(a) Purposes. For the purposes of promoting the public health, safety, and general welfare, conserving the value of property throughout the community, and lessening or avoiding congestion in the public streets and highways, the Village Council may, from time to time, in the manner hereinafter set forth, amend the regulations imposed in the districts created by this Zoning Code or amend district boundary lines, provided that in all amendatory ordinances adopted under the authority of this section, due allowance shall be made for existing conditions, the conservation of property values, the direction of building development to the best advantage of the entire community, and the uses to which property is devoted at the time of the adoption of such amendatory ordinance.
(b) Initiation of Amendment. Text amendments may be proposed by any governmental body or any interested person or organization. Map amendments may be initiated by any governmental body or by persons having a freehold interest in the subject property, a possessory interest entitled to exclusive possession, a contractual interest which may become a freehold interest or an exclusive possessory interest entitled to exclusive possession, a contractual interest which may become a freehold interest or an exclusive possessory interest and which is specifically enforceable.
(c) Application for Amendment. An application for an amendment to this Zoning Code shall be filed with the Building Inspector in such form and accompanied by such information as required by the Building Inspector. The Building Inspector, upon receiving an application for amendment, shall transmit the application, along with all pertinent data filed therewith, to the Planning Commission.
(d) Hearing on Application. The Planning Commission shall hold at least one public hearing on each application for an amendment at such time and place as shall be established by the Planning Commission. The hearings shall be conducted and a record of such proceedings shall be preserved in such manner as the Planning Commission shall, by rule, prescribe from time to time, or as may be required by Charter.
(e) Notice of Hearing. Not less than fifteen days before the date the application will be considered at the public hearing, notice of such hearing shall be published at least once in the official newspaper or a newspaper of general circulation within the Village. If an individual property or several adjacent properties are proposed for rezoning, notice of the hearing shall be given to the owners of the property in question at least fifteen days before the hearing. In the case of general text and/or map amendments, not less than fifteen days' notice of the public hearing shall be given by mail to each public utility company and to each railroad company owning or operating any public utility or railroad within the district or zones affected that registers its name and mailing address with the Village Clerk for the purpose of receiving the notice. Such notice shall be delivered personally or by mail addressed to the respective owners at the address given in the last assessment roll. If the name of the occupant is not known, the term "occupant" may be used in making notification under this subsection. Due notice shall be given, additionally, to all persons owning any real property within 300 feet of the premises contained within a map amendment request. The notice shall do all of the following:
(1) Describe the nature of the application.
(2) Indicate the property that is the subject of the application. The notice shall include a listing of all existing street addresses within the property. Street addresses do not need to be created and listed if no such addresses currently exist within the property. If there are no street addresses, other means of identification may be used.
(3) State when and where the application will be considered.
(4) Indicate when and where written comments will be received concerning the application.
(f) Findings of Fact and Recommendation of the Planning Commission. The Planning Commission shall make written findings of fact and shall submit the same together with its recommendations to the Village Council. Where the purpose and effect of the proposed amendment is to change the zoning classification of particular property, the Planning Commission shall make findings based upon the 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.
(2) The zoning classification of property within the general area of the property in question.
(3) The suitability of the property in question to 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 have taken place in its present zoning classification.
(5) The objectives of the Village of Wolverine Lake Land-Use Plan.
The Planning Commission shall not recommend the adoption of a proposed amendment unless it finds that the adoption of such amendment is not detrimental to the public interest. The Planning Commission may recommend the adoption of an amendment changing the zoning classification of the property in question to any higher classification than that requested by the applicant. For the purpose of this section, the order of classification shall be as follows with the R1-A District being highest, and the C-3 the lowest: R1-A, R1-B, R1-LF, RM-1, PL, P-1, O-1, C-1, C-2, and C-3.
(g) Action by the Village Council.
(1) The Village Council shall not act upon a proposed amendment to this Zoning Code until it shall have received a written report and recommendation from the Planning Commission on the proposed amendment.
(2) The Village Council may grant or deny any application for an amendment provided, however, that in case of a written protest against any proposed amendment of the regulations or districts, signed and acknowledged by the owners of twenty percent of the area of land to be altered, or by the owners of twenty percent of the area of land included within an area extending outward 100 feet from any point on the boundary of the land included in the proposed change, such amendment shall not be passed except by a vote of three-fourths, of the Village Council.
