[12-16-2013 by Ord. No.
1361]
Residential Rental Restriction Overlay Districts "RO-1" are
hereby established.
[12-16-2013 by Ord. No.
1361]
(a)
The Residential Rental Restriction Overlay District RO-1 is a zoning
classification which permits owners of property within R-1 Residential
Zoning Districts to petition City Council to establish an overlay
district, and district use regulations in their residential neighborhood,
which would prohibit or restrict the rental uses of single-family
dwellings within the neighborhood. These districts establish restrictions
which operate to preserve the attractiveness, desirability and privacy
of residential neighborhoods by precluding all or certain types of
rental properties and thereby preclude the deleterious effects rental
properties can have on a neighborhood with regard to property deterioration,
increased density, congestion, crime, noise and traffic levels and
reduction of property values. The goal of the overlay district is
to allow owners of property within residential neighborhoods to control
the types of rental properties, if any, that are permitted in one-family
dwellings within their neighborhood.
(b)
It is also the purpose of the districts to achieve the following
objectives:
(1)
To protect the privacy of residents and to minimize noise, congestion
and nuisance impacts by regulating the types of rental properties;
(2)
To maintain an attractive community appearance and to provide
a desirable living environment for residents by preserving the owner-occupied
character of the neighborhood; and
(3)
To prevent excessive traffic and parking problems in the neighborhoods.
[12-16-2013 by Ord. No.
1361]
Uses permitted in the Residential Rental Restriction Overlay
District RO-1 are as follows:
(1)
In Residential Rental Restriction Overlay District RO-1 that overlaps a portion of a district zoned as an R-1 District (Single- and Two-Family Residential), permitted uses are all uses permitted in the underlying zoning district except the use or occupancy of a single-family dwelling unit as a rental unit within the meaning of § 10-152 et seq. of the City Code is prohibited and a single-family dwelling converted into a two-family dwelling unit after the introduction of an ordinance to create said overlay district, may not be used or occupied as a rental unit within the meaning of § 10-152 et seq.
(2)
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the overlay restriction does not impact properties that already have a valid rental certification, as such will be considered a preexisting nonconforming use and will be "grandfathered." However, if a property owner allows a rental certification to remain expired more than 12 months, then the property would lose any prior legal, nonconforming grandfathering and the property will be subject to the restrictions set forth in § 52-643(1) and/or § 52-645(b).
[12-16-2013 by Ord. No.
1361]
The following procedures must be complied with in order to establish
a Residential Rental Restriction Overlay District:
(1)
A petition requesting an overlay district must be submitted to the
City Clerk on forms provided by the City Clerk. The petition requirements
are as follows:
a.
The proposed boundaries of the overlay district must be entirely
within an R-1 Zoning District and the parcels within the proposed
district must be contiguous.
b.
There must be at least 50 separate lots or parcels within the proposed
district as described in the petition or the proposed district must
constitute a discrete neighborhood geographic area.
c.
The proposed boundaries may not overlap a boundary of existing overlay
districts or the boundary of an overlay district that is already the
subject of an introduced ordinance pursuant to this section.
d.
The petition must identify the specific overlay district that is
sought by specifying the proposed boundary of the overlay district.
The proposed boundaries of the overlay district must be described
in the petition and the boundaries must, if practicable, consist of
streets, alleys, platted subdivision boundaries or existing zoning
district lines which totally enclose the proposed district.
e.
The petition must accurately advise the signer of the rental restriction
that would be imposed on the property if the overlay district is established.
f.
Each petition must be circulated by a person who owns property within
the proposed district and be signed by the circulator.
g.
The petition must contain the signature and address of two-thirds
of the parcel owners within the proposed boundary of the overlay district,
exclusive of public property. Jointly owned parcels will be considered
owned by a single person for purpose of petitioning, and any co-owner
may sign a petition for such parcel. Only one owner of each parcel
will count towards the two-thirds requirement. If a person owns more
than one parcel of property within the proposed district, they may
sign the petition for each parcel they own.
h.
Each person signing the petition must also enter on the petition,
adjacent to their signature, the date that the person signed the petition
and the address of the parcel they own.
i.
When submitted, no signature dated earlier than six months prior
to the time the petition is filed with the City Clerk shall be counted
in determining the validity of the petition.
(2)
Upon presentation to the City Clerk for review, the Clerk shall verify
the signatures and dates on the petitions. If insufficient signatures
are presented, the Clerk shall return the petitions to the person
filing the petitions and identify the valid and invalid signatures.
