Zoning 30.51 APPLICATION REVIEW PROCEDURES

ARTICLE LI. APPLICATION REVIEW PROCEDURES

30.51.10 Applications.

(a) Application Procedure. Applications may be initiated by:

(1) Property owners or lessees of the subject property; or

(2) Motion of the planning commission or city council.

(b) Application Forms. The planning director shall prescribe the form on which all applications are made; shall prepare and provide forms for all planning applications; and shall prescribe all application filing requirements. No application shall be accepted unless it complies with the specified application filing requirements.

(1) Planning applications forms must be signed by the owner of the property, or by a person with the owner’s power-of-attorney, involved in the application. In the case of multiple owners, either all owners must sign the application or the signatory must provide evidence that he or she has the right to act on behalf of all owners.

(2) If signatures of persons other than the owners of property making the application are required or offered in support of, or in opposition to, an application, they may be received as evidence of notice having been served upon them of the pending application or as evidence of their opinion on the pending issue.

(d) Permanent Record. All applications filed pursuant to this chapter shall be numbered consecutively in the order of their filing, and shall become a part of the permanent records of the department of planning, and there shall be attached thereto and permanently filed therewith copies of all notices and actions with certificates and affidavits of posting, mailing or publications pertaining thereto.

(e) Abandonment of Projects. Applications for permits or approvals, pursuant to this chapter, shall be deemed to have been abandoned when information and/or fees necessary for the completion of the application have been requested in writing and not received by the planning department within ninety (90) days of notification. The applicant may request (within the ninety (90) day time period) an extension of up to one hundred eighty (180) days, or longer as may be approved by the planning director only for extenuating circumstances. No further action shall be taken on an application and no fees will be refunded once abandoned. (Ord. No. 2013-08, § 2 (Exh. A), 8-5-13)

30.51.20 Filing fees.

The filing fees for applications under this chapter shall be paid upon the filing of any application in the amounts as may be specified from time to time by city council resolution. (Ord. No. 2013-08, § 2 (Exh. A), 8-5-13)

30.51.30 Public hearing.

(a) Setting of Hearing. The planning director shall set public hearings held before the planning commission and the city clerk shall set public hearings held before the city council.

(b) Notices. Notices of time and place of public hearing shall be given in the following manner:

(1) Notice of any public hearing shall be given by at least one (1) publication in a newspaper of general circulation in the City of Gilroy not less than ten (10) days before the date of said public hearing; and

(2) A written notice shall be mailed not less than ten (10) days prior to the date of such hearing to the owners of the property within a radius of five hundred (500) feet of the exterior boundaries of the property subject to the public hearing, using for this purpose the last known name and address of such owners as are shown in the county assessor’s books on file in the county assessor’s office of the County of Santa Clara, State of California.

(3) Any public hearings conducted pursuant to this section that are continued two (2) or more times shall be renoticed for the third public hearing. That third public hearing may be continued if deemed necessary one (1) more time without renoticing, but any subsequent continuance for the same project application must be renoticed in the same manner established herein, and consistent with the standards established in subsections (b)(1) and (2) of this section.

Notwithstanding the above process for renoticing, the continuance of public hearings and time for the decision makers to act on a project is subject to the time limits established by state law, including, but not limited to the Subdivision Map Act, the Permit Streamlining Act and the California Environmental Quality Act.

(4) In addition to the written notice in subsections (b)(1) and (2) of this section, at least ten (10) days prior to the public hearing or project decision, the applicant shall install a four (4) foot by eight (8) foot sign for major project applications, or a two (2) foot by three (3) foot sign for minor project applications on the property that is subject to the public hearing or project decision. Minor project applications include subdivisions of four (4) or less lots, architectural and site applications that do not involve the construction of new buildings on the property, conditional use permits and variances. Major project applications include subdivisions of five (5) lots or more, architectural and site applications that involve the construction of new buildings on the property, zone text or map amendments that are not determined to be city-wide text or map amendments, general plan amendments that are not determined to be city-wide amendments and RDO applications pursuant to the residential development ordinance in section 30.50.60. The sign shall be maintained and remain on the project site until after the city renders a decision on the project and any appeal period established in the Zoning Ordinance has expired. The sign shall be removed within seven (7) days of the expiration of the appeal period. The project applicant shall submit a signed affidavit that states the property sign has been installed consistent with this chapter and the standards established by the community development department. The posted notice shall contain a general description of the project, the file number of the project, the applicant’s name and contact number for additional information regarding the project. The sign shall be consistent with the standards established by the community development department.

