4.3.1 Applicability.
A. Zone boundaries as shown on the zoning map may be amended, supplemented, changed, modified, or repealed in accordance with the procedures of this Article.
B. The Town Council shall consider amendments to the official zoning map of the town as may be required from time to time. A zoning map amendment may sometimes be referred to as a “rezoning”.
C. Rezoning should correspond with the boundary lines of existing platted lots or tracts. Where the boundaries of a rezoning request stop short of an exterior property line, a survey is required to properly define the zoning lines. It must be possible to subdivide and develop that portion of the property outside the proposed rezoning boundary in accordance with the existing zoning and other requirements of this ordinance.
D. No amendment to zoning regulations or a zoning map that down-zones property shall be initiated, nor is it enforceable without the written consent of all property owners whose property is the subject of the down-zoning amendment, unless the down-zoning amendment is initiated by the town. For purposes of this section,
DOWN-ZONING means a zoning amendment that affects an area of land by either decreasing the development density of the land to be less dense than was allowed under its previous usage or by reducing the permitted uses of the land to fewer uses than were allowed under its previous usage.
4.3.2 Initiation of amendment.
General Districts and Overlay Districts
A request for a rezoning may be initiated by the Town Council, the Planning Board, the UDO Administrator, the property owner or their agent, or a duly authorized third party who does not own the property(ies) proposed for rezoning.
4.3.3 Pre-application conference. All applicants petitioning for a rezoning shall schedule a pre- application conference with the UDO Administrator in accordance with Article 4.1.2.
4.3.4 Neighborhood meeting. It is recommended that all applicants petitioning for a general use, PD-CD, or MR-CD rezoning hold a neighborhood meeting. After the pre-application conference, and at least ten days prior to submitting the application, the neighborhood meeting is recommended for the following approvals:
1. Zoning map amendment - All general use zoning districts.
2. Zoning map amendment - MR-CD or PD-CD.
Applicants seeking a rezoning to the CZ-CD district shall be required to hold a neighborhood meeting prior to submitting an application.
A. The purpose of the neighborhood meeting is to inform the neighborhood of the nature of the proposed land use and development features, explain the plan (if any), and receive comments. The comments received at the neighborhood meeting are not binding on the applicant although the applicant may incorporate suggestions received at the meeting.
B. If held, an oral or written summary of the neighborhood meeting discussions must be available for discussion at the Planning Board meeting scheduled to review the application.
C. The applicant shall provide notice of the neighborhood meeting in conformance with the following.
1. Mailed.
a. Notice shall be delivered by first class mail to owners of all adjoining properties; and
b. In the event the rezoning would take place within the areas administered by a property owners association(s), notice shall be delivered by first class mail to the president and/or secretary of the association(s).
2. Posted. A sign shall be posted on the site at least ten days prior to the date of the neighborhood meeting. The sign shall satisfy the following criteria.
a. The sign shall be six square feet in size and the bottom of the sign must be at least four feet off the ground.
b. The sign shall include the title ‘PRE-APPLICATION NEIGHBORHOOD MEETING’ at the top of the sign.
c. The sign shall include a brief narrative of the project proposal/request.
d. The sign shall include the time, date, and place of the neighborhood meeting.
e. The sign shall include a statement on where concerned citizens can contact the applicant for more information, including a phone number and/or e-mail address.
f. The applicant shall remove the sign within 24 hours after the neighborhood meeting.
g. No sign may be placed within a right-of-way or within 50 feet of any street intersection.
h. No sign may be placed or mounted on utility, traffic, or other similar structures.
4.3.5 Application requirements. All applications for a rezoning shall be submitted in accordance with Article 4.1.3 (Application Requirements).
4.3.6 Notice and public hearings. The town shall hold all required public hearings and give notice in accordance with Article 4.1.4 (Public Notice Requirements).
4.3.7 Action by the UDO Administrator.
A. The UDO Administrator shall prepare a staff report that reviews the rezoning request in light of any applicable plans and the general requirements of this ordinance. The staff report shall consider the entire range of permitted uses in the requested classification.
B. Following completion of technical review by staff, the UDO Administrator shall forward the completed request and any related materials to the Planning Board for review and recommendation to Town Council.
