There is hereby created a City Planning Commission to be known
as the "Bridgman City Planning Commission."
[Amended 5-12-1975 by Ord. No. 52; 5-10-1981 by Ord. No. 80; 7-7-2008 by Ord. No. 172]
The Planning Commission shall consist of seven members who shall
represent different segments of the community, such as the economic,
governmental, educational, and social development of the local unit
of government. The membership shall also be representative of the
entire geography of the City to the extent practicable. Members of
the Planning Commission shall be appointed by the Mayor, subject to
approval by a majority vote of the City Council. Each member of the
Commission shall receive compensation as set from time to time, by
action of the City Council, per meeting, up to a maximum of 12 meetings
per year. Each member of the Commission must attend 2/3 of the regular
meetings to receive said compensation, as determined by the Commission Secretary.
This fee will be paid not less than once a year or in intervals determined
by the City Clerk. No Commission member shall be a member of any other
municipal office, except that one member may be a member of the Zoning
Board of Appeals. The term of each member shall be three years from
and after the second Monday in April of the year of appointment from
and after such that as nearly as possible, the terms of 1/3 of all
members shall expire each year. All members shall hold office until
their successors are appointed and any vacancies shall be filled by
appointment of the Mayor, subject to approval by the City Council.
The City Manager, City Assessor and/or the City Zoning Administrator
shall be an ex officio member of the Commission without voting privileges.
[Amended 5-12-1975 by Ord. No. 52]
The Commission shall elect a Chairman from among its members
and fill such other offices as it may create from time to time. The
Chairman shall hold office for one year and be eligible for reelection.
The Commission shall hold at least one regular meeting each month
and shall adopt rules for the transaction of its business and keep
a record of its proceedings, which record shall be a public record.
A majority of the members shall constitute a quorum for the transaction
of business. The City Manager and/or City Assessor shall not be eligible
to serve as an officer of the Commission.
The Commission may appoint such employees as it deems necessary
for its work and it may contract with planners, engineers, architects
and consultants for such services as it may require. The expenditures
of the Commission, exclusive of gifts, shall be within the amount
appropriated for the purpose by the City Council.
It shall be the function and duty of the Commission to make
and adopt a master plan for the physical development of the City of
Bridgman, including any areas outside its boundaries which, in the
Commission's judgment, bear relation to the planning of the City.
The Commission shall have such powers and duties as are set
in the provisions of Act 285 of the Public Acts of 1931, as amended
(Mich Stat. Ann. 5.2991 et seq.), as well as such additional powers and duties as may be
conferred or imposed upon it from time to time by the laws of the
State of Michigan, including but not by way of limitation:
A. Preparation of a zoning plan for the control of the height, area,
bulk, location and use of buildings and premises.
B. Preparation of comprehensive surveys and studies of present conditions
and future growth of the City.
C. Formal adoption of the master plan, in whole or in part.
D. Approval of streets, parks, or other public ways, grounds, open spaces,
public buildings or structures.
E. Recommending programs for public structures and improvements and
for the financing thereof.
F. Publication and distribution of copies of the plan and any reports
of the Commission.
G. Approval of plats and subdivisions prior to filing or recording and
adoption of regulations governing the subdivision of land within the
jurisdiction of the Commission.
H. In general, such powers as may be necessary to enable the Commission
to fulfill its function.
I. After adoption of a master plan, certification of plats as set forth
in Act 222 Public Acts of 1943 (Mich. Stat. Ann. 5.3007(I) et seq.).