The procedures in this section exist to supplement the procedures set forth in § 153.315 of this chapter, to clarify special requirements for conditional rezonings.
(A) Purpose. The conditional rezoning process allows particular uses to be established, but only in accordance with a specific development project. Some land uses are of a nature or scale that they have significant impacts on both the immediate surrounding area and/or on the entire community that cannot be predetermined and controlled by general district standards or the criteria governing planned developments. There are also circumstances in which a general district designation allowing a use by right would not be appropriate for a particular property even though the use itself could, if properly planned, be appropriate for the property and be consistent with the objectives of these regulations, the adopted land use plan, and other plans for the physical development of the city as adopted by the City Council. Property may be placed in a conditional district only in response to a petition by all owners of the property to be included. The review process established herein provides for the accommodation of the uses by a reclassification of property into a conditional district approval process is also established to address those situations when a particular use may be acceptable but the general zoning districts which would allow that use would not be acceptable.
(B) Reclassification required prior to development.
(1) In order for a property owner to secure privileges for developing property under the conditional district process, the property must first be rezoned by the City Council to a conditional district. Specific conditions may be proposed by the petitioner or the city, but only those conditions approved by the city and consented to by the petitioner in writing may be incorporated into the zoning regulations. Conditions and site-specific standards imposed in a conditional district shall be limited to those that address the conformance of the development and use of the site to local government ordinances, the land use plan or the impacts reasonably expected to be generated by the development or use of the site. Any use permitted under this process must also conform to the development regulations for the corresponding general zoning district.
(2) Thus, if a property were rezoned to an NB(CD), that use must:
(a) Be a use allowed in the NB District; and
(b) Meet all dimensional, screening and related requirements of the NB District.
(3) Rezoning of property to a conditional district is a voluntary procedure on the part of the property owner and is intended for firm development proposals. It is not intended or suited for securing early zoning for tentative proposals that may not be undertaken for some time. No conditional district shall be established until the owner(s) of the property(ies) in question (or his or her authorized agent) proposing the district has submitted an application for the rezoning of the property and the City Council has approved the application in accordance with the procedures stated herein.
(C) Plans and other information to accompany petition. Every application for the rezoning of property to a conditional district shall be accompanied by a site plan, drawn to scale, and any necessary supporting information together which conform to all the requirements set forth in division (D) below and when requested, the additional information that may be required pursuant to division (A) above.
(D) Submittal to the Administrator.
(1) Submittal to the Administrator of an application for a conditional district rezoning shall be in accordance with the schedule set forth in § 153.315(D) of this chapter.
(2) The application for a conditional zoning amendment can only be initiated by the property owner/owners.
(E) Procedures. The procedures for requesting rezoning to a conditional district shall be as follows:
(1) Three copies and a digital version of a completed written application for a conditional district shall be filed with the Administrator. The application shall be submitted on official forms provided by the Administrator and shall be accompanied by the following items:
(a) A scaled boundary survey showing the total acreage, and present zoning classifications for the property(ies) for which the conditional district is sought, date and north arrow. On this survey shall be sketched the information required by this section;
(b) All existing easements, rights-of-way and required setbacks for the lot(s) for which the conditional district is sought;
(c) Proposed use, size, layout and setbacks of all proposed structures and proposed uses of land. For residential uses this shall include the number of units and an outline of the area where all principal and accessory structures will be located. For nonresidential uses, this shall include the approximate gross floor areas of all structures and an outline of the area where the structures will be located;
(d) Traffic, parking and circulation plans, showing the proposed locations and arrangement of parking spaces and access points to adjacent streets;
(e) Landscape plan showing proposed screening and landscaping, including location of walls, fences, berms and natural plantings as well as treatment of any existing natural features within the site;
(f) Delineation of areas within the regulatory floodplain as shown on the official flood hazard boundary maps;
(g) Proposed number, size, type and location of freestanding signs;
(h) Proposed phasing, if any, and approximate completion time of the project;
(i) The owner's names and addresses, tax parcel numbers and existing land use(s) of all adjoining properties;
(j) A sketch vicinity map with north arrow shall be included showing the relationship between the proposed use and surrounding area; and
(k) Other information as the Planning Board may request as provided for in division (F) below.
