(a) Petition and Fee. The owner of any lot or tract, or any officer, department, board or commission of the City, desiring a variation, special use permit, planned development or map amendment, shall file with the Community Development Director an appropriate verified petition, with all necessary supporting data or documents. Said petition shall include a scale drawing of the property showing its dimensions, and also showing all streets, alleys and other properties adjacent to, contiguous to, or across any street, river, creek or public way from, any part of the land or property described in the petition. When the petition is filed by the owner of a lot or tract, the petition shall specifically state whether there is a contract vendee of said lot or tract and shall identify any such contract vendee by name and address and in such case the contract vendee must join in the petition. If the contract vendee fails to join in the petition, the petition shall be denied. There shall be a filing fee of fifty dollars ($50.00) for a variance in a residential zone; one hundred dollars ($100.00) for a variance in a non-residential zone; two hundred dollars ($200.00) for a special use permit; and one hundred dollars ($100.00) for a planned unit development or map amendment.
(b) Contents of Petition. The petition shall set forth the legal description of the land, the name of the streets nearest on each side thereof, the street number of the lot, and the side of such street on which said property fronts by approximate compass direction.
(c) Referral to Zoning Board of Appeals. The petition shall be forthwith referred, by the Community Development Director, to the Zoning Board of Appeals for a public hearing, investigation, recommendation and report.
(d) Report to Council. The Community Development Director, through the City Clerk, shall, at each Council meeting, publicly report to the City Council all petitions thus received and referred since the last Council meeting, by the name of the petitioner, the location of the premises and the type of request or relief prayed for.
(e) Notice. The petitioner or petitioners, when filing the petition, shall also file with the Community Development Director a written list containing the names and mailing addresses of all owners of property adjacent to, contiguous to, or across any street, river, creek or public way from, any part of the land or property described in the petition. The petitioner, within five days of the filing of the petition, shall give written notice by 1st class mail to all of the owners identified on said list. The Community Development Director, within five days of the filing of the petition, shall publish a notice one time in a newspaper of general daily circulation in Stephenson County, Illinois. The petitioner or petitioners shall pay the cost of mailing notices and of the newspaper publication. Both the newspaper notice and the notices by mail shall describe the real estate referred to in the petition, give the street address of said real estate, state the property index number of all parcels in the area for which the special use is requested, state with particularity the relief desired and the section of these Codified Ordinances involved, or the regulation involved, give the date of the filing of the petition, state that it may be examined during business hours in the office of the Community Development Director of Freeport, Illinois, give the date, time and place of the hearing to be held on said petition and identify the public body before whom the hearing will be held. Prior to any hearing before the Planning Commission or the Zoning Board of Appeals, as the case may be, the petitioner shall file with the Community Development Director a certificate that notice by mail and by publication has been given in accordance with the provisions of this section. The Planning Commission or the Zoning Board of Appeals, as the case may be, may continue the hearing if it believes that proper notice has not been given. Hearings before the Planning Commission or the Zoning Board of Appeals, as the case may be, shall be held not less than fifteen days nor more than sixty days from the date of the filing of the petition.
(f) Notice to City Manager. Within five business days of the filing of the petition, the Community Development Director shall provide a copy of the petition to the City Manager, along with the date and time established for hearing on the petition.
(g) Posting of Notice. The applicant shall post notice of the public hearing on a sign upon the property for which the variance, amendment or conditional use is requested. Notice shall be posted in such a manner as it is clearly visible from the public right-of-way.
(1) Where the subject property is ten acres or less, the sign on the property shall:
A. Be a minimum size of three feet by four feet.
B. Include a title (i.e.. "Notice of Public Hearing"); a brief description of the nature of the case; the date, time and location of the public hearing; and the address and phone number of the Community Development Department where additional information may be obtained.
C. Include lettering a minimum of four inches high in the title, and a minimum of two inches high for all other lettering.
D. Be posted on the property for a continuous period of not more than thirty days and not less than fifteen days in advance of the public hearing.
E. Be printed on a white background. Zoning Board of Appeals. The lettering for the title on the sign shall be red and all other lettering on the sign shall be black.
F. Be undated to reflect the date, time and location to which the hearing has been continued in the event the matter is rescheduled or continued to a new date as may appropriately be determined by the Zoning Board of Appeals. Any such revision shall be posted on the sign not less than ten days prior to the meeting at which the matter will be considered.
G. The notice and sign upon which the notice is posted shall be removed within seven days following the conclusion of the public hearing on the matter before the Zoning Board of Appeals. Failure to remove the sign within the time frame as established under this provision may result in the imposition of a fine not to exceed fifty dollars ($50.00) per day for each day on which the sign is displayed in violation of this provision.
(2) Where the subject property exceeds ten acres, the sign on the property shall:
A. Be a minimum size of six feet by eight feet.
B. Include a title (i.e.. "Notice of Public Hearing"); a brief description of the nature of the case; the date, time and location of the public hearing; and the address and phone number of the Community Development Department where additional information may be obtained.
