2024-07-09 P & Z Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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Memorandum Date: June 27, 2024 To: Honorable Chair and Planning and Zoning Commission Members From: Mark Statz, PE – City Administrator/Engineer Subject: Review of Committee By-Laws After one of our recent meetings, a member of the public inquired about the way in which a motion was amended. Their contention was that the by-laws of the committee, as written in our city code state: (5) Motion to amend. Committee Members may offer amendments to a main motion at any time. In addition, it is possible to amend an amendment currently under consideration. Beyond this, Committee Members can offer no further amendments. When a member has made a motion to amend, the vote on the amendment must precede the vote on the original motion. After the Committee has accepted or rejected the amendment, another vote on the original motion is necessary. The procedure in question was the motion made to approve the Preliminary Plat and PUD for the LaLonde property. That motion was made and seconded. Then, during discussion an amendment was requested. The member requesting the motion asked the member who made the motion if they would accept an amendment to their motion. The motioning member accepted the amendment and the member who seconded the original motion, likewise accepted the amendment. Several additional amendments were offered and either accepted or rejected by the original motioner and seconder in a similar fashion. The Committee By-Laws process would have lead us to have each amendment voted on by the committee as a whole. A quick review of Roberts Rules of Order suggests a similar process (see attached: VOTING ON AMENDMENTS TO THE MAIN MOTION). However, there is a distinction, here. The process outlined in our by-laws and further discussed here in Robert’s Rules is for a motion which has been made, seconded and “stated by the chair”. A typical procedure would be: Commissioner 1 – “I make a motion to do XYZ.” Commissioner 2 – “I second that motion.”