(A) General. The general provisions of this section apply to all development applications and procedures under this chapter unless otherwise stated.
(B) Authority to file applications. Applications for review and approval under this chapter may be initiated by:
(1) Petition of all the owners of the property that is the subject of the application;
(2) The owners’ authorized agents; or
(3) Review and decision-making bodies.
(C) Form of application. Applications required under this chapter shall be submitted in a format and in such numbers as required by the official responsible for accepting the application. Application submittal requirements and format information shall be available to the public in the Planning/Zoning Department.
(D) Filing fees. Applications shall be accompanied by the fee amount that has been established by the Town Council for the respective type of application. Fees shall not be required for applications initiated by authorized review or decision-making bodies.
(E) Application completeness and submission deadlines.
(1) Applications required under this chapter shall be considered complete only if they are submitted in the required format, include all mandatory information and are accompanied by the established fee.
(2) Applications for consideration by the Board of Zoning Appeals shall be submitted no later than 12:00 p.m. on the Friday, four weeks prior to the regularly scheduled Board of Zoning Appeals meeting, unless otherwise provided in this chapter or as directed by the Chairperson of the Board of Zoning Appeals. Application filing deadlines and Board of Zoning Appeals meeting dates are available at the Planning/Zoning Department. Within 15 days of submittal of the application, staff will determine if the application is complete and can be scheduled for the next available Board of Zoning Appeals meeting. The requirements for applications deemed incomplete by the Zoning Administrator are listed in division (E)(4) below.
(3) Applications for consideration by the Planning Commission shall be submitted no later than 12:00 p.m. on the Friday, six weeks prior to the regularly scheduled Planning Commission meeting, unless otherwise provided in this chapter or as directed by the Chairperson of the Planning Commission. Application filing deadlines and Planning Commission meeting dates are available at the Planning/Zoning Department. Within 15 days of submittal of the application, staff will determine if the application is complete and can be scheduled for the next available Planning Commission meeting. The requirements for applications deemed incomplete by the Zoning Administrator are listed in division (E)(4) below.
(4) Any application that is determined to be incomplete shall, within 15 days of its submittal, be returned to the applicant along with an explanation of the application’s deficiencies. Fees shall not be refunded. No further processing of the application shall occur until the deficiencies are corrected. Once the deficiencies are corrected, the application may be resubmitted without the payment of additional fees, provided that it is resubmitted within six months of the date that the application was returned to the applicant. Applications resubmitted more than six months after the date that the application was returned as incomplete shall require repayment of applicable fees.
(F) Application submittal. Whenever the procedures of this chapter expressly state that applications are to be submitted after a “pre-application conference,” applicants shall be responsible for scheduling and attending such meetings. When pre-application conferences are required, an application shall not be accepted until the pre-application conference has been conducted and any errors or omissions noted in review of the application for completeness have been addressed by the applicant.
(G) Notices.
(1) Content.
(a) All notices, with the exception of posted notices, required under this chapter shall:
1. Indicate the date, time, and place of the public hearing or date of action that is the subject of the notice;
2. Describe the property involved in the application by street address and, if required, by legal description;
3. Describe the nature, scope, and purpose of the application or proposal; and
4. Indicate where additional information on the matter can be obtained.
(b) Posted notices under this chapter shall indicate time and place and indicate where any additional information on the subject of the notice can be obtained.
(2) Types.
(a) Newspaper notice. When the provisions of this chapter require that “newspaper notice” be provided, the official responsible for accepting the application shall ensure that notice is published in a newspaper of general circulation in the town. Unless otherwise expressly provided in state statutes or this chapter, the first required newspaper notice shall be published at least 15 calendar days before the public hearing, meeting or date of action that is the subject of the notice. Newspaper notice shall indicate the time and place or date of action that is the subject of the notice, describe the property involved in the application by street address and, if required, by legal description, describe the nature, scope and purpose of the application or proposal.
(b) Posted notice. When the provisions of this chapter state that “posted notice” should be provided, the official responsible for accepting the application shall post the notice on the subject property in a manner that makes the notice clearly visible to neighboring residents and passers-by from each public street bordering the subject property. Unless otherwise expressly provided in state statutes or in this chapter, posted notice shall be in place at least 15 calendar days before the public hearing, meeting or date of action that is the subject of the notice.
(c) Neighbor notice. When the provisions of this chapter require that “neighbor notice” be provided, the official responsible for accepting the application shall mail notice to the applicant and all property owners within 300 feet of the subject property. Ownership information shall be obtained from the County Assessor’s Office. Unless otherwise expressly provided in state statutes or in this chapter, required neighbor notices shall be deposited in the U.S. mail at least 15 calendar days before the public hearing, meeting or date of action that is the subject of the notice. Failure to provide this notice will not invalidate any action taken.
(d) Parties in interest. When the provisions of this chapter require that notice be sent, the following “parties in interest” shall be notified: the applicant and the owner of the property (if other than applicant). PARTIES IN INTEREST shall mean any individual, associations, corporations, or others who have expressed an interest in writing in an application pending before the Planning/Zoning Department and that has been received by the Zoning Administrator. It is the responsibility of the parties in interest to provide updated contact information to the Planning/Zoning Department. The Planning/Zoning Department will keep the parties in interest contact information on file for one year from the initial date received.
