Medical Lake planning commissioners propose sweeping edits to rules of procedure, public‑comment script and meeting language

At its April 16 meeting, the Medical Lake Planning Commission reviewed a series of proposed edits to its rules of procedure intended to clarify meeting practice and public interaction.

Commissioner Andy proposed adding a short 'duty of mutual respect' statement modeled on Spokane’s planning commission rules: “It is the constant duty of each commission member to maintain respect for each other the city staff and the public,” he read aloud for consideration. Commissioners discussed where that clause should appear and whether the language belongs under general rules or personnel standards.

Other changes under consideration include altering titles in the document (staff proposed replacing specific titles such as 'planning director' with a neutral term like 'planning official' or 'planning official/senior planner'), clarifying the commission’s regular meeting cadence (the current language reads 'shall meet as needed' and some members argued for keeping flexibility), and an explicit chair duties paragraph. One proposed sentence to be added reads in full: “The chair may make or second any motion and may present and discuss any matter as a member of the commission and shall vote on all matters.”

Staff also circulated a replacement paragraph for the public‑comment agenda item. The revised script read, in part: “Speakers shall first obtain recognition by the chair, state their name, whether they are a resident of Medical Lake, and the subject of their comments. Comments are limited to five minutes per speaker unless additional time is granted by the chair or by a majority of permission.” Commissioners agreed to standardize the wording across the rules and to put the staff edits into a draft for review at the next meeting.

Commission discussion also covered whether the rules should continue to require commenters to state whether they were a 'proponent' or 'opponent' during public hearings; some commissioners said that phrasing can be removed in favor of plainer language. Commissioners debated whether to require addresses or only residency status when citizens speak; the commission decided to retain the residency question and to allow exceptions for those unwilling to give an address.

What’s next: staff will draft a marked‑up version of the rules incorporating the edits discussed (duty of respect language, neutral job titles, consistent public‑comment wording and the chair‑duty language) and circulate it for consideration at the next meeting.