The provisions of this Ordinance shall be administered and enforced by the Mayor or his authorized representative, who shall have the right to enter upon any premises for the purpose of making inspection of buildings or premises necessary to carry out his duties hereunder.
(Ordinance 1991-13 adopted 11/7/91)
A. 
Application for Zoning Changes:
1. 
Any person, firm or corporation requesting change in zoning of any property from one district classification to another district classification under this ordinance shall make an application in writing to the City Planning and Zoning Commission requesting change in zoning, which application shall contain the following information:
a. 
Legal description of the land on which a zoning change is requested, together with the local street address.
b. 
Name and address of the owner of the property.
c. 
Name and address of the person making the application, if made by anyone other than the owner, together with a statement that the person making the application is authorized to act for the owner in making the application.
d. 
District use under which the property is regulated at the time of making application and the district use requested by the applicant.
e. 
Any other information concerning the property as may be reasonably requested by the Planning and Zoning Commission.
2. 
Upon the filing of an application for a change in zoning with the Planning and Zoning Commission, the applicant shall pay to the City a fee as defined in the adopted schedule of fees of the City, no part of which shall be returnable, regardless of the action taken on the request.
3. 
A waiting period of one year is hereby established between the date an application for amendment to the zoning ordinance or a requested change in zoning is denied by the City Council and a new application for such a change or amendment is accepted. The one-year waiting period shall be applicable to all requested amendments and changes for the same zoning district, or districts and/or principal use(s), on all or any portion of the property previously considered for amendment or change in zoning; provided, however, said one-year waiting period shall be not applicable to any proposed amendment or change instituted by the City Council or Planning and Zoning Commission, or any proposed amendment or change denied without prejudice by the City Council.
4. 
The City shall have at least one sign erected on any property upon which a zoning change requested has been filed. Such sign or signs shall, if possible, be located adjacent to a public thoroughfare in a visible location. Such sign shall be removed immediately after final action by the City Council or when the applicant withdraws the request, whichever comes first. The sign shall contain a notice of the rezoning, and the agency and telephone number from which information relative to the rezoning request may be obtained. Accompanying every petition for amendment of this ordinance shall be a required statement signed by the applicant authorizing the placement of such [sign] or signs by the City. The erection or continued maintenance of the sign or signs shall not be deemed a condition precedent to the granting of any zoning change or the holding of any public hearing.
B. 
Changes and Amendments:
1. 
Any person, corporation or group of persons having a proprietary interest in any property, upon proof of such interest, may petition the City Council for a change or amendment to the provisions of the ordinance, or the City Planning and Zoning Commission may, on its own motion, institute proposals for change and amendment in the public interest. All petitions for the amendment of this ordinance shall bear the signature of the owners of all property within the area of request.
2. 
The City Council may from time to time amend, supplement, or change by ordinance the boundaries of the district or regulations herein. Before taking action on any proposed amendment, supplement, or change, the City Council shall submit the same to the City Planning and Zoning Commission for its recommendation and report.
3. 
If such proposed amendment, supplement or change has been denied by the City Planning and Zoning Commission, or if a protest against such proposed amendment, supplement or change has been filed with the City Secretary, duly signed and acknowledged by the owners of twenty (20%) percent or more, either of the area of the lots included in such proposed change or those immediately adjacent to and extending two hundred (200) feet therefrom, such amendment shall not become effective except by a three-fourths (3/4) vote of the members of the City Council of the City of San Saba.
(Ordinance 1991-13 adopted 11/7/91)
A. 
Creating Zoning Board of Adjustment:
There is hereby created a Zoning Board of Adjustment which shall consist of five (5) regular members, each to be appointed by a majority of the City Council for a term of two (2) years.
B. 
Membership:
In addition to the five (5) regular members of the Zoning Board of Adjustment, four (4) alternate members of the Zoning Board of Adjustment, who shall serve in the absence of one or more regular members when requested to do so by the Mayor, shall be appointed by a majority of the City Council, so that all cases heard by the Zoning Board of Adjustment will always be heard by a minimum of four (4) members.
C. 
Term of Membership:
Regular members and alternate members of the Zoning Board of Adjustment shall serve a term of two (2) years and until their successors are appointed and qualified. Regular and alternate members of the Zoning Board of Adjustment may be removed from office for cause by the City Council upon written charges and after a public hearing.
D. 
Officers:
The Zoning Board of Adjustment shall select from among its regular members, a chairman, an acting chairman to act in the absence of the chairman, and a secretary.
E. 
