[R.O. 1992 § 400.480; Ord. No. 16-11557, 8-15-2016, effective 3-1-2017]
The Director of Planning, Director
of Public Works, City Engineer, Building Official or a person of the
same or similar title as formally designated by the City Administrator
of the City of Washington shall be responsible for interpreting and
administering the provisions of this Chapter and shall have primary
responsibility for the enforcement of this Chapter by means of the
duties specified herein. For the purposes of this Chapter, this person
shall be referred to in this Chapter as "Zoning Administrator." Without
limiting the generality of the previous sentence, the duties and authority
of the Zoning Administrator shall be as follows:
A.
Duties And Responsibilities Of The Zoning
Administrator.
1.
The duties and responsibilities of
the Zoning Administrator shall include, but not necessarily be limited
to, the following:
a.
b.
Determine whether applications for
building permits are in compliance with applicable requirements of
this Chapter.
c.
Furnish to the various department
superintendents or other employees of the City such information as
will aid in ensuring the proper compliance with this Chapter and other
codes of the City.
d.
e.
Provide administrative support to
the Board of Appeals. This includes receiving, filing and forwarding
to the Board of Appeals all information constituting the record upon
which actions appealed from are taken.
f.
Supervise the preparation of updates
to the Official Zoning Map.
g.
Except as otherwise provided for
in this Chapter, notify, in writing, any person responsible for violating
any of the provisions of this Chapter, indicating the nature of the
violation and ordering the necessary corrective action.
h.
May cause the cessation of any erection,
construction, reconstruction, alteration, conversion, maintenance
or use in violation of this Chapter by issuing a stop-work or stop-use
order.
i.
May refer any violation of this Chapter
to the City Attorney for prosecution or other appropriate action when
deemed necessary.
2.
The Zoning Administrator may adopt
such administrative policies as necessary to the carrying out of such
duties.
[R.O. 1992 § 400.485; Ord. No. 16-11557, 8-15-2016, effective 3-1-2017]
A.
Creation Of The Commission.
1.
There is hereby created a Commission
to be known as the "Planning and Zoning Commission" (or also referred
to as "the Commission"), which shall consist of nine (9) members,
including the Mayor, a member of the Council selected by the Council
and seven (7) citizens appointed by the Mayor and approved by the
Council.
2.
All citizen members of the Commission
shall serve without compensation.
3.
The term of each of the citizen members
shall be for four (4) years, except that any citizen member now serving
on the existing Plan Commission shall serve until his/her appointment
expires.
4.
Any vacancies in the membership shall
be filled for the unexpired term by appointment as aforesaid. The
Council may remove any citizen member for cause stated in writing
and after a public hearing.
5.
The terms of the member of the City
Council and the Mayor shall correspond to their respective official
tenures.
B.
Officers, Meetings, Rules And Regulations,
And Records.
1.
The Planning and Zoning Commission
shall select its Chairman from among the citizen members. The term
of Chairman shall be for one (1) year with eligibility for reelection.
2.
The Commission shall hold regular
meetings and special meetings as it provides by rules and shall adopt
rules for the transaction of business and keep a record of its proceedings.
These records shall be public records.
C.
Employees And Consultants. The Planning
and Zoning Commission may appoint such employees as it may deem necessary
for its work. The Commission may also contract with City planners,
engineers, architects and other consultants for such services as it
may require, provided that an appropriation has been made authorizing
payment for such services.
D.
Powers And Duties Generally.
1.
The Planning and Zoning Commission
shall, from time to time, recommend to the appropriate public officials
programs for public structures and improvements and for the financing
thereof. It shall be part of its duty to consult with public officials
and agencies, public utility companies, civic, educational, professional
and other organizations and with citizens with relation to the protecting
and carrying out of the plans. The Commission shall have the right
to accept and use gifts for the exercise of its functions. All public
officials shall, upon request, furnish to the Commission within a
reasonable time such available information as it shall require for
its work. The Commission, its members, officers and employees, in
the performance of their functions, may enter upon any land and make
examinations and surveys and place and maintain necessary monuments
and markers thereon. In general, the Commission shall have such powers
as may be necessary to enable it to fulfill its functions, promote
City planning and carry out the purposes of this Chapter.
2.
The Planning and Zoning Commission
shall immediately, upon the City annexing unincorporated areas into
the City of Washington, make recommendations to the City Council as
to the proposed zoning for said newly annexed area.
E.
