Planning Board Bylaws

ARTICLE I                  Authority

These By-Laws are adopted under the authority of the laws of the State of New Hampshire, RSA 673 and RSA 676:1

ARTICLE II                 Name

This body shall be known as the Plymouth Planning Board as adopted at the special town meeting of January 7, 1965, and as reauthorized for seven members at the March 8, 1966, town meeting and hereinafter may be referred to as “the Board”.

ARTICLE III                Purpose

The purpose of the Plymouth Planning Board shall be to plan for the orderly development of the Town of Plymouth, New Hampshire and to administer such regulations as fall within its jurisdiction in accordance with the laws of the State of New Hampshire.

ARTICLE IV                Membership

A.      Composition:

  1. The Board shall consist of seven (7) members appointed by the Selectmen, one (1) of whom shall be a Selectman.  In addition, one (1) Selectmen’s representative alternate shall be appointed by the Selectmen, and up to five (5) alternate members can be appointed by the Selectmen.
  2. Members of the Board may also serve on other municipal boards or commissions as allowed by the laws of the State of New Hampshire.  The Board encourages a member from the Conservation Committee, Zoning Board of Adjustment and/or Plymouth Village Water & Sewer Commission to serve on the Planning Board.

B.     Term:

  1. The term of office for a Planning Board member or alternate member shall be three (3) years, except that the term of office for the Selectman member shall be decided by the Board of Selectmen in accordance with the laws of the State of New Hampshire.
  2. If any member or alternate is absent for three (3) consecutive meetings/sessions, or five (5) meetings/sessions in the course of a year, a letter will be sent by the chair to the Selectmen for determination by them if action under the provisions of RSA 673:13 should be taken.

C.     Vacancies:

  1. Vacancies shall be filled at the time of their occurrence by appointments by the Board of Selectmen.

D.     Duties:

  1. To be familiar with the master plan, town ordinances, town regulations and the enabling legislation of the State of New Hampshire.
  2. To attend meetings and site visits on a regular basis and to periodically serve on Board committees.
  3. To be adequately prepared for meetings by reviewing proposed applications and other business matters scheduled to come before the Board.
  4. To periodically participate in Board development/education sessions sponsored by such organizations as the Office of State Planning.
  5. To notify the Community Planner if unable to attend a scheduled meeting.
  6. To vote on all motions except those cases where the member has a conflict of interest or is disqualified for any cause as found in the laws of the State of New Hampshire.  A disqualified member will sit apart from the Board.
  7. To adhere to the Town of Plymouth “Ethics Policy” adopted May 13, 2002.
  8. Alternate members will participate in all duties of the board except voting. The chair may designate one or more alternate members as voting members in the absence of one or more regular members in accordance with RSA 673:11.  Seating arrangements for alternates will be such that their status is apparent.

ARTICLE V                 Officers

A.  Election, Term and Vacancies:

  1. The officers of the Board shall be a chair and vice-chair, elected by a majority vote at the first regular meeting of the Board following the annual town meeting.
  2. The term of office for each shall be one year or until a successor is elected.  It is understood that the vice-chair will likely progress to the chair position in a subsequent year, if elected and the term of office allows.
  3. Any officer vacancy shall be filled by majority vote of the Board at the time of its occurrence.

B.  Duties and Responsibilities:

  1. The chair shall preside over all meetings and hearings; shall appoint committees as directed by the Board; shall affix his or her signature in the name of the Board; shall appoint alternate members to replace absent or disqualified Board members; and shall, in consultations with the Community Planner, set the agenda for each meeting with a 10:00 PM adjournment in mind.
  2. The vice-chair shall preside in the absence of the chair and shall have full power of the chair on matters that come before the Board during the absence of the chair.
  3. The chair has a vote on matters coming before the Board.

ARTICLE VI                Meetings

A.  Time and place:

  1. Business meetings to act upon applications and other business will be held on the third Thursday of each month at 6:30 PM at the Plymouth Town Hall.  These meetings are intended to conclude at 10:00 PM unless extended by a vote of the Board.
  2. Work sessions will be held on the first Thursday of the month beginning at 6:30 PM.  These meetings are intended to conclude at 10:00 unless extended by a vote of the Board.
  3. The Board shall conduct site visits as required.

B.  Notification of meetings:

  1. Notice of all meetings and the agenda shall be posted at least 48 hours prior to the time of such meeting in accordance with the laws of the State of New Hampshire.
  2. Notices shall be posted in the lobby of the Town Hall and one other place in town.
  3. Agendas and basic information necessary for attending to the business at hand shall be distributed to the members of the Board by the Community Planner at least six (6) days in advance of the meeting.  Informational or supplemental material received between the submission deadline and the meeting may not be considered by the Board until a subsequent meeting.

C.  Quorum:

  1. Five (5) voting members of the Board shall constitute a quorum for the conduct of business.

D.  Voting procedures:

  1. Decisions shall be made by a majority vote of those members present and voting.
  2. A motion, duly seconded, shall be carried by a majority of members present and voting and shall be recorded.

