(A) Initiation of Amendments and Filing of Applications
An amendment to the text of this Ordinance may be initiated by any review or decision-making body. Any owner of a legal or equitable interest in land located in the Town or its extraterritorial jurisdiction, or any resident of the Town or its extraterritorial jurisdiction may submit a request for an LDO text amendment to the Planning Director, who may then choose to forward the request on to the Town Council for its consideration.
(B) Public Hearing; Public Notice
(C) Planning Director Review, Report, and Recommendation
The Planning Director shall review each LDO text amendment application based on the approval criteria of Section 3.3.3, and shall distribute the application to other reviewers as deemed necessary. Based on the results of those reviews, the Director shall provide a report to the Town Council at the public hearing on the proposed amendment. This report shall include a discussion of all plans and policies that have been adopted by the Town and are relevant to the proposed amendment, and a recommendation regarding whether to approve or deny the proposed amendment.
(D) Review by Planning and Zoning Board
After the public hearing, the Planning and Zoning Board shall review the proposed amendment and submit a written recommendation to the Town Council that addresses whether the proposed amendment is consistent with the Comprehensive Plan and any other officially adopted applicable plans, and addresses other matters deemed appropriate by one or more Board members. The Planning and Zoning Board shall determine their recommendation within ninety (90) days of the first meeting at which the proposed amendment is presented to them for review. The Planning and Zoning Board may request an extension of time from the Town Council. If no recommendation is determined and no extension is granted within ninety (90) days, the Town Council may act on the proposed amendment without a recommendation from the Planning and Zoning Board.
Amendments to the LDO Text
(E) Town Council Action
After reviewing the reports and recommendations of the Planning Director and the Planning and Zoning Board, the Town Council may take action, based on the approval criteria of Section 3.3.3. Such action may include the following:
(1) Adopt the proposed amendment by ordinance;
(2) Adopt the proposed amendment with modifications by ordinance;
(3) Reject the proposed amendment;
(4) Refer the proposed amendment back to the Planning and Zoning Board.
Pursuant to G.S. 160D-605, when approving or rejecting an LDO text amendment, Town Council shall approve a brief statement describing whether its action is consistent or inconsistent with the Comprehensive Plan.