(A) Proposed changes or amendments may be initiated by the Board of Aldermen, Planning Board, or by one or more interested parties, except that 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 of Wrightsville Beach. For purposes of this section, "down-zoning" means a zoning ordinance that affects an area of land in one of the following ways:
(1) By decreasing the development density of the land to be less dense than was allowed under its previous usage.
(2) 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.
(B) An application for any change or amendment shall contain a description and statement of the present and proposed zoning regulation or district boundary to be applied, the names and addresses of the applicant, the owner of the parcel of land involved in the change if different from the applicant, and all adjacent property owners as shown on the New Hanover County tax listing. Twenty copies of such application shall be filed with the UDO Administrator not later than 30 days prior to the Planning Board meeting at which the application is to be considered.
(C) When a proposed amendment is initiated by individuals or parties other than the Board of Aldermen or Planning Board, a fee established from time to time by the Board of Aldermen shall be paid to the town for each application for an amendment to cover the necessary administrative costs and advertising.
(A) Zoning Map Amendment. In any case where the Planning Board will consider a change in the zoning classification of a parcel of land, notice of the proposed petition or application shall be mailed by first class mail to the owner of the parcel of land involved in the change and all abutting property owners as shown on the New Hanover County tax listing at the addresses listed for such property owners on the New Hanover County tax abstracts, at least ten days and not more than 25 days prior to the Planning Board meeting at which the rezoning is to be considered. When multiple parcels are included in a proposed zoning map amendment, a posting of each individual site is not required, but the town shall post sufficient notices to provide reasonable notice to interested persons. The UDO Administrator or his or her designee shall certify to the Planning Board that such notices have been made.
(B) Zoning Text Amendment. In any case where the Planning Board will consider an amendment to the zoning code text, notice of the amendment to be considered shall be published once in a newspaper having general circulation in the area. The notice shall be published not less than ten days before the date of the Planning Board meeting at which the text amendment will be considered.
(C) Planning Board Action on Development Regulations and other Legislative Decisions.
(1) Zoning Text or Map Amendments. The Planning Board shall advise and comment on whether the proposed text amendment or map amendment is consistent with the adopted comprehensive plan and any other applicable officially adopted plans. The Planning Board shall provide a written recommendation to the Board of Aldermen 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 Board of Aldermen.
(2) Comprehensive Plan Updates, Other Ordinances, and Actions. Any development regulation or action required by this Ordinance other than a zoning regulation may be referred to the Planning Board for review and comment.
(3) The review and comment of a proposed development ordinance or zoning amendment as required herein and by N.C.G.S. § 160D-604, must be performed by a separate board and not the Board of Aldermen.
(A) Notice and Public Hearings - Zoning Text Amendment. No amendment shall be adopted by the Board of Aldermen until after public notice and hearing. Notice of such a public hearing shall be published once a week for two successive calendar weeks in a local newspaper of general circulation in the town. 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.
(B) Notice and Public Hearings - Zoning Map Amendment.
(1) In any case where the Board of Aldermen will consider a change in the zoning classification of a parcel of land, notice of the proposed petition or application shall be mailed by first class mail to the owner of that parcel of land and all abutting property owners as shown on the New Hanover County tax listing at the last addresses listed for such property owners on the New Hanover County tax abstracts. For purposes of this Ordinance, properties adjacent to the parcel subject to the map amendment but separated by a street, railroad, or other transportation corridor shall be considered "abutting" and included. The party applying for the change in zoning classification shall submit the following material with the request for rezoning; the application shall be considered incomplete without such material:
(a) A list of names of owners, their addresses and the tax parcel numbers of the property involved in the change and the properties immediately adjacent to the property of the request, including the property owners directly opposite the proposed request but separated by a street right-of-way, railroad, or other transportation corridor, as shown on the New Hanover County tax listing.
(b) Two sets of plain, letter sized envelopes equal in number to the above list of names shall be furnished by the applicant. Both sets of envelopes are to be unsealed, stamped, and addressed for mailing to the adjacent property owners as shown on the New Hanover County tax listing, and bear the return address of the town.
(2) At least ten but no more than 25 days prior to the date of the meeting at which the Board of Aldermen will consider the request for rezoning, the Town Clerk shall mail a letter of notification in the supplied envelopes containing a description of the request and the time, date and location of the public hearing. Additionally, the site proposed for rezoning or an adjacent public right-of-way shall be posted with a notice of the public hearing within the same time period specified for mailed notices of the hearing at which the rezoning is to be considered. When multiple parcels are included in a proposed zoning map amendment, a posting of each individual site is not required, but the town shall post sufficient notices to provide reasonable notice to interested persons. The Town Clerk shall certify to the Board of Aldermen that such notices have been made and such certification shall be deemed conclusive in the absence of fraud.
(3) The first class mail notice required under subsections (1) and (2) of this section shall not be required if the zoning map amendment directly affects more than 50 properties, owned by a total of at least 50 different property owners, and the town elects to use the expanded published notice. In this instance, the town may elect to either make the mailed notice provided for in this section or may as an alternative elect to publish a notice of the hearing as required by N.C.G.S. § 160D-601, but provided that each advertisement shall not be less than one-half of a newspaper page in size. The advertisement shall only be effective for property owners who reside in the area of general circulation of the newspaper which publishes the notice. Property owners who reside outside of the newspaper circulation area, according to the address listed on the most recent New Hanover County property tax listing for the affected property, shall be notified according to the provisions of subsections (1) and (2).
(4) Reserved.
(C) Recommendations of Planning Board. The Board of Aldermen shall not hold its required public hearing or take action on any proposed zoning amendment until it has received a recommendation regarding such Ordinance amendment from the Planning Board. If no recommendation is received from the Planning Board within 30 days from the date when submitted to the Planning Board, the Board of Aldermen may consider the proposal without a recommendation from the Planning Board.
(D) Citizen Comments. If any resident or property owner submits a written statement regarding a proposed amendment, modification or repeal to a zoning ordinance to the Town Clerk at least two business days prior to the proposed vote on such change, the Town Clerk shall deliver such written statement to the Board of Aldermen.
(E) Statements of Consistency and Reasonableness.
(1) Plan Consistency. Prior to adopting or rejecting any zoning text and/or map amendment, the Board of Aldermen shall adopt a statement describing whether its action is consistent or inconsistent with an adopted comprehensive plan. This requirement may also be met by a clear indication in the minutes of the Board of Aldermen that at the time of action on the amendment the Board 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 comprehensive plan, the zoning amendment shall have the effect of also amending any future land-use map in the approved comprehensive plan, and no additional request or application for a plan amendment shall be required. However, if the plan is one that requires review and approval subject to N.C.G.S. § 113A-110, (CAMA Plan), the plan amendment shall not be effective until that review and approval is completed. A plan amendment and a zoning amendment may be considered concurrently. A consistency statement is not subject to judicial review.
(2) Reasonableness Statement for Rezonings. 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 Board of Alderman. A reasonableness statement may be provided to zoning text amendments. 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.
(3) Single Statement. The statement of reasonableness and the plan consistency statement may be approved as a single statement.
(F) A development regulation shall be adopted by ordinance on the first reading, by a simple majority of the Board of Aldermen.
(Ord. 1695, passed 11-8-12; Am. Ord. 1750, passed 10-13-15; Am. Ord. 1838, passed 3-10-22)