§ 66-63. Officers; quorum; rules of procedure.

(a)

Chairman and vice chairman. The mayor and vice mayor shall serve as chairman and vice chairman of the board of adjustment respectively. In the absence of the chairman, the vice chairman shall act as chairman and have all the powers of the chairman. In the absence of both the chairman and vice chairman, the members present shall select a chairman pro tem to act as chairman who shall have all the powers of the chairman.

(b)

Secretary. The town clerk shall serve as secretary of the board of adjustment. The secretary shall keep minutes of all proceedings, which minutes shall be a summary of all proceedings before the board of adjustment, which shall include the vote of all members upon every question, and be attested to by the secretary. The minutes shall be approved by a majority of the board of adjustment members voting. In addition, the secretary shall maintain all records of the board of adjustment meetings, hearings, proceedings, and the correspondence of the board of adjustment. The records of the board of adjustment shall be stored with the town clerk's office, and shall be available for inspection by the public, upon reasonable request, during normal business hours. The town clerk also shall be responsible for administering oaths and swearing in of witnesses where required.

(c)

Staff. The planning and building department shall be the professional staff of the board of adjustment. The planning and building department shall be responsible for preparing the agenda and providing a recommendation to the board of adjustment on all applications for development permits and all other matters brought before the board, where appropriate. However, nothing herein shall preclude the board of adjustment from seeking the expertise and advice of others.

(d)

Town attorney. The town attorney shall provide counsel and interpretation on legal issues.

(e)

Quorum and voting.

(1)

The presence of a majority of members of the board of adjustment shall constitute a quorum of the board of adjustment necessary to transact business.

(2)

When taking final action on applications for development permits or appeals, a 3/5 majority vote or greater of the entire membership of the board of adjustment shall be required to approve any motion. In the event one or more members of the board of adjustment has a conflict of interest pursuant to F.S. § 112.01 et seq. regarding a specific application for development permits or appeal, then a simple majority of the remaining eligible members shall be required to approve any motion.

(3)

In the event the full voting membership of the board of adjustment is not present to take action on a particular application for development permits or appeal, the applicant or appellant, upon his or her request, shall be granted a continuance to a time certain at which time all voting members are expected to be available to meet and take action.

(4)

When taking action on matters other than applications for development permits or appeals, a simple majority of the members present shall be necessary to approve any motion. In the event of a tie vote, the proposed motion shall be considered to have failed.

(5)

No member shall abstain from voting on any matter unless there is a conflict of interest pursuant to F.S. § 112.01 et seq.

(f)

Rules of procedure. All meetings shall be governed by Robert's Rules of Order. The board of adjustment may, by a majority vote of the entire membership, adopt additional rules of procedure for the transaction of business, and shall keep a record of meetings, resolutions, findings and determinations.

(Ord. No. 95-1, § 1, 1-30-95)