(a) The Board shall have the power and original jurisdiction to hear and decide, in accordance with the provisions of this Springfield Zoning Code, applications, filed as hereinbefore provided, for conditional uses.
(b) Application. Any person seeking a conditional use permit shall file a written application on a form to be prescribed by the Director of Community Development and in accordance with Section 1172.03 of the Springfield Zoning Code. The application shall specify the section of the Springfield Zoning Code under which the conditional use permit is sought and may suggest, in a draft conditional use permit, such proposed conditions as the applicant believes are necessary and sufficient to warrant issuances of the conditional use permit applied for. The application shall include such evidence as is necessary and sufficient to demonstrate that issuance of the applied for conditional use permit is warranted when the standards identified in subdivision (c) of this Section are applied. The application shall include the following material, at a minimum:
(1) A site and development plan at an appropriate scale showing proposed placement of structures on the subject property; provisions for ingress and egress, offstreet parking and offstreet loading areas, and refuse and service areas; and required yards and other open spaces;
(2) Plans showing proposed locations for utility hook-ups;
(3) Plans for proposed screening and buffering, if any, with reference as to type, dimensions, and character;
(4) Proposed landscaping; signs and exterior lighting, if any, including type, dimensions, and character.
Where this Springfield Zoning Code places additional regulations on specific conditional uses, the application should demonstrate that such requirements will be met.
(c) In considering an application for a conditional use permit, the Board shall give due regard to the nature and condition of all adjacent uses and structures, and the therewith of the proposed use and development. Before authorizing a use as a conditional use, the Board shall review the facts and circumstances of each proposed conditional use in terms of the following standards and shall find adequate evidence showing that the proposed conditional use at the proposed location:
(1) Would not be hazardous, harmful, noxious, offensive or a nuisance to the surrounding neighborhood by reason of noise, smoke, odor, vibration, dust and dirt, cinders, noxious gases, glare and heat, fire and safety hazards, sewage wastes and pollution, transportation and traffic, aesthetic and psychological effects. The Board shall use and give recognition to those performance standards which are available in model codes or ordinances, or have been developed by planning, manufacturing, health, architectural and engineering organizations, and can be applied to the proposed use, to assist it in reaching a fair and objective decision;
(2) Is in fact a conditional use as established under the provisions of this Springfield Zoning Code as eligible to be permitted in the district involved;
(3) Will be harmonious with and in accordance with the general objectives, or with any specific objective of this Springfield Zoning Code;
(4) Will be designed, constructed, operated and maintained as to be harmonious and appropriate in appearance with the existing or intended character of the general vicinity and that the use will not change the essential character of the same area;
(5) Will be served adequately by essential public facilities and services such as highways, streets, police and fire protection, drainage structures, refuse disposal, water and sewer, and schools, or that the persons or agencies responsible for the establishment of the proposed use shall be able to provide adequately any such services;
(6) Will not create excessive additional requirements at public cost for public facilities and services and will not be detrimental to the economic welfare of the community;
(7) Will have ingress and egress for the subject property which shall be so designed as not to create an interference with traffic on surrounding public thoroughfares and which shall not be detrimental to vehicular and pedestrian safety and convenience, traffic flow and control, and access in case of fire or catastrophe.
(8) Will locate offstreet parking, loading areas, refuse deposit locations, service areas, utility hookup facilities, signs and exterior lighting so as not be detrimental to vehicular and pedestrian safety and convenience, traffic flow and control, and access in case of fire or catastrophe and so as not to result in detrimental economic, noise, glare or odor effects on adjoining properties and properties generally in the district.
(d) In considering the compatibility of the proposed conditional use with all adjacent uses and structures, the Board shall give consideration to:
(1) The existing land use pattern;
(2) The impact of the proposed conditional use upon the load on public facilities such as schools, utilities, and streets;
(3) Changed or changing conditions which find the proposed use to be advantageous to the community and the neighborhood;
(4) The impact of the proposed use upon living conditions in the neighborhood;
(5) The impact of proposed use upon traffic congestion and public safety matters;
(6) The impact of the proposed use upon stormwater drainage;
(7) The impact of the proposed use upon light and air to adjacent areas;
(8) The impact of the proposed use upon property values in the adjacent area;
(9) The impact of the proposed use upon the improvement or development of adjacent property in accordance with existing regulations;
(10) The impact of the proposed use with regard to the scale of needs of the neighborhood or the community.
(e) Upon authorizing a conditional use, the Board shall impose such requirements and conditions with respect to location, construction, maintenance and operation, in addition to those expressly stipulated in this Springfield Zoning Code for the particular conditional use, as the Board may deem necessary for the protection of adjacent properties and the public interest in furtherance of the purpose of this Springfield Zoning Code. The Board shall issue written findings of fact and its written determination that the standards specified in subdivision (c) of this Section, when applied to the conditional use permit applied for, warrant issuance of the conditional use permit.
(f) If, upon consideration of the application and the applicant's evidence submitted along with its application and after notice and a hearing held by the Board (in accordance with Section 1172.03 of the Springfield Zoning Code) on the issuance of the applied for conditional use permit, the Board is unable to find adequate evidence showing that the proposed conditional use at the proposed location is warranted when the standards specified in subdivision (c) of this Section are applied, then no conditional use permit shall issue. In denying issuance of a conditional use permit, the Board shall issue written findings of fact and its written determination that the standards specified in subdivision (c) of this Section when applied to the conditional use permit applied for do not warrant issuance of the conditional use permit.
(g) Repeated Applications. No person shall file a second or subsequent application for a conditional use permit for a particular parcel of property, or part thereof, until the expiration of twelve (12) calendar months from the date of denial of the initial conditional use permit applied for; unless, the Board specifically waives the waiting period based upon a determination that either:
(1) That the new application a proposes conditional use materially different from the initial conditional use which was denied or
(2) That not waiving the waiting period will impose a substantial hardship on the applicant resulting from the applicant's mistake or inadvertence or
(3) That newly discovered matters warrant waiving the waiting period.
(Ord. No. 06-236. Passed July 3, 2006.)