[Ord. No. 2462, 10-20-2009]
(a) Planning and Zoning Commission. There shall exist in the Town of
Windham a Planning and Zoning Commission. It shall be known as the
"Town of Windham Planning and Zoning Commission," and referred to
herein as the Planning and Zoning Commission, and it shall have all
powers and duties of a Planning and Zoning Commission under the laws
of the State of Connecticut, including those powers and duties prescribed
in G.S. chs. 124 and 126.
(b) Abolishment of the Planning Commission and the Zoning Commission.
The Planning Commission and the Zoning Commission are hereby abolished
and shall cease to exist in accord with the Charter for so long as
this article shall be effective; all power, authority, duty and jurisdiction
of the Zoning Commission and the Planning Commission are hereby transferred
to and vested into the Planning and Zoning Commission.
(c) Continuity of planning and zoning. Nothing in this article shall
affect or be construed to affect (1) the continuity of planning or
zoning within the Town of Windham (2) any provision of the subdivision
or zoning regulations, which shall remain in effect and be applied,
administered or amended by the Planning and Zoning Commission (3)
any notice, decision or action taken by the Zoning Commission or the
Planning Commission. The Planning Commission and the Zoning Commission
each shall continue with its present authority until the effective
date of this article. Any applications or matters filed with, pending
before, or being acted upon by, the Planning Commission or the Zoning
Commission, for any permit, certificate, approval, decision, change
in regulations or zoning map, license or authorization, under the
existing zoning regulations, shall be acted upon by the Planning and
Zoning Commission after the appointment of regular members to the
Planning and Zoning Commission as provided herein.
(d) Accommodation of existing applications. The Planning and Zoning Commission
shall ensure that all applications and all other matters pending before
the Zoning Commission and the Planning Commission upon the effective
date of this article are duly considered and, where applicable, decided.
In the event a member of the Planning and Zoning Commission is not
familiar with the administrative record in such an application or
matter, and said member shall vote upon the said application or matter,
the said member shall become acquainted with the administrative record
in accordance with law. The Planning and Zoning Commission shall offer,
in addition to all other powers it has, an applicant to withdraw any
application pending upon the effective date of this article and resubmit
it without payment of a second application fee. Nothing herein shall
relieve the applicant of the obligation to pay for town expenses in
review of an application or matter, such as staff reviews, the employment
of experts, and publication costs, as required by regulation, ordinance
or law.
[Ord. No. 2462, 10-20-2009]
(a) Cessation of current terms. All offices of the Planning Commission and of the Zoning Commission are hereby vacated as of the effective date of this article; the offices of the Planning and Zoning Commission shall be effective upon the appointment of members pursuant to Subsection
10-106(b) of this article.
(b) Commission member qualifications, numbers, initial appointment and
continuity. The Planning and Zoning Commission shall consist of seven
regular members who are electors of the Town of Windham and three
alternate members who are electors of the Town of Windham, who shall
be appointed no later than 15 days after the effective date of this
article in the manner set forth herein. The first appointments to
the commission may be made from current regular members and alternate
members of the Zoning Commission and the Planning Commission who agree
to appointment, current regular members first to regular membership
offices and then those regular members remaining, if any, and alternate
members, to the remaining offices. If there are not enough such regular
or alternate members from these commissions to fill the positions
of the commission, any qualified elector of the Town of Windham may
be appointed to complete the membership.
The Board of Selectmen may make the first appointments if the
appointments are made after the effective date of this article and
before the second Tuesday after the municipal election in 2009.
After the first appointments, the Town Council may appoint any
elector of the Town of Windham to any of the offices of the commission.
All members and alternate members shall serve without compensation.
Appointments shall comply with the minority representation provisions
of the Charter.
(c) Terms of appointments. At the first appointment referenced in Subsection
10-106(b), two regular members and one alternate member shall be appointed for a term of two years, three regular members and one alternate member shall be appointed for a term of three years, and two regular members and one alternate member shall be appointed for a term of four years. Thereafter, as the term of each member of the commission expires, the successors shall be appointed to serve for a term of four years and until a successor has been appointed and qualified, in accordance with the Connecticut General Statutes.
(d) Vacancies. Any vacant office of the Planning and Zoning Commission
shall be filled by appointment by the Town Council in accordance with
the Charter.