(A) The Board of Commissioners may from time to time, on its own motion or on petition, after public notice and hearing as provided by law, amend, supplement, change, modify, or repeal the boundaries or regulations herein or subsequently established, after submitting the petition to the Planning and Zoning Commission for its recommendations and report.
(1) Once a completed application for petition has been received by the Zoning Administrator, and the fees paid, the Zoning Administrator shall promptly review it, and if complete, shall refer the application to the Planning and Zoning Commission for consideration at its next regularly scheduled meeting.
(2) The Planning and Zoning Commission shall have 30 calendar days from the date of referral by the Zoning Administrator to review the application and to submit its recommendation to the Board of Commissioners.
(3) A Planning and Zoning Commission member shall not vote on any zoning map or text amendment where the outcome of the matter being considered is reasonably likely to have a direct, substantial, and readily identifiable financial impact on the member.
(4) (a) Upon making a recommendation, the Planning and Zoning Commission shall advise and comment on whether the proposed amendment is consistent with any comprehensive plan that has been adopted, and any other officially adopted plan that is applicable. The Planning and Zoning Commission shall provide a written recommendation to the Board of Commissioners that addresses plan consistency and other matters as deemed appropriate by the Planning and Zoning Commission, but a comment by the Planning and Zoning Commission that a proposed amendment is inconsistent with the comprehensive plan shall not preclude consideration or approval of the proposed amendment by the governing Board.
(b) In case, however, that a protest petition is filed against the change on forms prescribed and furnished by the town, the amendment shall not be passed except by a three-fourths vote of all members of the Board of Commissioners.
(c) For purposes of this division(A)(4), vacant positions on the Board of Commissioners and members who are excused from voting shall not be considered “members of the Board of Commissioners” for calculation of the requisite three-fourths vote. To qualify as a protest, the petition must be signed by the owners of either: 20% or more of the area included in the proposed change; or 5% of a 100-foot-wide buffer extending along the entire boundary of each discrete or separate area proposed to be rezoned. A street right-of-way shall not be considered in computing the 100-foot buffer area, as long as that street right-of-way is 100 feet wide or less. When less than an entire parcel of land is subject to the proposed zoning map amendment, the 100-foot buffer shall be measured from the property line of that parcel. In the absence of evidence to the contrary, the town may rely on the county tax listing to determine the “owners” of potentially qualifying areas. A person who has signed a protest petition may withdraw his or her name from the petition at any time prior to the vote on the proposed zoning amendment. Only those protest petitions that meet the qualifying standards set forth in this division (A)(4) at the time of the vote on the zoning amendment shall trigger the super majority voting requirement.
(B) A notice shall be published in a newspaper having general circulation in the town area, once a week for two successive weeks, the first notice to be published not less than ten days nor more than 25 days prior to the date established for the public hearing. In computing such time, the date of publication is not to be included, but the date of the hearing shall be included.
(C) The Inspections Superintendent, when feasible, shall cause to be erected, in a conspicuous place, a sign on the subject property or on an adjacent street or highway right-of-way. The sign shall be erected with regard to which any petition is filed to have the provisions of this chapter amended, supplemented, changed, or modified, giving notice that it is proposed to rezone the property, or that it is proposed to grant a special exception or variance, and to which sign is attached a copy of the notice required by law to be posted or advertised, which sign shall be so maintained on the property for at least 15 days prior to the date of the required public hearing. When multiple parcels are included within a proposed zoning map amendment, a posting on each individual parcel is not required, but the town shall post sufficient notices to provide reasonable notice to interested parties.
(D) A notice of the proposed zoning change shall be sent by first class mail to all adjacent and abutting property owners at least ten calendar days prior to the public hearing. In the case of “large-scale rezonings” (more than 50 properties owned by a total of at least 50 different property owners), the town may elect to publish notice of the hearing per division (B) above, provided that each of the advertisements shall not be less than one-half of a newspaper page in size. The advertisement shall only be effective for property owners who reside in the area of general circulations of the newspaper publishing the notice. Property owners who reside outside of the newspaper circulation area, according to the address listed on the most recent property tax listing for the affected property, shall be notified by first class mail.
(E) Every petition to have the provisions of this chapter amended, supplemented, changed, or modified as to any property shall be submitted on forms prepared by the town, and shall be accompanied by a check in an amount according to the fees established by the Board of Commissioners, to be used by the town toward defraying the advertising costs and other expenses in connection with the petition.
(F) When a petition for a change in zoning classification has been denied by the Board of Commissioners after a public hearing, no new petition for any change of the same property or any part thereof shall be filed within a period of 12 months from the date of such decision by the Board.
(1) After the public hearing has been conducted and officially closed, the Board of Commissioners shall render a decision concerning the proposal not later than the next regularly scheduled Board of Commissioners meeting. A Board of Commissioners member shall not vote on any zoning map or text amendment where the outcome of the matter being considered is reasonably likely to have a direct, substantial, and readily identifiable financial impact on the member.
(2) Prior to adopting or rejecting any zoning amendment, the Board of Commissioners shall adopt a statement describing whether its action is consistent with an adopted comprehensive plan, and explaining why the Board of Commissioners considers the action taken to be reasonable and in the public interest.
(G) A petition for a change in zoning classification may be withdrawn by the applicant at any time without penalty prior to consideration of such request by the Planning and Zoning Commission.
(H) A petition for a change in zoning classification may be withdrawn after approval of but prior to a public hearing before the Planning and Zoning Commission, provided a written request for withdrawal bearing the signature of the applicant shall have been received by the Town Clerk in sufficient time to allow at least two normal working days, excepting Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays, before the date established for the public hearing before the Planning and Zoning Commission on the proposed change in order to notify the public of such withdrawal. Thereafter, no new petition for any change in zoning classification of the same property, or any part thereof, shall be filed within a period of 60 days immediately following the withdrawal of the petition.
(I) A petition for a change in zoning classification may be withdrawal by the applicant prior to a public hearing before the Board of Commissioners, provided a written request for withdrawal bearing the signature of the applicant which shall have been received by the Town Clerk in sufficient time to allow at least two normal working days, excepting Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays, before the date established for the public hearing in order to notify the public of such withdrawal. Thereafter, no new petition for any change in zoning classification of the same property, or any part thereof, shall be filed within a period of 90 days immediately following the withdrawal of the petition.
(J) A request for a withdrawal which does not meet the requirements of divisions (F) and (G) above specifying the place and time for filing a written request for withdrawal may be granted either by the Planning and Zoning Commission or by the Board of Commissioners at the time of the public hearing; provided however, in such event, no new petition for any change in zoning classification of the same property, or any part thereof, shall be filed within a period of six months from the date of such decision permitting withdrawal by the Planning and Zoning Commission or within nine months from the date of such decision permitting withdrawal by the Board of Commissioners.
(Prior Code, § 9-4094) (Ord. passed 4-27-1970; Ord. passed - -, Ord. passed 6- -2006)