The application for preliminary and final approvals of a development plan shall be as prescribed below and shall be in lieu of all other procedures or approvals otherwise required pursuant to §§ 155.090 -155.097. Prior to submission of a development plan for preliminary approval, an optional step, the pre-application conference, is encouraged.
(A) Pre-application conference. At the pre- application conference, the applicant discusses all aspects of the proposed development, including rough sketches of site and building plans, with the Plan Director. This conference enables the developer to obtain the views and input of city officials before more expensive engineering and architectural work is begun. Scheduling a pre- application conference is handled through the Plan Director.
(B) Application for preliminary approval.
(1) Filing. The application for preliminary approval of a development plan shall be made by delivering three copies of the plan to the Plan Director. The Plan Director shall forward two copies of the plan to the Plan Commission and shall maintain one copy for public review.
(2) Fees. The application for preliminary approval shall be filed by the applicant in such form upon the payment of a filing fee in accordance with the schedule annually affixed by resolution of the Common Council.
(3) Information required. The application shall contain in the form specified by the Plan Commission the following information and such additional information as may be required by the Commission to perform its duties.
(a) All requirements for site plan approval in § 155.039.
(b) The nature of the applicant’s interest in the land to be developed.
(c) The density of land use to be allocated to parts of the site to be developed.
(d) The location and size of the common open space and the form of organization proposed to own and maintain the common open space.
(e) The substance of covenants, grants, or easements, or other restrictions proposed to be imposed upon the use of the land and structures, including proposed easements or grants for public utilities.
(f) The location and design of all screening, and indication of the type and height of the screening.
(g) The required modifications in the city’s land use regulations otherwise applicable to the subject property.
(h) In the case of development plans which call for development over a period of years, a schedule showing the proposed times within which applications for final approval of all sections of the PUD shall be filed. This schedule must be updated annually on the anniversary of its original approval until the development is completed and accepted.
(i) A written statement of the landowner setting forth the reasons why, in his opinion, a PUD would be in the public interest and would be consistent with the comprehensive plan for the development of the city.
(C) Review procedures. One copy of the application for preliminary approval shall be retained by the Plan Commission and referred to the Common Council within 30 days with the Commission’s recommendations. The second copy shall be forwarded to the City Engineer for review and comment. The recommendations of the City Engineer shall be incorporated into the Commission’s recommendation to the Council.
(1) Public hearing. The Plan Commission shall hold a public hearing prior to making any recommendation on a preliminary application.
(2) Action by Common Council. The Common Council, within 30 days following receipt of recommendations from the Plan Commission, shall make one of the following determinations and convey such decision in writing to the applicant.
(a) Grant preliminary approval of the development plan as submitted.
(b) Grant preliminary approval subject to the specified conditions not included in the development plan as submitted.
(c) Deny preliminary approval to the development plan.
(3) Failure to act. Failure to act within the specified time period shall constitute preliminary approval of the development plan as submitted.
(4) Approval with condition. If preliminary approval is granted subject to conditions, the applicant may refuse to accept the conditions, in which case the Common Council shall be deemed to have denied approval of the development plan. The applicant shall reject these conditions by notifying the Common Council within 30 days after receiving a copy of the decision of the Council. If the applicant does not, within the prescribed time period, notify the Common Council of his refusal to accept all the conditions, preliminary approval of the development plan, with all attached conditions, shall stand as granted.
(5) Criteria for approval. A development plan shall be approved only if it is found to preserve the objectives of this chapter and if it is consistent with the comprehensive plan for the city.
(6) Findings of fact. The decision granting or denying preliminary approval shall be accompanied by or include a detailed analysis containing findings of fact and correlations relating to the following criteria.
(a) A detailed itemization of respects in which the proposed PUD is consistent with the city’s comprehensive plan, and the respects in which it is not consistent.
(b) Any respects in which the proposed PUD departs from zoning and subdivision regulations otherwise applicable to the subject property, including but not limited to density, bulk, and use, and the reasons why the departures are or are not deemed to be in the public interest.
(c) The purpose, location, and amount of the common open space in the proposed PUD, the reliability of the proposals for maintenance and conservation of the common open space, and the adequacy or inadequacy of the amount and purpose of the common open space as related to the purpose, density, and type of residential development.
(d) The physical design of the proposed PUD and the respects in which the design does or does not make adequate provision for public services, provide adequate control over vehicular traffic, and further amenities of light and air, recreation, and visual enjoyment.
(e) The relationship, beneficial or adverse, of the proposed PUD to the neighborhood in which it is proposed to be established.
