(A) Applications. Applications submitted pursuant to this chapter shall be handled in accordance with the procedures set forth below.
(1) Place of Filing. Applications shall be filed with the Department of Planning and Development.
(2) Form, Number, and Scale. Applications shall be on forms supplied by the Department of Planning and Development, and/or the Department of Engineering and shall be filed in such digitally in a Portable Document Format (PDF), version 7 or later submitted via email, file share site, flash drive or other similar media. All plans filed as part of any application shall be at a scale sufficient to permit a clear and precise understanding of the contents of said plans and of the proposal being made. Corrupted files, images that are unclear, or text that is not legible may be rejected.
(3) Minimum Requirements. Every application submitted pursuant to this chapter shall contain such minimum data and information as listed on the application, in Appendix B following this chapter, or as may be required by the Director of Planning and Development, the City Engineer, or their designees.
(4) Filing Deadlines.
(a) An application requiring a public hearing or meeting will not be scheduled for such hearing or meeting unless filed, in proper form and number and containing all required information, as per the applicable year’s adopted meeting dates and filing deadline schedule which is adopted annually by the body to which the application is made (i.e., Plan Commission and/or Board of Zoning Appeals) and is available at the Planning Department or on the city’s website. All applications shall follow the meetings dates as per the filing deadline date. If for some unforeseen reason, the meeting dates following the filing deadline date cannot be adhered to, those application shall then adhere to the following month's filing deadline and meeting dates schedule.
(b) An application that does not require a public hearing shall be filed, in proper form and number and containing all required information.
(5) Fees. Every application filed pursuant to the provisions of this chapter shall be subject to an application and filing fee as established, from time to time, by the Common Council. The owner of the property subject of the application and, if different, the applicant shall be jointly and severally liable for the payment of the fee. The failure to fully pay any such fee or required deposit when due shall be grounds for refusing to process an application and for denying or revoking any permit or approval sought or issued with respect to the land or development to which the unpaid fee or required deposit relates. A current fee schedule may be found in Appendix A of this chapter.
(6) Special Requests. In addition to the minimum data and information required pursuant to division (A)(3) of this section, every applicant shall submit such other and additional data, information, or documentation as the Director of Planning and Development or his or her designee or any board or commission before which its application is pending may deem necessary or appropriate to achieve a full and proper consideration and disposition of the particular application.
(7) Dedication of Right-of-Way. All applications receiving final approval from the Board of Zoning Appeals, Plan Commission, and/or Common Council shall be required to dedicate all right-of-way for any and all streets, adjacent to the property identified in the application, consistent with and depicted on the Noblesville Thoroughfare Plan, as amended or the Hamilton County Thoroughfare Plan, as amended. The dedication may appear on a plat prepared by a licensed land surveyor or by a metes and bounds description and drawing prepared by a licensed engineer/surveyor and shall be recorded within 30 days of the application approval and/or adoption. A recorded copy of said dedication shall be submitted to the Noblesville Planning Department prior to the issuance of any building permit. Failure to dedicate the required right-of-way within the time period shall result in said application being null and void.
(8) Waiver of Application Requirements. Notwithstanding any other provision of this division (A), the Director of Planning and Development shall have the authority to waive any requirement set forth in divisions (A)(1), (A)(2), or (A)(3) of this section when, in his judgment, such waiver is appropriate in light of the nature and extent of the relief being sought or in light of special circumstances making compliance with those provisions either unnecessary or unduly burdensome; provided, however, that any board or commission before which such application may come shall continue to have the right to request additional information pursuant to division (A)(3) of this section and to delay processing of such application until such information is provided and available in accordance with the deadlines established in division (A)(4) of this section.
(B) Successive Applications.
(1) Second Applications Without New Grounds Barred. Whenever any application filed pursuant to this chapter has been finally denied on its merits, a second application seeking essentially the same relief, whether or not in the same form or on the same theory shall not be returned to the Board of Zoning Appeals or the Plan Commission before one year has lapsed from the date of denial unless in the opinion of the official, Board of Zoning Appeals, or Plan Commission before which it was brought, there is substantial new evidence available or an error or fact that significantly affected the prior denial is discovered.
(2) New Grounds to Be Stated. Any such second application shall include a detailed statement of the grounds justifying consideration of such application.