(2) No application shall be considered complete unless it contains or is accompanied by all items listed in this section of this chapter and a fee, in accordance with a fee schedule approved by the City Council for the submittal of conditional district applications.
(3) The Planning Board shall consider no application unless it has been properly completed and submitted to the Administrator, or his or her designee, by the application deadline on the city’s website, to be reviewed at the meetings corresponding to the schedule. In no case shall the meeting at which the Planning Board initially reviews the application occur greater than 60 days after the required number of copies of the completed application have been submitted by the applicant to the Administrator.
(4) If the conditional district application is for a property located within an HO-Historic Overlay District the Administrator shall, upon his or her receipt of the application, promptly notify the chairperson of the Historic District Commission and submit copies of the application to the Historic District Commission in order that the Historic District Commission may review and make a recommendation on the application in accordance with § 153.122(G) of this chapter.
(5) The Planning Board shall have a maximum of 45 days from the date at which it initially met to review the application to submit its recommendation to the City Council. If a recommendation is not made during the 45-day period, the application shall be forwarded to the City Council without a recommendation.
(6) (a) When dealing with the conditional district process and with the rezoning of properties to a conditional district, it may be necessary to request information in addition to that listed in this division in order to evaluate a proposed use and its relationship to the surrounding area. Therefore, the Planning Board (and/or City Council) may request additional information of the applicant, as it deems necessary.
(b) A request for additional information shall stay any further consideration of the application by the Planning Board or City Council. This information may include (but not be limited to) the following:
1. Permanent and construction phase plans for the control of sedimentation and erosion control (for projects subject to State Sedimentation Pollution Control Act) and plans for the control of stormwater drainage and run-off;
2. Existing and proposed topography at four-foot contour intervals or less;
3. The existing and proposed location of all water and sewer lines and fire hydrants intended to serve the proposed development;
4. Proposed number, type and location of signs; and
5. A traffic impact study of the proposed development prepared by a qualified transportation or traffic engineer or planner. The traffic impact study shall include the following information:
a. Existing traffic conditions within the study area boundary;
b. The distribution of existing and proposed trips through the street network;
c. Analyses of the capacities of intersections located within the study area boundary;
d. Recommendations for improvements designed to mitigate traffic impacts and to enhance pedestrian access to the development from the public right-of-way;
e. Other pertinent information, including but not limited to noise, and impacts on air quality and other natural resources; and
f. Traffic volumes generated by the existing and proposed development on the parcel, including the morning peak, afternoon or evening peak and average daily traffic levels.
(F) City Council decision.
(1) Public hearing. Once a recommendation has been received from the Planning Board, or the 45-day Planning Board review period has expired, the City Council shall hold (after notice) a public hearing concerning the application for a conditional district.
(2) Special conditions and conditional district. Specific conditions may be proposed by the petitioner or the city, but only those conditions mutually approved by the city and the petitioner may be incorporated into the zoning regulations. Conditions and site-specific standards imposed in a conditional district shall be limited to those that address the conformance of the development and use of the site to local government ordinances, the land use plan, or the impacts reasonably expected to be generated by the development or use of the site. Prior to approval of a conditional district rezoning, the application shall be subject to all of the proceduresand hearing as set forth in divisions (E) and (F) of this section.
(G) Effect of approval.
(1) If a petition for a conditional district rezoning is approved under this subchapter, the conditional district that is established and all conditions which may have been attached to the approval are binding on the property as an amendment to these regulations and to the zoning map. All subsequent development and use of the property shall be in accordance with the standards for the approved conditional district and all conditions attached to the approval.
