A. Applicability. Any owner of land, their authorized representative, or the Town Council may request that land be rezoned.
B. A rezoning request shall be filed with the
and shall include, at a minimum:
1. The name, address, and phone number of the applicant.
2. A description of the affected property and the proposed zoning change.
C. Receipt of Application. Upon receipt of a petition for a zoning map amendment of any type, the Town Clerk shall establish a date for a public hearing and schedule and advertise a public hearing.
D. The
shall prepare a report that reviews the request and its compliance with the Comprehensive Plan and other adopted Town plans. The report shall include an analysis of the reasonableness of the proposed zoning. It shall be transmitted to the Planning Commission, Town Council, and the applicant.
E. Planning Commission.
1. After the public hearing, the Council shall refer the case to the Planning Commission for review and recommendation.
2. The Commission shall examine the request and forward a written recommendation to Town Council remarking on consistency with all adopted plans within sixty (60) days. After sixty days have passed, the Town Council can proceed towards a decision without the Commission’s report.
F. Approval Criteria. In making recommendations regarding amendments to the official zoning map, the following approval criteria shall be considered:
1. Consistency (or lack thereof) with the Comprehensive Growth Plan and other adopted plans.
2. Compatibility with the present zoning and conforming uses of nearby property and with the character of the neighborhood.
3. Suitability of the subject property for uses permitted by the current versus the proposed district.
4. Whether the proposed change tends to improve the balance of uses or meets a specific demand in the Town.
5. Availability of sewer, water, transportation infrastructure,
facilities, and other necessary infrastructure generally suitable and adequate for the proposed
.
6. Preservation of key features of the natural environment.
G. Public Hearing. In addition to comments provided in at the public hearing, any resident or property owner in the Town may submit a written statement regarding the proposal to the Town Clerk at least two business days prior to the proposed vote on such change. If submitted according to the preceding condition, the Town Clerk shall submit said written statement(s) at any time prior to the Town Council vote.
H. Modification of Application.
1. An applicant in a zoning matter may reduce the geographic scope or propose a different district or combination thereof from that requested in the application by filing a statement of the same with the
.
2. If the application is limited by excluding certain enumerated land uses, either in the original application or in any amendment thereto, the application shall be resubmitted as a conditional zoning request.
Commentary (1/1/2021): Requesting to limit uses must be a condition on a conditional zoning or conditional rezoning application.
I. Time Lapse Between Similar Applications.
1. In the event of a withdrawal of an application prior to action by the Town Council on the merits, no application may be filed requesting the rezoning of any parcel contained in the withdrawn application prior to the expiration of a minimum period of six months from the withdrawal of the application.
2. When the Town Council has voted on a zoning application and the proposed rezoning has either been denied or has failed to be adopted, then the application shall be deemed to have expired.
3. No subsequent application requesting a zoning change for any parcel contained in an application which has expired may be made prior to the expiration of a minimum period of six months from the date of expiration.
4. No subsequent application requesting the same zoning category for any parcel contained in an application which has expired may be filed prior to the expiration of a minimum period of one year from the expiration.
5. The Town Council, by a ¾-majority vote, may waive the timelapse requirements of this section if the Council deems it to be in the public interest to do so.
J. Town Council.
1. The Town Council may not take final action on a request until it has received the Planning Commission recommendation or sixty (60) days have passed since the map amendment was first heard by the Planning Board.
2. Pursuant to G.S. § 160D-605, the Council shall prepare a consistency statement and describe the reasonableness of the proposal and show that the proposal is in the public interest.
(Ord. No. 3376, §§ 8-11, 1-17-06; Ord. No. 3558, § 2, 7-7-09; Ord. No. 3801, § 3, 12-7-15; Ord., 3-16-21)