E.     Business Meeting Agenda Format:

  1. Call to order by the chair
  2. Roll call of members by the chair
  3. Public comments that are not related to an application in progress and/or other business on the agenda.
  4. Review of minutes of previous meetings
  5. Acknowledgement of communications received by the Board.
  6. New business
  7. Hearings and deliberations on subdivisions and/or site plan reviews
  8. Informational and pre-application reviews
  9. Unfinished business and other business from members of the Board
  10. Public comments
  11. Adjournment

F.      Work Session Agenda Format:

  1. Call to order by the chair
  2. Roll call of members by the chair
  3. Public comments that are not related to other business on the agenda
  4. Review of minutes of previous meetings
  5. Acknowledgement of communications received by the Board
  6. Reports of Committees
  7. New Business
  8. Unfinished business and other business from members of the Board
  9. Public comments
  10. Adjournment

G.     Minutes of meetings:

  1. A record of members and alternates present and of action taken at all meetings shall be kept.  All votes taken shall be recorded, noting those in favor and those opposed to the motion.
  2. Minority opinions of board members shall be recorded at the discretion of the chair or by majority vote of the Board.

H.     Records:

  1. Records of all meetings, transactions and decisions of the Board shall be maintained in the offices of the Town of Plymouth.

ARTICLE VII               Public Comment

Parties may address the Board on matters not related to public hearings on applications.  Comments should be limited to three (3) minutes in length.

ARTICLE VIII              Acceptance of An Application

The Board process for considering acceptance of subdivision or site plan review applications is as follows:

A.      The applicant or designee makes a presentation to the Board including requests for waivers on items required in the application.

B.     The Board seeks clarification on identified issues.

C.     The Board determines if the application is complete

D.     The Board votes on accepting or rejecting the application.  If the Board accepts an application, the application then moves to public hearing.

ARTICLE IX                Public Hearings

The conduct of public hearings shall be governed by the following rules:

A.  General rules:

  1. Each person who speaks shall be required to state their name and address and indicate whether they are a party to the proposal or application.
  2. Everyone wishing to speak shall be allowed to do so one time for no more than three (3) minutes before anyone is allowed to speak a second time.  Comments that would exceed three (3) minutes shall be submitted in writing.  At the discretion of the chair a person would be allowed a second concise statement.
  3. All questions on the proposal or application shall be directed to the chair.
  4. Members of the Planning Board may ask questions, through the chair, at any point during the testimony.
  5. Any member of the Planning Board, through the chair, may request any party to the proposal or application to reappear.
  6. Any party to the proposal or application who wishes to ask a question of another party to the proposal or application must do so through the chair.

B.  Hearing process:

  1. The chair shall open the hearing and make a brief statement of the purpose of the hearing, the rules governing the hearing and shall indicate that all Board members sitting are qualified to be present and vote on the matter(s) to be considered.  If there is more than one hearing in a meeting, each will be taken individually.
  2. Those appearing in favor of the proposal or application shall be allowed to speak.
  3. Those in opposition to the proposal or application shall be allowed to speak.
  4. Those wishing to make a general statement regarding the application shall be allowed to speak.
  5. The applicant, then those in favor of the proposal or application, may present a brief rebuttal.
  6. Those in opposition to the proposal or application may present a brief rebuttal.
  7. The chair declares the hearing on the proposal or application to be closed and announces that no further public testimony will be considered; or, upon a vote of the Board, continues the hearing to a time certain.  Deliberations in a continued hearing involving an applicant/designee at the prerogative of the chair may be reopened to public comments

ARTICLE X                 Deliberations on the Application

The conduct of Board deliberations of applications shall be governed by the following rules:

A.      The board may deliberate on each application’s merit at the close of the hearing or choose to defer deliberations to a time certain.

B.     The Board in its deliberations shall consider conditions for approval.

C.     The Board in its deliberations can negotiate with the applicant/designee to come to agreement on conditions of approval.

D.     The Board votes to approve the application with or without conditions or to deny the application.

ARTICLE XI                Committees

Committees shall be appointed by the chair; membership of committees need not be limited to members of the Board.

ARTICLE XII               Operating Funds

Funds for the conduct of the business of the Board shall come from the revenues of the Town of Plymouth.  Exceptions include any costs charged to an applicant for consulting reviews during the Board’s review of plans, as well as, costs charged to the developer for construction inspection services following the Board’s approval.

ARTICLE XIII              Amendments

The By-Laws may be amended by majority vote at any duly noticed meeting of the Board, provided that proposed amendments are read at one meeting preceding the vote.

ARTICLE XIV             Validity and Legality

If any portion of these By-Laws shall be held to be invalid for any reason by any court, such holding shall not invalidate in any manner any other provisions contained herein.  If any portion of these By-Laws shall be found to be in conflict with the laws of the State of New Hampshire, the state statute shall prevail.

In accordance with RSA 676:1, a copy of these By-Laws shall be filed with the Town Clerk.

These By-Laws were adopted by the Plymouth Planning Board on November 22, 1988, and last revised on October 5, 2006.

 

                                      __________________________

           Wm. Ray Gosney, Jr.
            Planning Board Chair