§ 92.143 PROCEDURE FOR SPECIAL USE PERMITS.

   (A)   Purpose. Special uses are established to provide for the location of those uses which are generally compatible with other land uses permitted in a zoning district, but which, because of their unique characteristics or potential impacts on the surrounding neighborhood and the city as a whole, require individual consideration of their location, design, configuration, and/or operation at the particular location proposed. Such individual consideration may also call for the imposition of individualized conditions in order to ensure that the use is appropriate at a particular location, and to ensure protection of the public health, safety, and welfare. Any special use identified in this chapter shall not be permitted without the approval of the City Council in accordance with the requirements and procedures set forth in this section.

   (B)   Pre-application conference. It is highly recommended that the special use applicant meet with pertinent city staff in a pre-application conference prior to the submittal of a request for approval of a special use. The purposes of this conference are to provide additional information regarding the review process and assistance in the preparation of the application.

   (C)   Materials for submittal. Applications for a special use permit shall include any materials deemed necessary by the Planning Director, his or her designee, or City Council to adequately show the location, design, configuration, and/or operations of the proposed use at the parcel.

   (D)   Approval process.

      (1)   Application. An application for a special use permit shall be filed by the owner of the property, or by an agent specifically authorized by the owner to file the application. Where an agent files the application, the agent shall provide documentation that the owner of the property has authorized the filing of the application. Each application for a special use permit shall contain all required information. Incomplete applications shall not be accepted.

      (2)   Fees. Each application submitted to the City Council shall be accompanied by a fee, as provided in the schedule of fees relative to planning and zoning established by resolution of the City Council, to defray the expense of processing the application.

      (3)   Notice of hearings. Prior to a public hearing, notice of hearings on special use permit applications shall follow § 21.71 (B).

      (4)   Procedure. Following notice as required in § 21.71(B), the City Council shall hold a quasi-judicial public hearing per § 21.72(B) through(E).

      (5)   Decision. After conducting the public hearing, City Council shall:

         (a)   Approve the request;

         (b)   Approve the request with conditions;

         (c)   Deny the request; or

         (d)   Continue the hearing.

   (E)   Standards for a decision.

      (1)   Before a request for a special use permit is granted, City Council must show that all of the following standards are met:

         (a)   The use will not materially endanger the public health or safety if located where proposed and developed according to the plan as submitted and provided.

         (b)   The use meets all required conditions and specifications.

         (c)   The use will not substantially injure the value of adjoining or abutting property, or, alternatively, that the use is a public necessity.

         (d)   The proposed use is in harmony with adjacent uses in terms of location, scale, site design, hours of operation and operating characteristics.

         (e)   The proposed use is in general conformance with adopted plans.

      (2)   The City Council may approve special use applications with additional conditions or requirements based upon the following standards, so as to assure that the aforementioned criteria have been addressed, however the City Council may not impose conditions on special use applications that the local government does not otherwise have statutory authority to impose:

         (a)   Placement. Specific placement of primary and/or accessory structures and/or uses.

         (b)   Parking spaces with ingress and egress. Location of on-site parking, designated loading areas, and means of ingress/egress for all vehicles including service vehicles.

         (c)   Environmental impact. Compliance with laws, including but not limited to, floodplain and watershed regulations.

         (d)   Screening, buffering, and landscaping. Installation of screening, buffering, fencing and landscaping where necessary to protect adjacent property.

         (e)   Effect on nearby properties. Effects of proposed use on nearby properties, including but not limited to, the effects of noise, odor, lighting, and traffic.

         (f)   Compatibility. The level of general compatibility with nearby properties and impacted neighborhoods, including but not limited to, the appropriateness of the scale, design, and use in relationship to other properties.

         (g)   Consistency with policy. Consistency with the city land use plan and applicable area plans, overlay purposes, and zoning district intent in this chapter.

         (h)   Other factors. Any other review factors which the City Council considers to be appropriate to the property in question.

   (F)   Expiration.

      (1)   A special use permit shall become null and void in any of the following cases:

         (a)   If a building permit and/or commencement of approved use has not been secured within one year after the date of approval by City Council.

         (b)   When the special use is changed to another use for more than 30 days, other than that for which the special use permit was issued; or the special use is discontinued or ceased for a continuous period of 180 days or more without the re-approval of City Council. Without the re-approval of City Council, the special use permit is null and void, and continuation of the special use is a violation of this chapter.

         (c)   If there is an expansion of use without the re-approval of City Council.