(2) Following the approval of the petition for a parallel conditional district, the subject property shall be identified on the zoning map by the appropriate district designation. A parallel conditional district shall be identified by the same designation as the corresponding general zoning district followed by the letters CD (for example, “NB(CD)”.
(H) Alterations to approval.
(1) Except as provided in(I) below, changes to the approved conditional district or to the conditions attached to the approval shall be treated the same as amendments to these regulations or to the zoning map and shall be processed in accordance with the procedures in this subchapter.
(2) Minor changes in the detail of the approved conditional district that are in accordance with division (J) below may be made with the approval of the Administrator. If multiple parcels of land are subject to a conditional district, the owners of individual parcels may apply for modification of the conditions so long as the modification would not result in other properties failing to meet the terms of the conditions. Any modifications approved shall only be applicable to those properties whose owners petition for the modification.
(I) Change in conditional district. Once a petition for rezoning to a conditional district has been approved by the City Council, any request to materially change (any change not authorized by division (J)) the conditional district may only be made by the property owner or his or her authorized agent only after a public hearing has been duly advertised and held in accordance with §§ 153.315 and 153.316 of this chapter. Any amendment to the conditional district shall also be subject to the same considerations as set forth in § 153.315(F) of this chapter.
(J) Binding effect.
(1) Any conditional district so authorized shall be perpetually binding to the property unless subsequently changed or amended by the City Council.
(2) However, minor changes in the detail of the approved plan which:
(a) Will not alter the basic relationship of the proposed development to adjacent property;
(b) Will not alter the uses permitted or increase the density or intensity of development; and
(c) Will not decrease the off-street parking ratio or reduce the yards provided at the periphery of the site may be made with the approval of the Administrator.
(3) The changes shall not be deemed to materially change the conditional district.
(4) An increase in building size not to exceed 10% of the existing floor area on the site or 1,000 square feet of gross floor area on the entire site, whichever is less, and provided the expansion does not violate any of the standards of this chapter, shall be deemed a minor change as described in this chapter.
(K) Certificate of occupancy. No certificate of occupancy shall be issued for any building or land use on a piece of property which has been rezoned to a conditional district unless the building is constructed or used, or the land is developed or used, in conformity with the conditional district approved by the City Council. In the event that only a segment of a proposed development has been approved, the certificate of occupancy shall be issued only for that portion of the development constructed or used as approved.
(L) One-year limitation on re-application. If a request for a conditional district is denied by the City Council, a similar application for the same property or any portion thereof shall not be filed until the expiration of a 12-month period from the date of the most recent denial by the City Council. This waiting period shall not be applicable where the application for a conditional district is substantially different from the application that most previously had been denied.
(M) Change in conditional district. Any request to materially change (a change other than a minor change as set forth in division (J)) the conditional district once it has been issued by the City Council shall first be reviewed by the Planning Board in accordance with §§ 153.315 and 153.316 of this chapter. The City Council may thereafter change or amend any previously approved conditional district, only after having held a public hearing. Notice of the public hearing shall be in accordance with § 153.315 of this chapter. Amendment by the City Council of a previously issued conditional district shall be subject to the same considerations as provided for in §§ 153.315 and 153.316 of this chapter.
(N) Review of approval of conditional zoning district. It is intended that property be reclassified to a conditional district only in the event of firm plans to develop the property. Therefore, no sooner than five years after the date of approval of the petition, the Administrator will examine the progress made toward developing the property in accordance with the approved petition and any conditions attached to the approval. If the Administrator determines that progress has not been made in accordance with the approved petition and conditions, the Administrator shall forward to the City Council a report, which may recommend that the property be classified to another district.
(Prior UDO, § 20.2) (Ord. passed - - ; Ord. O-5-2024, passed 6-6-2024) Penalty, see § 153.999
Cross-reference:
Landscaping, see § 153.047
Screening, see § 153.046