The Planning Commission shall administer Chapter 410, Subdivision of Land, of the Code of the Town of Bethany Beach.
D. 
The Planning Commission shall conduct special studies and make recommendations to the Town Council on any subject related to community development and shall have all the powers, privileges and responsibilities as provided in 22 Del. Laws, Ch. 7, as the same may be amended from time to time, and Chapter 425, Zoning.
[Amended 10-15-2010 by Ord. No. 458]
E. 
All Town Council members, employees and agents shall, upon request and within 15 business days, furnish the Planning Commission such available information as may be required in the conduct of its work. Where information is not provided in a timely matter in response to a request from the Planning Commission, the Planning Commission may submit such request to the Town Council for action by the Town Council.
[Amended 10-15-2010 by Ord. No. 458]
F. 
The Planning Commission shall prepare the following report, such that the Town may provide it to the Office of State Planning Coordination by December 31 of each year. The report will describe implementation of their Comprehensive Plan and identify development issues, trends or conditions since the Plan was last adopted or amended [22 Del. C. § 702 (g)].
G. 
The Planning Commission shall provide the proposed appropriations for their total annual expenses to the Town Manager such that the proposal may be included in the Town's normal budget and Town Council approval process. The Planning Commission will present expenses incurred during the year to the Town Manager or staff for processing and tracking in accord with standard Town procedures.

§ 60-4 Reference of certain matters.

The Town Council may refer any matter or class of matters to the Planning Commission before final action thereon with or without provision that final action shall not be taken until the Planning Commission has submitted its report or has had a reasonable fixed time of 45 days to submit such report (22 Del. C. § 708).

§ 60-5 Reports; recommendations.

The Planning Commission shall have full power and authority to make such investigations, maps and reports of the resources, possibilities and needs of the Town as it deems desirable, providing the total expenditures of said Planning Commission shall not exceed the appropriation for its expenses. Upon completion of any such reports, the Planning Commission shall submit the same to the Town Council with its recommendations. It shall report annually to the Town Council on the activities of the Planning Commission during the preceding year. This report shall include its expenditures for the year and its anticipated next year expenditures (22 Del. C. § 703).

§ 60-6 Enforcement.

The Court of Chancery shall have jurisdiction on petition of the Planning Commission established hereunder to enforce this chapter and any ordinance or bylaws made there under and may restrain by injunction violations thereof (22 Del. C. § 710).