§ 151.236 NEIGHBORHOOD CONTACT.

(2) Submittal information. The City Planning Official shall advise the applicant on what constitutes a complete application. At a minimum, the application shall include all of the following information:

(a) The information requested on the application form;

(b) Plans and exhibits required for the specific approval(s) being sought;

(c) A written statement or letter explaining how the application satisfies each and all of the relevant code criteria and standards in sufficient detail;

(d) Information demonstrating compliance with prior decision(s) and conditions of approval for the subject site, as applicable;

(e) Other information, studies, exhibits, or data as the Planning Official deems necessary to demonstrate compliance with city policies and ordinances; and

(f) The required fee; and

(g) Evidence of neighborhood contact, as applicable, pursuant to § 151.236.

(B) Procedure.

(1) Mailed and posted notice. The city shall mail public notice of a public hearing on a Type III application at least 20 days before the hearing date to individuals and organizations listed below. The City Planning Official shall prepare an affidavit of notice, which shall be made a part of the file. The affidavit shall state the date that the notice was mailed. Notice shall be mailed to:

(a) All owners, residents, or tenants of record of real property within a minimum of 300 feet of the subject site;

(b) Any person who submits a written request to receive a notice; and

(c) Any governmental agency that is entitled to notice under an intergovernmental agreement entered into with the city and any other affected agencies. At a minimum, the City Planning Official shall notify the road authority if different than the City of Banks. The failure of another agency to respond with written comments on a pending application shall not invalidate an action or permit approval made by the city under this Code.

(d) The city shall notify the Oregon Department of Transportation of projects involving a change access to a state highway.

(e) At least 14 days before the first hearing, the applicant or applicant's representative shall post notice of the hearing on the project site in clear view from a public right-of-way using a poster format prescribed by the City Planning Official. The applicant shall submit an affidavit of notice using a form provided by the city, which shall be made a part of the file. The affidavit shall state the date that the notice was posted.

(2) Content of notice. Notice of a Type III hearing to be mailed per division (B)(1) above shall contain all of the following information:

(a) A summary of the proposal and the relevant approval criteria. The notice must have sufficient detail to help the public identify and locate applicable code requirements;

(b) The date, time and location of the Planning Commission hearing;

(d) A disclosure statement that if any person fails to address the relevant approval criteria with enough detail, they may not be able to appeal to the City Council, Land Use Board of Appeals, or Circuit Court, as applicable, on that issue; and that only comments on the relevant approval criteria are considered relevant evidence;

(e) A statement that a copy of the application, all documents and evidence submitted by or for the applicant, and the applicable criteria and standards shall be available for review at (City Hall/the office of the City Planning Official) and that copies shall be provided at a reasonable cost;

(f) A statement that a copy of the city's staff report and recommendation to the Planning Commission shall be available for review at no cost at least 7 days before the hearing, and that a copy shall be provided on request at a reasonable cost;

(g) A general explanation of the requirements to submit testimony, and the procedure for conducting public hearings; and

(h) A statement that after the public hearing closes, the city will issue its decision, and the decision shall be mailed to the applicant and to anyone else who submitted written comments or who is otherwise legally entitled to notice.

(1) At the commencement of the hearing, the Planning Commission Chairperson, or their designee, shall state to those in attendance all of the following information and instructions:

(a) The applicable approval criteria by Code chapter that apply to the application;

(b) Testimony and evidence shall concern the approval criteria described in the staff report, or other criteria in the comprehensive plan or land use regulations that the person testifying believes to apply to the decision;

(c) Failure to raise an issue with sufficient detail to give the Planning Commission and the parties an opportunity to respond to the issue, may preclude appeal to the City Council or State Land Use Board of Appeals on that issue;

(d) At the conclusion of the initial evidentiary hearing, the Planning Commission shall deliberate and make a decision based on the facts, applicable approval criteria, and arguments in the public record. See division (F), record of the public hearing;

(e) Any participant may ask the Planning Commission for an opportunity to present additional relevant evidence or testimony that is within the scope of the hearing; if the Planning Commission grants the request, it will schedule a date to continue the hearing as provided in division (C)(5) of this section, or leave the record open for additional written evidence or testimony as provided in division (C)(6) of this section.

