There shall be a Town Planning and Zoning Commission of nine
regular members and three alternate members who shall be electors
of the Town, together with the First Selectman and the Town Engineer
as ex officio members. The First Selectman and the Town Engineer shall
have no vote. With the exception of the First Selectman and the Town
Engineer, the members shall serve without compensation and shall hold
no other office of trust or emolument in the Town government. Service
on committees of the Town government is not prohibited by this section,
provided that such service does not create a conflict of interest
as defined in the Town Code of Ethics.
The Selectmen shall annually on or promptly after the first
day of December appoint three regular members of the Town Planning
and Zoning Commission, who, after qualification, shall hold office
for a term of three years from the first day of December and until
their successors have been appointed and shall have qualified. On
or promptly after the first day of December in the odd-numbered years,
the Selectmen shall appoint the three alternate members, who, after
qualification, shall hold office for a term of two years from the
first day of December and until their successors have been appointed
and shall have qualified. There shall be minority representation on
the Commission and on the panel of alternates in accordance with § 9-167a
of the General Statutes.
On or promptly after the first day of December the members of the Commission shall meet at the call of the First Selectman to choose one of its regular members to be Chairman and one of its regular members to be Secretary. The Chairman shall, when present, preside at all meetings of the Commission. In the absence of the Chairman, the Board shall choose one of its members Chairman pro tempore. The Secretary shall keep a record of the acts and resolutions of the Commission, including the vote of each member upon any issue before it, and file such record in the office of the Town Clerk. A quorum shall consist of five members, and the concurrence of four votes, except as otherwise provided in § C13-6 hereof, shall be necessary for the transaction of business.
The Town Planning and Zoning Commission shall have all the powers
and duties and be subject to the restrictions and limitations of zoning
commissions as established under the General Statutes, as from time
to time amended, and of municipal planning commissions established
under the General Statutes, as from time to time amended.
The zoning regulations and the boundaries of zoning districts
heretofore enacted, together with all planning rules and regulations
and any plan of conservation and development heretofore enacted or
adopted, are validated and shall remain in full force and effect until
modified, repealed, amended or superseded.
For the purpose of holding public hearings as required under
the General Statutes and as required under the planning and zoning
rules and regulations now or hereinafter in force in the Town of New
Canaan, the Chairman may appoint committees of no less than five appointed
members, among whom may be included the Chairman. One member of the
committee shall be designated as Secretary. Unless provided otherwise
by statute, action on matters which have been subject to a public
hearing shall be taken by a majority vote of the entire Commission
at a regular or special meeting thereof, except that in the event
of a protest being filed in accordance with the General Statutes concerning
a proposed amendment, change or repeal of zone regulations or zone
boundaries, a vote of 3/4 of the entire Commission shall be required
for the adoption of such amendment, change or repeal.
In the event of the absence of a regular member from a meeting
of the Commission or if a regular member shall disqualify himself
or herself or be disqualified under the provisions of the General
Statutes or the Town Code of Ethics, the Chairman shall designate
and seat an alternate from the panel of alternates, but in designating
and seating such alternate, the Chairman shall choose alternates in
rotation so that the alternates chosen by the Chairman shall be seated
as nearly an equal number of times as is possible. The alternate members,
when seated as provided herein, shall have all the powers and duties
of regular members of the Commission. Alternate members shall have
no vote, and shall not count towards a quorum or for vote ratios or
other purposes, unless seated for a regular member.
