A. Authorization of Proposed Use. If a use is not specified in the Zoning/Land Use Matrices, the City Planner shall make a determination as to whether the proposed use is either a subcategory of a permitted, limited, specific, or prohibited use, or if the use is functionally similar to a permitted, limited, specific, or prohibited use. Upon making a determination, the City Planner shall either authorize the proposed use and apply all standards applicable to the similar use, or prohibit the proposed use if the use is deemed comparable to a prohibited use.
B. If Not Authorized, Then Prohibited. If the City Planner determines that a proposed use is not a subcategory of, or functionally similar to, a permitted, limited, or specific use, then the use shall be considered to be a prohibited use.
C. Decision Criteria. The following decision criteria shall be evaluated by the City Planner to decide whether a proposed use is a subcategory of, or is functionally similar to, a permitted, limited, or specific use. Upon any appeal from the decision of the City Planner, the Board of Adjustment shall make the same evaluation.
1. Application of Section 11-2-2, Definitions, when applicable;
2. Nature of the use, potential impacts on surrounding properties, hours of operation, or a plan of operation describing the use;
3. Off-street parking and traffic generation characteristics of the use; and
4. Any other reasonable and pertinent criteria that the City Planner, or the Board of Adjustment when deciding an appeal, determines necessary to make a determination.
D. Findings of Fact and Effect of Decision. The following conditions shall govern the City Planner, and the Board of Adjustment upon any appeal from the decision of the City Planner, upon issuance of an unlisted land use interpretation:
1. No unlisted use interpretation shall permit any use unless evidence is presented which demonstrates that it will comply with each use limitation established for the particular district;
2. No unlisted use interpretation shall permit any use unless such use is substantially similar to, and compatible with, other uses permitted in the district, and is more similar to such other uses than to permitted, limited, or specific uses in a more restrictive district;
3. If the proposed use is most similar to a use permitted only as a limited or specific use in the district in which it is proposed to be located, then any use interpretation permitting such use shall be conditioned on obtaining a limited use approval or a specific use permit approval, as applicable;
4. If the City Planner approves an application for a decision pursuant to this Section, then the use shall be allowed subject to the same standards and procedures of the zoning district to which it was compared for the purposes of the favorable decision; and
5. If the City Planner determines that a proposed use is not a subcategory of, or functionally similar to a use permitted in the district where the property is located, the proposed use shall be prohibited in that district, and findings of fact for such decision shall be prepared for the applicant and official City records. (Ord. 746, 11-14-2017)