The duties and responsibilities of the Planning Board are to make careful studies of the resources, possibilities and needs of the Town, particularly with respect to conditions injurious to the public health or otherwise in and about rented dwellings, and make plans for the development of the municipality, with special reference to proper housing of its inhabitants (MGL c. 41, § 70). The Planning Board is also responsible for executing and administering the Master Plan (MGL c. 41, § 81D).
The Planning Board shall consist of five members and one associate (alternate) member, appointed by the Board of Selectmen. "The associate member's term shall run for a period of two years" (Salisbury Zoning Bylaw, Article XIV, Spring 2005). The members shall annually elect a Chairman, Vice Chairman and Clerk at the start of each fiscal year. It is recommended that members rotate the roles of Chair, Vice Chair and Clerk, annually.
Meetings are held the second and fourth Wednesday of each month. Workshops and other meetings can be held in addition to the scheduled Planning Board meetings. Meeting and workshop agendas are filed with the Town Clerk and posted in Town Hall and on the Town's web site 48 hours prior to meetings, not counting Sundays or holidays. A quorum is necessary for decisions to be made.
Minutes are to be taken by the Planning Board Secretary as well as the Planning Board Clerk. The minutes are public record and can be viewed in the Planning Department, Town Clerk's office the Town Library and the Town website (www.salisburyma.gov). Minutes are sent to the Planning Board members to be read and then voted on at the following meeting.
Robert's Rules of Order are the established rules of conduct for Planning Board meetings.
The Town of Salisbury Charter, as amended through May 2000, Section 7-11[1] states: "If any person appointed to serve as a member of a multiple member body shall fail to attend four or more consecutive meetings, or 1/2 or more of all of the meetings of such body held in one calendar year, the remaining members of the multiple member body may, by a majority vote of the remaining members of such body, declare the office to be vacant, provided, however, that not less than 10 days' prior to the date said vote is scheduled to be taken the body has given in hand, or mailed by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, notice of such proposed or pending vote to the last known address of such person."
[1]
Editor's Note: See Section 7-10 of Ch. C, Charter.
A. 
Members must attend all portions of public hearings to be eligible to vote. "The Chairman of the Planning Board may designate the associate member to sit for the purposes of acting on any application before the Board in the case of absence, inability to act, or conflict of interest on the part of any regular member of the Board and/or in the event of a vacancy" (Salisbury Zoning Bylaw, Article XIV, Spring 2005).
B. 
Mullins rule. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, upon municipal acceptance of this section for one or more types of adjudicatory hearings, a member of any municipal board, committee or commission when holding an adjudicatory hearing shall not be disqualified from voting in the matter solely due to that member's absence from no more than a single session of the hearing at which testimony or other evidence is received. Before any such vote, the member shall certify in writing that he has examined all evidence received at the missed session, which evidence shall include an audio or video recording of the missed session or a transcript thereof. The written certification shall be part of the record of the hearing. Nothing in this section shall change, replace, negate or otherwise supersede applicable quorum requirements (MGL c. 39, § 23D).
C. 
Regarding conflict of interest, all Board members should disqualify themselves if they or a relative could gain by the Board's decision. The wise course of action upon disqualification is to leave the room (MGL c. 268A).