Planning commission would trade its two alternates for seven full members, and tie residency to the school district instead of the ETJ

Van Alstyne's Planning and Zoning Commission would grow to seven voting members and stop using alternates under a change to the city code that the commission is set to review Tuesday, and who can serve on it would be redefined because of a state law that keeps reshaping the city's outer boundary.

The commission holds a public hearing on the amendment to Section 46-201 at its regular meeting at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 20, at City Hall, 152 N. Main Drive. Its vote is a recommendation; the City Council makes the final decision.

The posted agenda only described the item as a change to the commission's organization and membership. The staff memo in the meeting packet spells it out.

The current setup

Today the code calls for five members plus up to two alternates, all appointed by the council to two-year terms. Members are supposed to live in the city or its extraterritorial jurisdiction, the unincorporated ring around the city where it has some development authority. One member and one alternate may live outside both, as long as they live inside the Van Alstyne ISD boundary.

The alternates only vote when the chairman asks them to fill in for an absent member, with alternate No. 1 called first.

What would change

Development Services Director Alex Glushko's memo recommends:

• eliminating both alternate seats and setting the commission at seven regular members, so every appointee votes at every meeting
• dropping the ETJ as a basis for eligibility and requiring members to live either inside the city limits or inside the school district's boundary

The memo says the change would make the commission's membership rules match those of the city's other boards.

Why the ETJ matters

The memo points to a 2023 state law that allows landowners to petition their way out of a city's ETJ. The city has no power to stop those releases, so the ETJ line can move without anything the city does, the memo says.

Under the current rule, a commissioner who lived in the ETJ when appointed could become ineligible during a term because a neighbor's land left, or because their own did, based on a decision someone else made.

The school district's boundary is steadier and simpler to explain, according to the memo.

The packet does not list which current members, if any, live in the ETJ or say how the two added seats would be filled.

Sources

cityofvanalstyne.civicweb.net

cityofvanalstyne.civicweb.net