Request for Commissioners

Request for Commissioners
Under the Urban and Rural Planning Act

The City of St. John’s invites interested and qualified people to apply as potential commissioners. The role of a commissioner is to make recommendations to St. John’s City Council regarding amendments to the St. John’s Municipal Plan under the Urban and Rural Planning Act. When selecting a commissioner, Council chooses from a list of people who have suitable professional qualifications and interests, including a legal background, an academic background or architectural expertise. The commissioner holds a public hearing, receives written and verbal comments on the issue at hand, then reports to Council with recommendations on whether to proceed. The commissioners are independent persons who are not members of Council or City staff officials. A commissioner is paid for his or her time based on a standard hourly rate.

At the present time, there is a list of persons who serve as commissioners. The Department of Planning has recommended to Council that the City advertise for four (4) additional persons with a range of professional qualifications, experience and interests to serve as Commissioners.

A person serving as a commissioner should be:

•  Independent from Council.
•  Familiar with the Urban and Rural Planning Act, the St. John’s Municipal Plan, the St. John’s Development Regulations, and land development in general.
•  Capable of chairing a public hearing, gathering the required information, asking suitable questions, taking accurate notes, and maintaining order and decorum.
•  Skilled in thinking through the issues, applying the policies of the Municipal Plan, writing a report summarizing the public hearing, and making appropriate recommendations to Council.
•  Committed to confidentiality until the report has been reviewed by Council and released publicly.

Upon receipt of submissions, selected names will be referred to a future meeting of Council for consideration. Candidates who are accepted by Council will be notified that their name is being added to the list of potential commissioners, and will be given an orientation session.

If you are interested in being considered as a commissioner, please send your resume and any other pertinent information by Friday, March 8, 2013, to: City Clerk, City of St. John’s, P. O. Box 908, St. John’s NL  A1C 5M2; fax 576-8474; E-mail: pbartlett@stjohns.ca.  For further information, please contact Ken O’Brien, Manager of Planning and Information at 576-6121 orE-mail: kobrien@stjohns.ca.