(h) Effect of Denial of Amendment. No application for a map amendment which has been denied by the Village Council shall be resubmitted for a period of two years 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 Planning Commission and the Village Council.
(i) Notice of Adoption. Following adoption of a Zoning Code amendment by the Village Council, one notice of adoption shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the Village of Wolverine Lake within fifteen days after adoption. The notice shall include the following information:
(1) Either a summary of the regulatory effect of the amendment including the geographic area affected, or the text of the amendment.
(2) The effective date of the Zoning Code amendment.
(3) The place and time where a copy of the Zoning Code may be purchased or inspected.
(j) Conditional Rezoning of Land. As an alternative to a rezoning amendment as described in subsections (a) through (i) hereof; the Village may allow conditional rezoning to help ensure the proper use of land and natural resources and to allow for a more flexible approach to the rezoning process in accordance with Public Act 110 of 2006 (MCL 125.3101 et seq.). It is recognized that, in certain instances, it would be an advantage to both the Village and petitioners seeking rezoning of land if a site plan, along with conditions and limitations that may be relied upon by the Village, could be proposed as part of a petition for rezoning. Conditional rezoning of land must follow the standards and procedures as noted below.
(1) The amendment procedure for a conditional rezoning shall follow the same procedure as a traditional rezoning amendment pursuant to this section.
(2) In addition to the procedures as noted in this section, the following specific procedures, standards, and requirements shall apply to all proposed conditional rezoning requests.
A. A conditional rezoning request must be voluntarily offered by an owner of land within the Village. All offers must be made in writing and must provide the specific conditions to be considered by the Village as a part of the rezoning request. All offers shall be in the form of a written agreement approvable by the Village and property owner, incorporating the conditional rezoning site plan and setting forth any conditions and terms mutually agreed upon by the parties relative to the land for which the conditional rezoning is sought.
B. Conditional rezoning shall not allow a use or activity that would not otherwise be allowed in the proposed zoning district.
C. Conditional rezoning shall not alter any of the various zoning requirements for the uses in question, i.e., parking, landscaping, lot area, lot width, building height, setbacks, lot area coverage, etc. Conditional rezoning shall not grant zoning variances of any kind. Any zoning variance must follow the provisions of Chapter 1244.
D. Conditional rezoning shall not grant special land use approval. The process for review and approval of special land uses must follow the provisions of Chapter 1274.
E. All conditions offered by a land owner in relation to a rezoning request must have a direct relationship to the rezoning itself. The provisions to allow conditional rezoning shall not be construed to allow rezoning by exaction.
F. In addition to the informational requirements provided for in section 36-461 the applicant must provide a conditional rezoning site plan prepared by a licensed professional allowed to prepare such plans under this chapter, that may show the location, size, height or other measures for and/or of buildings, structures, improvements and features, including natural features on, and in some cases adjacent to, the property that is the subject of the conditional rezoning of land. The details to be offered for inclusion in the conditional rezoning site plan shall be determined by the applicant, subject to approval of the Village. A conditional rezoning site plan shall not replace the requirement under this chapter for site plan review and approval, or subdivision or site condominium approval, as the case may be.
(3) Time limits and reversion of land to previous district.
A. If the proposed conditions of rezoning are acceptable to the Village, the Village may establish a time period during which the conditions apply to the property and must be met. If the conditions are not satisfied within the time specified under this section, the property shall revert to its former zoning classification unless an extension is granted as noted below. Reversion of a property back to its former classification must follow the rezoning amendment provisions as provided in subsections (a) through (i) hereof.
B. Unless a reversion of the zoning takes place as described in subsections (a) through (i) hereof, the approved conditional rezoning shall be binding upon the subject property owner, his heirs, successors, assigns, and transferees.
C. Upon approval of a conditional rezoning, a copy of the written agreement between the property owner and Village shall be filed with the county register of deeds, which shall act to provide notice to all subsequent owners of the property of the conditions approved and agreed to by the Village.
D. The Village may not add to or alter any conditions approved as a part of a rezoning during the time period specified above.
E. The time limits specified and approved by the Village may be extended upon the application of the landowner and approval of the Village.
(4) Review procedures. The factors found in subsection (f) hereof must be considered in any conditional rezoning request.
(Ord. 106. Passed 12-9-81; Ord. 106A-25. Passed 5-11-94; Ord. 106-A47. Passed 11-14-07; Ord. 106A-83. Passed 4-9-14.)