(a) General Provisions. Review of applications for Planned Development Districts shall be conducted in compliance with the provisions of this Section 1165.06. Each application shall be reviewed for completeness and compliance with applicable submission requirements, unless specific items are determined by City staff to be inapplicable or unnecessary. If the application is deemed insufficient, the City staff shall notify the applicant of the deficiencies. Only complete applications shall be placed on a Planning and Zoning Commission or City Council agenda.
(b) Concept Plan. Prior to submittal of any application for a PD, the applicant shall meet with the appropriate staff of the City for the review of a "Concept Plan" before the applicant files a Preliminary Development Plan application. The Concept Plan is intended to outline the basic scope, character, and nature of a proposed project. The review of the Concept Plan is to provide input in the formative stages of design. The Concept Plan shall include, at a minimum, a proposed general use diagram for property proposed for development, an indication of anticipated proposed uses, and other information which may be relevant to future proposed rezoning and development of the property. The applicant may (but shall not be required to) request review and feedback of a Concept Plan from the City Council prior to preparing a Preliminary Development Plan and filing a related application. If such a review is requested, an application for review of a Concept Plan shall be filed with City staff, which shall then forward it to City Council for review within thirty (30) days of the filing of the application. No discussions, opinions, or suggestions provided on any aspect of the Concept Plan shall bind the applicant or the City.
(c) Zoning Amendment Request. The submittal of a Preliminary Development Plan application to the City shall constitute an application for a zoning amendment to a PD District classification with respect to the property that is the subject of the application. The procedures, timing, and requirements for filing and reviewing a Preliminary Development Plan application as provided in this Chapter 1165 shall apply to the exclusion of the procedures, timing, and requirements for other zoning amendment applications as provided in Chapter 1137. Any amendments to an approved Zoning Text and associated Preliminary Development Plan shall update the original documents, to create a single source of regulations for each PD. Amendments that only reference a previously approved plan will not be accepted until such time as the governing Zoning Text and Development Plan update the original documents accordingly.
(d) Preliminary Development Plan Review Procedures. An application for a Preliminary Development Plan review and approval, including all submission requirements for Preliminary Development Plans, shall be reviewed and distributed according to the following procedures.
(1) Staff Review. After determining that the application is complete pursuant to the requirements of Section 1165.08(a), the relevant City staff shall forward the application to the appropriate City departments and, if determined necessary, professional consultants, for review and comment. During their review, the staff may meet with the applicant to review the application, and the applicant may revise the application in response to staff's comments.
(2) Planning and Zoning Commission Review. After the application has been deemed by City staff to be complete, the Preliminary Development Plan application shall be placed on the agenda for the next regular meeting of the Planning and Zoning Commission that meets all notice requirements of the PD District. This meeting date cannot be less than twenty (20) days but no more than forty (40) days from the application being deemed complete. The Preliminary Development Plan application and supporting documentation, City staff comments, any other reports prepared and any accompanying documents (such as, but not limited to, letters from residents or maps) shall be transmitted to the Planning and Zoning Commission prior to the meeting. The Planning and Zoning Commission shall review the application at a public hearing to determine if it complies with the approval criteria set forth in this Section 1165.07(a). When reviewing the application the Planning and Zoning Commission shall take into consideration any submitted plans, the Zoning Text, supporting documentation and/or testimony from the applicant or its agents or consultants, the City's Comprehensive Plan and/or other relevant plans and studies, staff reports, staff and/or public comments, and expert opinions.
A. Request for Additional Information/Revisions. In its review of an application, the Planning and Zoning Commission may request additional information deemed reasonably necessary to adequately review and evaluate the proposed development, and/or may request that the applicant revise elements of the application. When this occurs, the Planning and Zoning Commission may table the application. A tabled application will be scheduled for additional review at the next regular meeting of the Planning and Zoning Commission following receipt of the revised materials and schedule of revisions or amendments. The applicant may request additional time to address the information that has been requested by the Planning and Zoning Commission as part of its action to table the case, in which case the Planning and Zoning Commission shall schedule additional review of the application at the next regularly or specially scheduled meeting that allows the applicant adequate time to provide the new information.