Rules Governing Zoning Board of Adjustment:
The Zoning Board of Adjustment may adopt rules to govern its proceedings and conduct of the business before the Board. Any rule or rules shall be adopted by a resolution by the Board, entered upon the minutes of the Board and a copy thereof shall be filed with the City Secretary of the City of San Saba.
F. 
Meetings:
Meetings of this Board shall be held at the call of the chairman, and at such other times as the Board may determine. Such chairman or, in his absence, the acting chairman, shall administer oaths and compel attendance of witnesses. All meetings of the Board shall be open to the public. The Board shall keep minutes of its proceedings showing the vote of each member upon such question or, if absent or failing to vote, indicating such fact, and shall keep records of its examinations and other official actions, all of which shall be filed in the office of the Board and shall be a public record.
G. 
Appeals to Zoning Board of Adjustment:
Appeals to the Zoning Board of Adjustment may be taken by any person aggrieved, or by any officer, department, board, bureau or agency of the City affected by any decision of the Building Inspector or other administrative officer of the City relative to the Zoning Ordinance. Such appeal shall be taken within fifteen (15) days after the date of the decision of the Building Inspector or other administrative officer has been rendered, by filing with the officer from whom the appeal is taken and with the Zoning Board of Adjustment a notice of appeal specifying the grounds thereof. The officer from whom the appeal is taken shall forthwith transmit to the Board all papers constituting the record from which the appeal was taken.
1. 
A filing fee of one hundred dollars ($100.00) to help pay a part of the cost of legal publication, accumulating engineering data, and other administrative costs shall accompany each notice of appeal filed with the Zoning Board of Adjustment.
2. 
An appeal shall stay all proceedings in furtherance of the action appealed from, unless the officer from whom the appeal is taken certifies to the Zoning Board of Adjustment after the notice of appeal shall have been filed with him that by reason of facts stated in the certificate a stay would, in his opinion, cause imminent peril to life or property. In such case proceedings shall not be stayed otherwise than by a restraining order which may be granted by the Zoning Board of Adjustment or a court of record on application on notice to the officer from whom the appeal is taken and on due cause shown.
3. 
The Zoning Board of Adjustment shall fix a reasonable time for the hearing of an appeal, give notice thereof, as well as due notice to the parties in interest, and decide the same within a reasonable time. Upon hearing, any party may appear in person, by agent or by attorney.
H. 
Authority of Zoning Board of Adjustment:
The Zoning Board of Adjustment shall have the following powers:
1. 
To hear and decide appeals where it is alleged there is error in any order, requirement, decision or determination made by an administrative official of the City in the enforcement of this ordinance.
2. 
To hear and decide special exceptions to the terms of this ordinance upon which the Board is required to pass under this ordinance, if any.
3. 
To authorize upon appeal in special cases, such variances from the terms of this ordinance as will not be contrary to the public interest, where, owing to special conditions, the literal enforcement of the provision of this ordinance will result in unnecessary hardship, so that the spirit of this ordinance shall be observed and substantial justice done.
4. 
To permit in any district such modification of the requirements of the district regulations as the Board may deem necessary to secure an appropriate development of a lot where adjoining such lot on two (2) or more sides there are lots occupied by buildings which do not conform to the regulations of the district.
I. 
Exercising of Powers:
In exercising its powers, the Zoning Board of Adjustment may, in conformity with the provisions of this ordinance and the provisions of Articles 1011a to 1011j, Tex. Rev. Civ. Stat. Ann. (Vernon), as amended, reverse or affirm, wholly or partly, or may modify the order, requirement, decision or determination appealed from and may make such order, requirement, decision or determination as should be made, and to that end shall have all the powers of the officer from whom the appeal is taken.
1. 
The concurring vote of four (4) members of the Board shall be necessary to revise any order, requirement, decision or determination of any such administrative official, or to decide in favor of the applicant on any matter upon which it is required to pass under the ordinance, or to effect any variation to this ordinance.
2. 
Any person or persons, jointly or severally, aggrieved by any decision of the Zoning Board of Adjustment, or any taxpayer, or any officer, department, board or bureau of the City may present to a court of record a petition, duly verified, setting forth that such decision is illegal, in whole or part, specifying the grounds of the illegality. Such petition shall be presented to the court within ten (10) days after the filing of the decision in the office of the Zoning Board of Adjustment.
J. 