(2) The public is entitled to an impartial review body as free from potential conflicts of interest and pre-hearing ex parte (outside the hearing) contacts as reasonably possible. Where questions related to ex parte contact are concerned, Planning Commissioners shall follow the guidance for disclosure of ex parte contacts contained in O.R.S. 227.180. Where a Planning Commissioner has an actual conflict of interest, the Commissioner shall disclose such interest and recuse themselves from decision making, except where state law provides otherwise. Where the appearance of a conflict of interest is likely, the Planning Commissioner(s) shall individually disclose their relationship to the applicant in the public hearing and state whether they are capable of rendering a fair and impartial decision. If they are unable to render a fair and impartial decision, they shall be excused from the proceedings.

(3) Presenting and receiving evidence.

(a) The Planning Commission may set reasonable time limits for oral presentations and may limit or exclude cumulative, repetitious, irrelevant or personally derogatory testimony or evidence;

(b) No oral testimony shall be accepted after the close of the public hearing. Written testimony may be received after the close of the public hearing only as provided by this section;

(c) Members of the Planning Commission may visit the property and the surrounding area, and may use information obtained during the site visit to support their decision, if the information relied upon is disclosed at the beginning of the hearing and an opportunity is provided to dispute the evidence.

(4) The Planning Commission, in making its decision, shall consider only arguments in the public hearing record; except that the Commission may take notice of facts not in the hearing record (e.g., local, state, or federal regulations; previous city decisions; case law; staff reports). Upon announcing its intention to take notice of such facts in its deliberations, it must allow persons who previously participated in the hearing to request the hearing record be reopened, as necessary, to present evidence concerning the newly presented facts.

(5) If the Planning Commission decides to continue the hearing, the hearing shall be continued to a date that is at least 7 days after the date of the first evidentiary hearing (e.g., next regularly scheduled meeting). An opportunity shall be provided at the continued hearing for persons to present and respond to new written evidence and oral testimony. If new written evidence is submitted at the continued hearing, any person may request, before the conclusion of the hearing, that the record be left open for at least 7 days, so that they can submit additional written evidence or arguments in response to the new written evidence. In the interest of time, after the close of the hearing, the Planning Commission may limit additional testimony to arguments and not accept additional evidence.

(6) If the Planning Commission leaves the record open for additional written testimony, the record shall be left open for at least 7 days after the hearing. Any participant may ask the Planning Commission in writing for an opportunity to respond to new evidence (i.e., information not disclosed during the public hearing) submitted when the record was left open. If such a request is filed, the Planning Commission shall reopen the record, as follows:

(a) When the record is reopened to admit new evidence or arguments (testimony), any person may raise new issues that relate to that new evidence or testimony;

(b) An extension of the hearing or record granted pursuant to this section is subject to the limitations of § 151.235 and O.R.S. 227.178 ("120-day rule"), unless the applicant waives their right to a final decision being made within 120 days of filing a complete application; and

(c) If requested by the applicant, the Planning Commission shall grant the applicant at least 7 days after the record is closed to all other persons to submit final written arguments, but not evidence, unless the applicant expressly waives this right.

(D) Notice of decision.

(1) The notice of Type III decision shall contain all of the following information:

(a) A description of the applicant's proposal and the city's decision on the proposal, which may be a summary, provided it references the specifics of the proposal and conditions of approval in the public record;

(b) The address or other geographic description of the property proposed for development, including a map of the property in relation to the surrounding area (a copy of assessor's map may be used);

(d) The date the decision shall become final, unless appealed; and

(e) A statement that all persons entitled to notice may appeal the Planning Commission's decision to City Council pursuant to § 151.233(C) or may appeal the City Council's decision to the state Land Use Board of Appeals, as applicable.