B. Action by Planning and Zoning Commission. The Planning and Zoning Commission shall recommend to City Council one of the following after considering the approval criteria set forth in Section 1165.07(a):
(i) That the Preliminary Development Plan and its supporting documentation be approved as submitted;
(ii) That the Preliminary Development Plan and its supporting documentation be approved with specific conditions set forth by the Planning and Zoning Commission to further improve the proposed development; or
(iii) That the Preliminary Development Plan be disapproved.
C. Transmission to City Council. The Planning and Zoning Commission shall transmit the Preliminary Development Plan application along with all appropriate documentation, including a recommendation to City Council, within seven (7) days of taking action.
(3) Review and Action by City Council. City Council shall review and act on a single proposed ordinance to approve both the zoning of the relevant property to the PD designation and the associated Preliminary Development Plan, including conducting a public hearing, in accordance with City Council procedures. Before holding the public hearing, notice of such hearing shall be given by the City Council Clerk by posting on the website maintained by the City at least seven (7) days before the date of such hearing. This notice shall set forth the time and place of the public hearing, and the nature of the proposed zoning amendment and Preliminary Development Plan as contemplated in the application.
A. In reviewing the ordinance, City Council shall consider the approval criteria set forth in Section 1165.07(a). Approval of the Preliminary Development Plan application shall be required in order for a particular property to be classified with the PD designation. City Council may accept or reject any conditions of approval of the application as recommended by the Planning and Zoning Commission, in whole or in part, or it may add conditions either in addition to or in substitution of conditions recommended by the Planning and Zoning Commission.
B. Disapproval by City Council shall result in the property that is the subject of the zoning/Preliminary Development Plan application retaining the same zoning classification as applied to it prior to the filing of the application.
C. Adoption of the ordinance to approve the Preliminary Development Plan application shall constitute a rezoning of the property to a Planned Development District, and the Preliminary Development Plan and associated commitments then shall be binding on the applicant and relevant property owner(s). The Official Zoning Map shall be amended to reflect the zoning change. In the event City Council approves the Preliminary Development Plan with conditions requiring modifications, the applicant shall incorporate such modifications into the appropriate documents and file the revised Preliminary Development Plan with the City staff for the City's records within sixty (60) days. The adequacy of any such modifications shall be determined by the City Manager or their designee.
(4) Significance of Approved Preliminary Development Plan. Legally effective approval or approval with recommended modifications of the Preliminary Development Plan application by the City Council shall:
A. Establish the development framework for the particular PD District, including but not limited to use areas and types, densities, building types, recreational facilities, general locations of open space, and street alignments;
B. For proposed developments other than Major Economic Development Projects, permit the applicant to file one or more Final Development Plan applications for some portion or all of the PD District; and
C. For Major Economic Development Projects, permit the applicant to file one or more CODA applications for some portion or all of the PD District, in accordance with any approved phasing commitments as set forth in the Preliminary Development Plan.
(e) Final Development Plans. An application for Final Development Plan review, when required, shall include the submission requirements set forth in Section 1165.08(b) and shall be submitted for review according to the following: A Final Development Plan application may include all or a portion of the PD District. An application for Final Development Plan review and approval shall be required for each portion of the development other than any portion that contains a Major Economic Development Project. Major Economic Development Projects shall be reviewed pursuant to a certificate of appropriateness application as contemplated in Section 1165.08(j).
A Final Development Plan application shall be reviewed according to the following procedures:
(1) Staff Review. After determining that an application is complete pursuant to the requirements of Section 1165.08(b), the relevant City staff shall forward the application to the appropriate city departments and, if determined necessary, professional consultants, for review and comment. The application shall be reviewed for compliance with the approved Preliminary Development Plan, and the requirements of the Zoning Text, approved preliminary plats, and other relevant provisions of City Code. During the course of their review, City staff may meet with the applicant to review the application, and the applicant may revise the Final Development Plan application in response to staff's comments.
