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§ 152.055  LAPSE OF APPROVAL.
   Lapse of approval (also referred to as “expiration”) shall occur as provided by this chapter for the various types of development applications. If no provision for lapse is given by this chapter for a particular type of development permit or approval, and if no lapse period is imposed as part of an approval by the decision-making body, lapse shall occur if development is not commenced or a subsequent permit authorized by that approval is not obtained within two years.
(Ord. passed 3-5-2018)
§ 152.056  EXAMINATION OF APPLICATIONS AND SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS.
   (A)   At any time upon reasonable request and during normal business hours, any person may examine an application, a finalized staff report and materials submitted in support of or in opposition to an application in the office of the Town Clerk.
   (B)   Copies of such materials shall be made available at a reasonable cost.
(Ord. passed 3-5-2018)
DEVELOPMENT APPLICATIONS
§ 152.070  GENERAL.
   This section includes the review procedures, standards and related information for each of the development application procedures as summarized in the table in § 152.026 of this chapter.
(Ord. passed 3-5-2018)
§ 152.071  OFFICIAL ZONING MAP AMENDMENT.
   (A)   Purpose. The purpose of this section is to provide a uniform means for amending the official zoning map.
   (B)   Authority. The town’s Board of Commissioners may adopt an ordinance amending the official zoning map upon compliance with the provisions of this section.
   (C)   Initiation. An application to amend the official zoning map may be initiated by the town’s Board of Commissioners, the Planning Board, the Ordinance Administrator, a resident of the town or any other person having a financial or other interest in land located within the town’s zoning jurisdiction.
   (D)   Procedures.
      (1)   Preliminary procedures. The preliminary procedures and requirements for submission and review of an application are established in §§ 152.045 through 152.056 of this chapter.
      (2)   Review and recommendation by Ordinance Administrator. Prior to the submission of the application to the Planning Board, the Ordinance Administrator shall review the application and make a written recommendation which he or she shall present to the Planning Board during the meeting at which it considers the application.
      (3)   Review and recommendation by Planning Board. Following the review by the Ordinance Administrator, the application shall be forwarded to the Planning Board for its review and recommendation. During the meeting, the Planning Board shall consider the application, relevant supporting materials, the Ordinance Administrator’s recommendation and any comments given by the public on the matter. Within 30 days of the first meeting on an application, the Planning Board shall make a written recommendation to the Board of Commissioners. In making its recommendation, the Planning Board shall include a written statement summarizing the amendment’s consistency with the Future Land Use Plan and any other relevant plans having applicability to the proposed amendment in accordance with G.S. § 160A-383.
      (4)   Review and action by Board of Commissioners. Following consideration by the Planning Board, the town’s Board of Commissioners shall conduct a public hearing to review and consider the application, the relevant supporting materials, the Ordinance Administrator’s recommendation, the recommendation of the Planning Board and the comments given during the hearing (if any). Following the close of the public hearing, the town’s Board of Commissioners shall take one of the following actions:
         (a)   Approve the rezoning application as requested;
         (b)   Approve the rezoning application with a reduction in size of the area requested;
         (c)   Approve the rezoning application to a more restrictive base zoning district;
         (d)   Deny the rezoning application; and
         (e)   Remand the rezoning application back to the Planning Board for further consideration.
Regardless of the decision on the application, the Board of Commissioners shall adopt a statement on the proposed amendment’s consistency with the Future Land Use Plan and any other relevant plans having applicability to the proposed amendment as well as the reasonableness of the action and how the action furthers the public interest in accordance with G.S. § 160A-383. Where a rezoning is approved that has the effect of creating an isolated district (a zoning district surrounded entirely by dissimilar zoning districts) that is less than ten acres in size, the Board of Commissioners shall also adopt a statement analyzing the reasonableness of the approval of the small scale rezoning in accordance with G.S. § 160A-382.
   (E)   Protest petitions.
      (1)   General. Applications to amend the official zoning map which are subject to a valid protest petition as set forth in G.S. § 160A-385 shall only be approved by an affirmative vote of at least three-fourths of the members of the town’s Board of Commissioners who are eligible to vote on the matter.
      (2)   Valid protest petitions.
