[Ord. No. 4238 §2(604.2), 10-3-1988; Ord. No. 4274 §13, 6-5-1989; Ord. No. 4313 §5, 3-5-1990; Ord. No. 4346 §1, 7-2-1990; Ord. No. 4381 §1, 2-4-1991; Ord. No. 4504 §1, 7-19-1993]
A. Purpose. It is recognized by this Chapter that there is
a value to the public in establishing safe and convenient traffic
movement to higher density sites, both within the site and in relation
to access streets; that there is value in encouraging a harmonious
relationship of buildings and uses, both within a site and in relation
to adjacent uses; further, that there are benefits to the public in
conserving natural resources. Toward this end, this Chapter requires
site plan review and approval by the Planning and Zoning Commission
for certain buildings, structures and uses that can be expected to
have a significant impact on natural resources, traffic patterns,
adjacent land usage, and the character of future urban development.
The site plan is intended to demonstrate to the Commission the
character and objectives of the proposed development in adequate detail
for the Commission to evaluate the effect the proposed development
would have on the community, and to determine what provisions, if
any, should be included as part of the plan and be binding on the
use and development of the property.
B. Procedures. All such applications shall be set down for
hearing before the Commission not later than the second (2nd) regular
monthly meeting of the Commission from the date of filing the same.
Any such hearing may, for good cause at the request of the applicant
or in the discretion of the Commission, be continued. At least fifteen
(15) days' notice of the time and place of such hearing shall be published
in an official newspaper or a newspaper of general circulation within
the City.
1. The City will be responsible for notifying by mail all property owners
within the City limits whose property lies within three hundred (300)
lineal feet of that which has been requested to be rezoned. Such notice
shall be postmarked at least fifteen (15) days prior to the hearing.
C. Buildings, Structures And Uses Requiring Site Plan Review. The Zoning Administrator shall not issue a building permit for construction
of the following buildings and structures unless a detailed site plan
has been reviewed and approved by the Planning and Zoning Commission
and such approval is in effect:
1. A multiple-family building containing three (3) or more dwelling
units;
2. More than one (1) multiple-family building on a lot, parcel or tract
of land, or on a combination of lots under one (1) ownership;
3. A planned development in accordance with the provisions of Section
405.260;
4. Any building or structure or addition thereto in any commercial or
industrial district with a floor area greater than five hundred (500)
square feet;
5. More than one (1) building or structure (except a sign on a lot,
parcel or tract of land, or combination of lots under one (1) ownership)
in any commercial or industrial district; and
6. Any new parking area or expansion of an existing parking area of
more than five (5) parking spaces of accepted configuration.
D. Application And Fees. Any person who has an ownership or
contractual interest in the subject property may file a request for
a site plan review by the Commission by filing with the Zoning Administrator
the completed application upon the forms provided and payment of the
review fee. As an integral part of said application, the applicant
shall file at least twenty (20) copies of a site plan.
The Zoning Administrator, upon receipt of such site plan, other
necessary data, and payment of the required fee, shall forthwith transmit
the copies to the Commission prior to its next regularly scheduled
meeting, and the Commission shall undertake a study of same and shall
approve or deny the site plan. Written notice will be sent to the
applicant stating the time and place of review of the site plan by
the Commission.
E. Site Plan Data. Every site plan submitted for consideration shall contain only the pertinent information from this Section to satisfy the scope of review under Subsection
(G) hereof for site plan review and/or for findings of fact under Section
405.410(E) (if required) for conditional use permits. The Commission or City Council may request specific additional information of the petitioner from Subsection
(D) hereof, if deemed relevant to the petition.
1. The site plan shall be of a scale not to be greater than one (1)
inch equals fifty (50) feet nor less than one (1) inch equals two
hundred (200) feet, and of such accuracy that the Commission can readily
interpret the plan, and shall include more than one (1) drawing where
required for clarity.
2. The property shall be identified by lot lines and location, including
dimensions, angles and size, correlated with the legal description
of said property. The site plan shall be designed and prepared by
a registered professional architect, engineer or land surveyor. It
shall also include the name and address of the property owner(s),
developer(s) and designer(s).
3. It shall show the scale, north point, boundary dimensions, natural
features such as woodlots, streams, rivers, lakes, drains, existing
manmade features such as buildings, structures, easements, high tension
towers, pipe lines, existing utilities such as water and sewer lines,
etc., excavations, bridges, culverts and drains and shall identify
adjacent properties within one hundred (100) yards and their existing
uses.
4. It shall show the existing topography and finished grade line elevations
at two (2) foot contour intervals as well as the proposed finished
floor elevation for all structures.
5. It shall show the dimensions of the proposed main and accessory buildings,
their relation one to another and to any existing structures to remain
on the site, the height of all buildings and structures, and the distance
from all proposed buildings and structures to the nearest adjacent
property line.
6. It shall show the existing and proposed streets, driveways, sidewalks and other vehicular and pedestrian circulation features within and adjacent to the site; also the location, size and number of parking spaces in the off-street parking areas, and the identification of service lands, service parking and loading zones in conformance with the requirements set forth in Article
VI of this Chapter.
7. It shall show the location and size of all existing utilities (public
and private) serving the property as well as the location and size
of all proposed utilities to serve the property. All necessary utilities
(public and private) will be available, functioning and usable at
the time any stage of the project, or the total project where constructed
as a whole, is ready for occupancy.
8. A landscape plan shall be included as part of the site plan submitted.
The plan shall identify all trees on the site over six (6) inches
in caliper and denote those to be retained and shall contain a plan
or schedule for maintaining in good health all live vegetation included
in the plan, such maintenance to be the responsibility of the petitioner
for a period of no less than twenty-four (24) months after issuance
of an occupancy permit.
