Chapter 18.170 AMENDMENTS

Chapter 18.170
AMENDMENTS

Sections:

18.170.020 General redesignating zoning of the city.

18.170.030 Zoning map amendment application process.

18.170.040 Criteria for amendments to the zoning map.

18.170.010 Initiation of amendments.

The Nome common council may from time to time, amend, supplement, change or repeal the regulations and provisions of this title.

Amendments to the official zoning map may be initiated by the city staff, the planning commission, and Nome common council or by a real property owner in the area to be included in the proposed amendment. (Ord. O-08-09-01 § 2 (part), 2008)

18.170.020 General redesignating zoning of the city.

Whenever the zoning district map is in any way to be changed or amended incidental to or as part of a general revision of this title, whether such revision be made by repeal of the existing zoning title and enactment of a new zoning title or otherwise, the requirement of an accurate survey map or other sufficient legal description, and the notice to and listing of names and addresses of owners of real property in the area of the proposed change, shall be waived. However, the proposed zoning map shall be available for public inspection in the City Hall during regular business hours for fifteen days prior to the public hearing on such amendments. (Ord. O-08-09-01 § 2 (part), 2008)

18.170.030 Zoning map amendment application process.

(a) Step 1: Optional Pre-Application Conference. The applicant may attend a pre-application conference with a representative from the city. The purpose of the meeting is to discuss the zoning map amendment, submittal requirements and review process.

(b) Step 2: Zoning Map Amendment Application Submittal. The applicant shall submit one copy of the complete zoning map amendment application package to the city clerk and shall request that the application be reviewed by the planning commission and common council.

(1) Completed zoning application form, zoning map amendment form, application fee, and fee agreement.

(2) A legal description for all property to be considered for inclusion in a different zoning district.

(3) Current proof of ownership in a form acceptable to the city.

(4) A zoning amendment map of the area included in the proposed change, twenty-four inches high by thirty-six inches wide, with the following information:

(A) North arrow, scale (one inch equals one hundred feet or one inch equals two hundred feet), and date of preparation.

(B) The subdivision or block and lot name of the area included in the proposed amendment at the top of each sheet.

(C) Legal description of area included in the proposed amendment (entire area and individual zoning districts). In unsubdivided property, zoning boundaries shall be determined by a metes and bounds description.

(D) Location and boundaries, including dimensions, of the property(ies) included in the proposed amendment. Note: Zoning boundaries are to be the centerlines of physical streets, roads, highways, alleys, railroad rights-of-way, and channelized waterways, or such lines extended.

(E) The acreage or square footage of the property included in the proposed amendment.

(F) All existing zoning in the proposed redesignated area.

(G) Zoning and existing zoning on all lands adjacent to the proposed redesignated area.

(H) The location and dimensions for all existing public rights-of-way, including streets, and centerlines of watercourses within and adjacent to the property included in the proposed amendment.

(I) The names of all adjoining subdivisions with lines of abutting lots, and departing property lines of adjoining properties not subdivided.

(J) Certificate blocks for surveyor, planning commission, common council, city clerk and recorder.

(K) A digitized copy of the zoning amendment map shall be provided.

(5) A written statement describing the proposal and addressing the following points:

(A) Need for the proposed redesignation;

(B) Present and future impacts on the existing adjacent zoning districts, uses, and physical character of the surrounding area;

(D) Availability of utilities for any potential development;

(E) Present and future impacts on public facilities and services, including, but not limited to, fire, police, water, sanitation, roadways, parks, schools, and transit;

(F) The relationship between the proposal and the comprehensive plan; and

(G) Public benefits arising from the proposal.

(c) Step 3: Zoning Amendment Application Certification of Completion. Within a reasonable period of time, staff shall either certify the application is complete and in compliance with all submittal requirements or reject it as incomplete and notify the applicant of any deficiencies. The applicant shall then correct any deficiencies in the application package, if necessary, and submit the required number of copies of the corrected application (as specified in the zoning map amendment form) to the city clerk. The original application and all documents requiring a signature shall be signed in blue ink.

(d) Step 4: Final Staff Review and Report to Planning Commission. Staff shall complete a final review of the resubmitted materials and prepare a report to the planning commission explaining how the application is or is not consistent with the criteria for amendments to the official zoning map.

