The following rules shall govern applications for amendments to the zoning provisions hereinafter referred to as “rezoning applications.”
(A) Procedures.
(1) A rezoning application may be initiated by the Council, the Planning Commission or by the owner of the subject property. The application shall be referred to the Planning Commission for public hearing, study and report and may not be acted upon by the Council until it has received the recommendation of the Commission, or until 90 days have elapsed from the date of referral of the application without a report by the Planning Commission. The date of referral is defined as the date of the public hearing.
(2) The applicant or his or her authorized agent shall fill out and submit to the Secretary of the Planning Commission a planning and zoning application, copies of which are available at the city offices, together with a fee of $150. The application shall be filed with the Secretary of the Planning Commission at least 14 days before the date of the public hearing.
(3) The Secretary of the Planning Commission shall refer the matter to the Planning Commission by placing the application upon the agenda of the Commission’s next regular meeting; provided, however, that the Secretary may, with the approval of the Chairperson of the Commission, place the application on the agenda for a special meeting of the Planning Commission.
(4) Not less than ten days before the date of the hearing, the Secretary of the Planning Commission shall mail notice of the hearing to the applicant and to the property owners within 350 feet (including streets) of the subject property. The failure of the owner or occupant to receive the notice shall not invalidate the proceedings hereunder.
(5) Not less than ten days prior to the date of the hearing, the Secretary shall publish a notice of hearing in the official newspaper.
(6) The Planning Commission shall report its recommendations to the Council not later than 60 days following the date of referral to the Commission.
(7) The application and recommendation of the Planning Commission shall be placed on the agenda of the Council within 30 days following the recommendation of the Planning Commission, or in the event the Commission has failed to make a recommendation within 90 days of the date of referral to the Commission.
(8) The Council shall make a final determination of the application within 60 days of the recommendation of the Planning Commission or in the event the Commission has failed to make any recommendation, within 120 days of the date of referral to the Commission.
(9) The Secretary of the Planning Commission, following the Commission’s action upon the application, and the City Administrator/Clerk-Treasurer, following the Council’s action upon the application, shall give the applicant a written notice of the action taken. A copy of this notice shall be kept on file as a part of the permanent record of the application.
(10) The applicant or his or her agent shall appear at each meeting of the Commission and of the Council during which the application is considered. Furthermore, each applicant shall provide for the Commission or the Council, as the case may be, the maps, drawings, plans, records or other information requested by the Commission or the Council for the purpose of assisting the determination of the application.
(B) Review of rezoning. Where property within the city has been rezoned for a less restrictive land use upon petition of the owner or his or her agent pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, and where no structural work thereon has commenced within two years of the date of the rezoning action by the Council, the Planning Commission may review the zoning classification of the property in the light of the Comprehensive Plan and make appropriate recommendations to the Council, which may include the recommendation that the subject property be rezoned to permit a more restrictive use in conformance with the provisions of the Comprehensive Plan.
(1989 Code, § 11.12) (Amended by City Council 8-16-2022)