The Green Belt Committee approved a resolution to change its name and stated purpose to the Resource Development Committee and directed staff to draft an ordinance to revise the committee’s membership and appointment rules.

Members said the proposed changes would add expertise and faster decision-making by bringing representatives from housing and economic development and by formalizing staff liaisons, while preserving citizen representation. Because municipal employees or elected officials serving as voting members may require a change to the municipal code, members asked staff to draft specific ordinance language for council consideration.

Why it matters: changing the committee’s name and membership could reshape how land-disposition, housing and development projects are coordinated with city staff, boards and outside agencies.

The resolution, included in the packet (page 35), was moved and seconded and approved by voice vote; the record shows “Aye” votes but does not record a roll-call tally. The committee discussed sample compositions from peer cities (Charleston, Clarksburg, Nitro, South Charleston). Committee members said Charleston’s board includes multiple public officials (city manager, mayor, city councilors) and ex officio staff liaisons, but noted their city’s governance differs and any inclusion of municipal employees as voting members would require an ordinance change because the current rules state a member should not be a municipal employee.

Members debated which participants should be voting members and which should be ex officio (nonvoting) staff. Proposals discussed included adding voting representation for (1) the Housing Authority, (2) an Economic Development Authority appointee, and (3) one additional citizen to keep an odd number of voting seats; ex officio participation was proposed for the planner and code enforcement staff so the committee would receive direct implementation feedback.

Participants asked staff to: consult with the Economic Development Authority and the Housing Authority about willingness to appoint representatives; revise the committee member-qualification list to clarify desirable expertise (examples discussed included real-estate market knowledge, civil engineering and landscape architecture); and submit ordinance language to the city attorney’s office for council consideration. One member noted that if a municipal employee (for example, the city manager) were to be a voting member, an ordinance change would be required because current language excludes public officials or municipal employees from voting membership.

Next steps: staff to draft ordinance language reflecting the committee’s proposed membership changes and to follow up with the named external agencies before presenting a final draft to council for consideration.