(e) Community interest notice. When the provisions of this chapter require that “community interest notice” be provided, the official responsible for accepting the application shall provide written notice to any individual, group or organization that has submitted a written statement of interest to the Zoning Administrator. When community interest notice is required, courtesy notice will be provided to the Zoning Administrator of any municipality within the planning area of the subject tract. Community interest notice is a courtesy notice; failure to provide this notice will not invalidate any action taken.
(3) Constructive notice. Minor defects in a notice shall not impair the notice or invalidate proceedings pursuant to the notice if a bona fide attempt has been made to comply with applicable notice requirements. In all cases, however, the requirements for the timing of the notice and for specifying the date, time and place of a hearing and the location of the subject property shall be strictly construed. If questions arise regarding the adequacy of notice, Review and decision-making bodies shall make formal findings regarding whether there was substantial compliance with the notice requirements of this chapter.
(H) Action by decision-making bodies. Unless otherwise expressly stated, decision-making bodies shall be authorized to approve, approve with conditions or deny applications and permit requests based on compliance with the applicable review and approval criteria. Decision-making bodies shall also be authorized to refer an application back to a review body or to defer action while additional information is being obtained.
(I) Inaction by review and decision-making bodies. When a review or decision-making body fails to take action on an application within the time required, such inaction shall be interpreted as a recommendation of approval of the application, respectively. Timeframes for action may be extended if the applicant consents to the extension. When a review body fails to take action on an application within the time required, the decision-making body shall be free to proceed with its own action on the matter without further awaiting the recommendation of the review body.
(J) Conditions of approval. Unless otherwise expressly stated, decision-making bodies shall be authorized to impose conditions or approval as allowed by law. Conditions may be those deemed necessary to reduce or minimize any potential adverse impact upon other property in the area or to carry out the general purpose and intent of this chapter. All conditions must relate to a situation created or aggravated by the proposed use and be roughly proportional to the impact of the approved use or activity.
(K) Approval criteria; burden of persuasion. In all cases, the applicant shall have the burden of establishing that an application complies with applicable approval criteria.
(L) Public hearings. A public hearing for which proper notice was given may be continued to a later date without again complying with the notice requirements of this chapter, provided that the continuance is set for a certain date and time and the date and time are announced at the public hearing.
(M) Successive applications.
(1) Time limit. If a final decision-making body denies an application for a zoning map amendment, planned development, or special exception use, an application for the same or more intensive zoning, development, or use on the subject parcel, whether the parcel is in its original configuration, expanded, or reduced in area, shall not be accepted for 12 months from the date that the decision-making body acted to deny the application.
(2) Waivers. The time limit of division (M)(1) above notwithstanding, decision-making bodies may, after receipt of written petition by the property owner, waive the waiting period requirement by a vote of members present and voting. If the time limit is waived, the decision-making body shall give written notice to the Zoning Administrator, directing staff to process the application. All re-submissions shall be processed as new application, with prescribed fees. All documents and fees required for the respective type of application shall be included with the new application. Denial of the application shall be final and the 12-month waiting period shall be met before further consideration of a similar application on the subject property.
(3) Applications withdrawn before public hearing notice. Withdrawal of an application by the applicant before advertisement of any public hearing and before any required signs have been posted on the subject property shall be considered a termination of the application. Although no fees shall be refunded, re-application in such cases shall not be subject to the 12-month waiting period.
(4) Applications withdrawn after public hearing notice. Postponement requests and withdrawals of applications that occur after advertisement of any public hearing or after any required signs have been posted on the subject property shall be treated the same as a denied application. Application processing shall terminate upon receipt of written notice from the applicant or owner. Reapplication shall be subject to a 12-month waiting period unless a waiver is granted in accordance with division (M)(2) above.
(5) Requests for postponements of applications to the Board of Zoning Appeals. Requests for postponements of applications from Board of Zoning Appeals public hearings must be made in writing by the applicant. Such requests received after advertisement of any public hearing or after any required signs have been posted on the subject property shall be subject to all applicable application fees as listed in the fee schedule approved by Town Council.
(6) Requests for postponements of applications to the Planning Commission. Requests for postponements of all applications from Planning Commission meetings, with the exception of subdivision applications, must be made in writing and the letter must be signed by both the property owner(s) and the applicant(s). Postponement requests received within ten calendar days of the Planning Commission meeting for which the application is scheduled shall be considered withdrawals. In the event an application is withdrawn for failure to meet the ten-day provision, the applicant must submit a new application in compliance with division (E) above, “Application completeness and submission deadlines,” and all applicable fees must be paid. The Planning Commission may waive the required fees when the request for postponement is made due to extenuating circumstances as determined in the sole discretion of the Planning Commission.
(N) Vested rights. Vested rights shall be consistent with S.C. Code Title 6, Chapter 29, Art. 11, Vested Rights.
(Ord. 2012-06, § 3.1, passed 10-18-2012; Ord. 2012-21, passed 12-20-2012)