If sufficient valid signatures are presented, the Clerk shall refer
the petitions to the Zoning Department which shall then, within 30
days, determine whether the petitions are in conformity with the remaining
conditions of this section.
a.
If the petition is determined to be in conformity with the requirements of this section, the Planning Director shall draft an appropriate ordinance in accordance with the petition procedures set forth in § 52-126. All procedures set forth in § 52-126 for zoning changes by petition shall thereafter be followed.
b.
If the petition is not in conformity with the requirements of this
section, the Planning Director shall reject the petition and return
it to the Clerk with a written explanation as to why the petition
does not meet the requirements of this section. The Clerk shall then
forward the petitions, and the explanation, to the person who filed
the petitions.
c.
If the petition is rejected for failure to comply with the boundary
requirements, it may be resubmitted with the proper boundary lines
if it is accompanied by certification that a copy of the petition
and written notice was mailed to each property affected by the change,
notifying them that their property was either added to or deleted
from the petition and if by the correction of the boundary line the
petition still meets all other requirements of the code.
d.
If the petition is rejected for an insufficient number of valid signatures,
it may be resubmitted with the additional signatures necessary to
have it comply as long as the other signatures remain valid.
e.
If an ordinance is forwarded to City Council pursuant to this section,
after consideration of the petition and the recommendations of the
Planning Commission, if any, the City Council may make additions or
changes in the boundaries of the proposed overlay district to prevent
spot zoning, to include or exclude areas that logically should have
been included or excluded in the petition, to make the boundaries
of the proposed overlay district abut boundary lines of other zoning
districts and overlay districts, and to adopt an alternate ordinance
in conformity with the suggested changes whether or not the two-thirds
majority requirement of property owners would still be met with the
proposed changes.
f.
If the City Council, in adopting an ordinance for an overlay district,
applies the ordinance to fewer parcels of property than the petition
sought, the owners of at least two-thirds of the parcels remaining
in the overlay district must have signed the original petition.
(3)
Subsequent to the introduction of an ordinance proposing to establish
a Residential Rental Restriction Overlay District, the circulator(s)
of the petition for the overlay district or a majority of those persons
who signed the petition for an overlay district may file a written
request with the City Council to table consideration or further proceedings
toward the adoption of the ordinance for 60 days in order to allow
the submission of an alternate petition for a modification of the
boundaries of a proposed overlay district. If such a petition is submitted
during the sixty-day period, City Council may introduce an alternate
ordinance in conformity with the subsequent petition, and the ordinances
shall, to the extent possible, be processed simultaneously. In such
a case, the Planning Commission shall include in its recommendations
which ordinance it concludes, after public hearing, has the majority
of the support of the property owners in the proposed districts.
(4)
No earlier than one year after the adoption of an ordinance establishing
an overlay district, a petition for a change or removal of the overlay
district may be submitted by following the procedures for establishing
an initial overlay district.
[12-16-2013 by Ord. No.
1361]
(a)
Upon introduction of an ordinance to create an overlay district and at all times while the ordinance is pending final decision, except as provided in § 10-178, there shall be a moratorium on the issuance of initial rental unit certifications to the extent that no initial rental housing certification shall be issued within the proposed overlay district to the owner of a single-family dwelling unit that would be precluded if the overlay district was adopted, or a single-family dwelling converted into a two-family dwelling unit after the introduction of an ordinance to create said overlay district, regardless of whether the license was applied for prior to or subsequent to the ordinance's introduction. If more than one ordinance is pending seeking alternate types of overlay districts pursuant to § 52-644(3), no initial certification shall be issued within the proposed district that would be precluded if the most restrictive ordinance was adopted, regardless of whether the certification was applied for prior to or subsequent to the ordinance's introduction.
(b)
Upon passage of an ordinance by City Council establishing an overlay district, except as provided in § 10-178, no initial rental unit certification shall be issued to an owner of property in the overlay district inconsistent with the restrictions of the overlay district and it shall be unlawful to use or allow any property to be used except in conformity with the requirements of the underlying zoning district and overlay district. Any property in the overlay district that has an existing rental housing certification, or has had a rental certification within one year of adoption of the overlay district, shall be allowed to continue its use and occupancy in accordance with the law existing prior to the date of the adoption of the overlay district. No existing rental housing use or occupancy in an overlay district shall be considered to be a nonconforming use as the result of adoption of an overlay district unless the rental license expires for more than one year. If an owner surrenders an existing certification or allows, either intentionally or unintentionally, a license to remain expired for more than one year, any subsequent use of the property shall be subject to the restrictions imposed by the overlay district.
