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Mr. Gary Mizuno <br /> Page 4 <br /> March 20, 1989 <br /> the city as a whole. Interpreting ' all the members ' <br /> to be less than the full board established by the <br /> Charter creates the possibility that legislation may <br /> be enacted which has support in less than the required <br /> number of wards. " 702 S.W.2d at 493-494 . q <br /> This reasoning has significance for <br /> g the Hawaii County <br /> Charter, because the Planning Commission. has members appointed <br /> geographically. Hawaii County Charter §5-4 .3 . To allow the <br /> interpretation that the commission could take action with less <br /> than a majority of all the positions to which the commission is <br /> entitled would be to allow action without insuring the widest <br /> possible geographical input. It would also remove an incentive <br /> for the mayor to appoint commission members as quickly as <br /> possible. It could lead to a situation .in which a mayor, who is <br /> politically compatible with seven remaining commissioners and <br /> unable to find two additional politically compatible, <br /> geographically qualified appointees, simply decides to keep the <br /> commission operating with seven members, despite the fact that the <br /> charter requires nine. The difficulties caused by the requirement <br /> that five affirmative votes be obtained in order to take action <br /> act as the incentive to keep each seat on the commission occupied. <br /> A number of other jurisdictions come to the same conclusion <br /> as Missouri . In Steiner Inc. vL Town Plan and Zoning Commission <br /> 2f- the Town gf Fairfield, 175 A.2d 559 (Conn. 1961) , the <br /> Connecticut Supreme Court ruled that statutes requiring a vote of <br /> two-thirds of "all the members" for action meant that five <br /> affirmative votes were necessary from the seven position' <br /> commission even where an unfilled vacancy reduced the actual <br /> membership to six. <br /> In Rocklands Woods, Inc. ILL Suffern, 40 App. Div. 2d 385 , 340 <br /> N.Y.S.2d 513 (1973) , the court held that where a vacancy reduced a <br /> five member village board of trustees to four members, a vote of <br /> two affirmative, one negative, and one abstention was insufficient <br /> to amend the village's zoning ordinance. <br /> In State ex. rel . Roberts ILL Gruber, 373 P.2d 657 (Or. 1962) , <br /> the specific term "entire membership" was held to mean all of the <br /> positions to which a council was entitled. <br /> The state of New Jersey also concurs . In Country Club Towers <br /> Tenants Association v. Country Club Towers I and II, 195 N.J. <br /> Super 110, 478 A. 2d 420 (N.J.. Super 1984) , the town municipal <br /> council, which had seven positions, and two unfilled vacancies, <br /> 7.54 <br />