(2) Scheduling; Reviewing Body. After the application has been deemed by City staff to be complete, the Final Development Plan application shall be placed on the agenda for a meeting of City Council that meets all notice requirements of the PD District. The Final Development Plan application and supporting documentation, City staff comments, any other reports prepared and any accompanying documents (such as but not limited to letters from residents or maps) shall be transmitted to City Council prior to the meeting. At the meeting, City Council first shall take action to determine if it will either (A) review the Final Development Plan application so that it will make a decision to approve it, approve it with conditions, or disapprove it, or (B) refer the application to the Planning and Zoning Commission and delegate authority to review and act upon the application to that body. If City Council determines that it will retain the authority to make a decision on the particular application, then immediately following its vote to retain such authority it shall undertake a public review of and hearing on the application. Should City Council determine that it will refer the application to the Planning and Zoning Commission, then the Planning and Zoning Commission will review the application at its first meeting that is at least seven (7) days following the date when City Council took the action to refer the application. Prior to the Planning and Zoning Commission meeting, City staff shall provide the members of the Planning and Zoning Commission with copies of the same documents and materials which were provide to City Council for the same application.
The relevant reviewing body shall review the application to determine if it complies with the approval criteria set forth in Section 1165.07(b). It shall take into consideration any submitted plans, the Zoning Text, supporting documentation and/or testimony from the applicant or its agents or consultants, staff reports, staff and/or public comments, and expert opinions when reviewing the application.
(3) Request for Additional Information/Revisions. In its review of a Final Development Plan application, the reviewing body may request additional information deemed necessary to adequately review and evaluate the proposed development, and/or may request the applicant to revise elements of the application. When this occurs, the reviewing body may table the application. A tabled application will be scheduled for additional review at the next regular meeting of the reviewing body following receipt of the revised materials and a schedule of revisions or changes, unless the applicant requests additional time to address the information that has been requested, in which case the reviewing body shall schedule additional review of the application at the next regularly or specially scheduled meeting that allows the applicant adequate time to provide the new information.
(4) Review Standard. In reviewing the Final Development Plan application, the reviewing body shall determine if the Final Development Plan complies with all specific requirements, purposes, intent, and basic objectives of the Preliminary Development Plan, and any commitments made or conditions agreed to with the adoption of the Preliminary Development Plan, and if determines that there is such compliance, it shall act to approve the application.
(5) Minor Text or Plan Modifications. The reviewing body for a Final Development Plan shall review and approve or disapprove of requests for minor text and/or plan modifications within the PD District, and may, in reviewing that Final Development Plan or a requested modification thereto, approve a minor text modification from one or more provisions of the approved Zoning Text or other elements of the approved Preliminary Development Plan, if it determines that all of the following provisions are satisfied:
A. The proposed modification(s) do not alter the list of permitted, conditional, or accessory uses or cause an increase in permitted density of development;
B. The proposed modification(s) result in a development of equivalent or higher quality than that which could be achieved through strict application of the requirement(s); and
C. The development, with the modification(s) as proposed on the Final Development Plan, will have no adverse impacts upon the surrounding properties or upon the health, safety, or general welfare of the community.
(f) Action on a Final Development Plan Application. The reviewing body for a particular Final Development Plan application shall take one of the following actions thereon:
(1) Approve the application as submitted, including any requested deviations from the approved Preliminary Development Plan;
(2) Approve the Final Development Plan with modification(s) as agreed to by the applicant and/or with deviations that the required reviewing body approves; or
(3) Disapprove the Final Development Plan when the application does not demonstrate that the required standards have been met. Disapproval of the Final Development Plan shall terminate the process, subject to any applicable administrative appeal rights. The applicant may file a revised Final Development Plan application if it receives a vote of disapproval on a previous application. Such action shall be considered a new application for review and shall contain all the information required for a Final Development Plan.
(g) Permits. Following the approval of a Final Development Plan, the applicant may proceed with the certificate of zoning compliance and building permit process for the property and the development that was the subject thereof, consistent with approval as granted.
