Hooper City Council approves ordinance to expand Planning Commission from 5 to 7 members, delays change to appointment process

Hooper City Council voted Thursday to adopt Ordinance O-2025-1 to increase the number of members on the Hooper City Planning Commission from five to seven.

The measure was moved by Council member Wilcox and seconded by Council member Hill. The council approved the ordinance as presented except for a single sentence about the mayor-and-council appointment process, which the council agreed to address at its Feb. 6 meeting. The motion also included language setting an effective date no later than Jan. 28, 2025, and discussion at the meeting referenced the option to make the ordinance effective immediately upon publication if the council declares an emergency.

The change is intended to codify a seven-member commission and add procedural clarifications. Under the adopted text the council inserted an additional "whereas" expressing a desire for "a balanced and consistent method of appointment for members of the commission" and added a new provision requiring that "newly appointed members of the commission shall be sworn in during the same city council meeting in which they are approved and appointed." The council pulled one sentence from the draft — a provision that would have said "the mayor and the city council shall separately recommend for appointment the members of the commission subject to a majority vote of the city council" — for separate consideration and possible amendment at the Feb. 6 meeting.

Council and staff discussed statutory limits before finalizing the ordinance. Legal counsel advised that municipalities must establish planning commissions by ordinance and said that while councils can alter appointment procedures, changing the mayor's appointment authority could trigger specific voting thresholds under state law (either a majority of council plus the mayor, or a unanimous council in some circumstances). Counsel also reviewed the standard publication timing: ordinances typically take effect 20 days after publication unless the council sets an earlier effective date or declares an emergency to make them effective immediately.

Council members debated operational details the ordinance does not fully resolve. Members discussed how to stagger terms so the commission retains institutional knowledge; options considered included a 2-2-2-1 rotation (two seats replaced in some years and one in another) and alternative staggers such as 3-2-2. The council did not set the final staggering method at the meeting; members said they expect to finalize term lengths and swearing-in logistics before the first Planning Commission meeting in February. Council members also emphasized that two additional names for appointment would come from a pool of four applicants previously interviewed.

Mayor Sherry Bingham opened the meeting and called the item to discussion. During debate, Council member Wilcox said, "I'll go ahead and make a motion for ordinance number O-2025-1 ... increasing the number of the members of the Hooper City Planning Commission from 5 to 7," and Council member Hill responded, "I'll second." After discussion and a procedural amendment to withhold the appointment-process sentence for Feb. 6, the council voted and the motion carried.

The ordinance is captioned O-2025-1 and amends Title 10 (planning) of the Hooper City Code; the council directed staff to publish the ordinance per the city's normal procedures and to return with the omitted appointment-process language for consideration at the Feb. 6 meeting.

Votes at a glance: Ordinance O-2025-1 — motion to adopt carried (mover: Council member Wilcox; second: Council member Hill). The transcript records the motion, the second, and the council calling the vote; a formal roll-call tally by name was not recorded in the audio transcript provided.

Next steps: The council will (1) consider the omitted appointment-process sentence at its Feb. 6 meeting as a discrete agenda item, (2) finalize staggering and term lengths for the expanded commission before the February Planning Commission meeting, and (3) complete required publication and swearing-in procedures for newly appointed commissioners.