Comprehensive City Plan Preparation And
Contents. It shall be the function and duty of the Planning and Zoning
Commission to make and adopt a Comprehensive Plan for the physical
development of the City. Such plan, with the accompanying maps, plats,
charts and descriptive matter, shall show the Commission's recommendations
for the development of the area, including, among other things; the
general location, character and extent of streets, viaducts, bridges,
waterways, waterfronts, boulevards, highways, parkways, playgrounds,
squares, parks, airfields and other public ways, grounds and open
spaces; the general location of public buildings and other public
property; and the general location and extent of public utilities
and terminals, whether publicly or privately owned or operated, for
water, light, sanitation, transportation, communication, power and
other purposes; also the removal, relocation, widening, narrowing,
vacating, abandonment, change of use or extension of any of the foregoing
ways, grounds, open spaces, buildings, property, utilities or terminals;
as well as a zoning plan for the control of the height, area, bulk,
location and use of buildings and premises and of population density;
the general location, character, layout and extent of community centers
and neighborhood units; and the general character, extent and layout
of the replanning of blighted districts and slum areas and the establishment
of fire zones. The Commission shall hold public hearings on any major
final report before submitting the same to the City Council for its
action thereon, and the Council shall not hold its public hearings
or take action until it has received the final report of the Plan
Commission on the particular proposition to be acted on.
F.
Purpose Of The Comprehensive City Plan.
In the preparation of a City Plan, the Planning and Zoning Commission
shall make careful comprehensive surveys and studies of present conditions
and the future growth of the City, with due regard to its relation
to neighboring territory. The plan shall be made with the general
purpose of guiding and accomplishing a coordinated, adjusted and harmonious
development of the City which will, in accordance with present and
future needs, best promote health, safety, morals, order, convenience,
prosperity and general welfare, as well as efficiency and economy
in the process of development, including, among other things, adequate
provision for traffic, the promotion of safety from fire and other
dangers, adequate provision for light and air, the promotion of the
healthful and convenient distribution of population, the promotion
of good civic design, arrangement, wise and efficient expenditure
of public funds and the adequate provisions of public utilities and
other public requirements.
G.
Designated Zoning Commission And Comprehensive
Zoning Plan.
1.
The Planning and Zoning Commission
is hereby appointed as the Zoning Commission of the City.
2.
The Planning and Zoning Commission
of the City is hereby authorized and directed to make and adopt a
revised or new Comprehensive Zoning Plan for the City, in accordance
with the provisions of and for the purposes enumerated in Chapter
89, RSMo., which plan shall be administered in accordance with the
provisions of such Chapter 89, RSMo.
3.
After having prepared a preliminary
plan and holding public hearings thereon, the Planning and Zoning
Commission shall submit its final report to the Council.
[R.O. 1992 § 400.490; Ord. No. 16-11557, 8-15-2016, effective 3-1-2017]
Prior to the land preparation or
construction of any building or structure permitted in accordance
with the provisions of this Chapter and other applicable Chapters
of the Washington City Code, the following requirements must be met:
A.
Grading Of Property And Permit Requirement.
1.
Grading, filling, excavating or any change in the grade of property that involves the moving, depletion or replacement of more than fifty (50) cubic yards of material or changes the existing elevation by more than two (2) feet requires a permit, as per Section 400.490(A)(2) below. At no time shall any grading be detrimental to surrounding property in appearance or in the diversion of stormwater drainage.
2.
An application for a grading permit
shall be submitted to the City Engineer and shall be accompanied by
a plan of a size for permanent filing, drawn to scale, showing the
area to be graded, the depth of cut and fill and an estimate of total
cubic cut and fill. The plan shall be approved by the City Engineer.
Furthermore, a record of the application and plan shall be kept in
the office of the City Engineer. The application for a grading permit
shall be accompanied by a fee in the amount of fifteen dollars ($15.00)
per acre, which shall be paid to the City Clerk.
B.
Building Permit. An application for a building
permit shall be submitted to the Zoning Administrator, and each application
for a building permit shall be accompanied by a plat in duplicate
in a form and size suitable for permanent filing and drawn to scale,
showing the actual dimensions of the lot to be built upon, the size,
shape and locations of the building to be erected, and such other
information as may be necessary to provide for the enforcement of
this Chapter. The property shall be surveyed by a licensed surveyor.
A record of the applications and plats shall be kept in the office
of the Zoning Administrator.
C.
Certificate Of Occupancy.
1.
Subsequent to the passage of the
ordinance adopting these zoning regulations, no change in the use
or occupancy of land, nor any change of use or occupancy in an existing
building other than for single-family dwelling purposes, shall be
made, nor shall any new building be occupied for any purpose, until
a certificate of occupancy has been issued by the Zoning Administrator.
Every certificate of occupancy shall state that the new occupancy
complies with all provisions of this Chapter.
2.
Certificates of occupancy and compliance
shall be applied for coincidentally with the application for a building
permit and shall be issued within ten (10) days after the lawful erection
or alteration of the building is completed. A record of all certificates
shall be kept on file in the office of the Zoning Administrator, and
copies shall be furnished on request to any person having a proprietary
or tenancy interest in the building affected.
