Kenton County Planning Commission Bylaws

The name of this organization shall be the “Kenton County Planning Commission” and referred to hereinafter as “Commission”.

The Commission’s purpose shall be to guide the economic growth and physical development of Kenton County in a manner that assures the community’s long-term health, safety, and general welfare.

These Bylaws are enacted in accordance with Chapter 100 of the Kentucky Revised Statutes (KRS) and the 1966 agreement signed and adopted by Kenton County and its municipalities that created this Commission.

Membership, oath and terms of office, quorum, vacancies, removal of members, and other statutory requirements related to the Commission’s activities shall be as stated in KRS 100.

The Commission shall elect a Chairperson, a Vice-Chairperson, and a Treasurer from among its members. All officers shall be citizen members as stated in KRS 100, and eligible for reelection at the expiration of their terms.

(1) The Chairperson shall preside at all meetings of the Commission. The Chairperson or presiding officer is empowered to have removed from any meeting any person or persons who disturb the orderly conduct of the meeting. The Chairperson shall have the authority to appoint hearing examiners or committees as necessary to carry out the functions and operations of the Commission.

(2) The Vice-Chairperson shall preside in the absence of the Chairperson and shall have, during those absences, all authority and responsibilities of the Chairperson.

(3) The Treasurer shall preside in the absence of the Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson and shall have, during those absences, all authority and responsibilities of the Chairperson. He or she shall be responsible for the finances of the Commission.

(4) A Chairperson Pro Tem shall be selected by members present to preside as Chairperson during any meeting at which the Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson, and Treasurer are absent. During those meetings, the Chairperson Pro Tem shall have all authority and responsibilities of the Chairperson.

The Chairperson shall initiate the annual election process during the November meeting by appointing three of the Commission’s members to the Nominating Committee. The Chairperson shall also designate one of the members to chair the committee.

The committee shall prepare a slate of officers for the ensuing year and make its report at the December meeting. The election shall be pursued during the January meeting; nominations may also be made from the floor providing the member making the nomination can assure that the nominee has expressed a willingness to serve if elected. Officers shall be elected by a majority vote of those members present unless there are two or more members nominated for any office, in which case the member receiving the largest number of votes shall be elected. Officers shall take office upon the completion of the election.

If an office is vacated, the Commission shall elect another citizen member to fill the office for the remainder of the term. Nominations for vacated offices shall be made from the floor during a regular meeting noticed as an election meeting at least ten days in advance.

All Commission funds shall be deposited in a commercial bank as may from time-to-time be chosen by the Commission. All checks written on the account shall be signed by at least two of the following: Chairperson; Vice-Chairperson; and Treasurer. Each of these officers shall be bonded by and at the Commission's expense to a level of at least $5,000 per person. 

The purchase of non-recurring budget items that do not individually, or in the aggregate, over the course of one fiscal month exceed $1000.00 may be authorized by any individual member of the executive committee. This procedure is only to be used in exigent circumstances when a meeting of the full Executive Committee is not practical. 

The reserve fund held by KCPC should be held in a separate account from the operating fund.

Purpose: to cover the costs of the Commission's KRS Chapter 100 functions and duties. Intended Life: ongoing, without end.

Goal: $500,000. This goal will be reviewed annually and adjusted as needed during the budget process.

Intended Qualifying Expenses: The Commission's statutory administrative duties or other beneficial or necessary expenses as determined by its Executive Committee and approved by a majority vote of the full Commission membership.

Members may be compensated by the respective political subdivisions in any amount agreed upon. In addition, compensation for attendance at all regular meetings and reimbursement and/or compensation for Commission-approved expenses shall be as set forth in an administrative policy adopted under Article 20.

The Commission shall employ or contract with an attorney or firm of attorneys licensed to practice law in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. This legal counsel shall not be a member of the Commission nor hold an elective or appointive office in a jurisdiction that appoints members to the Commission. This legal counsel shall attend all meetings of the Commission and other meetings as requested by a Commission officer or staff. The legal counsel shall receive an annual retainer which shall cover all normal and routine Commission business. Compensation may also be provided on an hourly basis for work involving law suits to which the Commission is a party regardless of whether it is being pursued by the Commission’s attorney or another attorney with whom it has contracted.

Pursuant to a June 30, 2014 signed agreement between the Commission and Planning and Development Services of Kenton County (PDS), PDS staff is the duly-authorized staff of the Commission. Any reference to “staff” in this or other documents of this Commission shall mean the duly authorized staff of the Commission.

The following shall be considered official meetings of the Commission.

(1) Regular meetings shall be held as determined by the Commission during its December meeting. Unless scheduled otherwise, these meetings shall be held in Kenton County on the first Thursday of every month at a place and time to be determined by the Commission.

(2) Special meetings may be held as called by the Chairperson in accordance with notice requirements included in the Kentucky Revised Statutes.

Except for telecommunication facilities which are provided for in KRS 100.987(4)(c), all items to be included on the agenda of regular meetings shall be submitted to staff at least 28 calendar days prior to a regular meeting. Zoning map amendments submitted by legislative bodies shall be submitted to staff at least 35 calendar days prior to a regular meeting.

Only those applications determined by staff to be complete according to requirements included in the applicable zoning ordinance or subdivision regulations shall be included on the Commission’s agenda. The determination of completeness shall not be based on the perceived merits of the proposal but on whether all submission requirements have been met. Applications found to be incomplete shall be held by staff for up to 60 days until the required information is submitted and then included on the Commission’s earliest agenda that affords 28 calendar days for review. Incomplete applications left with staff for over 60 days shall be considered null and void.

