Amendments to the Zoning Ordinance, including amendments to
the Official Zoning Map, may be initiated by the following: Planning
Board; City Council; Zoning Board of Adjustment; or by citizen petition.
A. The Planning Board, City Council or Zoning Board of Adjustment may
initiate a rezoning petition without application fee. Appropriate
staffing and budgeting to accomplish the projected amendment reviews
should be considered by the City Council, the Planning Board and the
Zoning Board of Adjustment prior to the beginning of the fiscal year
to allow programming of anticipated changes.
(1) Submittal by the Planning Board. The Planning Board may submit an
amendment proposal to the Council at any time.
(2) Submittal by the City Council. The City Council may submit an amendment
proposal to the Planning Board at any time.
(3) Submittal by the Zoning Board of Adjustment. The Zoning Board of
Adjustment may submit an amendment proposal to the City Council at
any time.
B. Citizen petitions.
(1) Filing deadline. Citizen petitions, submitted on a form as provided
by the Planning Department, shall be filed, together with fees, a
minimum of 10 days prior to a regularly scheduled Council meeting
for submittal to the Council. Petitions and fees for zoning amendments
shall be submitted to the office of the City Clerk who shall date
stamp receipt of the petition and forward it to the City Manager's
office.
(2) Text changes. Twenty-five or more registered voters may petition
for an amendment to ordinance text. Signatures shall be verified by
the City Clerk at the time of receipt and shall be rejected if the
number of voters is insufficient.
(3) District boundary changes. Property owners representing 50% or more
of the land area affected by a petition or 25 registered voters may
petition for an amendment to district boundaries.
The Planning Board shall, at its next regularly scheduled meeting
following the referral from the Council, schedule a public hearing
on the petition within 30 days of the referral by the Council. In
the instance of Planning Board initiated amendments, the Board shall
schedule a hearing at its convenience.
No revision or amendment adopted under this section shall be
legal or have any force and effect until copies of it are certified
by the Mayor and filed with the City Clerk. The City Clerk shall forthwith
furnish copies of the enacted ordinance revision to the Planning Department
and the Planning Department shall incorporate the changes into published
copies of this chapter made available to the public.
The City Council shall assess an application and review fee
in an amount to cover the direct costs of processing petitions for
zoning amendments or revisions. The purpose of the fee is to reimburse
the City for costs incurred in review, including the cost of special
expertise or additional staff necessary to process the petition in
a timely and thorough manner.