The city council may change the boundaries of any zoning district by ordinance. The change may be initiated by the city council or the planning commission on the motion of either body, or by application by one or more owners of real property within the area proposed to be changed.
A. Application for Change of District Boundaries:
1. An application for a change of district boundaries submitted by an owner of real property within the area proposed to be changed shall be filed with the planning department on a form provided for that purpose. Any such for shall be rejected if not complete. The application shall contain the following information: a map of the area depicting the area to be changed with a statement of the proposed zone change, as follows: area to be change from “x” to “y”; (LI to R, for example); a plot plan depicting existing conditions that have been surveyed by a properly licensed surveyor, to include: property lines, existing buildings, building setbacks, distances between buildings, parking and loading areas, driveways and other existing construction or improvements on the subject property; a complete legal description of the boundary, including area to the center line of the street(s), of the proposed zone change and a statement of the existing and proposed zoning of the property, including a brief summary of the intent of the proposed zone change.
2. If the property to be rezoned is adjacent to a public right-of-way, the proposed zone change must go to the center of the corresponding right-of-way.
3. Except as provided below, at the time the application is filed, the applicant shall pay a filing fee in an amount established by resolution of the city council.
4. No part of the filing fee shall be refunded once paid.
5. Notwithstanding the above, no filing fee shall be required if the applicant is a governmental entity.
B. Planning Commission Stage:
1. Notice of Hearing:
a. The City Council or, is authorized by the City Council, the planning commission or planning department, shall set a date for a public hearing on any application to change district boundaries within forty-five (45) calendar days of the date the application is filed. In addition to any applicable notice requirements contained in Chapter 241 of the Nevada Revised Statutes, notice of the time, date and place of the hearing shall be published at least once in a newspaper of general circulation in the city at least ten (10) calendar days prior to the hearing date. The notice shall include a legal description and a physical description or map of the property proposed to be rezoned, and a statement of the existing and proposed zoning of the property, including a brief summary of the proposed zone change.
b. In addition to publication of the notice of the hearing, a notice shall be sent by mail at least ten (10) calendar days before the hearing to the following:
(1) The applicant;
(2) Each property owner, as listed on the county assessor's records, of real property located within three hundred feet (300') of the exterior boundary of the property being considered for the zone change;
(3) The owners, as listed on the county assessor's records, of at least thirty (30) parcels nearest to the exterior boundary of the property being considered for the zone change;
(4) Each tenant of a mobile home park if the park is located within three hundred feet (300') of the exterior boundary of the property being considered for the zone change; and
(5) Any advisory board which has been established by the city council for the affected area or any area within three hundred feet (300') of the exterior boundary of the property being considered for the zone change.
2. Hearing Before the Planning Commission: At the public hearing on the application, the planning commission shall review the proposed change to the district boundaries and shall hear evidence offered by the applicant and persons having an interest in the change, if any.
3. Planning Commission Action: After the conclusion of the public hearing on the application but prior to consideration by the city council, the planning commission shall file a written report with the city council recommending either that the application should be granted as requested, granted subject to conditions, or denied. The planning commission's written report shall be transmitted to the city clerk and a copy mailed to the applicant. Failure by the planning commission to file a report with the city council in accordance with this subsection shall be deemed a recommendation by the planning commission to grant the application without conditions.
C. City Council Stage:
1. Adoption of Zone Change by Ordinance: All changes to zoning district boundaries shall be made by ordinance.
2. First Reading: After the city council receives the planning commission's recommendation on the application, a date shall be set for a first reading of the proposed ordinance to change the zoning district boundaries. At the first reading, the city council shall consider the planning commission’s recommendation, and shall hear comments from the applicant (if any) and any persons in interested in the proposed zone change. The first reading shall comply with Section 2.110(1) of the City Charter. At the first reading, the city council may approve or reject the planning commission’s recommendation in whole or in part. The city council may also take any of the following actions:
a. Approve the proposed zoning ordinance;
b. Place conditions on the proposed zoning ordinance;
c. Modify the proposed zoning ordinance; or
d. Disapprove the proposed zoning ordinance in its entirety.
3. Second Reading:
a. If the city council approves any or all of the proposed zoning ordinance at the first reading, with or without modifications or conditions, the proposed ordinance shall proceed to a second reading. The second reading shall be a public hearing that satisfies the requirements of NRS 278.260, including notice requirements, and that complies with Section 2.110(2) of the City Charter.
b. At the conclusion of the second reading, the city council shall either approve the zoning ordinance as approved at the first reading (subject to minor technical or nonsubstantive revisions, or the removal of conditions that have been satisfied) or shall disapprove the zoning ordinance in its entirety.
c. The failure of an applicant for a zoning change to satisfy conditions imposed by the city council in the proposed ordinance adopted at the first reading may be grounds for disapproval at the second reading.
d. The city council may enact a zoning ordinance even if the applicant has not satisfied conditions in the proposed zoning ordinance adopted at the first reading. Alternatively, the city council may table the second reading to the next meeting, and to subsequent meetings thereafter, for the purpose of allowing an applicant to satisfy conditions.
e. The city council may rescind approval of any zoning change for any reason permitted by law, to include the failure of an applicant to satisfy conditions bearing a substantial relationship to the future use of the land, so long as no person has acquired a vested right in reliance on the zoning change; provided, any such rescission shall promote the public health, safety, morals or general welfare, and shall encourage the most appropriate use of the land.
4. Limitation on Reconsideration of Denied Application: In the event an application to change district boudaries is denied by the city council, the city council shall not reconsider an application to change the same district boundaries, or any part thereof, within a period of one (1) year from the date of the city council’s decision. (Ord. 861, 5-25-2021)