§ 9-1. Planning and zoning commission.

The city council shall appoint a city planning and zoning commission consisting of five (5) regular members who shall be residents of the City of Eagle Pass and who own real estate within the city, and such ex-officio members as are provided herein. The regular members shall receive such compensation as the council shall prescribe by ordinance and shall hold no other elective position in the city government. The ex-officio members shall include the mayor, the city manager, and such other ex-officio members as the council may by resolution provide. Ex-officio members shall participate in the work of the commission, but shall not have a vote in its official actions.

(a)

Term of office. The term of the appointive members shall be five (5) years, except that, of the five (5) members first appointed, one shall be appointed for a term of one year, one for two (2) years, one for three (3) years, and one for four (4) years.

(b)

Powers and duties. The commission shall have the power and shall be required to:

(1)

Make, amend, extend, and add to the master plan for the physical development of the city.

(2)

Approve or disapprove plats of proposed subdivisions submitted in accordance with section 9-2 of this article and any other applicable laws. In considering such plats, the commission shall require that the proposed subdivisions shall meet all the standards of layout and street and sidewalk construction on comparable property within the corporate limits of the City of Eagle Pass as specified in the City of Eagle Pass Construction Standards Manual. Upon approving such plats, and before they are released for recoding, the planning commission shall submit all copies of approved plats to the city council for final approval.

(3)

Draft, and recommend to the council for adoption, an official map of the city and recommend or disapprove proposed changes in such map.

(4)

Make, and recommend to the council for adoption, a zoning plan and recommend or disapprove proposed changes in such plan.

(5)

Make, and recommend to the council for adoption, plans for the clearance and rebuilding of slum districts and blighted areas which may develop within the city.

(6)

Compile, and recommend to the council for adoption, a building code, which code shall include the minimum standards of construction for buildings, the minimum standards for plumbing, and the minimum standard for wiring and gas piping.

(7)

Submit annually to the city manager, not less than ninety (90) days prior to the beginning of the budget year, a list of recommendations for capital improvement which, in the opinion of the commission, are necessary or desirable to be constructed during the forthcoming five (5) years. Such list shall be arranged in order of preference, with recommendations as to which projects shall be constructed in which year.

(8)

Meet not less than once each month; meetings to be held at the city hall unless prior notice of change of meeting place be given by publication in the official newspaper of the City of Eagle Pass.

(9)

Perform such other duties and be vested with such other powers as the council shall from time to time prescribe.

(c)

Rules of procedure. The commission shall elect annually, one of its members chairman, and shall establish its own rules of procedure which shall include the following: A quorum shall consist of a majority of the members of the commission qualified and serving. The affirmative vote of a majority of those present shall be necessary to pass upon pending questions. All meetings shall be open to the public and a record of all proceedings shall be kept, which record shall be filed with the person performing the duties of city secretary and shall be a public record.

(d)

Vacancies. Membership of the commission shall be accompanied by active participation in the activities of the commission, and any member who is absent from three (3) consecutive meetings of the commission without valid excuse, as determined by the commission, shall automatically be dismissed from membership. The commission shall at once notify the council that a vacancy in the commission exists. Vacancies occurring in the commission, for whatever reason, shall be filled within thirty (30) days by appointment by the council for the remainder of the unexpired term.

(Ord. No. 02-32, § 1, 11-7-02; elect. of 2-1-03)