(A) Zoning Officer. The Zoning Officer, who shall be appointed by the City Commission, shall:
(1) Administer and enforce the provisions of this chapter in accordance with its literal terms and shall not have the power to permit construction or any use or change of use which does not conform to this chapter;
(2) Receive and direct applications for certificates of occupancy, special use permits, re-zoning and building permits to the Planning Commission for study leading to a report of its findings and recommendations to the City Commission. Upon approval by the City Commission, he or she shall issue certificates of occupancy, special use permits, certification of re-zoning and building permits; and
(3) Maintain a permanent file of all certificates and applications as public records.
(B) Certificate of occupancy.
(1) A certificate of occupancy shall verify that all applicable requirements of the Building Code and/or special use conditions for the subject property have been inspected and met, and shall be obtained before any person may:
(a) Occupy or use any vacant land;
(b) Occupy or use any structure hereafter constructed, reconstructed, moved, altered or enlarged;
(c) Change the use of a structure or land to a different use; or
(d) Change a nonconforming use.
(2) Applications for a certificate of occupancy shall be accompanied by a plot plan showing clearly the location, dimensions and nature of any structure involved and other information as the Zoning Officer may require for administration of this chapter together with a filing fee in accordance with a schedule determined by resolution from time to time by the City Commission.
(C) Unlawful act. It is unlawful for any person to violate any provision of this chapter. Each day a violation is permitted to exist shall constitute a separate offense.
(D) Enforcement remedies. In case any building, structure or land is, or is proposed to be, erected, constructed, reconstructed, altered, converted, maintained or used in violation of this chapter, the City Commission, in addition to other remedies, may establish appropriate fines by resolution, and institute in the name of the city any appropriate action or proceeding to prevent, restrain, correct or abate the building, structure or land, or to prevent, in or about the premises, any act, conduct, business or use constituting a violation.
(E) Amendments. The City Commission may amend this chapter as proposed by the City Commission, by the Planning Commission or by petition of a person residing or owning property within the city in accordance with the following provisions.
(1) Petition for amendment shall be filed with the Planning Commission, and the petitioner, upon filing, shall pay an advertising deposit and a filing fee in accordance with a schedule determined from time to time by the City Commission, shall agree in writing to reimburse the city for all expenses for attorney fees and consulting fees of others such as registered engineers, which are associated with evaluating this petition.
(a) Amendments proposed by the City Commission or the Planning Commission shall be exempt from all the fees.
(b) The Planning Commission shall review the proposed amendment and report its findings and recommendations in writing to the City Commission and to the petitioner.
(c) The petition shall also include:
1. Plans, specifications, data and written statements similar to those required for filing for a PUD in cases where the proposed project or development involves eight or more dwelling units or could accommodate eight or more dwelling units; or, where there is a difference of intensity of land use of two increments or more with that of an adjoining parcel; or, where the project has any difference in its intensity of land use with that of two or more adjacent parcels; or, where the property of the petitioner may be environmentally sensitive as in cases involving wetlands, shorelands or watersheds;
2. Those items specified elsewhere in this chapter, such as those required in applying for conditional use permits and PUD approvals; or
3. For situations not falling into either of the above categories, the requirements for submittal shall be established by the Zoning Officer and the Planning Commission and shall be sufficient so as to provide the information necessary to evaluate the petition in relation to the requirements established by this chapter.
(2) An amendment not initiated by the Planning Commission shall be referred to the Planning Commission for study and may not be acted upon by the City Commission until it has received the recommendation of the Planning Commission on the proposed amendment or until 60 days have elapsed from the date of reference of the amendment without a report by the Planning Commission.
(3) Before voting on the enactment of an amendment the City Commission shall hold a public hearing thereon pursuant to public notice. It shall be the responsibility of the Zoning Officer to:
(a) Have notice of the public hearing published in the official newspaper ten days prior to the hearing; and
(b) Give mailed notice of the public hearing to the property within the affected zone and within 300 feet of the outer boundaries of the property in question. Failure of any property owner to receive notification, when good faith effort to notify all the owners has been made, shall not invalidate the proceedings.