(3) Summary Denial With or Without Hearing. Any such second application may be denied by the Director of Planning and Development summarily, and without hearing, on a finding that no grounds appear that warrant a new hearing. In any case where such application is set for hearing, the applicant shall be required to establish grounds warranting reconsideration of the merits of its application prior to being allowed to offer any evidence on the merits. Unless such grounds are established, the application may be summarily dismissed for such failure.
(4) Exception. Whether or not new grounds are stated, any such second application filed more than one year after the final denial of a prior application shall be heard by the Board of Zoning Appeals or the Plan Commission. The applicant shall, however, be required to place in the record all evidence available concerning changes of conditions or new facts that have developed since the denial of the first application. In the absence of such evidence, it shall be presumed that no new facts exist to support the new petition that did not exist at the time of the denial of the first application.
(C) Public Hearings And Meetings.
(1) Setting Hearing or Meeting. When the provisions of this chapter require a public hearing or public meeting in connection with any application filed pursuant to this chapter, the official or body charged with conducting the hearing or meeting shall, upon receipt of a properly completed application, fix a reasonable time and place for such hearing or meeting.
(a) Hearings for All Applications. The exact time for hearings or meetings held before the Board of Zoning Appeals or Plan Commission shall be determined by the official filing deadline timetable adopted yearly. However, no public hearing shall be held within 17 days, not including the day of the meeting, or more than 49 days of receipt by the Board of Zoning Appeals or Plan Commission on any application.
(2) Notice.
(a) Hearings on All Applications.
1. Notice to Parties of Interest. After the application is filed, the applicant shall furnish the Director of Planning and Development, or his or her designee, with a complete list of names and last known addresses of the owners of property adjacent to the subject property, to a depth of two properties or 660 feet, whichever is less, of the subject tract(s) for Board of Zoning Appeals applications, and 660 feet for Plan Commission applications.
The owners and their mailing addresses shall be identified and provided by the Hamilton County Auditor’s Office, Division of Transfer Mapping, a list that is from the authentic tax records of this county. The applicant shall give due notice to these owners as identified herein, concerning the place, date, and time for the first public hearing of the petition, utilizing the notification letter prepared by the Department of Planning and Development, mailed as a Certificate of Mailing, and date stamped by post office personnel not less than 17 days nor more than 30 days prior to the public hearing date. The Certificate of Mailing receipts of the notification letters shall be submitted to the Director of Planning and Development, or his or her designee, prior to the public hearing.
2. Notice of Public Hearing in Newspaper. The Department of Planning shall arrange for the publication of a public notice to be placed in a newspaper of general circulation in the Noblesville jurisdictional area. Said notice is prepared by the Department of Planning and Development and shall include the same information as described in the “Notice to Adjoining Property Owners.” The newspaper notice shall run at least one time prior to the meeting date of not less than 17 days prior to the meeting. The applicant shall be responsible for the cost of publishing the notice in the newspaper and will be billed according to the policies of the applicable newspaper. The applicant shall file with the Department of Planning and Development a copy of the proof of publication prior to the hearing date.
(b) Content of Notice for Public Hearings and Meetings. Any matter required to be noticed in accordance with the rules of the applicable board, and except as determined by the board, all notices shall include the date, time and place of such hearing or meeting, description of the matter to be heard or considered, and the address or particular location of the subject property.
(c) Referral of Applications. The Director of Planning and Development shall refer every application or petition for which this chapter requires a hearing before the Plan Commission, the Board Zoning of Appeals or the Common Council to all appropriate city commissions and departments. Each commission and department to which an application is referred shall review such application and submit its comments thereon to the Director of Planning and Development or his or her designee for transmittal to the specific body hearing the application. Such comments shall, whenever possible, be submitted at least 14 business days prior to the date set for the hearing and shall be made available to any person on request prior to the hearing.
(d) Conduct of Hearings. All other matters pertaining to the conduct of hearings shall be governed by the provisions of this chapter pertaining to, and the rules promulgated by, the official or body conducting the hearing.