(1) After approval of the Final Development Plan, the applicant shall obtain a zoning certificate pursuant to Chapter 1127 and a building permit prior to commencing construction.
(2) A zoning certificate and building permit shall not be issued until any required final plat has been recorded and the City has accepted any applicable land areas that are to be dedicated to the City for the property that was the subject of the Final Development Plan.
(3) Required covenants, easements, and restrictions (if any) shall be recorded prior to the approval of any building permit in a location where such covenants, easements, or restrictions are intended to apply. The City may require a copy of the recorded document prior to issuing any building permit.
(4) All construction and development under any building permit shall be in accordance with the approved Final Development Plan, as may be amended pursuant to Section 1165.04(i). Any unauthorized departure from such plan shall be cause for revocation of the certificate of zoning compliance.
(h) Appeal of Disapproved Final Development Plan. When a Final Development Plan application (or an application for an amended Final Development Plan, as provided in the immediately following subsection (i)) is disapproved by the Planning and Zoning Commission, an applicant may file an administrative appeal to City Council by filing a notice of the appeal with the City Council Clerk within fifteen (15) days after such disapproval action is taken. City Council shall then hold a hearing on the appeal at its next regularly scheduled meeting that is at least fifteen (15) days after the City Council Clerk's receipt of the appeal and shall make an administrative determination of whether or not the disapproval of the Final Development Plan was illegal, arbitrary, capricious, unreasonable, or unsupported by the preponderance of substantial, reliable, and probative evidence on the record. When a Final Development Plan application (or an application for an amended Final Development Plan, as provided in the immediately following subsection (i)) is disapproved by City Council as the reviewing body or after hearing an appeal of a Planning and Zoning Commission decision to disapprove a Final Development Plan application, an applicant may file an administrative appeal in court in accordance with applicable state law.
(i) Modifications to Approved Final Development Plans. Requested modifications to the approved Final Development Plan(s) shall be reviewed according to the following:
(1) Administrative Approval. The City Manager, or designee, in administering the approved Final Development Plan and Zoning Text, may authorize minor plan modifications to building layouts, parking arrangements, sign locations, lighting, and other site-related improvements that are required to correct any errors or address changes to the site made necessary during construction, provided the modifications remain consistent with the purpose of the approved Final Development Plan and Zoning Text.
(2) No administrative modifications shall be made that increase the permitted density of development or add to the list of permitted or conditional uses.
(3) Modifications deemed minor ("Minor Modifications") may include such changes as:
A. Minor adjustments in lot lines provided no additional lots are created. adequate buildable space is maintained, and required setbacks are maintained;
B. Minor adjustments in the location of and layout of parking lots provided the required perimeter setbacks, tree island coverage, yards and buffers are maintained;
C. Minor adjustments in building footprints up to three percent (3.0%) in total floor area of the originally approved building, building height(s) or floor plans, that do not alter the character or intensity of the use thereof;
D. Substitution of landscaping materials specified in the landscape plan with comparable materials of an equal or greater size;
E. Redesigning and/or relocating stormwater management facilities provided that general character and stormwater capacities are maintained;
F. Redesigning and/or relocating landscape mounds, provided that the same level and quality of screening is maintained;
H. Changes required by outside agencies such as the county, state, or federal departments; or
I. Other minor modifications deemed by the City Manager or his/her assigns, that do not alter the basic design or any specific conditions imposed as part of the original approval.
The City Manager, or designee, shall report approved modifications to City Council and the Planning and Zoning Commission.
(4) Amended Final Development Plan. Modifications other than Minor Modifications shall be submitted to the reviewing body that approved the original Final Development Plan as part of an application for an amended Final Development Plan. Modifications as part of an amended Final Development Plan shall be approved provided that the reviewing body finds that the modifications remain consistent with the approved Preliminary Development Plan or warrant any necessary deviation therefrom. The reviewing body for the amended Final Development Plan shall have the right and power to grant such deviations as administrative action. If approved, amendments to the Final Development Plan shall supersede the originally approved Final Development Plan.
