Senate Bill No. 597
(By Senators Snyder and McCabe)
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[Introduced March 26, 2001; referred to the Committee on
Government Organization.]
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A BILL to repeal section seven, article twenty-four, chapter eight
of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred
thirty-one, as amended; and to amend and reenact sections
twelve, thirty, thirty-six, fifty-seven and fifty-eight of
said article, all relating to municipal and county planning
commissions; providing that commissions may hire secretaries
and employees; providing that the appointments to a planning
commission shall be approved or rejected by the county
commission or municipal council; clarifying that planning
commissions are required to deny projects if particular
requirements are not met; providing that a comprehensive plan
is advisory in nature and only useful for guidance; providing that the board of zoning appeals provide for a hearing within
fifteen days of an appeal; and providing that, in the event of
an appeal to a board of zoning appeals, developers may
continue work on a premises at their own risk.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section seven, article twenty-four, chapter eight of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be repealed; and that sections twelve, thirty, thirty-six,
fifty-seven and fifty-eight of said article be amended and
reenacted, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 24. PLANNING AND ZONING.
§8-24-12. Appointment, duties and compensation of secretary and
employees; special and temporary services; legal
assistance.
Any commission may appoint and prescribe the duties and fix
the compensation of a secretary and such employees as are necessary
for the discharge of the duties and responsibilities of the
commission. All such compensation, however, shall be in conformity
to and in compliance with the salaries and compensation theretofore
fixed by the governing body or county court commission of such the
municipalities or counties.
A commission may make contracts for special or temporary services and any professional counsel. The prosecuting attorney of
a county, upon request, shall, without additional compensation,
render legal assistance and service to the county planning
commission.
Any commission may appoint and prescribe the duties and fix
the compensation of a secretary and employees as are necessary for
the discharge of the duties and responsibilities of the commission.
All compensation, however, shall be in conformity to and in
compliance with, the salaries and compensation fixed by the
governing body of the municipality or county commission of the
county, as the case may be.
§8-24-30. Subdivision plats -- Basis for commission's action upon
application for approval.
In determining whether an No application for approval shall
may be granted, unless the commission shall determine determines if
the plat provides for:
(1) Coordination of subdivision streets with existing and
planned streets;
(2) Coordination with and extension of facilities included in
the comprehensive plan;
(3) Establishment of minimum width, depth and area of lots
within the projected subdivision;
(4) Distribution of population and traffic in a manner tending
to create conditions favorable to health, safety, convenience and
the harmonious development of the municipality or county; and
(5) Fair allocations of areas for streets, parks, schools,
public and semipublic buildings, homes, utilities, business and
industry.
As a condition of approval of a plat the commission may
specify:
(1) The manner in which streets shall be laid out, graded and
improved;
(2) Provisions for water, sewage and other utility services;
(3) Provision for schools;
(4) Provision for essential municipal services; and
(5) Provision for recreational facilities.
§8-24-36. Improvement location permits -- Conformity of structure
to comprehensive plan and ordinance.
After a comprehensive plan and an ordinance containing
provisions for subdivision control and the approval of plats and
replats have been adopted and a certified copy of the ordinance has
been filed with the clerk of the county court commission
as
aforesaid, within the corporate limits of the municipality, a structure shall not be located and an improvement location permit
for a structure on platted or unplatted lands shall may
not be
issued unless the structure and its location conform to the
municipality's comprehensive plan and ordinance. A structure shall
may
not be located and an improvement location permit shall may
not
be issued for a structure on unincorporated lands within the
jurisdiction of the county planning commission unless the structure
and its location conform to the county's comprehensive plan and
ordinance: Provided, That nothing in this section may be construed
as meaning comprehensive plans are binding. Rather, comprehensive
plans are advisory in nature and as such are to be used only as
guidance and are, therefore, subject to modification at anytime
before completion of a project.
§8-24-57. Hearing of appeal.
The board of zoning appeals shall fix a reasonable time for
the hearing of an appeal. Public notice of the hearing shall be is
given in the manner specified in section eighteen of this article,
except that the hearing is set in no less than fifteen days,
and
due notice shall be
is given additionally to the interested
parties.
The board of zoning appeals may require the party taking the appeal to assume the cost of public notice and due notice to
interested parties.
At the hearing, any party may appear in person, by agent or by
an attorney at law admitted to practice in this state.
§8-24-58. Staying of work on premises when appeal taken; exception.
When an appeal has been taken and filed with the board of
zoning appeals, all proceedings and the work on the premises in
question shall be stayed unless the official or board from whom or
which the appeal was taken shall certify to the board of zoning
appeals that by reason of facts stated in the certificate a stay
would cause imminent peril to life or property may proceed, but at
the risk of the developer, builder, contractor or owner. If such
certificate be filed, proceedings or work on the premises shall not
be stayed except by a restraining order which may be granted by the
circuit court of the county in which the premises affected are
located, upon application therefor, on notice to the official or
board from whom or which the appeal is taken and the owner of the
premises affected and on due cause shown.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to repeal §8-24-7 relating
to advisory members of municipal and county planning commissions. The bill further
provides that planning commissions may hire
secretaries and employees and that the appointments to a planning
commission shall be approved or rejected by the county commission
or municipal council. It clarifies that planning commissions are
required to deny projects if particular requirements are not met.
The bill further provides that a comprehensive plan is advisory in
nature and only useful for the purpose of guidance. It,
additionally, provides that the board of zoning appeals provide for
a hearing within fifteen days of an appeal and, that, in the event
of an appeal to a board of zoning appeals, developers, contractors,
owners or others may continue work on a premises at their own risk.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.