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.
A.
Citizen petitions and submittal by the Zoning Board of Adjustment
shall be forwarded to the City Council for referral to the Planning
Board.
B.
The City Council, upon receipt of a citizen petition or submittal
from Zoning Board of Adjustment, shall review the matter at the next
regular Council meeting scheduled at least 10 days after receipt of
the request and shall, within 30 days, determine whether the request
will be referred to the Planning Board for review and public hearing.
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.
A.
Notice for the time and place of the public hearing and posting of
the amendment language shall be as required in RSA 675:7, Notice Requirements
for Public Hearing.
B.
An additional public hearing shall be held if the proposal is substantively
altered by the Planning Board after public hearing. Subsequent hearings
shall be held at least 14 days after the prior public hearing. In
the instance of one hearing held, it shall be considered the final
hearing.
A.
After the final public hearing the Planning Board shall, by vote,
determine the final form of the amendment to be presented to the Council,
which amendment may include editorial revisions and textual modifications
resulting from the proceedings of the final hearing. The final form
of the amendment shall be returned to the City Council within 30 days
of the final public hearing. In all cases of referred amendments from
the Council, the Planning Board shall hold a hearing and forward a
formal recommendation to the Council within 90 days of the original
referral from Council.
B.
The Council shall take final action on the petition as presented
within 60 days of receipt of the Planning Board's recommendation.
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.
A.
The petitioner, the Planning Board and the City Council shall be
guided in their respective actions by the following criteria. The
application form provided by the Planning Department shall be intended
to provide information necessary for assessment against the stated
objectives of the Master Plan and each of its elements, including:
B.
Assessment of the environmental, fiscal, traffic, water, sewer, drainage,
architectural, landscape and streetscape impacts attributable to the
proposed changes.
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.
A.
In the event that the proposed zoning change affects the zone boundary
lines, the applicant shall have a plat prepared which shows clearly
the area involved and the existing and proposed zone district designations.
Such a plat shall be available at the public hearing and shall accompany
the application.
B.
Amendments to the district boundaries, which are approved by the
Council, shall be promptly entered on the Official Zoning Map and
a record of such amendment noted thereon. An original of each plat
shall be signed by the Mayor and on display in the Planning Department.
A copy of each amended plat shall also be filed with the City Clerk.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See the Table of Zoning Map Amendments included
at the end of this chapter.
