(a) Application for Special Uses; Certificates of Occupancy. An application to build or occupy any of the special uses described in Section 1240.02
shall be submitted in accordance with the following procedure:
(1) Applications shall be submitted through the Planning Division to the Planning Commission. A copy of the application shall be forwarded to the City Commission. Each application shall be accompanied by a nonrefundable filing fee as established in the fee, bond and insurance schedule.
(2) Every application shall be accompanied by the following information and data:
A. A special use petition form supplied by the Planning Division;
B. A site plan, plot plan or development plan, drawn to a readable scale, of the total property involved showing the location of all abutting streets, the location of all existing and proposed structures, the types of buildings and their proposed uses;
C. Preliminary plans and specifications of the proposed development and for all intended construction; and
D. A statement with supporting evidence regarding the required findings specified in Section 1281.05(c).
(3) Before authorization by the City Commission of any of the special uses referred to in this chapter, the Planning Commission shall cause a study and report concerning the effect of the proposed use on the master plan and on the character and development of the neighborhood.
(4) The Planning Commission may recommend, and the City Commission may impose, such conditions or restrictions upon the construction, location and operation of a special use as is deemed necessary to secure the general objectives of this Zoning Code and to preserve the value of property in the neighborhood. Any proposed special use shall otherwise comply with all of the requirements set forth in this Zoning Code for the district in which the use is located, except that the City Planning Commission may permit hospitals and institutions to exceed the height limitations of such district.
(5) A special uses permit shall be valid for a period established by the City Planning Commission or as long as the use is established and maintained in conformity with the plans submitted and approved. Special use permits shall expire after one year if the use is not under construction or operational. For good cause shown and upon written application, the City Commission may extend a special use permit for six months. The written application to request a six month extension shall be filed with the Planning Division no later than 60 days prior to expiration.
(b) Hearings and Notices. (Requirements for public hearing and hearing notices are the same as for an amendment to the Zoning Code as specified in Section 1281.01
(c)(2).
(c) Decision on Application; Basis for Determination.
(1) The City Commission may deny, approve, or approve with conditions a request for special land use approval. The decision on a special land use shall be incorporated in a statement of findings and conclusions relative to the special land use which specifies the basis for the decision and any conditions imposed.
(2) Before approving, or approving with conditions, a request for a special land use, the Planning Commission and the City Commission shall establish, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the general standards specified in the following shall be satisfied by the completion and operation of a proposed development:
A. The use will be harmonious with and in accordance with the general objectives of the master plan.
B. The use will be designed, constructed, operated and maintained so as to be compatible with adjacent uses of land, the natural environment, and harmonious and appropriate in appearance with the existing or intended character of the general vicinity and will not change the essential character of the neighborhood.
C. The use will not be hazardous or disturbing to existing or future neighboring uses.
D. The use will be an improvement to property in the immediate vicinity and to the community as a whole.
E. The use will be adequately served by essential public facilities and services, such as streets, highways, police and fire protection, drainage, refuse disposal and schools, or the persons or agencies responsible for the development shall be able to adequately provide such services.
F. The use will not create excessive additional requirements at public cost for public facilities and services and will not be detrimental to the economic welfare of the community.
G. The use will not create activities, processes, materials, equipment or conditions of operation that will be detrimental to any person, property or the general welfare by reason of an excessive generation of traffic, noise, smoke, fumes, glare, vibrations or odors.
H. The use will be consistent with the intent and purpose of this Zoning Code.
(3) A request for approval of a special land use shall be approved (except requests for approval of a group child care home, which are discretionary approvals) if the request is in compliance with the standards stated in this ordinance, the conditions imposed under this Zoning Code and other applicable ordinances, and state and federal statutes.
(d) Approval of Special Land Use with Conditions.
(1) Reasonable conditions may be required with the approval of a special land use. The conditions may include conditions necessary to ensure that public services and facilities affected by a proposed land use or activity will be capable of accommodating increased service and facility loads caused by the land use or activity, to protect the natural environment and conserve natural resources and energy, to ensure compatibility with adjacent uses of land, and to promote the use of land in a socially and economically desirable manner. Conditions imposed shall meet all the following requirements:
A. Be designed to protect the natural resources, the health, safety, and welfare, as well as the social and economic wellbeing, of those who will use the land use or activity under consideration, residents and landowners immediately adjacent to the proposed land use or activity, and the community as a whole.
B. Be related to the valid exercise of the police power and purposes which are affected by the proposed use or activity.
C. Be necessary to meet the intent and purpose of the zoning requirements, be related to the standards established in this zoning ordinance for the land use or activity under consideration, and be necessary to ensure compliance with those standards.
(2) The conditions imposed with respect to the approval of a land use or activity shall be recorded in the record of the approval action and remain unchanged except upon the mutual consent of the Planning Commission and the landowner. The Planning Commission shall maintain a record of conditions which are changed.
(3) To ensure compliance with any conditions imposed pursuant to the section, the City may require that a cash deposit, certified check, irrevocable letter of credit, or surety bond acceptable to the City covering the estimated cost of necessary improvements be deposited with the City Clerk to insure faithful completion of the improvements relative to the imposed conditions. The performance guarantee shall be deposited at the time of the issuance of the permit authorizing the special use. Refer to Section 1281.04(f)(4).
(e) Reapplication.
(1) No application for a special use permit shall be submitted for the same property, or any part thereof, or as part of a larger parcel, for a period of six months from the date of Planning Commission decision on a special use application for the property, except on grounds of newly discovered evidence or proof of changed conditions found, in the discretion of the Planning Commission, to be sufficient to justify a reconsideration.
(2) As used in this section, “newly discovered evidence” means a finding that the evidence itself, not merely its materiality, is newly discovered; that the evidence is not cumulative; that the evidence is such as to render a different result probable on rehearing; and that the evidence could not, with reasonable diligence, have been discovered and produced at the time of the original hearing.
(3) For purposes of this section, “proof of changed conditions” shall not include an application for another or different special use than that originally requested.
(Ord. 10-2020. Passed 11-24-20; Ord. 04-2021. Passed 4-13-21; Ord. 03-2023. Passed 5-2-23; Ord. 12-2023. Passed 10-17-23.)