(A) Applicability.
(1) Amendments to the Zoning Map shall be made in accordance with the provisions of this section.
(2) The Town Board of Commissioners shall consider amendments to the Zoning Map, as may be required from time to time.
(3) Rezonings should correspond with the boundary lines of existing platted lots or parcels. Where the boundaries of a rezoning request stop short of an exterior property line, it must be possible to subdivide and develop that portion of the property outside the proposed rezoning boundary in accordance with the existing zoning and other requirements of this chapter.
(4) All zoning requirements shall be met within the boundaries of the area being rezoned. If all of the requirements cannot be met on the site being rezoned, prior to advertisement of the public hearing, the rezoning shall be expanded to include all property necessary to meet zoning requirements.
(B) Initiation of amendment.
(1) A request for a rezoning may be initiated by the Town Board of Commissioners, the Planning Board, or the Planning Director.
(2) An owner of land within the jurisdiction of the town (or a duly authorized agent or representative) may petition the Town Board of Commissioners for a rezoning.
(C) Pre-application conference. All applicants petitioning for a rezoning shall schedule a pre-application conference with the Planning Director in accordance with § 156.702.
(D) Neighborhood meeting. All applicants petitioning for a rezoning shall hold a neighborhood meeting in accordance with § 156.702.
(E) Application requirements. All applications for a rezoning shall be submitted in accordance with § 156.702.
(F) Notice and public hearings. The town shall hold all required public hearings and give notice in accordance with § 156.702.
(G) Action by Planning Director.
(1) The Planning Director shall prepare a staff report that reviews the rezoning request in light of the adopted plans and policies of the town and the general requirements of this chapter.
(2) Following completion of technical review by staff, the Planning Director shall forward the completed request and any related materials to the Planning Board.
(H) Action by Planning Board.
(1) The Planning Board shall make a recommendation on the application to the Town Board of Commissioners. The Planning Board's recommendation shall include a written statement to the Town Board of Commissioners describing whether its recommendation is consistent with the adopted plans and policies of the town. If the Planning Board fails to make a recommendation, the Town Board of Commissioners may process the request without a recommendation.
(2) Following Planning Board review, the Planning Director shall forward the completed rezoning request and any related materials, including the Planning Board recommendation (if applicable), to the Town Board of Commissioners for final action.
(I) Action by Town Board of Commissioners.
(1) Before taking action on a rezoning, the Town Board of Commissioners shall consider the recommendations of the Planning Board and Planning Director.
(2) The Town Board of Commissioners may approve the rezoning, deny the rezoning, or send the rezoning back to the Planning Director for additional consideration.
(3) Concurrently with adopting, denying, or remanding any rezoning, the Town Board of Commissioners shall adopt a statement describing whether its action is consistent with the adopted plans and polices of the town and explaining why the Town Board of Commissioners considers the action taken to be reasonable and in the public interest.
(J) Approval criteria. No rezoning may be approved by the Town Board of Commissioners unless all of the following criteria are satisfied:
(1) Consistency with the adopted plans and policies of the town;
(2) Suitability of the subject property for uses permitted by the current versus the proposed district;
(3) Whether the proposed change tends to improve the balance of uses, or meets a specific demand in the town;
(4) The capacity of adequate public facilities and services including schools, roads, recreation facilities wastewater treatment and water supply facilities and stormwater drainage facilities for the proposed use;
(5) It has been determined that the legal purposes for which zoning exists are not contravened;
(6) It has been determined that there will be no adverse effect upon adjoining property owners unless such effect can be justified by the overwhelming public good or welfare; and
(7) It has been determined that no 1 property owner or small group of property owners will benefit materially from the change to the detriment of the general public.
(K) Protest to zoning change.
(1) If a petition opposing a change in the rezoning is filed in accordance with the provisions of this section, then the proposed rezoning may be adopted only by a favorable vote of at least ¾ of the Town Board of Commissioners.
(2) To qualify as a protest under this section, the petition must:
(a) Be signed by the owners of either:
1. Twenty percent or more of the area included in the proposed change; or
2. Five percent or more of the area of a 100-foot wide buffer extending along the entire boundary of each discrete or separate area proposed to be rezoned.
3. Street right-of-way shall not be considered in computing the 100-foot buffer area, except where the street right-of-way is wider than 100 feet. When less than an entire parcel of land is subject to the proposed rezoning, the 100-foot buffer shall be measured from the property line of that parcel. For the purposes of this section, the 'owners' are those listed on the county tax listing.
(b) Be a written petition actually bearing the signatures and addresses of the requisite number of property owners and stating that the signers do protest the proposed change.
(c) Be received by the Town Clerk at least 10 days before the date established for a public hearing on the rezoning to allow the Town Clerk's determination of the sufficiency and accuracy of the petition.
(L) Modification of application. An applicant in a zoning matter may reduce the geographic scope and/or propose a district of lower density or intensity from that requested in the application by filing a statement of modification with the Planning Director.
(M) Time lapse between similar applications.
(1) In the event of a withdrawal of an application during Town Board of Commissioners review on the merits, no application may be filed requesting the rezoning of any parcel contained in the withdrawn application prior to the expiration of a minimum period of 6 months from the withdrawal of the application. Where the application is withdrawn prior to the required public hearing, no expiration period shall be imposed on a new application.
(2) When the Town Board of Commissioners has voted on a zoning application and the proposed rezoning has either been denied or has failed to be adopted by the vote required in the event of a valid protest petition, then the application shall be deemed to have expired.
(3) No subsequent application requesting a zoning change for any parcel contained in an application which has expired may be made prior to the expiration of a minimum period of 6 months from the date of expiration.
(4) No subsequent application requesting the same zoning district for any parcel contained in an application which has expired may be filed prior to the expiration of a minimum period of 1 year from the expiration.
(5) The Town Board of Commissioners, by a ¾ majority vote, may waive the time-lapse requirements of this section if the Town Board of Commissioners deems it to be in the public interest to do so.
(Ord. passed 6- -2019)