(j) Certificate of Development Approval. An application for a certificate of development approval (a "CODA") shall be required for a Major Economic Development Project. The term "Major Economic Development Project" shall mean "a development containing at least 50,000 square feet of gross building floor area one or more of the following land uses: administrative or professional office uses; medical office uses; research and development facilities; warehousing and/or distribution facilities; data centers; industrial, manufacturing, assembly, and/or production uses, and other uses which are identified as Major Economic Development Projects in an approved Zoning Text." In no circumstance will retail or restaurant use be eligible for Major Economic Development Project designation unless they are clearly accessory to and contained within the same building as any use that qualifies as a Major Economic Development Project absent the square footage contained within the proposed retail or restaurant use. The intent behind subjecting Major Economic Development Projects to the CODA application review process (rather than the Final Development Plan review process) is to enhance the speed-to-market of "shovel-ready" sites that are attractive to employment-generating uses and developments and/or uses which otherwise will bring significant private investments to the City. Decisions on CODA applications shall be deemed to be administrative in nature.
(k) Administrative Board of Review. An Administrative Board of Review ("ABR") is hereby created to review CODA applications. The ABR shall consist of the Council representative on the Planning and Zoning Commission; and two members of Council, appointed by a majority vote of Council. The members shall elect a Chair from among themselves. In addition, the City Manager and the Planning Director shall be non-voting ex officio members of the ABR who shall have privilege of participating in ABR deliberations. The ABR shall have the duty to review and approve, approve with conditions, or disapprove of CODA applications (and permitted modifications thereof) in accordance with the requirements of the PD District and other applicable provisions of City Code. The ABR shall meet at least twice per calendar month on dates determined by the ABR, provided that meetings may be cancelled by the Chair when no CODA applications are ready for review by the ABR. Special meetings of the ABR may be called by any member of the ABR with at least twenty-four (24) hours' prior written notice being delivered by email or other written means to the other members of the ABR and otherwise in compliance with open meetings laws.
(l) CODA Application Review Process. A CODA application shall be reviewed according to the following procedures:
(1) Staff Review. After determining that an application is complete pursuant to the requirements of Section 1165.08(c), the relevant City staff shall forward the application to the appropriate city departments and, if determined necessary, professional consultants for review and comment. The application shall be reviewed for compliance with the approved Preliminary Development Plan, and the requirements of the Zoning Text and other relevant provisions of City Code. During the course of their review, City staff may meet with the applicant to review the application, and the applicant may revise the CODA application in response to staff's comments.
(2) ABR Review. After the CODA application has been deemed by City staff to be complete, it shall be forwarded to the ABR for review at its next regularly scheduled meeting that is at least fifteen (15) days and no more than thirty (30) days after the date when the CODA application was unless City staff deemed the filing to be incomplete, in which case the application shall be reviewed by the ABR at its next regularly scheduled meeting that is at least fifteen (15) days and no more than thirty (30) days after the date when all deficient CODA application materials have been filed by the applicant with City staff. City staff shall provide to the ABR any comments on the submittal as it deems to be necessary or appropriate as well as copies of the previously approved Preliminary Development Plan application, Zoning Text, and other related documents. At the ABR meeting, the ABR shall review the application to determine if it complies with the approval criteria set forth in Section 1165.07(c). The review of the CODA application is limited to a determination as to whether or not the plans and specifications for development of a site that have been submitted in conjunction with the CODA application comply with the approved Preliminary Development Plan which applies to that site.
(3) Request for Additional Information/Revisions. In its review of a CODA application, the ABR may request additional information deemed necessary to adequately review and evaluate the proposed development, and/or may request the applicant to revise elements of the application. When this occurs, the ABR may table the application. A tabled application will be scheduled for additional review at the next regular meeting of the ABR unless the applicant requests additional time to address the information that has been requested, in which case the reviewing body shall schedule additional review of the application at the next regularly or specially scheduled meeting that allows the applicant adequate time to provide the new information.
