There shall be established the Marion County Planning and Development Commission.

(Ord. 573, Sec. 1; Ord. 605, Sec. 2)

The membership of the Marion County Planning and Development Commission shall consist of 15 members, to be appointed in the following manner, for the following terms:

(a)   Three members shall be appointed by each county commissioner from adult residents of his district, and shall be persons other than residents of the Cities of Hillsboro and Marion.

(b)   Three members shall be appointed by each of the governing bodies of the Cities of Hillsboro and Marion, each member to reside within the respective planning areas of each city, residing within the city or within three miles of the city boundaries of the city.

(c)   Each county commissioner or member of city governing body shall be and is hereby designated as an alternate to its respective appointees. As an alternate, he shall be entitled to attend, participate and vote at commission meetings in the absence of and as a substitute for his respective appointee. The terms for the members of the commission shall, for each city and each county commissioner’s district, be for uniform periods of three years, to expire upon uniform dates. Successive terms of office for the officers of the Marion County Planning and Development Commission shall not exceed three successive yearly terms.

(Ord. 573, Sec. 2; Ord. 605, Sec. 3)

The Marion County Planning and Development Commissioner shall have the following powers and responsibilities, and none others:

(a)   Prepare, or cause to be prepared, a comprehensive plan as defined by K.S.A. Chapter 12, Article 7, for all of its area of jurisdiction.

(b)   Coordinate the preparation of the comprehensive plan with the comprehensive planning programs of the city planning commission of the City of Hillsboro and the city planning commission of the City of Marion to assure maximum compatibility among the three plans.

(c)   Review all plan proposals prepared by the city planning commission of the City of Hillsboro and/or the City of Marion and submit to the city planning commission of the pertinent city those comments which appear to be appropriate, meaningful and intended to assure the desired compatibility.

(d)   Prepare and recommend to the board of county commissioners of Marion County zoning regulations, including a zoning map, which may be made applicable to all of the unincorporated land lying outside the Cities of Marion and Hillsboro and within the regional planning area. Prior to making such recommendation, the Marion County Planning and Development Commission shall submit the proposed regulations to the city planning commission of Hillsboro for review and comment and the city planning commission shall submit a recommendation as appropriate to the Marion County Planning and Development Commission.

(e)   If and after zoning regulations are officially adopted for the area defined in (d) above, conduct zone change hearings for the land area to which they apply and recommend to the board of commissioners of Marion County what action shall be taken on each application. Such recommendation shall be either to approve the change as requested or to deny the change as requested. All procedures for the conduct of such hearings shall be as set forth in the official county zoning resolution if and after such shall be adopted by the board of commissioners of Marion County. Before such hearing be held, the Marion County Planning and Development Commission shall determine whether the application to be reviewed is for land lying within three miles of the corporate limits of the City of Hillsboro, Kansas, as the city limits then exist, and if it is so situated, the city planning commission of the City of Hillsboro, Kansas, shall be allowed to make recommendations as to appropriate action to be taken on the lands lying within three miles of the city corporate limits of Hillsboro. The city planning commission shall submit any planning recommendation to the planning and development commission within 30 days after date of receipt of application.

(f)   Review the zoning ordinances and amendments, and proposed amendments thereto, of the City of Hillsboro and the City of Marion to assure maximum compatibility between these ordinances and between them and any county zoning resolution which may be adopted and forward appropriate comments to the pertinent city planning commission.

(g)   Prepare and adopt rules and procedures for the conduct of the business of the Marion County Planning and Development Commission; such to include specifically the designation of a time, day and place for meetings; such meetings to be held once each month. The chairperson of the Planning and Development Commission shall cause the secretary to notify each member of the planning and development commission in writing of the time, day and place of special meetings no less than 48 hours in advance of such special meeting.

(Ord. 573, Sec. 5; Ord. 605, Sec. 2)

The Marion County Planning and Development Commission shall annually, on or before July 1st submit to the board of commissioners of Marion County, the city council of Hillsboro and the city commission of Marion, Kansas, a proposed budget for the ensuing fiscal year. The budget shall be reviewed jointly by a committee composed of the Chairman of the board of Marion County Commissioners, the mayor of the City of Hillsboro, and the mayor of the City of Marion, on or before July 15th of each year. This committee shall recommend to the respective governing bodies and the budget and allocation of expenses shall be approved by each of the governing bodies for the ensuing fiscal year. The governing bodies shall thereafter levy taxes to meet their proportionate share of the budget.

(Ord. 573, Sec. 3)

The mayor of the City of Hillsboro, is authorized and directed to enter into a written agreement in conformity with the intent of this article, with the county commissioners of Marion County, and the City of Marion, for the formation of the Marion County Planning and Development Commission.

(Ord. 573, Sec. 7)