(A) Petition for amendment or change. The Council may, from time to time, change the district boundaries or amend the regulation herein established. The change may be initiated by the Council, the Planning and Zoning Commission, or by petition of one or more owners of real property within the area proposed to be changed. Petitions for a zone change shall be filed with the Town Clerk on forms provided by the town and a filing fee, as may be established from time to time by the Town Council, shall be paid.
(B) Commission action. Upon receipt of a completed application and payment of the required filing fee, the Planning and Zoning Commission shall set a public hearing for the proposed change, giving notice thereof to interested parties and to the public by publication of a notice in a newspaper of general circulation in the town, by posting notice of the change in three public places, not less than 45 days prior to the hearing. The notice shall state the time and place of the hearing and a general explanation of the matter to be considered, including a general description of the area affected. At the hearing, the Commission may:
(1) Vote to deny the request;
(2) Vote to approve the request; or
(3) Vote to approve the request, but reduce the amount of area recommended for approval.
(C) Council action.
(1) Once the Commission has held a public hearing, the Council may adopt the recommendation of the Commission without holding a public hearing if there is no objection, request for a hearing, or other protest to the Commission action. The Council shall hold a public hearing if requested by an aggrieved party, any member of the public, or by the request of the governing body or the Planning and Zoning Commission. The manner of holding the public hearing shall be the same as required by the Planning and Zoning Commission. Additional notice may be given if the Town Council deems it necessary or desirable.
(2) The Council may not make changes in the proposal unless first returned to the Planning and Zoning Commission for their recommendation.
(3) At the time of re-zoning, the Council shall establish a schedule for development of the specific use or uses for which re-zoning is requested. If at the expiration of this period, the property has not been improved for the use for which it was approved, it shall revert to its former zoning classification without legislative action.
(D) Reconsideration of denied changes. In the event that a petition for an amendment is denied by the Council, or is withdrawn after the Commission hearing, the Commission shall not consider the petition or any other petition for the same amendment of this chapter as it applies to the same property described in the petition, or any part thereof, for a period of one year from the date of the denial, unless the conditions upon which the original denial was based have made a significant change.
(1974 Code, § 18-2-2) (Res. 99-016, passed 9-8-1999; Ord. 99-002, passed 9-8-1999)