The City Commission shall appoint a City Planning Commission consisting of five members who shall be residents of and own real property in the City and shall serve without compensation. The City Manager and the President of the Board of Trustees of the Mercedes Independent School District shall be ex-officio members and shall have the right to submit any suggestions, plans and enter into any discussion before the City Planning Commission, but shall not be entitled to vote on any official matters.
The members shall be appointed for a two (2) year term with two being appointed in even number of years and three being appointed in odd number of years.
Vacancies occurring in the Planning Commission shall be filled within thirty (30) days by the City Commission for the remainder of the unexpired term. Membership shall be accompanied by active participation in the activities of the Planning Commission, and any member who is absent three consecutive regular meetings, shall automatically be dropped from membership and the Planning Commission shall immediately notify the City Commission that a vacancy exists.
The actual Planning Commission shall elect a chairman from its membership annually and shall establish rules of procedure which shall include the following:
(A.) 
A quorum shall consist of a majority of the membership and an affirmative vote of the majority of the membership shall be necessary to pass upon pending questions.
(B.) 
The chairman shall be entitled to vote upon any questions.
(C.) 
Minutes shall be kept of the proceedings of the Planning Commission and shall be a public record.
(D.) 
All meetings shall be open to the public.
The Planning Commission shall have the power and be required to:
(A.) 
Be responsible to and act as an advisory body to the City Commission.
(B.) 
Make, amend, extend, and add to a master plan for the physical development of the City.
(C.) 
Recommend to the City Commission approval or disapproval of proposed changes in the zoning plan.
(D.) 
Review all plans for platting or sub-dividing of land within the City and within adjacent areas as permitted by law and submit findings and recommendations to the City Commission.
(E.) 
Require information from other departments of the City government in relation to its work.
(F.) 
Submit annually to the City Manager, not less than ninety (90) days prior to the beginning of the budget year, a list of recommended capital improvements found necessary or desirable.
(G.) 
Perform such other duties and be vested with such other powers as the City Commission may prescribe in accordance with the laws of the State of Texas.
When the City Commission shall determine that it is necessary or feasible, there shall be a Director of Planning who shall be appointed by the City Manager and who shall be qualified by special training and experience in the field of City Planning. The Director of Planning shall serve as the regular technical adviser of the Planning Commission, shall have the status of a director of a department, and shall have such other duties and responsibilities as the City Commission may establish.
The Master Plan for the physical development of the City of Mercedes shall contain the Planning Commission’s recommendations for growth, development and beautification of the City. A copy of the Master Plan, or any part thereof, shall be forwarded to the City Manager who shall thereupon submit such plan, or part, thereof, to the City Commission with his recommendations thereon. The City Commission may adopt this plan as a whole or in parts and may adopt any amendment thereto, after at least on [one] public hearing on the proposed action. The City Commission shall act on such plan, or part thereof, within sixty (60) days following its submission by the City Manager. If the such plan, or part thereof, should be rejected by the City Commission the Planning Commission may modify such plan, or part thereof, and again forward it to the City Manager for submission to the City Commission. All amendments to the Master Plan recommended by the Planning Commission shall be submitted in the same manner as that outlined above to the City Commission for approval, and all recommendations to the City Commission from any City department affecting the Master Plan must be accompanied by a recommendation from the Planning Commission.
Upon adoption of the Master Plan by the City Commission, no subdivision, street, park nor any public way, ground or space, public building, or structure, and no public utility, whether publicly or privately owned which is in conflict with the Master Plan, shall be constructed or authorized by the City until and unless the location and extent thereof shall have been submitted to and approval [approved] by the Planning Commission. In case of disapproval, the Planning Commission shall communicate its reasons to the City Commission, which shall have the power to overrule such disapproval and upon such overruling the City Commission or the appropriate office, department or agency shall have power to proceed. The widening, narrowing, relocating, vacating or change in the use of any street, river or water-course, or other public way or ground or the sale of any public building or real property shall be subject to similar submission and approval, and failure to approve may be similarly overruled by the City Commission. The failure of the Planning Commission to act within thirty (30) days after the date of official submission to the Planning Commission shall be deemed approval, unless a longer period be granted by the City Commission or the submitting official. That where any person or persons, firm or corporation shall have made substantial investments in or improvements upon or if they are in the process of making such improvements upon any properties in reliance upon the Master Plan then in existence in the area where said improvements are made or are to be made, said plans as to such area shall not be changed if the same would work a detriment to the aforementioned unless written approval is first obtained from such person or persons, firm or corporation or unless it is absolutely necessary to make such a change in order to protect the health and safety of the residents of said City.