Section 11, Subsection 3 Land use and appeal authorities

A. PRELIMINARY LUA. The Land Use Authority (LUA) for preliminary applications under this Section is the Planning Commission (PC). For purposes of subdivision applications, the Planning Commission shall be ultimately responsible for the following but may delegate any task to the Town Engineer, Town staff, or members of the PC: 1. Rendering land use decisions related to preliminary applications under this Section, including approving or denying preliminary applications. 2. Reviewing all preliminary applications under this Section in an impartial manner and according to the standards and deadlines described in this Section. 3. Holding public meetings for reviewing preliminary applications as required by this Section. 4. Providing feedback to applicants on their preliminary applications in the manner required by this Section. 5. Scheduling and holding a pre-application meeting (and reviewing concept plans) with potential applicants as required by this Section. 6. Keeping subdivision application forms (both preliminary and final) and related informational material up to date and publicly accessible and distributing such forms and materials to potential applicants. This task is delegated to Town staff by default. B. FINAL LUA. The Land Use Authority for final applications under this Section is the Development Review Committee (DRC). The DRC shall consist of one member of the PC, one member of Town staff and one Town citizen. The citizen member cannot have a vested interest in the application being reviewed. For purposes of subdivision applications, the DRC shall be responsible for the following, but may delegate any task to the Town Engineer, or Town staff: 1. Rendering land use decisions related to final applications under this Section, including approving or denying final applications. 2. Reviewing all final applications under this Section in an impartial manner and according to the standards and deadlines described in this Section. 3. Providing feedback to applicants on their final applications in the manner required by this Section. 4. Providing notice to entities and parties as required by this Section. 5. Signing final application approvals as required by this Section. 6. Ensuring that documents are properly recorded with the County as required by this Section. C. As subdivision application decisions are administrative, not legislative, the Planning Commission is authorized to make land use decisions described by this Section without Town Council approval. D. Except when operating as the Appeal Authority, the Town Council shall not require the PC or DRC to approve or deny an application for a new subdivision under this Section. E. SUBDIVISION APPEAL AUTHORITY. The Appeal Authority for Town decisions relating to this Section, except where otherwise noted, is the Town Council. 1. The Appeal Authority shall hear appeals on final decisions made by the PC or DRC and shall hear complaints about the conduct of the PC and DRC in administering the provisions of this Section. 2. A party appealing or complaining of a PC or DRC decision under this Section must exhaust its remedies under this section (by appealing or complaining to the Appeal Authority) before bringing an action against the Town in a court of law. 3. A party who has submitted a subdivision application or petition may appeal or complain to the Appeal Authority under this Section. A party desiring to appeal or complain of a PC or DRC decision shall submit to the Appeal Authority the following in writing: a. A brief explanation of the relief the party is seeking, the reason the party submitted its application or petition, the PC or DRC’s decision and treatment of the application or petition, and why the applicant believes the PC or DRC misapplied the provisions of this Section or abused the discretion given it by this Section. b. The most recent version of the application or petition the party submitted. c. Any supplemental documentation or information that the Appeal Authority requests. d. All appeals and complaints must be emailed or mailed to the Town Clerk using the Clerk’s official Town address and/or email account listed on the Town website. F. After receiving a complete appeal or complaint in accordance with this Section, the Appeal Authority shall deliver a decision to the applicant, in writing, no later than 45 calendar days after the Appeal Authority receives the appeal or complaint.