(A) Purpose. The purpose of this section is to prescribe the procedure and requirements for any change to the zoning classification or zoning boundaries of a property or any amendment to any provision of this chapter.
(B) Initiation. Proceedings for amendment of the chapter shall be initiated by:
(1) A petition of the owner or owners of the property which is to be rezoned;
(2) By action of the Planning Commission; and
(3) By action of the City Council.
(C) Pre-petition meeting. Prior to the submission of any petition by an owner or owners of property to amend a zoning classification or zoning boundary, the applicant shall hold a pre-petition meeting with the City Planner to introduce himself or herself as a potential petitioner, learn the relevant requirements of this chapter, discuss the anticipated uses of the subject property, and to set and determine how to provide notice of a pre-petition meeting with the City Planner and neighbors that live within 350 feet of the subject property.
(D) Petitions. All petitions for amendments which are initiated by the owner or owners of the property shall be filed with the City Administrator and, if the application involves the changing of zoning districts and boundaries thereof, the application shall be accompanied by an abstractor’s certified property certificate showing the property owners within 350 feet of the outer boundaries of the property in question. The petition shall be forwarded to the Planning Commission by the City Administrator.
(E) Public hearing, notice and procedure. The Planning Commission shall hold at least one public hearing, affording the parties interested the opportunity to be heard, and shall give not less than ten days’ notice of the time and place of the hearing, published in the designated legal newspaper for the city. The notice shall also include the description of the land and the proposed changes in zoning. At least ten days before the hearing, the City Administrator shall mail an identical notice to the owners of the property and to each of the property owners within 350 feet of the outside boundaries of the land proposed to be rezoned. Failure to give mailed notice to individual property owners or defects in the notice shall not invalidate the proceeding provided a bona fide attempt to comply with this requirement has been made. The City Council may waive the above mailed notice requirement in connection with a citywide zoning or amendment to the text of this chapter initiated by the Planning Commission or the City Council.
(F) Referral to Planning Commission. The City Council shall not rezone any land or area in any zoning district or make any other proposed amendment to this chapter without first having referred it to the Planning Commission for its consideration and recommendation.
(G) Maps or descriptions included. Petitions for rezoning shall include a detailed map and legal description clearly indicating the land or area to be rezoned.
(H) Council action; time limits. If the Planning Commission fails to make a report within 30 days after the close of the hearing, the City Council may act without the recommendation. The Council may grant the petition, in whole or in part, or it may continue the petition, from time to time, for further investigation and hearing. The Council may also request further information and report from the Planning Commission. The City Council may adopt a zoning regulation, amend a zoning regulation herein, or change the zoning classification or zoning boundaries of a property by ordinance, except any change to all or part of an existing classification of a zoning district from residential to either commercial or industrial requires an ordinance with a two-thirds majority vote of all members of the Council.
(Ord. 87, Seventh Series, passed 10-21-2019)