1213.07 AMENDMENTS.

   A.    Authority. This Zoning Ordinance and the Zoning Map may be amended from time to time by ordinance duly enacted by the City Council in accordance with the procedures set forth in this Section.

   B.    Purpose. The amendment process established by this Section is intended to provide a means for making changes in the text of this Zoning Ordinance and in the Zoning Map. The process is not intended to relieve particular hardships nor to confer special privileges or rights.

   C.    Parties Entitled To Seek Amendments. An application for an amendment may be filed by the City Council, the City Planning Commission, the Board of Zoning Appeals, the owner of, or any person having a right of ownership in, any property to be affected by a proposed amendment to the Zoning Map, or any resident interested in a proposed amendment to the text of this Zoning Ordinance.

   D.    Application for an Amendment. An application for an amendment shall be filed with the Zoning Administrator on an official, prescribed form. The application shall be accompanied by the following plans, data or information:

      1.    A statement in writing by the applicant and adequate evidence showing that the proposed amendment will conform to the standards set forth in Section 1213.07.I, Standards for Amendments, below.

      2.    Applications for map amendments shall include the following:

         a.    A locational map of the subject site, identifying the location of all buildings and structures on the property buildings, structures and pavement within one hundred (100) feet of the property line or within the adjacent property, whichever is less the existing use and zoning of land within three hundred (300) feet of the subject site open space; points of ingress/egress; the location, size and layout of parking property lines; easements; and scale, north arrow and date.

         b.    An accurate legal description of the subject property, which may be waived by the Zoning Administrator.

      3.    Other information, including a narrative description, as may be required by the City Planning Commission.

Such application shall be forwarded from the Zoning Administrator to the City Planning Commission for their review and action.

      (Ord. 03-67. Enacted 6-9-03.)

   E.    Public Hearing by the City Planning Commission. The City Planning Commission shall hold at least one (1) public hearing, in accordance with the requirements of Section 1213.01, Public Hearing Procedures, after the following public notification is given by the Zoning Administrator. For all applications under this Zoning Code to amend the Zoning Ordinance or the Zoning Map, notice shall be provided by all of the following methods, except that notice to property owners by mail pursuant to sub-section 1 below shall only be provided in the circumstances described in that sub-section:

      1.    Mailing. Notice shall be sent by first class mail to all owners of land within three hundred (300) feet (inclusive of intervening streets and alleys) of the periphery of the land subject to the application whose names and addresses are known by reference to be the most recently published ad valorem tax records of the County Appraiser, except that when the land is improved with a condominium, notice shall be given to the condominium association. Except that, in circumstances when this provision would require notice by mail to more than one hundred (100) owners, no notice by mail is required except to organizations, and notice by publication shall be provided, as required herein. When notice by mail is required, it shall be sent a minimum of twenty (20) calendar days in advance of the public hearing. Notice shall be presumed to have been given when mailed in accordance with these provisions.

      2.    Legal Notice. Legal notice shall be given by advertisement in a local newspaper of general circulation twenty (20) days prior to the public hearing.

      3.    Notification to Organizations. Notification shall be sent by first class mail a minimum of twenty (20) days prior to the public hearing to any organization that requests notice.

         The costs of all such notice shall be borne by the applicant.

         (Ord. 04-131. Enacted 11-22-04.)

   F.    Action by City Planning Commission. The City Planning Commission shall, in the public hearing, review and consider the application, and shall, within a reasonable time after the conclusion of the public hearing, transmit to the City Council the application and the City Planning Commission’s recommendation to approve, approve with conditions, or disapprove the application.
(Ord. 03-67. Enacted 6-9-03.)