3.
No permit for the excavation for
or the erection or alteration of any building shall be issued before
the application has been made for a certificate of occupancy, and
no building or premises shall be occupied until that certificate and
permit are issued.
4.
A certificate of occupancy shall
be required of all non-conforming uses of land or buildings created
by the passage of this Chapter. Application for such certificates
of occupancy for non-conforming uses shall be filed with the Zoning
Administrator by the owner or lessee of the land or building occupied
by such non-conforming use within two (2) years from the effective
date of this Chapter. It shall be the duty of the Zoning Administrator
to issue a certificate of occupancy for a non-conforming use upon
the filing of an application for the same. Nothing in this Chapter
shall prevent the continuance of a non-conforming use as hereinbefore
authorized unless a discontinuance is necessary for the safety of
life or property.
[R.O. 1992 § 400.495; Ord. No. 16-11557, 8-15-2016, effective 3-1-2017]
A.
Construction And Use Shall Comply With
Plans And Permits. All permits issued on the basis of plans (including
site plans approved by the Planning and Zoning Commission) and/or
permits issued by the Zoning Administrator authorize only the use,
arrangement, and/or construction set forth in such approved plans
and/or permits and no other use, arrangement, or construction.
B.
Entry And Inspection Of Land And Buildings.
Members of the Council, Planning and Zoning Commission, the Zoning
Administrator and building inspectors are hereby empowered, in the
performance of their duties, to enter upon any property in the City
of Washington for the purpose of making inspections, examinations,
and surveys, or to place and maintain thereon monuments, markers,
notices, signs, or placards required to effectuate the purpose and
provisions of this Chapter.
[R.O. 1992 § 400.500; Ord. No. 16-11557, 8-15-2016, effective 3-1-2017]
A.
Proceedings To Prevent Violations.
1.
General.
a.
In case any building or structure,
including fixtures, is constructed, reconstructed, altered, converted,
or maintained, or any building or structure, including fixtures, or
land, is used in violation of this Chapter, the City may institute
any appropriate action or proceeding to:
(1)
Prevent the unlawful
construction, reconstruction, alteration, repair, conversion, maintenance,
or use;
(2)
Prevent the occupancy
of the building, structure, or land;
(3)
Prevent any illegal
act, conduct, business, or use in or about the premises; or
(4)
Restrain, correct, or
abate the violation.
b.
Any owner or tenant of real property,
within twelve thousand (1,200) feet in any direction of the property
on which the building or structure in question is located, who shows
that their property or person will be substantially affected by the
alleged violation may seek action to prevent such violation as provided
for by law. Without abrogating the aforementioned procedure to remedy
an alleged violation, such owner or tenant may notify the Zoning Administrator,
in writing, of the alleged violation. Upon receipt of such notice,
the Zoning Administrator shall take whatever action is warranted and
inform the complainant, in writing, what actions have been or will
be taken.
2.
Procedure Upon Discovery Of Violations:
a.
If the Zoning Administrator finds
that any provision of this Chapter is being violated, the Zoning Administrator
shall send a written notice to the person responsible for such violation,
indicating the nature of the violation and ordering the action necessary
to correct it. Additional written notices may be sent at the Zoning
Administrator's discretion.
b.
The final written notice (and the initial written notice may be the final notice) shall advise that the Zoning Administrator's decision or order may be appealed to the Board of Appeals in accordance with Article XIII, Appeals to the Board of Adjustment, of this Chapter.
c.
In cases where delay would threaten the public health, safety, or welfare, the Zoning Administrator may seek enforcement without prior written notice by invoking a stop-work or stop-use order and institute any of the penalties or actions authorized in Section 400.500(B) below.
B.
Penalties And Remedies For Violations.
1.
The owner or agent of a building
or premises in or upon which a violation of any provision of this
Chapter has been committed or shall exist, or the lessee or tenant
of an entire building or entire premises in or upon which a violation
has been committed or shall exist, or the agent, architect, building
contractor or any other person who commits, takes part or assists
in any violation or who maintains any building or premises in or upon
which such violation shall exist, shall be guilty of an ordinance
violation punishable by a fine of not less than ten dollars ($10.00)
and not more than one hundred dollars ($100.00) for each and every
day that such violation continues; but if the offense is willful on
conviction thereof, the punishment shall be a fine of not less than
one hundred dollars ($100.00) nor more than two hundred fifty dollars
($250.00) for each and every day that such violation shall continue,
or by imprisonment for ten (10) days for each and every day such violation
shall continue, or by both such fine and imprisonment, in the discretion
of the court, or by confinement in the county jail for not more than
one (1) year, or by both such fine and confinement.
2.
This Chapter may also be enforced
by any appropriate equitable action.
