(A) Generally. Public notice, if required, shall be provided in accordance with the requirements of this subsection. The content of notices shall be according to the policies adopted by the city and as required by I.C.A. § 362.3.
(B) Required notice. Set out in Table 156.J.002.6-1, Required Notice, are the required notices established for each type of application or procedure. Administrative approvals and procedures do not require notice and therefore are not listed in the Table. It shall be the policy of the city to give as full and adequate notice as practicable to all interested persons and to the general public, but the good-faith failure to mail notice to any person entitled in this subsection, except as specified in Chapter 414, of the Iowa Code, shall not be grounds for upsetting any action taken.
(C) Content of notice. The notice shall include:
(1) The date, time, and place of such hearing;
(2) A description of the contents of the matter to be heard; and
(3) The address or location of the property involved and to be discussed at the public hearing.
(D) Setting hearing. For all matters properly brought before the Board of Adjustment or the Plan and Zoning Commission for which a public hearing is required by this Zoning Ordinance, the development review body charged with conducting the public hearing shall, upon receipt of a completed application, select a reasonable time and place for such hearing; provided, however, that such time shall be not later than 60 days following the submission of the subject application, unless the applicant shall agree to some later time.
Required Notice | ||||
Review Procedure | Application Type | Review Body | Publication | Posted |
Legislative Applications | Text Amendment | City Council | Required | Not Required |
Zone Change | Required | Required | ||
Quasi-Judicial Applications | Special Use Permit | Board of Adjustment | Required | Required |
Variances | Required | Required | ||
Appeals of Administrative Decisions | Not Required | Not Required | ||
(E) Procedural requirements for notice.
(1) Contents. All notices shall contain, at minimum, the following information:
(a) The name of the owner, applicant, engineer, architect, or other parties involved;
(b) Lot, block, and address of the subject property, or, if none apply, the general location based on the nearest street intersection;
(c) For variances, a reference to the Zoning Ordinance provision that is the subject of the variance;
(d) The address, date, and time of the public hearing; and
(e) The necessary information for obtaining assistance for physically impaired persons who wish to attend the hearing.
(2) Published notice. The Zoning Administrator shall arrange for notice of a required public hearing to be published in one issue of an official newspaper of general circulation in the city, as applicable and as required by state law.
(3) Posted notice. Notice is given by a sign posted on the property in one or more locations that are visible from a public street.
(a) Notice will read "Public Hearing" and provide Housing and Community Development Office contact information.
(b) Post notice signs on each street frontage of a site under consideration to inform the public of a proposed land use plan amendment or zone change and the time and place of the public hearing. The sign shall be black letters on a white sign board and dimensioned as established by the Zoning Administrator.
(c) If multiple properties are under consideration, post signs at least every 600 feet along each street frontage.
(d) It is the responsibility of the property owner to ensure that the signs are maintained and visible from the street rights-of-way in accordance with the provisions of this section. Failure to maintain the public notice signs may be considered, along with all other facts and circumstances, in determining whether the request is granted. Any person who removes a public notice sign without the property owner’s consent shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
(e) Public notice signs must be erected no less than seven days before the hearing and shall remain in place until the final hearing.
(f) Remove signs within seven days after a final decision has been made.
(F) Constructive notice. Failure of a surrounding property owner to receive notice of a hearing shall not affect the validity of the final decision.