(A) The Village Council may, on its own motion or upon recommendation of the Planning Board, or upon petition by any person within the zoning jurisdiction, amend the regulations or the maps which are a part of this chapter. No zoning regulation or zoning maps shall be amended, supplemented, changed, modified or repealed except through the following procedures:
(1) Hearing with published notice. The Village Council shall hold a legislative hearing. A notice of the hearing shall be given once a week for two successive calendar weeks in a newspaper having general circulation in the area. The notice shall be published the first time not less than ten days nor more than 25 days before the date scheduled for the hearing. In computing such period, the day of publication is not to be included but the day of the hearing shall be included.
(2) Notice for zoning map amendments.
(a) Mailed notice. When a zoning map amendment is proposed, the owners of affected parcels of land and the owners of all parcels of land abutting that parcel of land shall be mailed a notice of the hearing on a proposed zoning map amendment by first-class mail at the last addresses listed for such owners on the county tax abstracts. For the purpose of this section, properties are "abutting" even if separated by a street, railroad, or other transportation corridor. This notice must be deposited in the mail at least ten but not more than 25 days prior to the date of the hearing.
(b) Optional notice for large-scale zoning map amendments. The first-class mail notice required under division (A)(2)(a) above is not required if the zoning map amendment proposes to change the zoning designation of more than 50 properties, owned by at least 50 different property owners, and the village elects to use the expanded published notice provided for in this division (A)(2)(b). In this instance, the village may elect to make the mailed notice provided for in division (A)(2)(a) above or, as an alternative, elect to publish notice of the hearing as required by G.S. § 160D-601, provided that each advertisement shall not be less than one-half of a newspaper page in size. The advertisement is effective only for property owners who reside in the area of general circulation of the newspaper that publishes 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 according to the provisions of division (A)(2)(a) above.
(c) Posted notice. When a zoning map amendment is proposed, the local government shall prominently post a notice of the hearing on the site proposed for the amendment or on an adjacent public street or highway right-of-way. The notice shall be posted within the same time period specified for mailed notices of the hearing. When multiple parcels are included within a proposed zoning map amendment, a posting on each individual parcel is not required but the local government shall post sufficient notices to provide reasonable notice to interested persons.
(3) Notice to military bases. If the adoption or modification would result in changes to the zoning map or would change or affect the permitted uses of land located five miles or less from the perimeter boundary of a military base, the village shall provide written notice of the proposed changes by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the commander of the military base not less than ten days nor more than 25 days before the date fixed for the hearing. If the commander of the military base provides comments or analysis regarding the compatibility of the proposed development regulation or amendment with military operations at the base, the Village Council shall take the comments and analysis into consideration before making a final determination on the ordinance.
(4) Down-zoning. 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 village. For purposes of this section, "DOWN-ZONING" means a zoning ordinance that affects an area of land in one of the following ways:
(a) By decreasing the development density of the land to be less dense than was allowed under its previous usage.
(b) By reducing the permitted uses of the land that are specified in a zoning ordinance or land development regulation to fewer uses than were allowed under its previous usage.
(5) Planning Board review.
(a) Timeframe. Every proposed amendment or repeal to this chapter shall be referred to the Planning Board for its recommendation and report. If no written report is received from the Planning Board within 30 days of referral of the amendment to that Board, the Village Council may act on the amendment without the Planning Board report. The Village Council is not bound by the recommendations, if any, of the Planning Board.
(b) Plan consistency. When conducting a review of proposed zoning text or map amendments pursuant to this section, the Planning Board shall advise and comment on whether the proposed action is consistent with any comprehensive plan that has been adopted and any other officially adopted plan that is applicable. The Planning Board shall provide a written recommendation to the Village Council that addresses plan consistency and other matters as deemed appropriate by the Planning Board, but a comment by the Planning Board that a proposed amendment is inconsistent with the comprehensive plan shall not preclude consideration or approval of the proposed amendment by the Village Council.
(c) Plan consistency for large-scale rezonings. If a zoning map amendment qualifies as a "large-scale rezoning" under G.S. § 160D-602(b), the Planning Board 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 recommendation made.
(6) Village Council review.
(a) Plan Consistency. When adopting or rejecting any zoning text or map amendment, the Village Council shall approve a brief statement describing whether its action is consistent or inconsistent with an adopted comprehensive plan.
1. 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 the Future Land-Use Map, and no additional request or application for a plan amendment shall be required.
2. A plan amendment and a zoning amendment may be considered concurrently.
3. The plan consistency statement is not subject to judicial review.
4. If a zoning map amendment qualifies as a "large-scale rezoning" under G.S. § 160D-602(b), the governing board 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.
(b) Additional reasonableness statement for rezonings.
1. When adopting or rejecting any petition for a zoning map amendment, a statement analyzing the reasonableness of the proposed rezoning shall be approved by the governing board. This statement of reasonableness may consider, among other factors:
A. The size, physical conditions, and other attributes of the area proposed to be rezoned;
B. The benefits and detriments to the landowners, the neighbors, and the surrounding community;
C. 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;
D. Why the action taken is in the public interest; and
E. Any changed conditions warranting the amendment.
2. If a zoning map amendment qualifies as a "large-scale rezoning" under G.S. § 160D-602(b), the governing board statement on reasonableness may address the overall rezoning.
(c) Single statement permissible. The statement of reasonableness and the plan consistency statement required by this section may be approved as a single statement.
(7) Application requirements. All petitions for a change in the zoning map or the zoning regulations shall include the information required on the current application form provided by the village, and pay the fee listed in the current fee schedule.
(Ord., passed 2-22-79; Am. Ord., passed 6-21-85; Am. Ord., passed 6-23-21)