§ VIII. Amendments.

A.

AMENDMENT POLICY. This ordinance, including the Zoning Map, is based on comprehensive planning studies and is intended to carry out the objective of a sound, stable, and desirable development. It is recognized that casual change or amendment to the ordinance would be detrimental to the achievement of that objective, and it is therefore declared to be the public policy to amend this ordinance only when one or more of the following conditions prevail:

1.

Error. There is a manifest error in the ordinance;

2.

Change in conditions. Changed or changing conditions in a particular area, or in the metropolitan area generally, make a change in the ordinance necessary and desirable;

3.

Increase in need for sites for business or industry. Increased or increasing needs for business or industrial sites, in addition to sites that are available, make it necessary and desirable to rezone an area or to extend the boundaries of an existing district;

4.

Subdivision of land. The subdivision or imminent subdivision of open land into urban building sites makes reclassification necessary and desirable.

B.

AMENDMENT PROCEDURE

1.

By whom initiated. Amendments to this ordinance may be initiated by the City Commission on its own motion or by the Planning Commission; amendments may also be initiated by any person, firm, or corporation by filing a written application therefor with the Office of Zoning Administration.

2.

Amendment application. An application for amendment to this ordinance shall contain at least the following:

a.

Interest and ownership. The applicant's name, address, and interest in the application, and the name, address, and interest of every person, firm, or corporation represented by the applicant in the application, the concurrence of the owner or owners of the entire land area to be included within the proposed district, the owner or owners of all structures then existing thereon and all incumbrancers of such land area and structures, and, additionally, sufficient evidence to establish that the applicants are all the owners and incumbrancers of the designated land area and structures, intend actually to develop the designated area, and have both the means and ability to do so;

b.

Plat. If the proposed amendment would require a change in the Zoning Map, a plat showing the land area which would be affected, the present zoning classification of the area, the land area of all abutting districts and the present zoning classification thereof, public rights-of-way and easements bounding and intersecting the designated area and the abutting districts, the locations of all existing and proposed structures with supporting open facilities, and the specific ground area to be provided and continuously maintained for the proposed structure or structures;

c.

Development schedule. The time schedule for the beginning and completion of development planned by the applicant in the area; if the development is planned in stages, the time schedule shall indicate the successive stages and the development planned for each stage;

d.

Market information. If the proposed amendment would require a change in the Zoning Map by rezoning an area from an existing Residential District to a free-standing Business District, would require more than double the area of an existing Business District entirely surrounded by Residential Districts, or would enlarge the area of an existing Business District by more than eight acres, the applicant shall furnish a written description of the market area to be served by the development, the population thereof, the effective demand for the proposed facilities and any other information describing the relationship of the proposed development to the needs of the applicable area;

e.

Public need. The changed or changing conditions in the applicable area, or in the metropolitan area generally, that make the proposed amendment necessary and desirable for the promotion of the public health, safety, or general welfare;

f.

Effect of amendment. A report giving the nature, description, and effect of the proposed amendment; if the proposed amendment would require a change in the Zoning Map, a description of the probable effect on the surrounding land uses and properties;

g.

Error. The error in this ordinance that would be corrected by the proposed amendment.

3.

Administrative examination. Upon receipt of an application for amendment, properly and completely made out, the Office of Zoning Administration shall examine the application and shall make such investigation as is necessary. Within thirty days of the receipt of an application the Office of Zoning Administration shall transmit the application, together with its report and recommendation, to the Planning Commission.

4.

Preliminary hearing by planning commission. The Planning Commission shall hold a preliminary hearing on each application for amendment to this ordinance and shall notify the applicant and the Office of Zoning Administration of the time and place of such preliminary hearing. After holding a preliminary hearing the Zoning Commission shall certify the application for public hearing and shall notify the applicant of the time and place of such public hearing. Within ten days after such notification the applicant shall:

a.

Additional information. Furnish the Commission with such additional information as it may request;

b.

Owners of surrounding property. If the proposed amendment would require a change in the Zoning Map, furnish the Commission with the name, description of property owned, and mailing address of each owner or property lying within a distance of three hundred feet of the fronting corners of the property the classification of which is sought to be changed, such distance to be measured along the property lines of the streets on which such property is located and along any other streets crossing the same or leading therefrom; in the case of a corner lot, the rear corner on the side street shall be considered a fronting corner;

c.

Fee. Deposit fifty dollars ($50.00) with the Planning Commission to cover the cost of advertising and processing the amendment.

5.

Public hearing by planning commission. The Planning Commission shall fix a

reasonable time for a public hearing and shall give public notice thereof, as required by law, as well as notice to the applicant and to the Office of Zoning Administration; if it deems necessary, the Commission may also notify the owners of surrounding property by mail as the names and addresses of such owners have been furnished by the applicant and may post a notice of such hearing on the property included within the proposed district. The Commission shall prepare a record of its proceedings for each case showing the grounds of its recommendation. The record of the proceedings shall be filed in the office of the Commission and shall be public record; a certified copy of the record of proceedings shall be transmitted to the City Council:

6.

Legislative disposition. The City Council shall examine all such applications and reports submitted to it and shall take further action as it deems necessary and desirable. Before enacting any amendment the City Council shall hold a public hearing thereon and shall give public notice thereof, as required by law.

a.

Conditions. If an application for an amendment to the Zoning Map contains representations that a specified area will be developed in accordance with a given plan and time schedule, and if the area is rezoned substantially as proposed in the application, the City Council shall fix conditions, which conditions may include a performance bond, in the amendment so as to require performance of the development in accordance with such plan and time schedule. Such conditions, among other things shall provide that, upon a failure to develop the area within the specified time and in accordance with the conditions fixed, no permit for the construction of any structures within the area shall be issued until the area has been examined and zoned or rezoned for its more appropriate use. Conditions fixed in amendments relating to rezoning shall run with the land in the area involved and shall be binding upon applicants for amendments, their heirs, successors, and assigns. As a mandatory condition for such amendment, or for any waiver of side yard dimensions or the like, the City Council shall fix in the ordinance a stipulation that the proposed construction shall begin on the property within six (6) months from the date of the passing of the ordinance, in default of which, the amendment shall cease to be effective and the property will either revert to its original zoning, or the waiver will [be] considered inapplicable, whichever is appropriate. However, the City Council may provide in the ordinance for such longer time as it considers appropriate, and may extend, by resolution the period for one (1) additional six-month period.

b.

Reconsideration. No land for which an application for reclassification has been denied by the Planning Commission and the City Council shall be considered again by the Planning Commission or the City Council for at least six (6) months from the date such application was denied.

(Ord. No. 55-1977, § B, 9-26-77; Ord. No. 16-1981, § A, 5-11-81; Ord. No. 64-2001, § 12, 7-9-2001)