CITY OF TALLAHASSEE
CITY COMMISSION AGENDA ITEM
ACTION REQUESTED ON: October 7, 2009
SUBJECT/TITLE: Introduction of Ordinance No. 09-O-39, Amending the Land Development Code to Provide for Two Alternate Members of the Tallahassee-Leon County Board of Adjustment and Appeals and Attendance Requirements
TARGET ISSUE: Long Range Community Planning
STATEMENT OF ISSUE
The proposed ordinance, No. 09-O-39 (Attachment 1), amends Sections 2-156, 2-157, and 2-159 of the City’s Land Development Code to provide for the addition of 2 alternate members to the Tallahassee-Leon County Board of Adjustment and Appeals – 1 City appointee and 1 Leon County appointee, and to add attendance requirements for the Board members. The ordinance is intended to assist the Board in obtaining a quorum for meetings. The Leon County Board of County Commissioners has adopted an ordinance providing the two alternate members and will considering an ordinance on the attendance requirements in the near future. The ordinance is before the City Commission for introduction and to set the first and only public hearing for October 28, 2009.
The Long Range Community Planning Target Issue Commissioners (Commissioner Lightsey and Commissioner Gillum) are the sponsors of the ordinance.
RECOMMENDED ACTION
1. Introduce Ordinance No. 09-O-39, and set the public hearing for Wednesday, October 28, 2009, at 6:00 PM.
FISCAL IMPACT
It is expected that this will avoid last minute cancellation of regularly scheduled meetings and having to schedule special meetings.
James R. English, City Attorney
For Information, please contact: Linda Hudson, Assistant City Attorney, Ext. 8554
SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL/ISSUE ANALYSIS
HISTORY/FACTS & ISSUES
At the April 22, 2009, regular City Commission meeting, there was discussion about improving members’ attendance at various volunteer citizens boards in the City. Some meetings have been cancelled due to lack of a quorum after the meetings have been advertised and members of the public have shown up for the meeting. To address this situation for the Tallahassee-Leon County Board of Adjustments and Appeals, the City Attorney’s Office has drafted an ordinance amending the membership of the Board to include two alternate members. The Board of Adjustments and Appeals currently has seven members – three appointed by the City Commission; three appointed by the Board of County Commissioners; and one appointed by either the City or County. There have been occasions when the regular meetings of the Board have had to be canceled or postponed because a quorum could not be obtained. The recent extended illness of one Board member exacerbated the quorum problems.
Appointment of alternate members would give staff two additional people to call to make up the 4-member quorum of the Board of Adjustment and Appeals. The City uses alternate members with success on the Municipal Code Enforcement Board and the Environmental Code/Variance Board. The Board of Adjustment and Appeals is a joint City-County board, and the County Board of County Commissioners has recently approved an ordinance providing for the two alternate members.
The ordinance also adds attendance requirements for members of the Board of Adjustments and Appeals consistent with the attendance requirements for other City boards. The addition of these requirements will also address the quorum problems.
Citizen volunteer boards and committees are very important to the City of Tallahassee, and many citizens have provided hours of volunteer service to the public by serving on these boards. Many of the boards and committees meet in the evening so that citizens can attend without missing work. The Board of Adjustment and Appeals, however, meets during the day during regular work hours for many. Providing alternate members and attendance requirements should assist in ensuring a quorum and allow the members a bit more flexibility.
The proposed attendance requirements for the Board of Adjustment and Appeals provide that a member’s position becomes vacant if he or she is absent from two of three consecutive regular meetings without the Chair’s approval. Absences from emergency or special meetings do not count against a member. Special exceptions for absences may be made by the Chair if the absences are due to health or time-limited extenuating circumstances and the absences do not affect the ability of the Board to maintain a quorum. Also, if a member missed 33% of the regularly scheduled meetings in a calendar year, the position becomes vacant. At this time, County appointees do not have attendance requirements, but it is expected that the County Commission will consider adding those requirements in the near future.
The proposed ordinance was presented to the Board of Adjustment and Appeals for review and discussion. The Board approved of all changes except the provision mandating a vacancy upon missing 33% of the regularly scheduled meetings in a calendar year. The Board mentioned the recent illness and death of a Board member and an extended hospitalization of another Board member due to an automobile accident as instances when Board members, due to circumstances beyond their control, could not attend meetings. The Board members felt that the other attendance requirement, in conjunction with the provision of two alternate members, should sufficiently address the quorum issues facing the Board. The Board recommended approval of all changes, except the requirement that the position of a member would be automatically vacant if the member is absent from 33% of the regularly scheduled meetings in a given calendar year.
The proposed ordinance (Attachment 1) is before the City Commission for introduction and to set the first and only public hearing for Wednesday, October 28, 2009, at 6:00 P.M.
OPTIONS
1. Introduce Ordinance No. 09-O-39, and set the public hearing for Wednesday, October 28, 2009, at 6:00 PM.
2. Introduce Ordinance No. 09-O-39, as revised by the City Commission, and set the public hearing for Wednesday, October 28, 2009, at 6:00 PM.
3. Do not introduce Ordinance No. 09-O-39, and provide direction to staff.
ATTACHMENTS/REFERENCES