         (d)   If a substantial violation of the conditions of the permit, as determined by the Planning Director or designee, occurs.

      (2)   The addition of language to the special use permit regarding such voiding shall not be required.

   (G)   Re-submission of denied applications. No application for approval of a development project (special use, site plan, project plan) shall be filed with or accepted by the Planning Department if that project is identical or substantially similar to a special use application which has been denied by the City Council within one year of the final action by the City Council denying the request.

   (H)   Appeals. An appeal from the decision of the City Council regarding a special use application may be made by an aggrieved party, and shall be made to the Superior Court of Stanly County in the nature of certiorari. Any such petition to the Superior Court shall be filed with the court no later than 30 days after a written copy of the decision of the City Council is received by the applicant.

   (I)   Record keeping. Special use permits shall be recorded in the chain of title so that future purchasers of a property will by fully aware of all special use permit stipulations.

(Ord. 06-08, passed 4-3-06; Am. Ord. 15-19, passed 6-1-15; Am. Ord. 17-07, passed 3-20-17; Am. Ord. 21-02, passed 1-19-21; Am. Ord. 21-26, passed 7-12-21)

§ 92.144 ESTABLISHING A DEVELOPMENT MORATORIUM.

   (A)   The city may adopt temporary moratoria on any city development approval required by law. The duration of any moratorium shall be reasonable in light of the specific conditions that warrant imposition of the moratorium and may not exceed the period of time necessary to correct, modify, or resolve such conditions. Except in cases of imminent and substantial threat to public health or safety, before adopting an ordinance imposing a development moratorium with a duration of 60 days or any shorter period, the governing board shall hold a public hearing and shall publish a notice of the hearing in a newspaper having general circulation in the area not less than seven days before the date set for the hearing. A development moratorium with a duration of 61 days or longer, and any extension of a moratorium so that the total duration is 61 days or longer, is subject to the notice and hearing requirements of G.S. 160A-364. Absent an imminent threat to public health or safety, a development moratorium adopted pursuant to this section shall not apply to any project for which a valid building permit issued pursuant to G.S. 160A-417 is outstanding; to any project for which a special use permit application has been accepted; to development set forth in a site specific or phased development plan approved pursuant to G.S. 160A-385.1; to development for which substantial expenditures have already been made in good faith reliance on a prior valid administrative or quasi- judicial permit or approval; or to preliminary or final subdivision plats that have been accepted for review by the city prior to the call for public hearing to adopt the moratorium. Any preliminary subdivision plat accepted for review by the city prior to the call for public hearing, if subsequently approved, shall be allowed to proceed to final plat approval without being subject to the moratorium.

   (B)   Any ordinance establishing a development moratorium must expressly include at the time of adoption each of the following:

      (1)   A clear statement of the problems or conditions necessitating the moratorium and what courses of action, alternative to a moratorium, were considered by the city and why those alternative courses of action were not deemed adequate.

      (2)   A clear statement of the development approvals subject to the moratorium and how a moratorium on those approvals will address the problems or conditions leading to imposition of the moratorium.

      (3)   An express date for termination of the moratorium and a statement setting forth why that duration is reasonably necessary to address the problems or conditions leading to imposition of the moratorium.

      (4)   A clear statement of the actions, and the schedule for those actions, proposed to be taken by the city during the duration of the moratorium to address the problems or conditions leading to imposition of the moratorium.

   (C)   No moratorium may be subsequently renewed or extended for any additional period unless the city shall have taken all reasonable and feasible steps proposed to be taken by the city in its ordinance establishing the moratorium to address the problems or conditions leading to imposition of the moratorium and unless new facts and conditions warrant an extension. Any ordinance renewing or extending a development moratorium must expressly include, at the time of adoption, the findings set forth in division (B)(1) through (4) of this section, including what new facts or conditions warrant the extension.

   (D)   Any person aggrieved by the imposition of a moratorium on development approvals required by law may apply to the appropriate division of the General Court of Justice for an order enjoining the enforcement of the moratorium, and the court shall have jurisdiction to issue that order. Actions brought pursuant to this section shall be set down for immediate hearing, and subsequent proceedings in those actions shall be accorded priority by the trial and appellate courts. In any such action, the city shall have the burden of showing compliance with the procedural requirements of this division.

(Ord. 06-08, passed 4-3-06; Am. Ord. 21-02, passed 1-19-21; Am. Ord. 21-26, passed 7-12-21)

BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT

§ 92.150 VARIANCES AND APPEALS.