(E) Appeal of Planning Commission decision. The Planning Commission's decision may be appealed to the City Council as follows:

(1) Who may appeal. The following people have legal standing to appeal:

(a) The applicant or owner of the subject property; and

(b) Any other person who testified orally or in writing during the subject public hearing before the close of the public record.

(2) Appeal filing procedure.

(a) Notice of appeal. Any person with standing to appeal, as provided in division (E)(1), above, may appeal a Type III quasi-judicial decision by filing a notice of appeal according to the following procedures.

(b) Time for filing. A notice of appeal shall be filed with the City Planning Official within the timeframe specified on the notice of decision; typically, this will be within 10 days of the date the notice of decision is mailed.

1. An identification of the decision being appealed, including the date of the decision;

2. A statement demonstrating the person filing the notice of appeal has standing to appeal;

3. A statement explaining the specific issues being raised on appeal; and

4. If the appellant is not the applicant, a statement demonstrating that the appeal issues were raised during the comment period.

(3) Scope of appeal. The appeal of a Type III quasi-judicial decision shall be a hearing de novo before the City Council. The appeal shall not be limited to the application materials, evidence and other documentation, and specific issues raised in the review leading up to the quasi-judicial decision, but may include other relevant evidence and arguments. The hearing appeal body may allow additional evidence, testimony, or argument concerning any applicable standard, criterion, condition, or issue.

(F) Record of the public hearing.

(1) The official public record shall include all of the following information:

(a) All materials considered by the hearings body;

(b) All materials submitted by the City Planning Official to the hearings body regarding the application;

(d) The final written decision; and

(e) Copies of all notices given as required by this chapter, and correspondence regarding the application which the city mailed or received.

(2) The meeting minutes shall be filed in hardcopy form with the City Recorder. The minutes and other evidence presented as a part of the hearing shall be part of the record.

(3) All exhibits received and displayed shall be marked to provide identification and shall be part of the record.

(G) Final date and appeals to State Land Use Board of Appeals. A quasi-judicial decision or appeal decision, as applicable, is effective the date the city mails the decision. The Planning Commission's decision may be appealed to the City Council. Appeals of City Council decisions under this chapter shall be filed with the state Land Use Board of Appeals pursuant to O.R.S. 197.805 through 197.860.

(Ord. 2021-08-02, passed 10-12-2021)

§ 151.234 TYPE IV (LEGISLATIVE DECISIONS).

(A) Timing of requests. The City Council may establish a schedule for when it will accept legislative code amendment or plan amendment requests, or the City Council may initiate its own legislative proposals at any time, including zone changes required when property is annexed to the City of Banks. Legislative requests are not subject to the 120-day review period under O.R.S. 227.178.

(B) Application requirements.

(1) Application forms. Legislative applications shall be made on forms provided by the City Planning Official.

(2) Submittal information. The application shall contain all of the following information:

(a) The information requested on the application form;

(b) A map and/or plan addressing the appropriate criteria and standards in sufficient detail for review and decision (as applicable);

(d) One copy of a letter or narrative statement that explains how the application satisfies each and all of the relevant approval criteria and standards; and

(e) Evidence of neighborhood contact, pursuant to § 151.236.

(1) Hearings on legislative land use requests are conducted similar to City Council hearings on other legislative proposals, except the notification procedure for legislative land use requests must conform to state land use laws (O.R.S. 227.175), as follows:

(2) The city shall notify in writing the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD) of legislative amendments (zone change, rezoning with annexation, or comprehensive plan amendment) at least 35 days before the first public hearing at which public testimony or new evidence will be received. The notice shall include a DLCD Certificate of Mailing.