Waiting Period:
No appeal to the Zoning Board of Adjustment shall be allowed on the same piece of property or on the same or similar question prior to the expiration of one year from the date of a ruling of the Zoning Board of Adjustment on any appeal to such body unless other property in the same zoning area shall have, within such one-year period, been altered or changed by a ruling of the Zoning Board of Adjustment, in which each [case] such change of circumstances shall permit the allowance of an appeal.
(Ordinance 1991-13 adopted 11/7/91)
A. 
Requirements For Public Hearing:
The City Planning and Zoning Commission shall hold a public hearing on any application for amendment, supplement, or change in zoning classification prior to making its recommendation and report to the City Council. Written notice of all public hearings before the City Planning and Zoning Commission, on a proposed amendment, supplement or change shall be sent to all owners of real property lying within two hundred (200) feet of the property on which the change is requested. Such notice shall be given not less than ten (10) days before the date set for hearing, by depositing a notice properly addressed and postage paid in the United States Post Office to such property owners as the ownership appears on the last approved City tax roll.
B. 
Notice of Public Hearing:
A public hearing shall be held by the City Council before adopting any proposed amendment, supplement, or change in zoning classification. At least fifteen (15) days’ notice of the time and place of such hearing shall be published in the official newspaper of the City of San Saba. Such hearing may be held jointly with the hearing before the City Planning and Zoning Commission required pursuant to Section 42(A) [18.4(A)] of this Ordinance.
C. 
Zoning Changes that do not Affect Specific Property:
These changes are usually associated with textual changes. When any proposed amendment, supplement, or change of zoning map or text of this zoning ordinance does not affect the land use character or zoning classification of specific property, notice of public hearing of the Planning and Zoning Commission shall be given by publication in a newspaper of general circulation in the City of San Saba without the necessity of notifying property owners by mail. Such notice shall state the time and place of such hearing and the nature of the subject to be considered. Such notice shall be published not less than ten (15) [sic] days prior to the public hearing.
D. 
Public Hearing Requirements For Vested Rights Determination:
A public hearing shall be held by the Zoning Board of Adjustment on an application for a vested rights determination. At least fifteen (15) days’ notice of the date, time and place of such hearing shall be published in the official newspaper of the City of San Saba and shall be sent to the applicant and all other persons who are owners of real property, as the ownership appears on the last City tax roll, lying within two hundred (200) feet of the property which is the subject of the application.
(Ordinance 1991-13 adopted 11/7/91)
A. 
Authorization of Special Exception:
Upon application, the Zoning Board of Adjustment may authorize, as a special exception to the otherwise applicable provisions of this ordinance, the issuance of building permits for a specific proposed development that is not permitted by the terms of the zoning ordinance whenever the Board finds that the applicant has demonstrated that he had a preexisting, investment-backed, good faith expectation that he would be permitted to commence and complete a specific proposed development that he has vested under the standards set out in Paragraphs C, D, and E of this Section.
B. 
Investment-Backed Expectation:
For the purpose of this Section, an “investment-backed expectation” is defined as the expenditure of substantial sums of money which cannot be recovered or an irreversible change of position that imposes on the applicant an obligation to expend substantial sums of money in the future.
C. 
Considerations for Determination of Vested Rights:
In considering whether a development expectation has vested, the Board shall consider:
1. 
Whether there has been an act of the City of San Saba or an officer or agency of the City upon which the applicant in good faith has relied to his detriment in a manner that makes it inequitable to enforce the terms of the currently effective zoning regulations with respect to the applicant’s property.
2. 
The extent to which the applicant has, prior to the date of notice that rezoning is in progress, made a substantial commitment of money or resources directly associated with physical improvements on the land such as grading, land balancing, installation of utility infrastructure or other public improvement, or for the design of specific buildings and improvements to be constructed on the site.
3. 
The extent to which the applicant has secured permits for, and commenced or completed, the construction of subdivision improvements and buildings in part but not all of a development that was contemplated to extend over a period of months or years.
4. 
Whether the applicant, prior to the date of notice that rezoning is in progress, has made contractual commitments to complete buildings and deliver title thereto or occupancy thereof.
5. 
Whether the applicant, prior to the date of notice that rezoning is in progress, has incurred financial obligations to a lending institution which, despite a thorough review of alternative solutions, the applicant will be unable to meet unless he is permitted to proceed with the proposed development.
6. 
Whether enforcement of the terms of the currently effective zoning regulations will expose the applicant to substantial monetary liability to third persons; or will leave the applicant completely unable, after a thorough review of alternative solutions, to earn a reasonable return on the property.
7. 
Whether the right of the applicant to commence and complete the proposed development may have vested only with respect to an identifiable and discrete portion of the proposed development.
