(A) Amendment initiated by Area Plan Commission or participating local legislative body. The Plan Commission upon its own motion may, or at the direction of a participating local legislative body shall, hold a public hearing, giving notice thereof, on a proposed text or map amendment. After holding the public hearing, the Plan Commission shall within ten days transmit its report and recommendation to the affected local legislative body (or bodies).
(B) Amendment initiated by applicant.
(1) Any person, corporation, partnership, association, or combination there of, having a legal or equitable interest in or to real property or an affidavit of designee by power-of-attorney, may file an application for an amendment of the text of the zoning ordinance or a change in the zoning classification of such property by amendment of the zoning map. An application shall be filed with the Plan Commission, and shall be in such form and content as the Plan Commission may establish. The application shall be accompanied by payment of a fee, in accordance with the schedule of fees established by the Area Plan Commission.
(2) An application shall be filed before the second Thursday of each month in order to be heard at the Area Plan Commission public hearing in the following month.
(C) Public notice of area plan commission public hearing required.
(1) For an amendment to the zoning ordinance text or an amendment to the zoning map (changing the zoning classification of the subject property), the Plan Commission staff shall have notice of the public hearing published in the newspaper of general circulation in the jurisdiction of the subject amendment.
(a) The notice shall be published at least ten calendar days prior to the date of the Area Plan Commission public hearing.
(b) The notice shall state:
1. The date, time and place of the public hearing;
2. Who will conduct the public hearing;
3. The name of the applicant and the section of the zoning ordinance being proposed for amendment or the address of the subject property being proposed for the change in zoning;
4. The present and desired zoning classifications if a zoning map amendment; and
5. Other information as may be necessary to provide adequate and timely public notice.
(2) In addition to the publication of the notice of the public hearing, the following additional public notifications are required for a zoning map amendment.
(a) Posting of sign; required for map amendment. Upon the filing of an application the applicant, petitioner or their attorney shall procure of the Plan Commission Office a sign which shall be posted in a conspicuous place and visible at all times to all persons passing the property subject to the proposed zoning map amendment. The sign shall be posted continuously for at least ten calendar days prior to the date of the public hearing. The notice shall state:
1. The date, time and place of public hearing;
2. Who will conduct the public hearing; and
3. The present and desired zoning classifications; and
4. Other information as may be necessary to provide adequate and timely public notice.
(b) Notification of abutting property owners. The Plan Commission staff shall provide the applicant with letters of Area Plan Commission public hearing notification of abutting property owners; and the applicant shall ensure the abutting property owners are notified by certified mail at least ten calendar days before the Plan Commission public hearing. The applicant shall provide verification of the notification of abutting property owners at least two business days prior to the Plan Commission public hearing.
(3) The applicant shall be responsible for all notification and any re-notification costs including the cost of the publication of notice in newspaper, the cost of the sign and it’s posting on the subject property, and the cost of the mailing of the notification of abutting property owners.
(4) For a proposed zoning text amendment, only the notice of the public hearing in the local newspaper shall be met at least ten calendar days prior to the Area Plan Commission public hearing. If the notification requirement is not met, the public hearing on the subject amendment shall be deferred, and the applicant shall be responsible for the re-notification cost.
(5) For a proposed zoning map amendment, all three notification requirements (notice of the public hearing in the local newspaper, posting of the sign on the subject property and notification of abutting property owners) shall be met at least ten calendar days prior to the date of the Area Plan Commission public hearing. If any of the three notification requirements is not fulfilled, the public hearing on the subject amendment shall be deferred, and the applicant shall be responsible for the re-notification cost.
(6) In the event that the abutting property for a zoning map amendment is in an adjacent county or state, two tiers of abutting property owners in the adjacent county or state within 1/8-mile of the subject property shall be notified by certified mail at least ten calendar days prior to the date of the public hearing.
(7) An abutting property owner is the owner of property contiguous to the subject property of the proposed zoning map amendment, and is the owner(s) of record in the County Recorder’s office. In the event the abutting property is a public right-of-way or in public ownership, the next tier of adjacent property in private ownership shall also be notified. In the event the contiguous property is under the same ownership as the subject property of the proposed zoning map amendment, the next tier of adjacent property in private ownership other than the applicant shall also be notified.
(D) Time limitation on re-filing for zoning map amendment. A new application and/or rehearing of a proposed zoning map amendment which has been denied shall not be permitted for one year following the denial by the affected local legislative body.
(E) Zoning map amendment application withdrawal or revision. The application for a zoning map amendment must be withdrawn before the public hearing is opened to avoid the one year penalty per § 153.252(D). Any revision of the original application by the applicant should be stated at the time of the public, and the Area Plan Commission Board may propose and the applicant may accept any revisions to the application during the public hearing or during deliberations of the Area Plan Commission Board before the vote on action. It is within the authority of the Area Plan Commission Board to determine that a revision is not substantive in nature or reduces the potential adverse impacts on abutting property owners, and the public hearing may be continued to the next public hearing without re-notification of the abutting property owners if the Area Plan Commission Board so desires. On the other hand, if the Area Plan Commission Board determines that a revision is substantive in nature and does have the potential to increase adverse impacts on abutting property owners, the Area Plan Commission Board may request that the public hearing be continued to the next public meeting and that the applicant re-notify abutting property owners of the new or supplemental hearing date.
(F) Planning Commission action on zoning text and map amendments.
(1) After notice and public hearing, the Planning Commission shall vote, by a majority vote of the total Area Plan Commission Board membership, to:
(a) Recommend to the applicable local legislative body that the application be approved as submitted or as amended or be approved subject to modification;
(b) Recommend to the applicable local legislative body that application be denied; or
(c) Shall vote to make no recommendation.
(2) If a majority vote of the total Area Plan Commission Board membership is not attained, the application shall be forwarded to the applicable local legislative body without recommendation.
(3) An application recommended for approval, approval subject to modification or unfavorable recommendation shall be transmitted, with the report and recommendation of the Plan Commission, to the applicable local legislative body within ten calendar days from the date of the Area Plan Commission action. In the event that the Area Plan Commission is unable to take action due to the lack of a majority vote of the total membership, the application shall be transmitted without recommendation to the applicable local legislative body with ten calendar days of the public hearing.
(G) Land use and development agreements. See § 153.224.
(H) Local legislative body action on zoning text and map amendments. The local legislative body shall hold a hearing on each application transmitted from the Area Plan Commission and on any proposed zoning text or map amendment. The local legislative body shall approve the application as submitted, or as amended, or approve the application subject to modification, or deny the application. This is to take place 90 days from transmittal from Plan Commission. A vote of at least a majority of all the elected members of the applicable local legislative body is needed for action on a zoning text or map amendment.
(I) Further consideration of denied request. Upon the denial, by the local legislative body, of an application for a zoning text or map amendment, the application may be resubmitted to the Area Planning Commission one year to date after its initial denial for reconsideration.
(Ord. 12-16, passed 8-8-12; Am. Ord. 2016-2A, passed 1-21-16)