Article VIII: Amendments And Changes

Section 405.450 Amendments, Changes, Etc., To Chapter.

[R.O. 2001 § 405.450; CC 1984 § 42.650; Ord. No. 836 § 4, 12-2-1999]

Authority Generally. The Board of Aldermen may, from time to time, on its own motion or on petition after the public notice and hearings thereon, as provided herein, amend, supplement, change, modify or repeal the regulations and restrictions as established in this Chapter. Before taking any action upon any proposed amendment, supplement, change or modification, the same shall be referred by the Board of Aldermen to the Planning and Zoning Commission for hearing, report and recommendations. The application, if any, shall be accompanied by a filing fee in the amount of fifty dollars ($50.00).

Protests. In case of a protest against such amendment, supplement, change, modification or repeal, duly signed and acknowledged by the owners of thirty percent (30%) or more either of the areas of land (exclusive of streets and alleys) included in such proposed change or within an area determined by lines drawn parallel to and one hundred eighty-five (185) feet distant from the boundaries of the district proposed to be changed, such amendment shall not be passed except by the favorable vote of two-thirds (2/3) of the members of the Board of Aldermen.

Notice Of Hearings. No action of an amendment, change, modification or repeal shall be taken until after a public hearing is held before the Planning and Zoning Commission in relation thereto, at which hearing the parties in interest and citizens shall have an opportunity to be heard. At least fifteen (15) days' notice of time and place of such hearing shall be published in a paper of general circulation in the City. All reasonable effort shall be made to notify the owners of property to be rezoned and owners of all land within an area determined by lines drawn parallel to and one hundred eighty-five (185) feet distant from the boundaries of the district proposed to be rezoned, by certified mail, addressed to their last known address.

List Of Property Owners, Scale Drawings, Etc. Any person, property owner or other interested parties requesting that a tract or parcel of land, lots or blocks be changed, amended or rezoned shall provide the Planning and Zoning Commission with a complete list of the names, addresses and legal description of land of all adjacent and adjoining property owners within one hundred eighty-five (185) feet of the proposed area to be change or rezoned. Such list shall be certified as to accuracy by an abstractor, and the costs of such list and certification shall be paid by the requesting person, owner or parties, which shall also include the expense of registered notice to adjacent and adjoining property owners or owner entitled to such notification. The Planning and Zoning Commission shall have the further right to require the requesting party to provide a scale plat, drawing plat or drawing of the area proposed to be changed and the surrounding area if, in their opinion, the circumstances warrant such drawing.

Section 405.460 Exceptions By Special Use Permits.

[R.O. 2001 § 405.460; Ord. No. 836 § 4, 12-2-1999]

A special use permit is an act of granting permission to use land in a manner not permitted in a given zoning district following a public hearing before the Planning and Zoning Commission and approval of a special use permit ordinance by the Board of Aldermen setting forth the terms and conditions of said special use.

The granting of a special use permit should be conditional to the findings that there will be no substantial injury to the value of other property in the neighborhood in which it is to be located, public convenience will be served by the proposed special use, and that the proposed special use is compatible with surrounding permitted uses. The granting of a special use permit may be subject to certain conditions reasonably necessary to meet such standards. Examples of standards could be: site buffering or screening, landscaping, setting hours of operation, restriction of merchandise sold, building setbacks, noise level management, stormwater management, advertising signage limits, building exterior standards, number of employees, etc.

Application For Permit. The granting of special uses shall not exist as a matter of right, but only upon issuance of a special use permit by ordinance of the Board of Aldermen after a public hearing and prior consideration and recommendation of the Planning and Zoning Commission. Special uses shall be considered an exception to the general provisions of this Chapter.

Application for a special use permit may be by any interested party having a right of use of the land seeking such use, in written documentary form, executed or endorsed with approval and authorization by the owner of the land upon which the same is to be located and by the holder of any debt secured by lien and record thereon. The application shall be the first considered by the Planning and Zoning Commission after public hearing at which interested parties and citizens shall have an opportunity to be heard. The Commission shall thereupon make its recommendation to the Board of Aldermen. At least fifteen (15) days' notice of time and place of the hearing before the Planning and Zoning Commission shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the City qualified to publish such legal matters. All reasonable effort shall be made to notify the nearby owners of property proposed for special use, therefore owners of all land within an area to be determined by lines drawn parallel to and one hundred eighty-five (185) feet distant from the boundaries of the district proposed to be rezoned, by certified mail, addressed to their last known address.

Such application shall contain the following information:

Names of owners of the land included in the application;

Accurate legal description of land for which such use is sought;

Full, specific and particular description of the use sought, both as to function and operation, and as to any structures, installations, equipment or surface improvement or change incident to such use;

A plan or drawing showing the location of such land and of any structures, installations, equipment or change or surface contemplated, including all public ways, with access thereto;

Names and addresses or all owners of land adjoining and within one hundred eighty-five (185) feet of that for which such permit is sought;

Any person, property owner or other interested parties requesting that a tract or parcel of land, lots or blocks be allowed special use shall provide the Planning and Zoning Commission with a complete list of the names, addresses and legal descriptions of land of all adjacent and adjoining property owners within one hundred eighty-five (185) feet of the proposed area to be changed or rezoned. Such list shall be certified as to accuracy by an abstracter, and the costs of such list and certification shall be paid by the requesting person, owner or parties, which shall also include the expense of certified notice to adjacent and adjoining property owners or owner entitled to such notification. The Planning and Zoning Commission shall have the further right to require the requesting party to provide a scale plat, drawing plat or drawing of the area proposed to be changed and the surrounding area if, in their opinion, the circumstances warrant such change; and

Period of time of the term of such special use permit if applicable.