         (a)   For a protest petition to be valid, it must be signed by:
            1.   The owners of at least 20% of the land area within the area subject to the application for amendment; or
            2.   The owners of at least 5% of the land within a 100-foot buffer extending along the perimeter of the area subject to the application for amendment. A street right-of-way shall not be considered in computing the buffer distance; provided that, the right-of-way is less 100 feet in width. If an area less than an entire parcel is proposed for rezoning, the buffer shall be computed from the exterior parcel boundary.
         (b)   In accordance with G.S. § 160A-385(a), no protest against any change in or amendment to a zoning ordinance or zoning map shall be valid or effective for the purposes of G.S. § 160A-385 unless it is in the form of a written petition actually bearing the signatures of the requisite number of property owners and stating that the signers do protest the proposed change or amendment, and unless it shall have been received by the Town Clerk in sufficient time to allow the town at least two normal work days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays, before the date established for a public hearing on the proposed change or amendment to determine the sufficiency and accuracy of the petition.
(Ord. passed 3-5-2018)
§ 152.072  TEXT AMENDMENT.
   (A)   Purpose. The purpose of this section is to provide a uniform means for amending the text of this chapter.
   (B)   Authority. The town’s Board of Commissioners may adopt an ordinance amending the text of this chapter upon compliance with the provisions of this section.
   (C)   Initiation. An application to amend the text of this chapter may be initiated by the town’s Board of Commissioners, the Planning Board, the Ordinance Administrator, a resident of the town or any other person having a financial or other interest in land located within the town’s zoning jurisdiction.
   (D)   Procedures.
      (1)   Preliminary procedures. The preliminary procedures and requirements for submission and review of an application are established in §§ 152.045 through 152.056 of this chapter.
      (2)   Review and recommendation by Ordinance Administrator. Prior to the submission of the application to the Planning Board, the Ordinance Administrator shall review the application and make a written recommendation which he or she shall present to the Planning Board.
      (3)   Review and recommendation by Planning Board. Following the review and recommendation by the Ordinance Administrator, the application shall be forwarded to the Planning Board for its review and recommendation. During the meeting the Planning Board shall consider the application, relevant supporting materials, the Ordinance Administrator’s recommendation and any comments given by the public on the matter. Within 30 days of the first meeting on an application, the Planning Board shall make a written recommendation to the Board of Commissioners. In making its recommendation, the Planning Board shall include a written statement summarizing the amendment’s consistency with the Future Land Use Plan and any other relevant plans having applicability to the proposed amendment in accordance with G.S. § 160A-383.
      (4)   Review and action by Board of Commissioners.
         (a)   Following consideration by the Planning Board, the town’s Board of Commissioners shall conduct a public hearing to review and consider the application, the relevant supporting materials, the Ordinance Administrator’s recommendation, the recommendation of the Planning Board and the comments given during the hearing (if any). Following the close of the public hearing, the town’s Board of Commissioners shall take one of the following actions:
            1.   Approve the amendment as written;
            2.   Approve a revised amend- ment;
            3.   Reject the amendment; or
            4.   Remand the application back to the Planning Board for further consideration.
         (b)   Regardless of the decision on the application, the Board of Commissioners shall adopt a statement on the proposed amendment’s consistency with the Future Land Use Plan and any other relevant plans having applicability to the proposed amendment as well as the reasonableness of the action and how the action furthers the public interest in accordance with G.S. § 160A-383.
(Ord. passed 3-5-2018)
§ 152.073  SPECIAL USE PERMIT.
   (A)   Purpose. Special uses are uses that are generally compatible with the other uses permitted in a zoning district, but require individual review of their location, design, configuration, density and intensity of use, and usually require the imposition of conditions to ensure the appropriateness of the use at a particular location.
   (B)   Authority. The Board of Adjustment is authorized to review and decide applications for special use permits in accordance with this section. Only those uses identified as special uses in § 152.145 of this chapter are authorized to be considered as special uses under this section. The designation of a use as a special use does not constitute an authorization that such use shall be approved through a special use permit in accordance with this section. Rather, each proposed special use shall be evaluated by the Board of Adjustment for compliance with the standards set forth in this section and the applicable standards for the use in §§ 152.146 through 152.201 of this chapter (if appropriate).
   (C)   Initiation. An application for a special use permit may only be initiated by the owner(s), of the property for which the special use permit is designated. Agents of property owners may apply only after submitting a notarized letter of agency containing the signatures of all owners holding a beneficial interest in the property for which the special use permit is designated.
   (D)   Procedures.
      (1)   Preliminary procedures. The preliminary procedures and requirements for submission and review of an application are established in §§ 152.045 through 152.056 of this chapter.