(4) Review Standard. In reviewing the CODA application, the ABR shall determine if the plans and specifications that are part of the application comply with all specific requirements, purposes, intent, and basic objectives of the Preliminary Development Plan, and any commitments made or conditions agreed to with the adoption of the Preliminary Development Plan. If it determines that there is such compliance, it shall act to approve the application, and if it determines that there is no such compliance, it shall table the application and provide written comments to the applicant identifying the items that do not substantially comply with the approved Preliminary Development Plan. The applicant may then revise the CODA application to address the comments, and the ABR shall review the revised submission at its next regularly scheduled meeting that is at least seven (7) days after the revision submission has been filed by the applicant with City staff. If the ABR determines that the revised application substantially complies with the approved Preliminary Development Plan, it shall approve the same, and if it determines that the revised application does not comply, then it may disapprove the revised application.
(5) Minor Text or Plan Modifications. The ABR shall review and approve or disapprove of requests for minor text and/or plan modifications for Major Economic Development Projects, and may, in reviewing a CODA application, approve a minor text modification from one or more provisions of the approved Zoning Text or other elements of the approved Preliminary Development Plan, if it determines that all of the following provisions are satisfied:
A. The proposed modification(s) do not alter the list of permitted, conditional, or accessory uses or cause an increase in permitted density of development;
B. The proposed modification(s) result in a development of equivalent or higher quality than that which could be achieved through strict application of the requirement(s);
C. The development, with the modification(s) as proposed on the Final Development Plan, will have no adverse impacts upon the surrounding properties or upon the health, safety, or general welfare of the community.
(m) Permits - Major Economic Development Projects. Following the approval of a CODA application, the applicant:.
(1) Shall obtain all engineering permits, a zoning certificate pursuant to Chapter 1127, and a building permit prior to commencing construction of improvements on the property that was the subject of the approved CODA application.
(2) A zoning certificate and building permit shall not be issued until any required final plat has been recorded and the City has accepted any applicable land areas that are to be dedicated to the City.
(3) Required covenants, easements, and restrictions (if any) shall be recorded prior to the approval of any building permit in a location where such covenants, easements, or restrictions are intended to apply. The City may require a copy of the recorded document prior to issuing any building permit.
(4) All construction and development under any building permit shall be in accordance with the approved CODA, including any modifications as may be provided in subsection (o). Any unauthorized departure from such plan shall be cause for revocation of the zoning certificate.
(n) Appeal of CODA Application Decision. When a CODA application (or an application for an amended CODA, as provided in the immediately following subsection (o)) is finally approved or disapproved by the ABR, an applicant or aggrieved party may file an administrative appeal to City Council by filing a notice of the appeal with the City Council Clerk within fifteen (15) days after such disapproval action is taken. City Council shall then hold a hearing on the appeal at its next regularly scheduled meeting that is at least fifteen (15) days after the City Council Clerk's receipt of the appeal and shall make an administrative determination of whether or not the decision on the CODA application was illegal, arbitrary, capricious, unreasonable, or unsupported by the preponderance of substantial, reliable, and probative evidence on the record. Appeal of a Council decision shall proceed as provided in state law for court review of political subdivision administrative actions.
(o) Modifications to Approved CODA. Requested modifications to approved CODAs shall be reviewed according to the following:
(1) Administrative Approval. The City Manager, or designee, in administering an approved CODA and Zoning Text, may authorize minor plan modifications to building layouts, parking arrangements, sign locations, lighting, and other site-related improvements that are required to correct any errors or address changes to the site made necessary during construction, provided the modifications remain consistent with the purpose of the approved CODA and Zoning Text. The City Manager may also authorize other Minor Modifications in accordance with the same requirements as apply to Minor Modifications of Final Development Plans. The City Manager, or designee, shall report approved modifications to City Council.
(2) Amended CODA. Modifications other than Minor Modifications shall be submitted to City Council as part of an application for an amended CODA. Modifications as part of an amended CODA shall be approved provided that City Council finds that the modifications remain consistent with the approved CODA or warrant any deviation therefrom. If approved, amendments to the CODA shall supersede the originally approved CODA.
(Ord. 10-2023. Passed 6-20-23.)