(e) Examination and Copying of Application and Other Documents. At any time following the giving of notice as required in this division (C), and upon reasonable request, any person may examine the application and, subject to the exceptions set forth in the Indiana Freedom of Information Act, all other documents on file pertaining to the application. In addition, any person shall be entitled to copies of such application and documents upon reasonable request and payment of a fee as established from time to time by the Council to cover the cost of such copies.
(3) All applications receiving final approval and/or adoption from the Board of Zoning Appeals, Plan Commission, and/or Council shall be required to dedicate all right-of-way for those streets as depicted on the adopted Thoroughfare Plan, as amended, for the City of Noblesville or Hamilton County by either a metes and bounds description and drawing or a plat, prepared by a licensed engineer or surveyor, no later than 60 days after the final approval or adoption by any or all of the above-mentioned entities to be recorded in the Hamilton County Recorder’s Office located in Noblesville, Hamilton County, Indiana. Failure to dedicate the required right-of-way within 60 days of the application approval/adoption shall result in the application approval/adoption being null and void. A recorded copy of the documents shall be submitted to the Department of Planning and Development.
(4) Vested Rights.
(a) If a person files a complete application for a permit with the Noblesville Planning Department as required by the effective ordinances or rules of the city, the granting of the permit, and the granting of any secondary, additional, or related permits or approvals required from the Noblesville Planning Department with respect to the general subject matter of the application for the first permit, are governed for at least three years after the person applies for the permit by the Indiana statutes and the city's ordinances, rules, development standards, and regulations in effect and applicable to the property when the application is filed, even if before the issuance of the permit or while the permit approval process is pending, or before the issuance of any secondary, additional, or related permits or approvals or while the secondary, additional, or related permit or approval process is pending, the Indiana statutes or City of Noblesville ordinances, rules, development standards, or regulations governing the granting of the permit or approval are changed by the Indiana General Assembly, the Noblesville Common Council or the Noblesville Planning Department. However, this subsection does not apply if the development or other activity to which the permit relates is not completed within seven years after the development or activity is commenced.
(b) Subsection (c) below applies if:
1. Either:
A. The Noblesville Planning Department issues to a person a permit or grants a person approval for the construction of a development, a building, or another structure; or
B. A permit or approval is not required from the Noblesville Planning Department for the construction of the development, building, or structure;
2. Before beginning the construction of the development, building, or structure, the person must obtain a permit or approval for the construction of the development, building, or structure from a state governmental agency; and
3. The person has applied for the permit or requested the approval for the construction of the development, building, or structure from the state governmental agency within 90 days of issuance of the permit by the Noblesville Planning Department.
(c) Subject to subsection (d) below, if the conditions of subsection (c) above are satisfied:
1. A permit or approval issued or granted to a person by the Noblesville Planning Department for the construction of the development, building, or structure; or
2. The person's right to construct the development, building, or structure without a permit or approval from the Noblesville Planning Department;
is governed for at least three years after the person applies for the permit by the Indiana statutes and City of Noblesville ordinances, rules, development standards, regulations, and approvals in effect and applicable to the property when the person applies for the permit or requests approval from the state governmental agency for the construction of the development, building, or structure, even if before the commencement of the construction or while the permit application or approval request is pending with the state governmental agency the statutes governing the granting of the permit or approval from the Noblesville Planning Department are changed by the Indiana General Assembly or the ordinances, development standards, or regulations of the Noblesville Planning Department are changed by the Noblesville Common Council or Noblesville Planning Department. However, this subsection does not apply if the development or other activity to which the permit or approval request relates is not completed within seven years after the development or activity is commenced.
(d) Subsection (c) above does not apply to property when it is demonstrated by the Noblesville Planning Department or a state governmental agency that the construction of the development, building, or structure would cause imminent peril to life or property.
(e) This section does not apply to building codes under I.C. 22-13.
(Ord. 62-12-95, passed 1-22-96; Am. Ord. 10-3-02, passed 3-26-02; Am. Ord. 36-08-02, passed 9-10- 02; Am. Ord. 04-01-03, passed 2-11-03; Am. Ord. 56-11-07, passed 12-11-07; Am. Ord. 41-9-09, passed 10-13-09; Am. Ord. 10-03-13, passed 4-9-13; Am. Ord. 46-07-16, passed 8-9-16; Am. Ord. 12-04-17, passed 4-25-17; Am. Ord. 44-10-23, passed 11-14-23)