(f) In the case of a proposed PUD which proposes development over a period of years, the sufficiency of the terms and conditions intended to protect the interest of the public and the residents of the planned unit development plan.
(7) Timing. If a proposed PUD is granted preliminary approval, with or without conditions, the Common Council may set forth in its decision the time within which an application for final approval shall be filed. In the case of a development plan which provides for development over a period of years, the periods of time in which applications for final approval of each phase thereof shall be filed may also be established in the official written communication. Only with the consent of the applicant may the time between grant of preliminary approval and application for final approval be less than three months; and, in the case of development over a period of years, the time between applications for final approval of each part of a plan shall not be less than 12 months.
(8) Certification of decision. The decision of the Common Council shall be in writing, signed by the Mayor, attested by the Clerk-Treasurer, and filed in the Clerk-Treasurer’s office. A certified copy shall be mailed to the applicant and, if granted approval, shall be noted on the zoning map.
(D) Status of plan after preliminary approval.
(1) Modification or revocation. A development plan which has been given preliminary approval shall not be modified or revoked by action of the city pending an application or applications for final approval. If the application for final approval is filed within the periods of time specified in the decision granting preliminary approval, the city may act to modify or revoke the preliminary approval only for one of the following reasons.
(a) Default or violation by the applicant of any of the conditions of preliminary approval.
(b) Consent by the applicant to the modification or revocation.
(2) Revocation of preliminary approval. The preliminary approval of the development plan may be revoked for either of the following reasons: the applicant notifies the city in writing of his intention to abandon his plans; or he fails to file application for final approval within the required time period. When preliminary approval is revoked, all area included in the development plan not granted final approval shall be subject to all local ordinances as though no application had been filed.
(E) Application for final approval.
(1) Filing. An application for final approval may be for all the land included in a development plan, or to the extent set forth in the preliminary approval, for a section thereof. The application shall be made by delivering three copies of the development plan to the office of the Plan Director within the time specified by the decision granting preliminary approval. The application shall be in accordance with the form and include the information required as set forth below. A public hearing on an application for final approval of the development plan, or the part thereof, submitted for final approval is in compliance with the development plan given preliminary approval and with any previously attached conditions.
(2) Information required. The application shall include the following.
(a) A plat drawn at a scale no smaller than l inches =100 feet on a material and in a manner suitable for recording.
(b) The plat shall include the name of the development, the name and address of the owner and subdivider, source of title of land as shown by the books of the Recorder’s Office of the county, graphic scale, north point, date, and certificate for approval by the Plan Commission.
(c) The plat shall show the survey date with certification by a registered professional engineer or land surveyor showing calculated distances and bearings of the development boundaries, lots, utility easements, streets, alleys, building lines, and areas reserved for community purposes and where appropriate to the nature and character of the development proposal, the plat and other site development features.
(d) Location and distances to the nearest established street corners or official monuments, and all streets abutting upon the boundaries of the development.
(e) Location, type of material, and size of monuments.
(f) Complete data on curbs, street and sidewalk location, and construction.
(g) Lot numbers and street names.
(h) In a form suitable for recording covenants, grants of easements, rights-of-way, and other restrictions proposed to be imposed upon the use of the land, buildings, and structures; and provisions for the maintenance, ownership, and operation of all common spaces.
(3) Final approval. If the application for final approval has been filed with all the drawings, specifications, and other required documents in accordance with this chapter, and the official written communication of preliminary approval, the Plan Commission shall, within 30 days of the filing, grant the development plan final approval.
(4) Denial of approval. If the development plan, as submitted, contains variations from the development plan given preliminary approval, the Plan Commission may refuse to grant final approval. It shall, however, within 30 days from the filing of the application for final approval, advise the applicant of the refusal, setting forth in the notice why they believe one or more of the variations are not in the public interest. The applicant may make the recommended changes and resubmit the plan to the Commission, or may appeal the denial to the Common Council. In the event the plan is appealed to the Council, it shall not be approved except by an affirmative vote of at least two- thirds of the members of the Common Council.
(5) Recording. A development plan, or any part thereof, which has been given final approval shall be certified by the Plan Commission and recorded by the applicant in the county Recorder’s Office before any development shall take place. Pending completion within a reasonable amount of time, the provisions of the development plan granted final approval shall not be modified without the consent of the owner.
(6) Failure to develop. Failure to develop the development plan granted final approval within one year, or the written notification of the Plan Commission by the owner of his abandonment of the plan, shall result in termination of the development plan. If the applicant can show good cause for a one-year extension of this time limit, it may be granted by the Plan Commission.
(Ord. 28-1984, passed 8-14-84) Penalty, see § 155.999