Staff shall prepare the monthly agenda following the format set forth in an administrative policy adopted under Article 20.

Copies of the proposed agenda and supporting materials shall be mailed to each member no later than seven days preceding the next regular or special meeting. Upon obtaining authorization from any member, copies of the agenda & supporting material may be emailed, in lieu of mailing, to said member no later than six days preceding the next regular or special meeting.

All documents intended to be presented at the public hearing must be submitted by the applicant to staff at least 10 days prior to that public hearing. New documents submitted at the public hearing by the applicant that are of such an amount as to be unreasonably read and understood at the meeting itself may be rejected by the Commission or, at the discretion of the Commission, subject the public hearing item to being continued to the following meeting unless the new document is being submitted only to contradict evidence presented at the hearing.

The Chairperson of the Planning Commission shall appoint the following standing committees by the adjournment of the Commission’s February meeting. The Chairperson may designate one of the appointed members to chair or allow each committee to elect a chair from its members. These committees shall be responsible for the issues noted and to meet and consider any other business deemed necessary or assigned by the Chairperson.

(1) The Executive Committee shall consist of the Chairperson, Vice Chairperson, and Treasurer. This Committee shall meet as needed and consider any business deemed necessary.

(2) The Bylaws Committee shall maintain the integrity of the Commission’s Bylaws, to include specifically the processing fees charged by the Commission, through biennial reviews.

(3) The Comprehensive Plan Implementation Committee shall pursue the periodic review of the comprehensive plan. It shall also work with staff on comprehensive plan implementation efforts and other long range planning initiatives including zoning code updates and other long-range initiatives.

(4) The Subdivision Review Committee shall oversee the staff’s administration of the subdivision regulations and, as necessary, draft amendments to them.

(5) Social Media Committee shall work with staff to create and maintain a web/social media presence. The Social Media Committee shall oversee development and maintenance of communication with the public, developers and others.

The Chairperson, with the approval of the Commission, may appoint special committees at any time, establish their charges, and set their time lines as necessary.

The Commission shall utilize rules of order it adopts as administrative policy under Article 20 to govern the proceedings of official Commission and Committee meetings.

Applications to adopt, revise, or amend the comprehensive plan, a local zoning ordinance, or the subdivision regulations shall be handled as follows.

(1) The applicant shall file the application and all required information with staff.

(2) The staff shall determine if the application is administratively complete. If staff determines that the application is not administratively complete, it shall notify the applicant in writing. No additional review of the application may be pursued until staff can determine that it is administratively complete.

(3) The Commission shall pursue a public hearing on the application as required by KRS 100. The decision of the Commission shall be based on the evidence and information presented during the public.

The Commission and its committees shall keep minutes and complete records of all proceedings and financial statements pursuant to KRS 100.167 as amended. At a minimum, the minutes shall include findings, determinations, the names of members making and seconding motions, the number of votes for and against each question, and if any member is absent or disqualified from voting, indicating the reason. Minutes of all proceedings and or committees, shall be provided to the entire Commission prior to the next regular meeting.

Transcripts of any of the Commission’s proceedings shall be provided if requested at the expense of the requesting party at a reasonable cost for reproduction and the transcript shall constitute the record.

Members who have a direct or indirect financial interest in the outcome of an application pending before the Commission shall disqualify themselves at the beginning of discussion, shall not participate in the ensuing discussion of the Commission, nor be counted towards the quorum required to decide the application.

For the purposes of this Article, it should be noted that “indirect financial interest” as used in KRS 100.171(1) and these Bylaws is not defined. However, members should not equate indirect financial interest with speculative interest. A direct interest affects the member’s immediate personal or financial interest. An indirect interest affects that status through an intervening party, such as a close family member. Disqualifications shall be noted in the Commission’s minutes and shall not be counted as abstentions.

Each member and staff of the Commission shall comply with requirements of KRS 147A.027 as set forth in an administrative policy adopted under Article 20.

The Commission discourages resubmission of denied zone change requests for a period of one year after the request was denied by the legislative body. A failed zone change request will be considered for public hearing only as follows.

(1) A request for reconsideration may be submitted to staff only when it represents a substantially different proposal than what was denied previously by the legislative body, subject to staff discretion, and may include items such as a reduction or enlargement of subject site by at least 20 percent, change in location of structures or transportation patterns, change of proposed uses. Filing deadlines established by the Commission for its regular meeting agendas shall apply to these requests. The applicant shall submit a non-refundable fee of 20 percent of the total applicable fee with the request for reconsideration.

(2) A submittal which meets the above requirements must be made in accordance with the procedure required by the zoning ordinance.

The Commission adopts administrative policies from time to time to provide binding controls necessary to amplify or supplement its regulations. The Commission has adopted the following administrative policies to date.

• AP 1: obsolete (April 7, 2016)
• AP 2: obsolete (April 7, 2016)
• AP 3: Professionals Serving As Commission Members (May 6, 1992)
• AP 4: obsolete (April 7, 2016)
• AP 5: Public Records: Rules and Recommendations (October 7, 2021)
• AP 6: obsolete (May 5, 2016)
• AP 7: obsolete (April 7, 2016)
• AP 8: obsolete (April 7, 2016)
• AP 9: Continuing Education Records (May 4, 2023)
• AP 9: Continuing Education Form
• AP 10: Official Meeting Agenda; Rules of Order (March 3, 2005; May 4, 2006; July 8, 2008, December 6, 2018)
• AP 11: Compensation, Payments and Reimbursement (May 4, 2023)
• AP 12: Committee Meetings Agenda and Rules of Order (April 7, 2016)