(A) Initiation of amendment. The City Council may, from time to time, amend this chapter by changing or supplementing the district map, the districts on said map, or the boundaries of such districts, district regulations, or other provisions of this chapter. An amendment may be initiated by the City Council, by an interested person(s) or their agent(s), or by the Planning Commission, and when requested by an interested party shall be accompanied by a fee in an amount established by resolution of the City Council.
(B) Amendment review procedure. The amendment and application materials shall be prepared in accordance with the provisions of this section, and shall be reviewed in accordance with the following procedure. Amendments or application materials that do not meet the stipulated requirements shall be considered incomplete and shall not be eligible for consideration by the Planning Commission.
(1) Technical review. Prior to Planning Commission consideration, the proposed amendment and application materials shall be distributed to appropriate city staff and applicable outside agencies and designated city consultants for review.
(2) Public hearing. A public hearing shall be held for all proposed amendments in accordance with the procedures set forth in Public Act 110 of 2006, being M.C.L.A. §§ 125.3 et seq., as amended.
(3) Planning Commission consideration. Subsequent to the hearing, the Planning Commission shall review the proposed amendment, together with any reports and recommendations from staff, consultants, other reviewing agencies, and any public comments. The Planning Commission shall identify and evaluate all factors relevant to the petition, including the appropriate criteria listed in this section, and shall report its findings and recommendation to the City Council.
(4) City Council action. Upon receipt of the report and recommendation from the Planning Commission, the City Council shall consider the proposed amendment. If determined to be necessary, the City Council may refer the amendment back to the Planning Commission for further consideration. In the case of an amendment to the official zoning map, the City Council shall approve or deny the amendment, based upon its consideration of the criteria contained in this section.
(C) Re-application. Whenever an application for an amendment to this chapter has been denied by the City Council, a new application for the same amendment shall not be accepted by the Planning Commission for consideration for a period of 365 days, unless, upon recommendation by the Zoning Administrator, the Planning Commission determines that one or more of the following conditions has been met:
(1) There is a substantial change in circumstances relevant to the issues or facts considered during review of the application that might reasonably affect the decision-making body’s application of the relevant review standards to the development proposed in the application;
(2) New or additional information is available that was not available at the time of the review that might reasonably affect the decision-making body’s application of the relevant review standards to the development proposed; and/or
(3) The new application is materially different from the prior application.
(D) Criteria for amendment of zoning district map.
(1) In considering any petition for an amendment to the official zoning districts map, the Planning Commission and City Council shall consider the following criteria in making its findings, recommendations, and decision:
(a) Consistency with the goals, policies, and objectives of the Master Plan and any sub-area plans. If conditions have changed since the Master Plan was adopted, consistency with recent development trends in the area shall be considered;
(b) Compatibility of the site’s physical, geological, hydrological, and other environmental features with the uses permitted in the proposed zoning district;
(c) Evidence the applicant cannot receive a reasonable return on investment through developing the property with one or more of the uses permitted under the current zoning;
(d) Compatibility of all the potential uses allowed in the proposed zoning district with surrounding uses and zoning in terms of land suitability, impacts on the environment, density, nature of use, traffic impacts, aesthetics, infrastructure, and potential influence on property values;
(e) The capacity of city’s utilities and services sufficient to accommodate the uses permitted in the requested district without compromising the health, safety, and welfare of the city;
(f) The capability of the street system to safely and efficiently accommodate the expected traffic generated by uses permitted in the requested zoning district; and
(g) The apparent demand for the types of uses permitted in the requested zoning district in the city in relation to the amount of land in the city currently zoned to accommodate the demand.
(2) Where a rezoning is reasonable given the above criteria, a determination shall be made that the requested zoning district is more appropriate than another district or amending the list of permitted or special land uses within a district.
(E) Protests.
(1) Upon presentation of a protest petition meeting the requirements of this division (E), an amendment to the zoning ordinance which is the object of the petition shall be passed only by a two-thirds vote of the City Council. The protest petition shall be presented to the City Council before final Council action on the amendment, and shall meet signatory requirements of divisions (E)(1)(a) or (E)(1)(b) below:
(a) The owners of at least 20% of the area of land included in the proposed change; or
(b) The owners of at least 20% of the area of land included within an area extending outward 100 feet from any point on the boundary of the land in the proposed change.
(2) For the purposes of this division (E), publicly-owned land shall be excluded in calculating the 20% land area requirement.
(Ord. 357, passed 6-8-2015)