(3) At least 20 days, but not more than 40 days, before the date of the first hearing on an ordinance that proposes to amend the comprehensive plan or any element thereof, or to adopt an ordinance for any zone change, a notice shall be prepared in conformance with O.R.S. 227.175 and mailed to:

(a) Each owner, resident or tenant whose property would be directly affected by the proposal, e.g., rezoning or a change from one Comprehensive Plan land use designation to another, see O.R.S. 227.186 for instructions;

(b) Any affected governmental agency;

(d) For a zone change affecting a manufactured home or mobile home park, all mailing addresses within the park, in accordance with O.R.S. 227.175.

(4) At least 10 days before the scheduled City Council public hearing date, public notice shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the city.

(5) For each mailing and publication of notice, the City Recorder shall keep an affidavit of mailing/publication in the record.

(D) Final decision and effective date. A legislative land use decision, if approved, shall take effect and shall become final as specified in the enacting ordinance or, if not approved, upon mailing of the notice of decision to the applicant. Notice of a legislative land use decision shall be mailed to the applicant, all participants of record, and the Department of Land Conservation and Development within 20 business days after the City Council decision is filed with the City Recorder. The city shall also provide notice to all persons as required by other applicable laws.

(Ord. 2021-08-02, passed 10-12-2021)

§ 151.235 TIME LIMIT, CONSOLIDATED REVIEW AND CITY PLANNING OFFICIAL'S DUTIES.

(A) Time limit - 120-day rule. The city shall take final action on administrative and quasi-judicial land use applications, pursuant to this chapter, including resolution of all appeals, within 120 days from the date the City Planning Official deems the application complete for purposes of processing, unless the applicant requests an extension in writing. Any exceptions to this rule shall conform to the provisions of O.R.S. 227.178. (Note: The 120-day rule does not apply to legislative land use decisions.).

(B) Time periods. In computing time periods prescribed or allowed by this chapter, the day of the act or event from which the designated period of time begins shall not be included. The last day of the period shall be included, unless it is a Saturday, Sunday, or a legal holiday, in which case the period runs until the end of the next day that is not on a weekend or legal holiday.

(C) Consolidated review of applications. When an applicant applies for more than 1 type of land use or development permit for the same 1 or more contiguous parcels of land, the city may consolidate the applications and review them concurrently. When proceedings are consolidated, required notices may be consolidated, provided the notice shall identify each application to be decided. When more than 1 application is reviewed in a hearing, separate findings and decisions shall be made on each application.

(D) City Planning Official duties. The City Planning Official, or their designee, shall perform all of following duties with regard to administration of this Code:

(1) Prepare application forms based on in the provisions of this Code and applicable state law;

(2) Prepare required notices, and process applications for review and action;

(3) Assist the Planning Commission and City Council in administering the land use hearings process;

(4) Answer questions from the public regarding the city's land use regulations;

(5) Prepare staff reports summarizing pending applications, including applicable decision criteria;

(6) Prepare findings consistent with city decisions on land use and development applications;

(7) Prepare notices affinal decisions, and submit notices with the City Recorder who shall mail a copy of the notices to all parties entitled to notice under this Code; and

(8) Assist the City Recorder in maintaining files and public record for land use applications.

(Ord. 2021-08-02, passed 10-12-2021)

§ 151.236 NEIGHBORHOOD CONTACT.

(A) Purpose and applicability. Applicants for master planned development, subdivision, or site design review on projects involving parcels or lots larger than one acre, and property owner-applicants for zone changes, are required to contact neighboring property owners, residents and tenants and offer to hold a meeting with them prior to submitting an application. This is to ensure that affected property owners are given an opportunity to preview a proposal and offer input to the applicant before a plan is formally submitted to the city, thereby raising any concerns about the project and the project's compatibility with surrounding uses early in the design process when changes can be made relatively inexpensively.

(B) Notice. Notice of the meeting must be given in writing and delivered in person, or by certified mail, to all of the property owners, residents and tenants whose property is located within 300 feet of the site, at their addresses of record at the Washington County Assessor's office, at least 14 days before the meeting and at least 21 days before submitting the application to the city. The notice must state the time, place, and purpose of the meeting, including a description of the proposed development.

