Section 713.21 - Regional planning commission(A) The planning commission of any municipal corporation or group of municipal corporations, any board of township trustees, and the board of county commissioners of any county in which the municipal corporation or group of municipal corporations is located or of any adjoining county may cooperate in the creation of a regional planning commission, for any region defined as agreed upon by the planning commissions and boards, exclusive of any territory within the limits of a municipal corporation not having a planning commission. After creation of a regional planning commission, school districts, special districts, authorities, and any other units of local government may participate in the regional planning commission, upon terms agreed upon by the planning commissions and boards. The number of members of a regional planning commission, their method of appointment, and the proportion of the costs of regional planning to be borne respectively by the various municipal corporations, townships, and counties in the region and by other participating units of local government shall be determined by a majority of the planning commissions and boards. Costs may include, but are not limited to, compensation and actual and necessary expenses for appointive members of a regional planning commission who are not also holding another public office to which they were elected. Any member of a regional planning commission may hold any other public office and may serve as a member of a city, village, or county planning commission, except as otherwise provided in the charter of any city or village.
Boards of township trustees, boards of county commissioners, and legislative authorities of municipal corporations, and the governing bodies of other participating units of local government, may appropriate their respective shares of the costs of regional planning. Those sums shall be paid into the treasury of the county in which the greater portion of the population of the region is located, and shall be paid out on the certificate of the regional planning commission and the warrant of the county auditor of that county for the purposes authorized by sections 713.21 to 713.27 of the Revised Code.
(B) The regional planning commission may accept, receive, and expend funds, grants, and services from the federal government or its agencies; from departments, agencies, and instrumentalities of this state or any adjoining state; from one or more counties of this state or any adjoining state; from any municipal corporation or political subdivision of this or any adjoining state, including county, regional, and municipal planning commissions of this or any adjoining state; or from civic sources. The regional planning commission may contract with respect to those funds, grants, and services, either separately, jointly, or cooperatively, and may provide the information and reports necessary to secure those funds, grants, and services. Within the amounts agreed upon and appropriated or otherwise received, the regional planning commission may employ necessary engineers, accountants, consultants, and employees and may rent or lease space, purchase, lease, and lease with option to purchase equipment, and make other purchases it considers necessary to its use. The regional planning commission may purchase, lease with option to purchase, or receive as a gift property and buildings within which it is housed and carries out its responsibilities, provided that the rules of the commission provide for the disposition of the property and buildings if the commission is dissolved or otherwise terminated.(C) The regional planning commission may establish committees with the powers it finds necessary to carry on its work, including an executive committee to make final determinations, decisions, findings, recommendations, and orders as provided in the commission's rules. All actions of these committees shall be reported in writing to the members of the regional planning commission no later than its next meeting or within thirty days from the date of the action, whichever is earlier. The regional planning commission may provide a procedure to ratify committee actions by a vote of the members.(D) The regional planning commission may make agreements with other public or private agencies for the temporary transfer or joint use of staff employees, and may contract for professional or consultant services for or from other governmental and private agencies and persons.(E) A regional planning commission may contract with the prosecuting attorney of a county, as provided in section 309.09 of the Revised Code, to obtain legal services from the prosecuting attorney.Amended by 132nd General Assembly, HB 34,§1, eff. 11/2/2018.Effective Date: 8/29/1986; 4/15/2005 .