(e) Step 5: Set Zoning Amendment Public Hearing and Complete Public Notification Process. The city clerk shall send notice of public hearing to the applicant, all property owners of record within three hundred feet of the property in question, all mineral interest owners of record for the property, and to the appropriate referral agencies no less than thirty days before the initial planning commission public hearing. The city clerk shall also publish notice in a newspaper of general circulation. For zoning map amendments, the city clerk shall prepare a public hearing notification sign to be posted on the property by the applicant. The hearing may be held no less than thirty days from the date of property posting and newspaper publication. If the zoning amendment request is accompanying another application that is scheduled for public hearings before the planning commission and common council, one public hearing may be held on both applications.

(f) Step 6: Planning Commission Public Hearing and Action on the Zoning Amendment. The planning commission shall hold a public hearing to review the zoning amendment based on the criteria for amendments to the official zoning map. The commission shall then make a recommendation to the common council to approve, conditionally approve, or deny the zoning map amendment application.

(g) Step 7: Finalize Zoning Amendment Based on Planning Commission Comments. The applicant shall revise the zoning amendment application based on planning commission’s comments and submit it to the city clerk.

(h) Step 8: Notify Parties of Interest. Not less than thirty days before the date scheduled for the initial common council public hearing, staff shall notify surrounding property owners within three hundred feet, mineral interest owners of record, and other interested parties. The notice shall include the time and place of the public hearing, the nature of the hearing, the location of the subject property, and the applicant’s name.

(i) Step 9: Set Common Council Public Hearing and Complete Public Notification Process. The common council shall schedule a public hearing for the purpose of taking action on the zoning map amendment. The city clerk shall publish notice in a newspaper of general circulation. The hearing may be held no less than thirty days from the date of advertising.

(j) Step 10: Common Council Public Hearing and Action on the Zoning Amendment. The common council shall, after receiving the report and recommendations from the planning commission, hold a public hearing and act upon the proposed amendment. Following the required hearing, the common council shall consider the comments and evidence presented at the hearing and evaluate the application in accordance with the criteria listed below and approve, approve with conditions, or deny the application, in whole or in part.

(k) Step 11: Post-Approval Actions.

(1) Upon approval of an amendment to the official zoning map by the common council, the city clerk shall cause an appropriate revision of the official zoning map to be prepared for recording with the recorder. In the event an interested party initiated the zoning amendment, the petitioner shall pay the city’s cost for the preparation of the revision to the official zoning map.

(2) The applicant initiating the official zoning map amendment shall have thirty days after approval of the amendment by the common council to submit to the city clerk two original drawings of the approved zoning amendment map for recording, along with the recording fees and all other costs billed by the city for the zoning amendment.

(3) The zoning amendment map shall be prepared by a licensed surveyor or engineer. Inaccurate, incomplete or poorly drawn plans shall be rejected. In addition, the petitioner shall submit one eleven-inch by seventeen-inch hard copy and electronic copy of the zoning amendment map.

(4) Within thirty days of receipt of the zoning amendment map, the city clerk shall review the documents for compliance with the common council’s approval, obtain the city officials’ signatures and submit the approved zoning amendment map and the ordinance amending the official zoning map to the recorder’s office for recordation. (Ord. O-08-09-01 § 2 (part), 2008)

18.170.040 Criteria for amendments to the zoning map.

For the purpose of establishing and maintaining sound, stable and desirable development within the city, the official zoning map shall not be amended except:

(a) To correct a manifest error in an ordinance establishing the zoning for a specific property; or

(b) To redesignate an area or extend the boundary of an existing district because of changed or changing conditions in a particular area or in the city generally; or

(c) The proposed redesignation is necessary to provide land for a community-related use that was not anticipated at the time of the adoption of the city comprehensive plan, and the designation will be consistent with the policies and goals of the comprehensive plan; or

(d) The area requested for redesignation has changed or is changing to such a degree that it is in the public interest to encourage development or redevelopment of the area.

This declaration of criteria for zoning map amendments shall not control an amendment that occurs incidentally to a general revision of the zoning map. (Ord. O-08-09-01 § 2 (part), 2008)