There is hereby reestablished the Park City Planning Commission which shall be composed of seven (7) members of which at least two, but not more than three members shall reside outside the City but within the designated Planning Area of the City which is within at least three miles of the corporate limits of the City. The number of outside the City members was amended January 24, 2008 to at least one, but not more than two members who shall reside within the designated Planning Area. The Planning Commission was originally created by Ordinance No. 7-1981 which was published on April 3, 1982 and re-established by Ordinance No. 280-93 on April 13, 1993.

The current membership of the Planning Commission, except for two, shall continue to serve until and after appointment by the Mayor with the consent of City Council at the first regular meeting of the Council in May, 1993 and take office at the next regularly scheduled meeting of the Commission. Two Members shall be appointed for a one year term; Two Members shall be appointed for a two year term; and Three Members shall be appointed for a three year term. Thereafter, all terms shall be for three years. The appointments shall be so made that the terms of office of the members residing outside the city limits shall not expire within the same year. In case of death, incapacity, resignation or disqualification of any member, appointment to such a vacancy shall be made for the unexpired term of the member leaving the membership. Should any member have a conflict of interest, either directly or indirectly, in any manner coming before the Commission, he or she shall be disqualified to discuss or vote on the matter. The Governing Body, by the adoption of the Bylaws of the Planning Commission, has provided rules and regulations for removal of members of the Commission. Members of the Commission shall serve without compensation, but may be reimbursed for expenses actually incurred in the performance of their duties as deemed desirable by the Governing Body.

The members of the Planning Commission shall meet at such time and place as may be fixed by the Commission’s bylaws. The Commission shall elect one member as chairperson, one member as vice-chairperson, and one member as Secretary. These officers shall serve for one year terms and may serve more than one term. A City Hall staff member shall serve as Recording Secretary and be charged with the responsibility of recording minutes and maintaining records for the Planning Commission. Special meetings may be called at any time by the chairperson or, in the absence of the chairperson, the vice-chairperson. The Commission shall adopt bylaws for the transaction of business and hearing procedures. All actions by the Commission shall be taken by a majority vote of the entire membership of the Commission, except that, a majority of the members present and voting at the hearing shall be required to recommend approval or denial of an amendment to the zoning regulations, a rezoning amendment or a special use permit. A proper record of all the proceedings of the Commission shall be kept. The Commission may, from time to time, establish subcommittees, advisory committees or technical committees to advise or assist the activities of the Commission.

The governing body and planning commission shall have all the rights, powers and duties as authorized in K.S.A. 12 741 et seq., and amendments thereto, which are hereby incorporated by reference as part of this section and shall be given full force and effect as if the same had been fully set forth. The commission is hereby authorized to make or cause to be made, adopted and maintained a comprehensive plan for the city and any unincorporated territory lying outside of the city but within Sedgwick County in which the city is located, which in the opinion of the commission forms the total community of which the city is a part. The commission shall also cause to be prepared, adopted and maintained zoning and subdivision regulations on all land within the jurisdiction designated by the governing body. The comprehensive plan and zoning and subdivision regulations are subject to final approval of the governing body by ordinance. Periodically, the governing body may request the commission to undertake other assignments related to planning and land use regulations.

The Planning Commission is hereby designated to also serve as the City’s Board of Zoning Appeals with all the powers and duties as provided for in K.S.A. 12-759. The Board shall adopt rules in the form of bylaws for its operation that shall include hearing procedures. Such bylaws shall be subject to the approval of the Governing Body. Public records shall be kept of all official actions of the Board which shall be maintained separately from those of the Planning Commission. The Board shall keep minutes of its proceedings showing evidence presented, findings of fact, decisions and the vote upon each question or appeal. A majority of the members of the Board present and voting at the hearing shall be required to decide an appeal. The Governing Body shall, by Ordinance, establish a scale of reasonable, non-refundable fees to be paid in advance by the appealing party.

The governing body shall approve a budget for the planning commission and make such allowances to the commission as it deems proper, including funds for the employment of such employees or consultants as the governing body may authorize and provide, and shall add the same to the general budget. Prior to the time that moneys are available under the budget, the governing body may appropriate moneys for such purposes from the general fund. The governing body may enter into such contracts as it deems necessary and may receive and expend funds and moneys from the state or federal government or from any other resource for such purposes.