Sec. 8-19. Creation of planning commissions. Exemption re certain affordable housing.
Sec. 8-19. Creation of planning commissions. Exemption re certain affordable
housing. (a) Any municipality may create by ordinance a planning commission, which
shall consist of five members, who shall be electors of such municipality and whose
terms of office and method of election or appointment shall be fixed in the ordinance.
The ordinance may provide that members may be municipal employees if the municipality has adopted an ordinance authorizing such membership pursuant to the provisions
of subparagraph (C) of subdivision (2) of subsection (e) of section 7-421. The chief
executive officer of the municipality and the engineer thereof or commissioner of public
works, if any, shall also be members of the commission, without voting privileges. The
terms of office shall be so arranged that the terms of not more than three members shall
expire in any one year. Unless otherwise provided by charter, vacancies shall be filled
by the commission for the unexpired portion of the term. Upon the adoption of this
section by ordinance as herein provided, and the appointment or election of a commission thereunder, any planning commission in the municipality established under any
previous act of the General Assembly shall cease to exist, and its books and records shall
be turned over to the commission established under this section, provided all regulations
promulgated by such planning commission prior to that time shall continue in full force
and effect until modified, repealed or superseded in accordance with the provisions of
this chapter. The area of jurisdiction of a planning commission created by a town includes
any city or borough therein without a legally constituted planning commission for all
planning purposes except those specified in sections 8-24 and 8-29. Powers granted
under said sections may be delegated by the legislative body of such city or borough to
the planning commission of the town in which such city or borough is situated. Any
city or borough in which a planning commission has been previously established may,
by ordinance, designate the commission established under this section in the town in
which such city or borough is situated to be the planning commission of such city or
borough, and such commission shall supersede the planning commission previously
established in such city or borough. The commission shall elect a chairman and a secretary from its members, shall adopt rules for the transaction of business and shall keep
a public record of its activities. The planning commission of each municipality shall
file an annual report with the legislative body thereof.
(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of this chapter, any municipality, by ordinance
adopted by its legislative body, may exempt from the subdivision regulations in such
municipality adopted pursuant to this chapter the first subdivision of land by a landowner, provided the lot created is for affordable housing to be developed by the municipality or a nonprofit organization. The ordinance shall also provide that (1) any further
subdivision of such lot shall not be exempt from the subdivision regulations, and (2)
any exemption under this section shall be in addition to any other exemption authorized
under section 8-26 and shall not be construed as exercising any right under any other
exemption.
(1949 Rev., S. 854; 1953, S. 385d; 1957, P.A. 142; 1959, P.A. 679, S. 2; 1971, P.A. 763, S. 7; P.A. 75-21, S. 2, 3; P.A.
02-83, S. 10; P.A. 03-184, S. 7; P.A. 06-97, S. 1; P.A. 07-217, S. 30.)
History: 1959 act deleted provision chief executive officer and engineer or public works commissioner of municipality
be ex-officio members of commission and stipulated they be members without voting privileges and added provisions re
jurisdiction of town commission where city or borough is within town; 1971 act added requirement that annual report be
filed; P.A. 75-21 changed maximum number of terms allowed to expire in one year to three; P.A. 02-83 deleted prohibition
on salaried municipal officeholders serving on planning commission and added provisions re ordinance creating the planning commission may provide that members may be municipal employees if municipality has adopted ordinance authorizing
such membership; P.A. 03-184 specified that vacancies are to be filled by the planning commission "unless otherwise
provided by charter"; P.A. 06-97 designated existing provisions as Subsec. (a) and added Subsec. (b) re exemption of
certain affordable housing from subdivision regulations; P.A. 07-217 made a technical change in Subsec. (b), effective
July 12, 2007.
See Sec. 8-1b re prohibition against planning commission members serving as alternate members of zoning commission
or combined planning and zoning commission.
See Sec. 9-1 for applicable definitions.
See Sec. 9-209 re certification of terms of office and number of members of planning and zoning boards or commissions.
See Sec. 22a-354n re delineation of aquifer protection areas on maps.
Cited. 144 C. 117. Cited. 148 C. 517. Cited. 152 C. 304. Cited. 162 C. 238. Cited. 166 C. 207. Election or appointment
of one member of a commission, board or authority as chairman does not by itself make that member the head of the
relevant department. 184 C. 1. Vote of a salaried municipal officer although invalid under this section and Sec. 8-4a did
not invalidate commission's entire action in approving a zone reclassification when total valid votes were sufficient. 196
C. 192.
Statute providing for town plan commission not unconstitutional. 13 CS 62.