H. B. 2551
(By Mr. Speaker, Mr. Kiss (By Request))
[Introduced March 14, 1997; referred to the
Committee on Roads and Transportation then Government Organization.]
A BILL to amend and reenact section one, chapter one hundred
seventy-six, acts of the Legislature, regular session, one
thousand nine hundred eighty-five; and to amend and reenact
section two of said chapter one hundred seventy-six, as last
amended and reenacted by chapter one hundred thirty-six,
acts of the Legislature, regular session, one thousand nine
hundred eighty-eight, all relating to the New River parkway
authority; its scope and functions; its members, officers,
bylaws, rules and compensation; and powers and duties.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section one, chapter one hundred seventy-six, acts of
the Legislature, regular session, one thousand nine hundred
eighty-five, be amended and reenacted; and that section two of
said chapter one hundred seventy-six, as last amended and reenacted by chapter one hundred thirty-six, acts of the
Legislature, regular session, one thousand nine hundred
eighty-eight, be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
NEW RIVER PARKWAY AUTHORITY.
§1. Parking authority to continue; refined scope and function.
(a) The New River parkway authority previously created by
the Legislature shall continue in existence, plan the parkway and
parkway corridor and regulate land use within the corridor.
(b) The purpose of the authority is to:
(1) Promote economic development and cooperative ventures
among public and private entities within the parkway corridor;
(2) Conserve and protect natural, scenic, cultural and
historical resources within the parkway corridor;
(3) Improve access to recreational resources within and
adjacent to the parkway corridor; and
(4) Enhance recreational and aesthetic resources within the
parkway corridor.
(c) The New River parkway corridor or parkway corridor
includes all areas within five hundred feet of the parkway as
delineated on an official parkway corridor map.
§2. Members; appointment; officers; bylaws; rules; compensation;
power and duties.
(a) The authority consists of nine voting members and four to six ex officio nonvoting members.
(b) Three voting members each shall be appointed by the
Mercer, Summers and Raleigh County commissions. No more than two
of the three voting members appointed by a county commission may
be members of the same political party, which members may not be
elected to, appointed to or hold any other public office during
their tenure as members of the authority. The regular term of a
voting member shall be three years with terms as currently
established. Should a vacancy occur, the person appointed to
fill the vacancy shall serve only for the unexpired portion
thereof. All voting members are eligible for reappointment. Any
voting member may be removed for cause by the appointing county
commission.
(c) The ex officio nonvoting members are the commissioner of
highways or his or her designee, the director of natural
resources or his or her designee, the commissioner of agriculture
or his or her designee, the commissioner of commerce or his or
her designee and, if they choose to serve, the district engineer
of the Huntington district of the United States army corps of
engineers or his or her designee and the superintendent of the
New River Gorge National River or his or her designee. Any
designee serving as a nonvoting member may be removed at the will
and pleasure of the officer designating the member.
(d) Each voting member of the authority may be compensated monthly by the county commission which appointed the member in an
amount to be fixed by the county commission.
(e) There shall be an annual meeting of the authority on the
second Monday in July in each year and a monthly meeting on a day
and at such time as the authority may designate in its bylaws.
A special meeting may be called by the president, the secretary
or any three voting members of the authority and may be held only
after all voting and nonvoting members are given notice thereof
in writing. Five voting members constitute a quorum for all
meetings. At each annual meeting of the authority, it shall
elect a president, vice president, secretary and treasurer. The
authority shall adopt bylaws. The authority may adopt rules
necessary for its own operation and management. The authority
shall serve as the planning commission for the parkway corridor.
(f) Any bylaws adopted by the authority shall provide an
appeal process for landowners which provides relief before any
appeal or action may be instituted in the circuit court.
(g) The authority has those powers necessary, incidental,
convenient and advisable for the following purposes:
(1) Land use control of the land, water, scenic and
environmental resources within the parkway corridor;
(2) The preparation and administration of policies and plans
for the New River parkway and parkway corridor;
(3) The preparation and administration of performance standards, subdivision controls, design guidelines, corridor
plans and rules necessary to implement plans for the New River
parkway and parkway corridor;
(4) Advocating actions consistent with those plans and their
provisions and rules to or before any governmental entity or any
private person or entity; and
(5) Otherwise acting in an administrative capacity with
regard to any aspect of the New River parkway and parkway
corridor upon or without the request to any governmental entity
or private person or entity.
(h) The authority may not operate or maintain the parkway.
(i) The authority has the appropriate powers and duties
which are conferred and imposed, respectively, upon county
commissions by article twenty-four, chapter eight of the code of
West Virginia, as amended.
(j) The authority has sole responsibility for local planning
and regulation of land use, and the establishment of rules and
procedures to implement regulations, as specified within this
act, only within the designated parkway corridor.
(k) The authority has the power to own, lease or rent and
maintain such office or offices as it deems necessary to carry
out its responsibilities and to staff and equip such office or
offices.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to redefine the scope and
function of the New River Parkway Authority, its membership and
powers and duties.
Sections 1 and 2 have been completely rewritten; therefore,
strike-throughs and underscoring have been omitted.