Village of Mount Pleasant, WI Common Procedures

Purpose. Preapplication meetings provide an early opportunity for staff and applicants to discuss the procedures, standards and regulations required for approval under this zoning chapter.

Applicability. Preapplication meetings are required whenever the provisions of this zoning chapter expressly state that they are required. They are encouraged in all cases.

Scheduling. Preapplication meetings must be scheduled with Community Development Department staff.

Guidelines. The Community Development Director is authorized to establish guidelines for preapplication meetings, including information to be provided and any available alternatives to face-to-face meetings, such as telephone conversations and email correspondence.

§ 90-510.40 Applications and fees.

[Ord. No. 19-2020, 6-8-2020]

Applicability. The application and fee provisions of this section apply to zoning applications filed by eligible applicants.

Eligible applicants. When the procedures of this division allow an application to be filed by an eligible applicant, such application must be submitted by, or on behalf of, a person, firm, corporation or organization that has one or more of the following interests that are specifically enforceable in the land that is subject to the application:

A freehold interest;

A possessory interest entitled to exclusive possession;

A contractual interest which may become a freehold possessory interest; or

Any exclusive possessory interest.

Form of application. Applications required under this zoning chapter must be submitted in a form and in such numbers as required by the official responsible for accepting the application. Applications must include materials and information to assist authorized review and decisionmaking bodies in their consideration of the application, including at least the following:

A list of the names and addresses of all owners of record of the property that is the subject of the application; and

Maps, plats, surveys, dimensioned site plans, engineering documents, environmental reports, traffic studies, and other materials and information, as required by this zoning chapter or application checklists established by the official responsible for accepting the application. Application forms and submittal requirements must be made available to the general public.

Fees and notification costs. All applications filed by property owners must be accompanied by the application fee that has been established by the Village Board. Application filing fees are intended to cover the cost of providing public hearing notices and other costs related to reviewing and processing applications. Such fees are nonrefundable and may include late fees, penalties, and fees for expedited processing. (See also Chapter 30 of the Village Code.)

(e)

Completeness, accuracy and sufficiency.

An application will be considered complete and ready for processing only if it is submitted in the required number and form, includes all required information and is accompanied by the required application filing and notification fees.

The official responsible for accepting the application is authorized to refuse acceptance of an incomplete application. If an application is determined to be incomplete, the official responsible for accepting the application must provide written notice to the applicant along with an explanation of the application's deficiencies.

No further processing of incomplete applications will occur, and incomplete applications will be pulled from the processing cycle. When the deficiencies are corrected, the application will be placed in the first available processing cycle. If the deficiencies are not corrected by the applicant within 90 days, the application will be deemed to have been withdrawn.

Applications deemed complete will be placed in the first available application processing cycle and will be reviewed by staff and other review and decisionmaking bodies in accordance with applicable review and approval procedures of this zoning chapter.

(5)

The official responsible for accepting the application may require that applications or plans be revised before being placed on an agenda for possible action if the Community Development Director determines that:

The application or plan contains one or more significant inaccuracies or omissions that hinder timely or competent evaluation of the plan's/application's compliance with zoning chapter requirements or other regulations;

The application contains multiple minor inaccuracies or omissions that hinder timely or competent evaluation of the plan's/application's compliance with zoning chapter requirements or other regulations; or

A different decisionmaking body or official has the authority to approve the application under this Code of Ordinances.

[Amended 9-25-2023 by Ord. No. 19-2023]

Such a request for revision shall be in writing, within 30 days of submission, shall detail the inaccuracies or omissions, and specify which decisionmaking body the application should be addressed to, if applicable;

[Added 9-25-2023 by Ord. No. 19-2023]

Such a request for revision is not a denial, a determination of an applicant's subjective eligibility or standing, or a quasi-judicial determination of a decisionmaking body's jurisdiction;

[Added 9-25-2023 by Ord. No. 19-2023]

If an applicant wishes to place a completed application on an agenda without making the recommended revisions, they may do so, provided all of the required materials by ordinance have been submitted.

[Added 9-25-2023 by Ord. No. 19-2023]

§ 90-510.50 Application processing cycles.

[Ord. No. 19-2020, 6-8-2020]

The Community Development Director and other officials responsible for accepting applications, after consulting with review and decisionmaking bodies, are authorized to promulgate reasonable cycles and timelines for processing applications, including deadlines for receipt of complete applications.

