A. Intent. The provisions, regulations and districts contained within this title may be amended from time to time by ordinance, but no such amendment shall be made without a hearing before some commission, board or committee designated by the Village Council, which shall report its findings and recommendations to the Village Council.
B. Application for Amendment.
1. Who May File. Amendments may be proposed in writing by the Village Council, the Plan Commission, the Zoning Board of Appeals, the Village Manager or any person having a proprietary interest in the property or properties for which an amendment is proposed.
2. Filing and Contents of Application. An application for amendment shall be filed with the Zoning Administrator in such standard form as shall be prescribed by the Zoning Administrator.
3. Fees. The application shall be accompanied by applicable fees, which shall not be refundable. The fees shall be set from time to time by resolution of the Village Council.
C. Hearing on Application. Within sixty (60) days of receipt of an application for amendment, the commission, board or committee designated by the Village Council shall hold a hearing on such application.
D. Notice of Hearing.
1. Publication of Notice. Notice shall be given of the time and place of the hearing, not more than thirty (30) nor less than fifteen (15) days before the hearing, by publishing a notice at least once in one or more newspapers published in the Village, or, if no newspaper is published in the Village, then in one or more newspapers with a general circulation within the Village.
2. Notice to Affected Property Owners. In cases where the proposed amendment involves a change in zoning classification of particular property and such amendment is initiated by the Village Council, the Plan Commission, the Zoning Board of Appeals or the Village Manager, notice shall be served upon the owner or owners of property which are the subject of the proposed amendment in person or by certified mail within ten (10) days after the filing of the application.
3. Mailed Notice. In cases where the proposed amendment involves a change in zoning classification of particular property, the Zoning Administrator shall prepare a list of the names and addresses of all persons to whom the latest general real estate tax bills were sent for all property situated within two hundred fifty (250) feet of the property which is the subject of the proposed amendment. Written notice of the time and place of the public hearing shall be sent to each person whose name appears on the list prepared by the Zoning Administrator, at the address shown on such list. The Zoning Administrator shall send such written notice by first class mail, postage prepaid, not less than ten (10) days prior to the date of such public hearing. The failure of any person to receive the written notice issued pursuant to this paragraph shall not affect the jurisdiction of any body authorized to conduct a hearing or otherwise consider the application for special use. Nor shall the failure of any person to receive such written notice invalidate, impair or otherwise affect the subsequent grant or denial of any amendment granted following such public hearing.
E. Written Protest.
1. Filing of Protest. The owners of properties that will be subject to the proposed zoning amendment, as well as the owners of properties immediately adjacent to, across any alley from, or directly opposite to the property or properties that are the subject of the zoning amendment application, may file a written protest objecting to the proposed amendment. The written protest shall be directed to the Village Council and shall be submitted on forms provided by the Village and shall be signed and acknowledged, in accordance with the definitions provided in Sections 17.04.030(A)(3.5) and 17.04.030(S)(4.5) of this title. The written protest shall be submitted no later than 5:00 p.m. on the date of the first meeting of the Village Council at which the proposed amendment is on the agenda for consideration; provided, that the filing of a written protest after the close of the Board of Appeals hearing on the proposed amendment shall not create a right either to reopen the evidentiary record or to remand the application to the Board for further evidentiary proceedings.
2. Effect of Written Protest. In the event twenty (20) percent of the owners of property described in the foregoing paragraph 1 have submitted a written protest as provided therein, the granting of a zoning amendment by the Village Council shall require the favorable vote of four (4) Trustees.
F. Findings of Fact and Recommendations. Within sixty (60) days after the close of the hearing on a proposed amendment, the commission, board or committee, as the case may be, shall make written findings of fact and submit them together with its recommendation to the Village Council. In cases where the purpose and effect of the proposed amendment is to change the zoning classification of a particular property, the commission, board or committee, as the case may be, shall make findings based upon evidence presented to it in each specific case with respect to the following matters:
1. Existing uses of property within the general area of the property in question and their relationship to one another;
2. The zoning classification of property within the general area of the property in question and their relationship to one another;
3. The suitability of the property in question for the uses permitted under the existing zoning classification;
4. The trend of development, if any, in the general area of the property in question, including changes, if any, which may have taken place since the day the property in question was placed in its present zoning classification;
5. Where applicable, the length of time the property in question has been vacant as zoned;
6. That there are changed or changing conditions in the applicable area of the amendment, or in the Village generally, that make the proposed amendment reasonably necessary to the promotion of the public health, safety or general welfare.
In cases where the amendment is proposed by a person other than a Village Board or official and the purpose and effect of the proposed amendment is to change the zoning classification of particular property, then the commission, board or committee, as the case may be, shall not recommend the adoption of a proposed amendment except with respect to a particular development plan submitted by the applicant as a part of the application for amendment. Such development plan shall be reviewed by the Plan Commission with respect to its consistency with the Village Comprehensive Plan, and by the Village Design Review Board with respect to whether it would issue a certificate of appropriateness for the proposed project. The findings of each with respect to these particular questions shall be presented at the required hearing.
The commission, board or committee, as the case may be, shall not recommend the adoption of a proposed amendment unless it finds that the adoption of such an amendment is in the public interest and is not solely for the interest of a private applicant.
G. Action by the Village Council.
1. Upon receipt of a written report and recommendation on a proposed zoning amendment from the commission, board or committee, as the case may be, the Village Council shall place such report and recommendation on its agenda within thirty (30) days. The Village Council shall approve, reject, amend, modify or return the application for amendment to the commission, board or committee, as the case may be, for further study.
2. In cases in which the requisite number of protests have been submitted in accordance with Section 17.72.040 of this chapter, the proposed amendment shall not be passed except by a favorable vote of four (4) Village Trustees.
3. If an application for a proposed amendment is not acted upon finally by the Village Council within sixty (60) days of the time of receipt of the commission, board or committee findings and recommendation, as the case may be, it shall be deemed to have been denied unless an additional and specific period of time is granted by the Village Council with the consent of the applicant.
4. In approving a particular amendment, the Village Council may apply such conditions, requirements or restrictions including adherence to a particular development plan, as, in its opinion, is necessary to protect or enhance the public health, safety or welfare.
H. Amendment Deemed Null and Void. In any case where the amendment is proposed by a person other than a Village Board or official and the purpose and effect of the amendment is to change the zoning classification of particular property, and where no development has taken place within one and one-half years from the date on which such amendment was granted by the Village Council, or where development of the particular property is inconsistent with the conditions, requirements or restrictions upon which the amendment was granted, then such amendment shall become null and void and the particular property shall revert to its prior zoning classification.
(Prior code § 22.19)
(MC-6-2005, Amended, 09/20/2005; MC-9-2010, Amended, 01/4/2011)