(c) Required Wording of Notices. Public notice of hearings on any application shall consist of the words “Notice of hearing __________,” setting forth the type of application, the description of the property under consideration, the nature of proposed change or use, and the time and place at which the public hearing or hearings on the matter will be held.

(d) Permanent Files Shall Include Summary of Testimony. A summary of all pertinent testimony offered at public hearings held in connection with an application filed pursuant to this chapter, and the names of persons testifying at the planning commission or city council hearings, shall be made a part of the permanent case files. (Ord. No. 2013-08, § 2 (Exh. A), 8-5-13)

30.51.40 Planning commission decision and findings.

(a) Action. The planning commission, following the termination of the public hearing, shall:

(1) Not later than its following meeting date, unless this time limit is extended by agreement of the parties having an interest in the proceedings, announce its decision to approve or disapprove the application by resolution which shall clearly state the facts and reasons for the decision rendered and any conditions or limitations imposed.

(2) Within fifteen (15) days after adoption of said resolution, whether the application is approved or disapproved, notify the applicant by forwarding through the mail a copy of the resolution to the address on the application, and to any other person who has filed a written request for such notification.

(b) Effective Date. The order of the planning commission in approving or disapproving a conditional use permit or variance shall become final and effective twenty (20) days after the rendering of its decision, unless within such twenty (20) day period an appeal in writing is filed. (Ord. No. 2013-08, § 2 (Exh. A), 8-5-13)

30.51.50 Appeal procedure.

Anyone so desiring may appeal the decision of the planning director or planning commission to the city council by written request to the city clerk and payment of the appeal fee within twenty (20) days after adoption of the resolution by the planning commission. The city council within the same twenty (20) days may also in either a regular or special meeting initiate such appeal by motion. (Ord. No. 2013-08, § 2 (Exh. A), 8-5-13)

30.51.60 City council public hearing.

Consideration of an appeal of the planning commission decision shall be by public hearing. Notices shall be mailed pursuant to the provisions of section 30.51.30(b)(2), and the hearing shall be held within thirty (30) days of the filing or initiation of such appeal. The city council may, because of a desire for additional information, or due to the submission of significant new material or evidence when considering an appeal, refer the matter back to the planning commission for further study and report. (Ord. No. 2013-08, § 2 (Exh. A), 8-5-13)

30.51.70 City council decision and findings.

The city council, following the termination of the public hearing, shall:

(a) Within thirty (30) days, announce its decision to approve, modify or disapprove the application by resolution that shall clearly state the facts and reasons for the decision rendered and any condition or limitations imposed.

(b) Within fifteen (15) days after the city council adopts the resolution stating whether the application is approved or disapproved, notify the applicant by forwarding through the mail a copy of the resolution to the address on the application, and to any other person who has filed a written request for such notification.

Action by the city council on an appeal shall be final. (Ord. No. 2013-08, § 2 (Exh. A), 8-5-13)

30.51.80 Revocation.

The planning commission may, after having given notice to the complainant and permittee and after holding a public hearing, revoke or modify any permit or variance for which an approval was granted if the planning commission determines that the permit or variance is detrimental to the public health and safety so as to constitute a nuisance. Any approval granted by the planning commission or the city council shall be immediately null and void if any of the following exists:

(a) The approval was obtained by fraud or incorrect information.

(b) The use for which such approval was granted is not being exercised.

(d) The plan, permit or variance granted is being, or recently has been, exercised contrary to the terms or conditions of such approval, or in violation of any statute, ordinance, law or regulation. (Ord. No. 2013-08, § 2 (Exh. A), 8-5-13)

30.51.90 Expiration.

Any development plan, conditional use permit, or variance granted by the planning commission or city council becomes null and void if not exercised within the time specified in the permit or variance, or if no date is specified, within one (1) year from the date of approval of said permit, plan or variance; provided, however, that all conditional use permits and variances granted prior to the effective date of the ordinance codified in this chapter by the city council or planning commission of the City of Gilroy that are being legally exercised at the time of the effective date of the ordinance codified in this chapter shall continue in full force and effect in the manner approved, unless the conditional use permit or variance is violated, ceases to exist, or is suspended for one (1) year or more. (Ord. No. 2013-08, § 2 (Exh. A), 8-5-13)