Parlier staff outlines options to create planning commission, council to workshop ordinance

Jeff O'Neil, Parlier’s Community Development Director, told the City Council on Feb. 5 that California Government Code section 65101 authorizes cities to create planning commissions and requires those commissions to have at least five members.

“By state law, a planning commission has to conduct at least one public hearing and make a recommendation to the city council for any amendment to the general plan or any amendment to the zoning ordinance,” O'Neil said, describing typical duties that include conditional use permits, site-plan review, variances and recommendations on tentative maps.

O'Neil summarized the trade-offs: a planning commission can relieve the council of routine land-use decisions and create another forum for public participation, but it also requires staff time, additional public noticing and can lengthen project timelines. “The pros are that it relieves the city council from decision making on a lot of planning-related topics,” he said. “The cons are that it requires additional staff time and noticing requirements.”

Council members asked whether appointments should be district-based or at-large and whether the commission should be created by ordinance or resolution. Council signaled a preference to proceed by ordinance and asked staff to return with draft language and a resolution of intention. Staff proposed scheduling a workshop in late March or early April to finalize selection criteria and the commission’s scope before a public hearing.

Next steps: staff will draft ordinance language and a resolution of intention, return the draft in a public report and schedule a workshop to allow council and the public to discuss membership structure and the commission’s delegated authorities.