9. It shall show architectural elevations of all proposed buildings
and structures, identifying all materials proposed, as well as floor
plans for each.
10. It shall show the locations, heights and intensity of all exterior
lighting, including a graphic and catalog reference describing the
proposed standards.
11. It shall show the location, type and nature of screening proposed
for all trash collection areas.
12. It shall show the location of all retaining walls, fences and earth
berms as well as a typical architectural elevation reflecting the
proposed finished construction.
13. Schematic or illustrative sections shall be drawn to a scale of 1"
= 8' or larger, indicating both edge conditions and internal grade
changes in relation to principal variations of internal building levels
and sight line relations to adjacent residences.
14. Project data.
a. Site area (square feet and acres);
b. Allocation of site area by building coverage, parking, loading and
driveways, and open space areas including total open space, recreation
area, landscaped areas and others;
c. Total dwelling units and floor area distributed generally by type
(1 BR, 2 BR, etc.);
d. Floor area in non-residential use by category;
e. Total floor area ratio and residential density distribution; and
f. Calculations of parking spaces and area in relation to dwelling units
and commercial floor area.
15. Project report. A brief project report shall be
provided to include an explanation of the character of the proposed
development, verifications of the applicant's ownership and contractual
interest in the subject site, and anticipated development schedule.
At the discretion of the Planning and Zoning Commission and/or
City Council, analyses by qualified independent technical personnel
or consultants chosen by the City may be required as to the market
and financial feasibility, traffic impact, environmental impact, stormwater
and erosion control, etc., of the proposed development, which analyses
shall be paid for by the applicant.
16. Any other relevant information deemed necessary by the Commission
or the City Council.
17. All plans, architectural drawings, renderings or other materials
or visual aids either submitted to the Planning and Zoning Commission
or presented at their meeting shall become the property of the City
and part of the permanent record of any decision.
F. Review Procedures. The site plan shall be submitted with the application for site plan approval to the Zoning Administrator who shall institute an administrative review of the site plan by all affected City departments. The results of this review shall be compiled by the Zoning Administrator and shall be reported by him/her to the Planning and Zoning Commission for their consideration. Upon receiving the site plan application and associated documents from the Zoning Administrator, the Commission shall complete its review of the site plan and shall render a written decision on the application, either denying, approving, or approving with conditions. The site plan application, along with the Commission's action and reasoning, shall be forwarded to the City Council as an informational item where it shall be their option either to require a further review and approval of the site plan at the Council level, or concur with the Commission by taking no further action. Appeal, protest or Council review shall follow the same procedures as for conditional use permits as set out in Section
405.420.
G. Scope Of Review. The Planning and Zoning Commission shall
consider, but not be limited to, the following factors in review of
the site development plan:
1. The conservation of natural resources on the property proposed for
development, including: trees and other living vegetation, steep slopes,
watercourses, floodplains, soils, air quality, scenic views and historic
sites.
2. The provision of safe and efficient vehicular and pedestrian transportation
both within the development and the community, including emergency
vehicles.
3. The provision of sufficient open space to meet the needs of the proposed
development.
4. The provision of adequate drainage facilities on the subject site
in order to prevent drainage problems from occurring on the subject
site or within the community.
5. The compatibility of the overall site design (location of buildings,
parking lots, screening, general landscaping, and architectural design)
and the land use within the existing area and projected future development
of the area.
6. The existence and/or provision of adequate community facilities to serve the proposed development (i.e., water, sewerage, schools, streets, fire protection and ambulance service, etc.) and compliance with the provisions of Section
405.360.
7. Conformance of the site development plan with the Comprehensive Plan
and any other applicable requirements of this Chapter.
H. Approval Of Site Plan. Upon approval of a site plan, the
applicant shall file with the Commission four (4) copies thereof containing
all revisions required as the result of the approval process. As a
condition of approval, applicant, or its authorized officer on behalf
of applicant, its heirs, successors or assigns, shall certify on the
site plan that applicant accepts the approved site plan and shall
not deviate therefrom in construction or use without filing with and
receiving from the Commission approval of a new application. The Zoning
Administrator shall certify that the site plan conforms to the provisions
of the Zoning Ordinance as determined and approved by the Commission.
If the site plan is denied by the Commission, explanation and notification
of denial shall be given to the applicant(s).
I. Expiration Of Site Plan Approval. The site plan approval
shall expire, and be of no effect, one hundred eighty (180) days after
the date of approval thereof unless within such time a building permit
for any proposed work authorized under the said site plan approval
has been issued. The site plan approval shall expire and be of no
effect three hundred and sixty (360) days after the date of its issuance
if construction has not begun and been pursued diligently on the property.
J. Revision Of Site Plan. A site plan for which the Zoning
Administrator has not issued a building permit or the work authorized
under an issued building permit has not been completed may be amended
or revised by the Commission. Such amendment shall be made upon application
and in accordance with the procedure provided under this Article as
if it were a new application.
K. Site Plan Bond. As a condition of approval of the site plan,
the Commission may require a deposit by the applicant with the City
Clerk in the form of cash, certified check, or surety bond acceptable
to the City, to insure performance of any obligations of the applicant
to make improvements shown upon the detailed site plan. The deposit
shall be in an amount sufficient to insure completion of the improvements
within the time specified by the Commission in accordance with regulations
and standards established by the City Council. The Clerk shall rebate
to the applicant, as the work progresses, amounts of any cash deposits
equal to the ratio of the work completed to the entire improvements
shown upon the detailed site plan as verified by the City Engineer.
L. Violations. The approved site plan shall have the full force and effect of this Chapter. Any violation shall be grounds for the Zoning Administrator to issue stop work orders, withhold further permits, and take all actions necessary for the assessment of all penalties and fines as outlined in Section
405.620.