(4) If, after any public hearing held upon an amendment, the proposed amendment is revised or further revised to include land previously not affected by it the City Commission shall hold another public hearing, pursuant to public notice, before proceeding to vote on the amendment.
(5) The City Commission shall act upon the request within 45 days after the last public hearing has been held.
(6) The findings required for the approval of a proposed amendment shall be the same as those required for a PUD.
(7) Once the proposed amendment has been duly approved, the City Commission shall direct that the amendment to this chapter be outlined on the official zoning map and labeled accordingly.
(F) Board of Adjustment. The Board of Adjustment shall be the City Commission. It shall hold meetings, keep minutes and, pursuant to notice, shall conduct hearings, take testimony under oath and render decisions in writing. A fee shall be charged in accordance with a schedule as determined from time to time for any appeal filed with the Board of Adjustment.
(1) The Board of Adjustment shall have the power to hear and decide appeals from any other requirement, decision, grant or refusal made by the Zoning Officer in the administration of this chapter. An appeal shall be in writing and filed in duplicate with the Zoning Officer. Within ten days after filing of the appeal, the Zoning Officer shall transmit to the Board of Adjustment all papers involved in the proceedings. Upon receipt of the appeal from the Zoning Officer, the Board of Adjustment shall set a hearing date and give notice by mail of the time, place and purpose thereof to the appellant and to the Zoning Officer. The Board of Adjustment may reverse or affirm wholly or in part any ruling, decision or determination and may issue or direct the issuance of a permit.
(2) The Board of Adjustment, upon appeal, shall have the power to authorize variances from the requirements of this chapter, and to attach such conditions to the variance as it deems necessary to assure compliance with the purpose of this chapter. A variance may be permitted if all the following requirements are met.
(a) Literal enforcement of this chapter would result in undue hardship because of particular physical surroundings, shape or topographic conditions of the specific parcel as distinguished from a mere inconvenience, if the regulations were to be carried out.
(b) The unnecessary hardship results from circumstances unique to the parcel of land for which the variance is sought and applicable, generally, to other property with the same zoning classification.
(c) The hardship is caused by provisions of this chapter and is not the result of actions of persons presently or formerly having an interest in the parcel of land.
(d) The proposed variance observes the spirit and intent of this chapter, produces substantial justice and will not be detrimental to the public welfare or injurious to other land or improvements in the vicinity of the specific parcel of land.
(e) The proposed variance will not impair an adequate supply of light and air to adjacent property, or substantially increase congestion of the public streets, or increase the danger of or from fire, or otherwise endanger the public health, safety or welfare, and is consistent with the City Land Use Program.
(G) Fees. All fees provided for under this chapter, including, but not limited to, re-zoning, variances, special and conditional use permits, planned unit developments and amendments, platting and waiver of platting, easement and alley vacations, shall be fixed and determined by the City Commission, adopted by resolution, and uniformly enforced. The fees may, from time to time, be amended by the City Commission by resolution. A copy of the resolution setting forth currently effective fees shall be kept on file in the office of the City Administrator and open to inspection during regular business hours.
(H) Reimbursement of administrative expense. Every applicant must reimburse the city for all expenses reasonably incurred by the city in processing each application submitted under this chapter. For the purposes of this provision, “application” includes, but is not limited to, applications for rezoning, variances, special and conditional use permits, planned unit developments and amendments, platting and waiver of platting, easement and alley vacations. Costs to be reimbursed include, but are not limited to, those associated with publication, mailing of notice, duplication of documents, and other documented administrative expenses as well as legal, engineering and other professional fees incurred by the city in the course of processing the application. The reimbursement shall be paid by the applicant within 60 days following a written demand for reimbursement, and the applicant’s obligation to reimburse shall apply whether the application in question was approved, denied or withdrawn. If any applicant fails or refuses to reimburse the city for the expenses, the city may, upon 15 days notice in writing mailed to the owner of the premises subject to the application at the address appearing on the tax rolls of the county, and as an additional and not alternative remedy provided herein, pay for costs and services and certify all costs to the County Auditor to be spread upon the tax rolls as a special assessment on the subject premises.
(1988 Code, § 11.70) (Ord. 30, passed 10-11-1994) Penalty, see § 10.99