      (2)   Site plan required. A site plan must be submitted as part of the application for a special use permit. The site plan shall conform to the requirements set forth in § 152.075(E)(4) of this chapter.
      (3)   Action by Board of Adjustment. After public notification and scheduling of a public hearing, the Board of Adjustment shall conduct a quasi-judicial public hearing on the application. At the public hearing, the Board of Adjustment shall consider the application, the relevant supporting materials, the site plan and evidence presented at the quasi-judicial public hearing. After the close of the public hearing, the Board of Adjustment shall approve, approve with conditions or deny the application based on the standards in division (E) below. In accordance with the standards set forth in G.S. § 160A-388(e), granting approval or conditional approval of a special use permit shall require an affirmative vote of at least five-sixths of the members of the Board of Adjustment who are eligible to vote. All decisions by the Board of Adjustment shall be in writing.
   (E)   Required findings of fact. A special use permit shall only be approved by the Board of Adjustment when each of the following findings have been made:
      (1)   The proposed use will not be detrimental to the health, safety or general welfare of persons residing or working in the vicinity, or injurious to property or improvements in the vicinity;
      (2)   The proposed use is in compliance with all standards in §§ 152.146 through 152.201 of this chapter;
      (3)   The proposed use is compatible with the character of surrounding property and uses permitted in the zoning district(s) of surrounding property;
      (4)   The proposed use is configured in a manner to minimize any adverse effects on surrounding lands;
      (5)   The proposed use will not adversely impact traffic circulation on or in the vicinity of the site;
      (6)   The proposed use will not be detrimental to the value of adjacent or nearby property; and
      (7)   The proposed use is in full compliance with all other relevant town laws and ordinances, state and federal laws and regulations.
   (F)   Conditions of approval. In approving a special use permit, the Board of Adjustment may impose additional conditions on the permit approval in accordance with G.S. § 160A-381. All additional conditions imposed must be accepted by the applicant.
   (G)   Effect of approval. Issuance of a special use permit shall authorize only the particular special use that is approved in the permit. All subsequent development and use of the property must be in accordance with the approved special use permit and conditions (if applicable). Nothing in this division (E) shall prevent the establishment of a different use of land; provided, such use is established in accordance with the requirements in this chapter.
   (H)   Recordation. The applicant shall, at his or her expense, record the special use permit in the office of the Register of Deeds of the county within 30 days of its issuance and provide the town with evidence of its recordation.
   (I)   Subsequent development. Development authorized by the special use permit shall not be carried out until the applicant has secured all other permits required by this chapter or any other applicable provisions of the town. A special use permit does not ensure that the use shall receive subsequent approval for other applications for permit approval unless the relevant and applicable portions of this chapter or any other applicable provisions are met.
   (J)   Expiration.
      (1)   General. The town’s Board of Commissioners may prescribe a time limit within which development activity shall begin or be completed under the special use permit, or both. Failure to begin or complete such development activity within the time limit specified shall void the special use permit. Unless specified otherwise by the town’s Board of Commissioners, a special use permit shall automatically expire two years from the date of its issuance if:
         (a)   The development authorized by the permit has not commenced, and no substantial construction, alteration, demolition, excavation or other similar work required by the permit is completed;
         (b)   Less than 10% of the total amount of development approved as part of the permit is completed, when construction, alteration, demolition, excavation or other similar work is required; or
         (c)   The development approved by the special use permit is discontinued and not resumed for a period of one year.
      (2)   Extension. Upon written application submitted at least 30 days prior to the expiration of the permit period by the applicant, and upon a showing of good cause, the Ordinance Administrator may grant one extension not to exceed six months. Failure to submit an application for an extension within the time limits established by this section shall result in the expiration of the special use permit.
   (K)   Minor deviation. Minor field alterations or minor revisions to approved special use permits may be approved by the Ordinance Administrator if the special use still meets the intent of the standards established with the original approval. Any other change shall be considered as an amendment. Minor field alterations and revisions include, but are not limited to, small shifts in the location of structures, parking areas, landscaping, utilities, driveways and other site features in order to accommodate the existence of circumstances found during construction that could not have been anticipated prior to the commencement of development activity.
   (L)   Amendment. A special use permit may be amended, extended or modified only in accordance with the procedures and standards established for its original approval.
(Ord. passed 3-5-2018)
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