   G.    Public Hearing by the City Council. The City Council shall hold three (3) meetings, in accordance with the requirements of Section 1213.01, Public Hearing Procedures, after the following public notification is given by the Zoning Administrator. For all applications under this Zoning Code to amend the Zoning Ordinance or the Zoning Map, notice shall be provided by all of the following methods, except that notice to property owners by mail pursuant to sub-section 1 below shall only be provided in the circumstances described in that sub-section:

      1.    Mailing. Notice shall be sent by first class mail to all owners of land within three hundred (300) feet (inclusive of intervening streets and alleys) of the periphery of the land subject to the application whose names and addresses are known by reference to the most recently published ad valorem tax records of the County Appraiser, except that when the land is improved with a condominium, notice shall be given to the condominium association. Except that, in circumstances when this provision would require notice by mail to more than one hundred (100) owners, no notice by mail is required except to organizations, and notice by publication shall be provided, as required herein. When notice by mail is required, it shall be sent a minimum of twenty (20) calendar days in advance of the public hearing. Notice shall be presumed to have been given when mailed in accordance with these provisions.

      2.    Legal Notice. Legal notice shall be given by advertisement in a local newspaper of general circulation twenty (20) days prior to the public hearing.

      3.    Notification to Neighborhood Organizations. Notification shall be sent by first class mail a minimum of twenty (20) days prior to the public hearing to any organization that requests notice.

The costs of all such notice shall be borne by the applicant.

         (Ord. 04-131. Enacted 11-22-04.)

   H.    Action by City Council. Within one hundred (100) days after the receipt of the recommendation of the City Planning Commission, or its failure to act as above provided, the City Council shall hold a first public hearing in accordance with the requirements of Section 1213.01, Public Hearing Procedures, to review and consider the application and the City Planning Commission’s recommendation. The Council may confirm the decision by ordinance duly adopted, with or without modifications or conditions, or refer the application back to the City Planning Commission for further study, or deny the amendment, or continue the public hearing, without action, until a further public hearing may be held. The Council shall hold three (3) meetings on amendments.

   I.    Standards For Amendments. The wisdom of amending the Zoning Map or the text of this Zoning Ordinance is a matter committed to the sound legislative discretion of the City Council and the City Planning Commission and is not dictated by any set standard. However, in determining whether a proposed amendment should be granted or denied, the City Council or City Planning Commission should be guided by the principle that its power to amend this Zoning Ordinance is not an arbitrary one but one that may be exercised only when the public good demands or requires the amendment to be made. In considering whether that principle is satisfied in any particular case, the City Council or the City Planning Commission should weigh, among other factors, the following factors as they may be relevant to a particular application:

 

      1.    The consistency of the proposed amendment with the City’s adopted land use policies.

      2.    The consistency of the proposed amendment with the purposes of this Zoning Ordinance.

      3.    If a specific parcel of property is the subject of the proposed amendment, then the following factors:

         a.    The existing uses and zoning classifications for properties in the vicinity of the subject property

         b.    The trend of development in the vicinity of the subject property, including changes, if any, in such trend since the subject property was placed in its present zoning classification.

         c.    The extent, if any, to which the value of the subject property is diminished by the existing zoning classification applicable to it.

         d.    The extent, if any, to which any such diminution in value is offset by an increase in the public peace, health, safety, and welfare.

         e.    The extent, if any, to which the use and enjoyment of adjacent properties would be affected by the proposed amendment.

         f.    The extent, if any, to which the value of adjacent properties would be affected by the proposed amendment.

         g.    The extent, if any, to which the future orderly development of adjacent properties would be affected by the proposed amendment.

         h.   The suitability of the subject property for uses permitted or permissible under its present zoning classification.

         i.    The availability of adequate ingress to and egress from the subject property and the extent to which traffic conditions in the immediate vicinity of the subject property would be affected by the proposed amendment.

         j.    The availability, where relevant, of adequate utilities and essential public services to the subject property to accommodate the uses permitted or permissible under its present zoning classification.

   J.   Effect of Approval of Amendment.

      1.    When an amendment to this Zoning Ordinance is approved, such amendment shall be incorporated into the official document or map held at the City offices.

      2.    When an amendment is made to the text, such change shall be incorporated into the official document according to the numbering system established within the Zoning Ordinance.

      3.    An annual listing of such amendments to the Zoning Ordinance shall be kept within the official document.

   K.    Effect of Denial of Amendment. No application for an amendment that has been denied by the City Council shall be resubmitted for a period of one (1) year from the date of the order of denial, except on the grounds of new evidence or proof of change of condition found to be valid by the Zoning Administrator.