§ 90-510.60 Neighbor communications.

[Ord. No. 19-2020, 6-8-2020]

Purpose. Neighbor communications are required by the Zoning Board of Appeals, Plan Commission and Village Board to help:

Educate applicants and neighbors about one another's interests;

Resolve issues in a manner that respects those interests; and

Identify unresolved issues before the start of formal public hearings.

When required. Neighbor communication summaries are required for Zoning Map amendments, conditional uses and variances.

Timing. Neighbor communication summaries must be submitted by applicants at or before the first required public hearing.

Contents. Required neighbor communication summaries must include a description of the following:

Efforts taken to notify neighbors about the proposal (how and when notification occurred, and who was notified);

How information about the proposal was shared with neighbors (mailings, fliers, meetings, individual door-to-door conversations, etc.);

Concerns raised by neighbors; and

Specific changes (if any) that were considered or made as a result of the neighbor communications.

§ 90-510.70 Public hearing notices.

[Ord. No. 19-2020, 6-8-2020]

Published notice. Whenever the provisions of this zoning chapter require that published notice be provided, the notice must be published in accordance with Ch. 985, Wis. Stats.

[Amended 9-25-2023 by Ord. No. 19-2023]

Mailed notice.

Whenever the provisions of this zoning chapter require that notices be mailed to property owners, the notices must be sent via United States Postal Service First Class (also known as regular) Mail.

Property owner addresses must be obtained from the latest property ownership information available in Racine County records.

Posted notice. Whenever the provisions of this zoning chapter require that notice signs be posted, the following requirements apply:

At least one notice sign must be posted on each public street frontage abutting the subject property in locations plainly visible to passersby.

The Community Development Director is authorized to establish rules governing the size, format, design and content of required public notice signs.

Property owners are required to post required notice signs and ensure that the signs remain visible and in sound condition until a final decision is made on the subject application.

When the Village initiates a Zoning Map amendment, the Community Development Director is authorized to designate the number and location of posted notice signs. The locations must be within the area proposed for rezoning, be plainly visible to passersby and provide reasonable posted notice.

Courtesy notices. In addition to the forms of notice required to be provided by this zoning chapter, the Village may elect to provide additional forms of courtesy notification by, for example, mailing notice to neighborhood or business organizations, posting notices in Village Hall or other government buildings or providing notice via the internet.

(e)

Content of notices. All required hearing notices must:

Indicate the date, time and place of the hearing or date of action that is the subject of the notice;

Describe any property involved in the application by address or by a commonly understood description of the location;

Describe the general nature, scope and purpose of the application or proposal; and

Indicate where additional information on the matter can be obtained.

(f)

Constructive notice.

When the records of the Village document the publication, mailing or posting of notice, as required by this division, required notice of the public hearing will be presumed to have been given. Failure of mailed notice to reach any intended recipient does not invalidate any action taken on the subject matter of the notice.

Minor defects in required notices will not be deemed to impair the notice or invalidate proceedings pursuant to the notice. Minor defects in notice are limited to errors in a legal description or typographical or grammatical errors that do not impair communication of the notice to affected parties. If questions arise at the hearing regarding the adequacy of notice, the body conducting the hearing must make a formal finding about whether there was substantial compliance with the notice requirements of this zoning chapter.

§ 90-510.80 Hearing procedures.

[Ord. No. 19-2020, 6-8-2020]

The body conducting the hearing is authorized to establish reasonable rules and regulations governing the conduct of hearings and the presentation of information and comments.

Once commenced, a public hearing may be continued by the hearing body. No renotification is required if the continuance is set for a specified date and time and that date and time is announced at the time of the continuance.

If a public hearing is continued or postponed for an indefinite period of time from the date of the originally scheduled public hearing, new public hearing notice must be given before the rescheduled public hearing. If the applicant requests and is granted a continuance or postponement requiring renotification, the body conducting the hearing is authorized to require that the applicant pay any costs of renotification.

§ 90-510.90 Action by review and decisionmaking bodies.

[Ord. No. 19-2020, 6-8-2020]

In taking action under the procedures of this division, review and decisionmaking bodies must act by simple majority vote of a quorum, unless otherwise expressly stated.

Review and decisionmaking bodies may take any action that is consistent with:

The regulations of this zoning chapter and state law;

Any rules or bylaws that apply to the review or decisionmaking body; and

The notice that was given.