Before granting a special use permit the Board of Aldermen and Planning and Zoning Commission shall establish that:

The special use is necessary for the public convenience at that location;

The special use will not cause substantial injury to the value of other property in the neighborhood in which it is to be located;

Such special use shall conform to the applicable regulations of the district in which it is to be located; and

The petitioner cannot reasonably locate the proposed use in an existing zone suited for the intended use.

Recommendation Of The Planning And Zoning Commission. The recommendation of the Planning and Zoning Commission upon hearing such application need not be limited to approval or disapproval of the application(s) filed but may be conditional according to its terms and shall include, by reference to the application, the following:

(1)

Identification of owners of property for which such use is sought;

(2)

Accurate legal description of the land for which such use is sought;

(3)

Specific and detailed description of the special use to the extent;

(4)

Statement of any recommended conditions or requirements to be met or complied with in the event the special use permit is granted; and

(5)

Statement of recommended term of use if application in the public interest.

Action By Board Of Aldermen.

(1)

The action by the Board of Aldermen, after receiving the recommendations of the Planning and Zoning Commission, may be by ordinance but shall not constitute an amendment to this Chapter of the City Code;

(2)

If the action is to deny the application, it shall be sufficient to so state;

(3)

If the Board of Aldermen elects to grant a special use permit, the form of the ordinance shall constitute such permit and shall include the following information;

(a)

The name of the permittee;

(b)

The name of the owner of land as to which such permit is granted;

(c)

Accurate legal description of the land for which the same is granted;

(d)

Full, specific and particular description of the use permitted. Statement of the period of time for which such use is permitted if applicable;

(e)

Statement of the period of time for which such use is permitted if applicable;

(f)

Accurate and detailed statement of special conditions and requirements both as to the issuance of such permit and as to the continuing validity thereof; and

(g)

If written protest be filed at any time before the action of the Board of Aldermen with respect to such special use permit by the owners of ten percent (10%) or more either of the areas of the land included in such proposed change or within an area determined by lines drawn parallel to and one hundred eighty-five (185) feet distant from the boundaries or the district purposed to be changed, such permit shall not be allowed except by the favorable vote of two-thirds (2/3) of the members of the Board of Aldermen.

Conditions Of All Special Use Permits.

(1)

If there be violation of or non-compliance with any of the stated conditions of such special use permit during the term thereof, the same shall be subject during revocation by resolution of the Board of Aldermen after public hearing after notice to the then owner and occupant of the land which is subject to the use. Upon such revocation, such permit shall thereafter be void and no effect.

(2)

Such special use permit shall not constitute a defense to any lawful action for civil or private rights on account of any such use.

(3)

If such special use permit shall be for a limited or stated term of use, the same may be extended after public hearing and report by the Planning and Zoning Commission.

(4)

If a permitted special use ceases for a period of six (6) months or more, it shall be automatically void. Use regulations pertaining to the tract shall be the same as if the special use permit had never been granted.

Special Uses For Consideration. Examples of special uses which may be permitted may include, but are not limited to:

(1)

Amusement parks, privately owned baseball or athletic fields, racetracks;

(2)

Bed and breakfast;

(3)

Cemeteries, mausoleums or crematories for the disposal of the dead;

(4)

Club, private;

(5)

Day nursery, over ten (10) children;

(6)

Drive-in theaters;

(7)

Golf driving ranges, commercial or illuminated;

(8)

Gun clubs, skeet shoots or target ranges;

(9)

Keeping of horses or ponies on a lot one (1) acre or larger;

(10)

Camping areas, picnic groves and fishing lakes, including minor and incidental concession facilities for patrons only;

(11)

Nursery sales office, building, greenhouses or area (wholesale or retail);

(12)

Nursing and convalescent homes;

(13)

Public buildings;

(14)

Taxi and other transportation terminals;

(15)

Riding stables and tracks;

(16)

Sewage, refuse, garbage disposal plants;

(17)

Buildings, structures and premises for public utility services or public service corporations, which buildings or uses the Board deems reasonably necessary for public convenience or welfare;

(18)

Off-street parking lots or structures of a temporary or permanent nature;

(19)

Veterinarian; and

(20)

Accessory uses.

Plan Approval. All plans for construction or alteration to allow the establishment of a special use shall be submitted to the Zoning Administrator for review prior to issuance of permits. Such plan review shall be for the purpose of determining compliance with those conditions and stipulations which were proposed at the time of public hearing and initial action; and for further determination that the project, as it is proposed in final form, will comply with the spirit and intent of this Section.