Application to establish any of the above regulated uses shall be forwarded immediately by the Chief Building Official to the Planning Commission.
(a) The prohibition against locating any of the above regulated uses within 1,000 feet of a residentially zoned district shall be waived upon the presentment, to the Commission, of a validated petition requesting such waiver, signed by fifty-one percent (51%) of those persons owning, residing or operating a business establishment within 1,000 feet of the nearest property line of the proposed location. Such petition shall be on forms provided by the Commission and secured in accordance with rules and regulations governing the procedure for securing the petition of consent, adopted by the Commission. The circulator of the petition requesting a waiver shall subscribe to an affidavit attesting to the fact that the petition was circulated in accordance with the Commission's rules and that the circulator personally witnessed the signatures on the petition and that the same were affixed to the petition by the person whose name appears thereon. The Commission shall not consider the waiver of locational requirements set forth in subsection (b) hereof until the above-described petition, if required, has been filed and verified.
(b) The Commission may waive the 1,000 feet separation regulation if the following findings are made:
(1) That the proposed use will not be contrary to public interest or injurious to nearby properties, and that the spirit and intent of this Business Regulation Code will be observed.
(2) That the proposed use will not enlarge or encourage the development of a skid row area.
(3) That the establishment of an additional regulated use in the area will not be contrary to any program of neighborhood conservation nor will it interfere with any program of urban renewal.
(4) That all applicable regulations of the Business Regulation Code will be observed.
(c) Prior to granting such regulated use, the Commission shall give due notice of receipt of any application under consideration (notice of application) to all persons to whom any real property within 1,000 feet of the premises in question is assessed, and to the occupants of all single; two; three; and four family buildings over four families (who shall be requested to post such notice in an appropriate location within the multi-unit building) and to all places within 1,000 feet and to any neighborhood improvement organizations known to exist in the area (who have informed the Commission in writing of their existence). Such notice shall be delivered personally or by mail addressed to the respective owners and if the tenant's name is not known, "occupant" may be used.
(d) The notice of application shall inform the recipient of the applicant's name, the applicant's proposal, the local address and the lot number and subdivision name of the premises in question, and the section of the Zoning Ordinance under which the proposal is being processed. Such notice shall also invite the expression of comments, statements or opinions either in writing, in person, via telephone with a time period expiring not less than fourteen days from the mailing date of such notice.
(e) Subsequent to the deadline for response to the notice of application, a decision shall be made by the Commission (taking into consideration the comments, statements and opinions expressed) to either approve, approve with conditions or deny the proposal in accordance with the standard set forth in this section. If no protests to the proposal were received by the Commission in response to the notice of application having been mailed and if the applicant accepts the decision of the Commission, this decision shall be deemed final and shall take immediate effect. If, however, a protest was received by the Commission in response to the notice of application having been mailed, this decision shall not take effect until the expiration of the appeal period set forth below.
(f) A copy of the decision of the Commission shall be mailed to the applicant and to all persons responding to the notice of application. Any person aggrieved by the decision by the Commission may within fourteen calendar days after the mailing of such decision, appeal the same to the Board of Zoning Appeals in accordance with the procedural regulations set forth in Chapter 1163. If an appeal is filed by other than the applicant that an appeal has been filed and that the Commission's decision will not take effect pending a public hearing and decision by the Board of Zoning Appeals.
(g) The Board may waive the location requirements upon appeal of any of the regulated uses if the findings required in subsection (b) hereof can be made and after receiving a report and recommendation from the Commission.
(h) In approving a permit for any regulated use, the Commission or the Board of Zoning Appeals may impose any such conditions or limitations upon the establishment, location, construction, maintenance or operation of the regulated use as may in its judgment be necessary for the protection of the public interest. Any evidence and guarantee may be required as proof that the conditions stipulated in connection therewith will be fulfilled.
(i) When the decision of the Commission becomes effective, either because no protests to the proposal were received by the Commission in response to the notice of application or because no appeal was taken to the Board of Zoning Appeals within the allotted fourteen calendar days, the Commission shall immediately notify the Chief Building Official in writing indicating the Commission's approval, approval with conditions (in which case the conditions shall be set out in detail) or denial.
If the decision of the Commission approves or approves with conditions, the requested waiver, the Chief Building Official shall, if all other applicable Building Code and Zoning Code regulations have been complied with, issue an occupancy permit subject to any conditions imposed by the Commission.
(Ord. 1991-192. Passed 10-22-91.)