(C) Meeting place, date, and time. The meeting must be held within the city limits at a location obtained or provided by the applicant with sufficient room for the expected attendance. The meeting place must be accessible to persons with disabilities. It must be scheduled at a date and time reasonably calculated to allow maximum participation by interested property owners, typically weekdays after 6:00pm or on weekends.

(D) Conduct of meeting. At the meeting, the applicant, or the applicant's agent/representative, must present sufficient information about the proposed development to inform the property owners in attendance of the nature of the proposal and impacts it may have on neighboring properties, including transportation impacts. Persons attending must be allowed to ask questions and make comments. The applicant, or the applicant's agent/representative, must make a sound or video recording or keep written minutes of the meeting that give a true reflection of the matters discussed at the meeting and the views of the participants. The applicant must also make a list of names of persons attending the meeting.

(E) Filing requirements. Proof of having held the meeting, even if no affected property owners attend, is required and must be submitted to the city with a land use application for the application to be deemed complete. Copies of the following information must accompany the land use application: a copy of the notice mailed, certified mail receipts, all addresses for which notice was mailed (e.g., copy of mailing labels), a certificate of personal service for those persons who were provided notice by personal service (including the date of service and the name of the person who provided service), a record or minutes of the meeting with a list of attendees, and copies of the meeting notice and all other written materials provided prior to or distributed at the meeting.

(Ord. 2021-08-02, passed 10-12-2021)

§ 151.237 FILING FEES.

(A) The City Council shall establish by resolution, and may from time to time by resolution amend, a uniform schedule of fees to be paid at the time of filing any application requiring approval or action by the Planning Director, Planning Commission, or City Council under the provisions of the Zoning Code. In like manner, the City Council shall establish the fees to be paid for filing notice of appeal under the provisions of this code.

(B) The fees shall be for the purpose of helping to defray the costs of giving notice of hearing where required, and the expenses to the city in processing and investigating the applications and appeals. Copies of the fee schedule shall be kept at City Hall and shall be available for public inspection.

(Ord. 2021-08-02, passed 10-12-2021)

§ 151.238 TIME LIMIT ON LAND USE APPROVALS.

(A) Land use approvals, with the exception affinal plat applications, zoning map or code amendments, and planned unit developments, which do not expire or in the case of preliminary plat expire after 4 years, shall become void if within 2 years of the date of the final decision a building permit has not been issued and/or no substantial construction has taken place. The City Council may extend the validity of the approval for an additional period not to exceed 1 year on request.

(B) If a decision is appealed beyond the jurisdiction of the city, the 1-year expiration period will not begin until the appeal is terminated.

(Ord. 2021-08-02, passed 10-12-2021)

SITE DESIGN REVIEW

§ 151.250 PURPOSE.

The purpose of this subchapter is to advance all the following objectives in the public interest:

(A) Carry out the development pattern and plan of the city and its comprehensive plan policies through efficient and effective review of site development proposals;

(B) Provide a discretionary review path for projects that need or prefer more flexibility than is allowed by the clear and objective standards;

(D) Provide for adequate multimodal transportation, water supply, sewage, fire protection, pollution control, surface water management, and protection against natural hazards; and

(E) Encourage efficient use of land resources and public services, and the provision of transportation options.

(Ord. 2021-08-02, passed 10-12-2021)

Disclaimer: This Code of Ordinances and/or any other documents that appear on this site may not reflect the most current legislation adopted by the Municipality. American Legal Publishing provides these documents for informational purposes only. These documents should not be relied upon as the definitive authority for local legislation. Additionally, the formatting and pagination of the posted documents varies from the formatting and pagination of the official copy. The official printed copy of a Code of Ordinances should be consulted prior to any action being taken. For further information regarding the official version of any of this Code of Ordinances or other documents posted on this site, please contact the Municipality directly or contact American Legal Publishing toll-free at 800-445-5588.

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