C. Following Planning Board review, the UDO Administrator shall forward the completed rezoning request and any related materials, including the Planning Board recommendation, to the Town Council for a hearing and final action.
4.3.8 Action by Planning Board.
A. Procedure. The Planning Board shall make a written recommendation on the application to the Town Council. If the Planning Board fails to make a recommendation within 60 days, the Town Council may process the request without a recommendation.
B. Review criteria. In making its written recommendation as to plan consistency, the Planning Board shall make a recommendation based on the approval criteria in Article 4.3.9 B.
4.3.9 Action by Town Council.
A. Procedure.
1. Before taking action on a rezoning at the public hearing, the Town Council shall consider the recommendations of the Planning Board (public notice requirements are given in Article 4.1.4)
2. The Town Council may approve the rezoning, apply zoning other than that requested (if not inconsistent with the notice), deny the rezoning, or send the rezoning back to the Planning Board for additional consideration.
B. Approval criteria. In approving a rezoning, the Town Council shall consider the following matters:
1. Consistency with any adopted land use plans, including the comprehensive plan;
2. Compatibility with the present zoning and conforming uses of nearby property and with the character of the neighborhood;
3. Suitability of the subject property for uses permitted by the current district versus the uses permitted in proposed district;
4. Whether the proposed change tends to improve the balance of uses permitted or satisfies a specific demand in the town;
5. The availability of adequate school, road, park, waste water treatment, water supply, and stormwater drainage facilities for the proposed use as well as the range of permitted uses for the zoning requested; and
6. The extent to which the proposed zoning map amendment is consistent with the remainder of the ordinance including, specifically, any purpose and intent statements.
C. Statement of consistency. The Town Council shall adopt a written statement as to the consistency of the rezoning with any adopted land use plans. The requirement for a plan consistency statement may also be met by a clear indication in the minutes of the Town Council meeting that at the time of action on the amendment the Town Council was aware of and considered the Planning Board’s recommendations and any relevant portions of an adopted comprehensive plan. If a zoning map amendment is adopted and the action was deemed inconsistent with the adopted plan, the zoning amendment shall have the effect of also amending any future land-use map in the approved plan, and no additional request or application for a plan amendment shall be required. A plan amendment and a zoning amendment may be considered concurrently. The plan consistency statement is not subject to judicial review. If a zoning map amendment qualifies as a large-scale rezoning under G.S. § 160D-602(b), the Town Council statement describing plan consistency may address the overall rezoning and describe how the analysis and policies in the relevant adopted plans were considered in the action taken.
D. Statement of reasonableness. A written statement shall be adopted as to the reasonableness of the rezoning. This statement of reasonableness may consider, among other factors, (i) the size, physical conditions, and other attributes of the area proposed to be rezoned, (ii) the benefits and detriments to the landowners, the neighbors, and the surrounding community, (iii) the relationship between the current actual and permissible development on the tract and adjoining areas and the development that would be permissible under the proposed amendment; (iv) why the action taken is in the public interest; and (v) any changed conditions warranting the amendment. If a zoning map amendment qualifies as a large-scale rezoning under G.S. § 160D-602(b), the Town Council statement on reasonableness may address the overall rezoning. The statement of reasonableness and the plan consistency statement required by this section may be approved as a single statement.
4.3.10 Resubmission of application.
A. Upon final action by the Town Council to deny or approve an application for the rezoning of property, the Planning Board shall not accept for review any applications for changes affecting the same property or any portion thereof until the expiration of one year from the date of such previous action except as provided in division B. below. The UDO Administrator shall reject applications that do not comply with the elapsed time requirements.
B. The UDO Administrator may allow re-submission of such petition within the one year period if it is determined that, since the date of action on the prior petition:
1. There has been a significant change in the zoning district classification of an adjacent piece of property;
2. The Town Council has adopted a plan that changes public policy regarding how the property affected by the amendment should be developed;
3. Construction or expansion of infrastructure (e.g., a road, water line, sewer line, or other such facilities) has occurred to serve the property and can comfortably accommodate the intensity of development allowed under the proposed classification; and
4. There has been some other extraordinary change in conditions or circumstances, outside the control of the applicant, which justifies waiver of the one year restriction on re-submission; this, however, shall not include a change in the ownership of the subject property.
(Ord. passed 2-3-2021; Ord. 2023-03, passed 3-1-2023)