   The Board of Adjustment shall hear and decide on all requests for variances to prescribed requirements of the zoning ordinance and appeals of the decision of administrative officials charged with enforcement of the ordinance. The Board shall conduct its hearings in accordance with Chapter 21, and shall otherwise adhere to all requirements therein.

(Ord. 16-28, passed 8-15-16; Am. Ord. 21-02, passed 1-19-21; Am. Ord. 21-26, passed 7-12-21)

VESTED RIGHTS AND PERMIT CHOICE

§ 92.165 PURPOSE.

   The purpose of this subchapter is to implement the provisions of G.S. 160D-108.1 pursuant to which a statutory zoning vested right is established upon the approval of a development permit, site specific vesting plan, and multi-phase developments.

(Ord. 91-28, passed 1-6-92; Am. Ord. 21-02, passed 1-19-21; Am. Ord. 21-26, passed 7-12-21)

§ 92.166 DEFINITIONS.

   For the purpose of this subchapter, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.

   "APPROVAL AUTHORITY." The City Council or other board or official designated by ordinance or the provisions this subchapter as being authorized to grant the specific zoning or land use permit or approval that constitutes a site specific vesting plan.

   "DEVELOPMENT." Without altering the scope of any regulatory authority granted by statute or local act, any of the following:

      (1)   The construction, erection, alteration, enlargement, renovation, substantial repair, movement to another site, or demolition of any structure.

      (2)   Excavation, grading, filling, clearing, or alteration of land.

      (3)   The subdivision of land as defined in Chapter 91.

      (4)   The initiation of substantial change in the use of land or the intensity of the use of land.

   "DEVELOPMENT PERMIT." An administrative or quasi-judicial approval that is written and that is required prior to commencing development or undertaking a specific activity, project, or development proposal, including any of the following: zoning permits, site plan approvals, special use permits, variances, certificates of appropriateness, plat approvals, development agreements, building permits, subdivision of land, state agency permits for development, driveway permits, erosion and sedimentation control permits, sign permit.

   "LAND DEVELOPMENT REGULATION." Any state statute, rule, or regulation, or local ordinance affecting the development or use of real property, including any of the following: unified development ordinance, zoning regulation, including zoning maps, subdivision regulation, erosion and sedimentation control regulation, floodplain or flood damage prevention regulation, mountain ridge protection regulation, stormwater control regulation, wireless telecommunication facility regulation, historic preservation or landmark regulation, and housing code.

   "MULTI-PHASED DEVELOPMENT." A development containing 25 acres or more that is both of the following:

      (1)   Submitted for development permit approval to occur in more than one phase.

      (2)   Subject to a master development plan with committed elements showing the type and intensity of use of each phase.

   "SITE-SPECIFIC VESTING PLAN." A site-specific vesting plan consists of a plan submitted to a local government in which the applicant requests vesting pursuant to this section, describing with reasonable certainty on the plan the type and intensity of use for a specific parcel or parcels of property. The plan may be in the form of, but not be limited to, any of the following plans or approvals: a planned unit development plan, a subdivision plat, a preliminary or general development plan, a special use permit, a conditional district zoning plan, or any other land-use approval designation as may be utilized by a local government. Unless otherwise expressly provided by the local government, the plan shall include the approximate boundaries of the site; significant topographical and other natural features affecting development of the site; the approximate location on the site of the proposed buildings, structures, and other improvements; the approximate dimensions, including height, of the proposed buildings and other structures; and the approximate location of all existing and proposed infrastructure on the site, including water, sewer, roads, and pedestrian walkways. What constitutes a site-specific vesting plan under this section that would trigger a vested right shall be finally determined by the local government pursuant to a development regulation, and the document that triggers the vesting shall be so identified at the time of its approval. A variance does not constitute a site-specific vesting plan, and approval of a site-specific vesting plan with the condition that a variance be obtained does not confer a vested right unless and until the necessary variance is obtained. If a sketch plan or other document fails to describe with reasonable certainty the type and intensity of use for a specified parcel or parcels of property, it may not constitute a site-specific vesting plan.

   "ZONING VESTED RIGHT." A right pursuant to G.S. 160D-108 to undertake and complete the development and use of property under the terms and conditions of an approved site-specific development plan.

(Ord. 91-28, passed 1-6-92; Am. Ord. 21-02, passed 1-19-21; Am. Ord. 21-26, passed 7-12-21)