D. 
Right of the Applicant:
The right of the applicant to commence and complete construction of a specific proposed development, or a portion thereof, is vested if the applicant can demonstrate that:
1. 
The applicant owned the parcel proposed to be developed on the date of notice that rezoning was in progress with respect to such parcel and the specific development proposed for the parcel was then lawful and permitted.
2. 
Applying the considerations set out in Paragraph C of this Section, the development expectations of the applicant were reasonable and final when formulated and investment backed.
3. 
Requiring that the applicant’s property be developed in accordance with the currently effective zoning restrictions will, considering the investment of applicant prior to the date of notice that rezoning is in progress, deprive the applicant of a reasonable rate of return on his investment. In determining the reasonableness of the projected rate of return, the following categories of expenditures shall not be included in the calculation of the applicant’s investment:
(a) 
Expenditures for professional services that are unrelated to the design or construction of the improvements proposed for the projected development;
(b) 
Expenditures for taxes, except for any increases in tax expenditures which result from governmental approvals or the construction of improvements on the property of the applicant;
(c) 
Expenditures which the applicant has allocated to the particular proposed development but which the applicant would have been obliged to incur as an ordinary and necessary business expense (for example, employee salaries, equipment rental, chattel mortgage payments) had the plan for the particular development not been formulated.
E. 
Relationship of Property:
The fact the property has been or is in a particular zoning classification under this ordinance, or any prior zoning ordinance of the Town, shall not, in itself, establish that an applicant’s right to develop has vested.
F. 
Filing of Application for Determination of Vested Rights:
Any person, firm, or corporation having an ownership interest in property may file an application for a determination that the right to commence and complete a specific development on that property has vested. Such application shall be filed with the Zoning Board of Adjustment, shall contain a recital of the facts which are claimed to support the vested rights claim, and shall contain such other information as the City Staff may specify.
G. 
Records:
A stenographic transcript of the public hearing and the deliberations of the Zoning Board of Adjustment on vested rights applications shall be kept.
H. 
Written Findings:
Within thirty (30) days after the public hearing on an application, the Zoning Board of Adjustment shall file its written findings of fact and conclusions and serve the same by certified mail on the applicant and each person who filed an appearance in the public hearing.
I. 
Minimum Rate of Return:
Any determination made by the Board with respect to the vesting of development rights shall be the minimum necessary to provide the applicant with a reasonable rate of return on his investment made before a notice of rezoning in progress with respect to his property.
J. 
Expiration Period:
A determination of the Board with respect to vested rights under this Section shall expire and be of no further force or effect unless construction is actually commenced within one (1) year of the date the determination is made.
K. 
Time Limit:
Any person, firm or corporation claiming a vested right to commence and complete a specific proposed development who does not file an application for a determination under this Section within six (6) months after the effective date of an amendatory ordinance rezoning his property so as to prohibit his proposed development shall be deemed to have waived his right to seek such a determination.
(Ordinance 1991-13 adopted 11/7/91)
Any person, firm or corporation violating any provisions of this Ordinance is guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be fined not less than Twenty Dollars ($20.00). Each day such violation continues shall constitute a separate offense.
(Ordinance 1991-13 adopted 11/7/91)
It is hereby declared to be the intention of the City Council of the City of San Saba that the sections, paragraphs, sentences, clause[s] and phrases of this ordinance are severable, and if any phrase, clause, sentence, paragraph or section of this ordinance shall be declared unconstitutional, illegal or invalid, such unconstitutionality or invalidity shall not affect any of the remaining phrases, clauses, sentences, paragraphs or sections of this ordinance, since the same would have been enacted by the City Council without the incorporation in this ordinance of any such unconstitutional or invalid phrase, clause, sentence, paragraph or section.
(Ordinance 1991-13 adopted 11/7/91)
In any complaint and in any action or proceeding brought for the enforcement of any provision of this ordinance, it shall not be necessary to negate any exception, excuse, provision or exception contained in this ordinance, and the burden of proof of any such exception, excuse, provision or exemption shall be upon the defendant.
(Ordinance 1991-13 adopted 11/7/91)
That this ordinance shall be cumulative of all other ordinances of the City and shall not repeal any of the provisions of said ordinances except in those instances where provisions of those ordinances are in direct conflict with the provisions of this ordinance. Provided, however, that Ordinance No. 87-23 is hereby repealed in its entirety.
(Ordinance 1991-13 adopted 11/7/91)
This ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and after its date of passage and publication as required by law.
(Ordinance 1991-13 adopted 11/7/91)