A. Authority. This Code and the Zoning Map may be amended from time to time by ordinance duly enacted by the Board of Trustees in accordance with the procedures set out in this Section.
B. Purpose. The amendment process established by this Section is intended to provide a means for making changes in the text of this Code and in the Zoning Map that have more or less general significance or application. It is not intended to relieve particular hardships nor to confer special privileges or rights. Rather, it is intended as a tool to adjust the provisions of this Code and the Zoning Map in light of changing, newly discovered, or newly important conditions, situations, or knowledge.
C. Parties Entitled to Seek Amendment. An application for an amendment may be filed by the Board of Trustees, the Zoning Board of Appeals, the Plan Commission, the owner of any property to be affected by a proposed amendment to the Zoning Map, or any person interested in a proposed amendment to the text of this Code.
D. Procedure.
1. Application. Application for amendments shall be filed in accordance with the requirements of Section 7-201 of this Code; provided, however, that amendments proposed by the Board of Trustees, the Zoning Board of Appeals, or the Plan Commission, shall not be subject to said Section but shall be transmitted to the Village Manager in such form as may seem appropriate to the initiating body.
2. Preliminary Consideration by Board of Trustees.
(a) Referral to Board. Every properly filed and completed application or proposal for an amendment to this Code, before being processed in any other manner, shall be referred to the Board of Trustees for a determination as to whether the application merits a hearing and consideration by the Zoning Commission or should be summarily denied.
(b) Notice of Applicant; Right to be Heard. Notice of the meeting at which the issue will be considered shall be given to the applicant at least 48 hours before such meeting and the applicant or his representative shall, subject to the rules of the Board of Trustees, have the right to be heard on the issue.
(c) Action by Board. The Board of Trustees, not later than the first meeting after the meeting at which the issue first appears on its agenda, shall either summarily deny the application or refer it to the Zoning Commission for public hearing. The affirmative vote of at least four members of the Board of Trustees shall be necessary to summarily deny an application; any other vote shall be sufficient to refer the application for a hearing. In the case of any such referral, the date of such referral shall be deemed to be the date of filing for computation of all time periods under this Code. A summary denial shall have the same legal effect as a denial after a full hearing.
(d) Standard. In considering the issue of whether to summarily deny or refer an application for hearing, the Board of Trustees shall be guided by the legislative standard that applies to granting an application for an amendment as set forth in Subsection E of this Section. The Board of Trustees should summarily deny an application in any case where its legislative judgment is that that standard cannot be met with regard to the proposed amendment.
3. Public Hearing. In any case where an application for amendment is referred to the Zoning Commission for a hearing, a public hearing shall be set, noticed, and conducted by the Zoning Commission in accordance with Section 7-203 of this Code.
4. Action by Zoning Commission. Within 45 days after the conclusion of the public hearing, the Zoning Commission shall transmit to the Board of Trustees its recommendation in the form specified by Subsection 7-103H of this Code. The failure of the Zoning Commission to act within 45 days, or such further time to which the applicant may agree, shall be deemed a recommendation for the approval of the proposed amendment as submitted.
5. Action by Board of Trustees; Protest. Within 60 days after the receipt of the recommendation of the Zoning Commission, or its failure to act as above provided, the Board of Trustees either shall deny the application or, by ordinance duly adopted, shall adopt the proposed amendment, with or without modifications; provided, however, that in the event a duly signed and acknowledged protest against a proposed amendment is filed with the Village Clerk before the adoption of such amendment by the owners of record of 20 percent or more of the frontage to be affected by the proposed amendment, or by the owners of record of 20 percent or more of the frontage immediately adjoining or across an alley therefrom, or by the owners of record of 20 percent or more of the frontage directly opposite the frontage to be affected, such amendment shall not be passed except by a two-thirds vote of all the Trustees then holding office.
The failure of the Board of Trustees to act within 60 days, or such further time to which the applicant may agree, shall be deemed to be a decision denying the application.
E. Standard for Amendments. The wisdom of amending the Zoning Map or the text of this Code is a matter committed to the sound legislative discretion of the Board of Trustees and is not dictated by any set standard. However, in determining whether a proposed amendment should be granted or denied, the Board of Trustees should be guided by the principle that its power to amend this Code is not an arbitrary one but one that may be exercised only when the public good demands or requires the amendment to be made. In considering whether that principle is satisfied in any particular case, the Board of Trustees should weigh, among other factors, the following factors:
1. The consistency of the proposed amendment with the purposes of this Code.
2. The existing uses and zoning classifications for properties in the vicinity of the subject property.
3. The trend of development in the vicinity of the subject property, including changes, if any, in such trend since the subject property was placed in its present zoning classification.
4. The extent, if any, to which the value of the subject property is diminished by the existing zoning classification applicable to it.
5. The extent, if any, to which any such diminution in value is offset by an increase in the public health, safety, and welfare.
6. The extent, if any, to which the use and enjoyment of adjacent properties would be affected by the proposed amendment.
7. The extent, if any, to which the value of adjacent properties would be affected by the proposed amendment.
8. The extent, if any, to which the future orderly development of adjacent properties would be affected by the proposed amendment.
9. The suitability of the subject property for uses permitted or permissible under its present zoning classification.
10. The availability, where relevant, of adequate ingress to and egress from the subject property and the extent to which traffic conditions in the immediate vicinity of the subject property would be affected by the proposed amendment.
11. The availability, where relevant, of adequate utilities and essential public services to the subject property to accommodate the uses permitted or permissible under its present zoning classification.
12. The length of time, if any, that the subject property has been vacant, considered in the context of the pace of development in the vicinity of the subject property.
13. The community need for the proposed amendment and for the uses and development it would allow.
14. The reasons, where relevant, why the subject property should be established as part of an overlay district and the positive and negative effects such establishment could be expected to have on persons residing in the area.