C. Include a site/location plan.
D. Include lettering a minimum of five inches high in the title, and a minimum of two and one-half inches high for all other lettering.
E. Be posted on the property for a continuous period of not more than thirty days and not less than fifteen days in advance of the public hearing.
F. Be printed on a white backgroundZoning Board of Appeals. The lettering for the title on the sign shall be red and all other lettering on the sign shall be black.
G. Be updated to reflect the date, time and location to which the hearing has been continued in the event the matter is rescheduled or continued to a new date as may appropriately be determined by the Zoning Board of Appeals. Any such revision shall be posted on the sign not less than ten days prior to the meeting at which the matter will be considered.
H. The notice and sign upon which the notice is posted shall be removed within seven days following the conclusion of the public hearing on the matter before the Zoning Board of Appeals. Failure to remove the sign within the time frame as established under this provision may result in the imposition of a fine not to exceed fifty dollars ($50.00) per day for each day on which the sign is displayed in violation of this provision.
(3) Notwithstanding anything contained herein to the contrary, the Community Development Director may, at his or her sole discretion, elect to post the notice as required by this section. In the event that the Community Development Director elects to post said notice, a fee of two hundred fifty dollars ($250.00) shall be assessed to the petitioner to cover costs of materials, printing, and associated staff labor. Said fee shall be paid in addition to any other applicable filing fee at the time of the filing of the application.
(h) Decision and Report. All decisions of the Zoning Board of Appeals on variations, special use permits, or map amendments shall be put in the form of a report and recommendation, with adequate and detailed findings of fact, and shall be filed, with the petition and all supporting documents, with the City Clerk for the appropriate and discretionary action of the City Council. Failure of the Zoning Board of Appeals to file such report within sixty days after publication of the notice, or within such extended period as the petitioner shall agree to in writing, shall be a conclusively presumed approval of the petition by the agency.
(i) Action by City Council. Upon receipt of the report of the Zoning Board of Appeals, the City Council, without further public hearing, may grant or reject any proposed variation, special use permit, planned development or amendment, or may refer it back to the agency for further consideration, findings, recommendations and report.
(j) Ordinance Required. The action of the City Council in granting or making any variation, special use permit, planned development or amendment shall be in the form of an ordinance of the City.
(k) Vote Required. The City Council may approve or deny the grant of a variation, special use permit, planned development or amendment by a simple majority vote of the Alderpersons present at a validly convened meeting, with exceptions as follows:
(1) In the matter of a zoning variation, where a vote of no less than two-thirds of all Alderpersons must vote to approve any variation which has not previously received the approval of the Zoning Board of Appeals in accordance with 65 ILCS 5/11-13-10;
(2) In the matter of a proposed amendment of zoning regulations or districts, where a petition is filed with the City Clerk in accordance with the provisions of 65 ILCS 5/11-13-14, and which is signed and acknowledged by the owners of twenty percent or more of:
A. The frontage proposed to be altered;
B. The frontage immediately adjoining the frontage proposed to be altered or across an alley therefrom; or
C. The frontage directly opposite the frontage proposed to be altered.
In such cases a vote of no less than two-thirds of all Alderpersons must vote to approve any such amendment which has not previously received the approval of the Zoning Board of Appeals; or
(3) Where a larger majority is otherwise required by State law.
(l) Classification of Ordinances. All ordinances passed pursuant to this chapter shall be classified as special zoning ordinances.
(1) Special zoning ordinances. All such ordinances relating to specific tracts or areas and which do not alter any provision of this Zoning Code, except specific map locations, are special zoning ordinances.
A. Special zoning ordinances shall not be considered part of these Codified Ordinances.
B. Special zoning ordinances may be written upon forms prepared and provided by the Community Development Director, with classified and organized items of information and data as necessary, with no recitals or general explanatory language other than such as is set forth in the standard heading on such forms, all to the end that such ordinances may be as short, concise and standard as possible.
C. Upon presentation of each such ordinance, it shall be sufficient if they are read by title, street address and description of the change or relief made.
D. Special zoning ordinances shall be filed by the City Clerk in a separate system, indexed by street number of land affected.
(2) General zoning ordinances. All such ordinances which do not qualify as special zoning ordinances are general zoning ordinances. They shall be a part of, and treated as other amendments to, these Codified Ordinances.
(1977 Code § 73-1402; Ord. 79-18. Passed 4-16-79; Ord. 81-13. Passed 3-16-81; Ord. 81-20. Passed 4-20-81; Ord. 81-39. Passed 7-20-81; Ord. 94-81. Passed 9-19-94; Ord. 97-21. Passed 7-21-97; Ord. 99-38. Passed 8-2-99; Ord. 2001-48. Passed 11-5-01; Ord. 2006-21. Passed 5-15-06; Ord. 2007-11. Passed 2-20-07; Ord. 2010-25. Passed 4-19-10; Ord. 2010-53. Passed 12-20-10; Ord. 2011-34. Passed 6-20-11; Ord. 2018-46. Passed 9-4-18.)