17-3-1 Amendments to the zoning code or map.
Amendments to this title shall be made in the following manner:
A. Application. An applicant must file a written request for amendment with the community and economic development department. The city council, planning commission, or community and economic development department may initiate an amendment as provided below. An owner applicant shall pay the filing fee prescribed by resolution and shall file an application, which shall include, without limitation:
1. A list of the names and addresses (in label form) of all owners of all property for which the amendment is requested and for all property within three hundred feet of the boundaries of the area for which the amendment is requested;
2. The legal description of all property included; and
3. A written statement addressing the criteria required for approval pursuant to subsection E of this section.
B. Hearings Before Planning Commission. The planning commission shall hold a public hearing on all amendments to this title or to the zoning map. The community and economic development director shall cause a notice, including a description of the property for which the zoning amendment is requested, a brief explanation of the proposed zoning, and the date, place and time of the public hearing, to be prepared as provided in Section 17-3-9. The purpose of the notice is to reasonably inform surrounding property owners and jurisdictions of the application. No minor omission or defect in the notice or mailing shall be deemed to impair the validity of the proceedings to consider the application.
C. Action by Planning Commission. Following the public hearing, the planning commission shall adopt a written recommendation to the city council, advising the council to approve, disapprove, or modify the proposal. If the planning commission fails to take action within thirty days of the close of the public hearing, the city council shall consider the matter forwarded from the planning commission with a negative recommendation.
D. Hearing Before City Council. The city council must hold a public hearing on all proposed amendments to this title or zoning map forwarded from the planning commission. Notice of the public hearing shall be consistent with subsection B of this section.
E. Criteria/Required Findings. The city’s zoning is the result of a detailed and comprehensive appraisal of the city’s present and future land use allocation needs. In order to establish and maintain sound, stable, and desirable development within the city, rezoning of land is to be discouraged and allowed only under the limited circumstances herein described. Therefore, the planning commission may recommend, and the city council may grant, a rezoning application only if it determines, in written findings, that the proposed rezoning is consistent with the policies and goals of the general plan and that the applicant has demonstrated that the:
1. Proposed rezoning is necessary either to comply with the general plan proposed land use map or to provide land for a community need that was not anticipated at the time of adoption of the general plan;
2. Existing zoning was either the result of a clerical error or a mistake of fact, or that it failed to take into account the constraints on development created by the natural characteristics of the land, including but not limited to, steep slopes, flood plain, unstable soils, and inadequate drainage; or
3. Land or its surrounding environs has changed or is changing to such a degree that it is in the public interest to encourage redevelopment of the area or to recognize the changed character of the area.
F. Temporary or Emergency Zoning. The city council may enact an ordinance, without a public hearing or planning commission recommendation, which establishes temporary zoning regulations for any part or all of the area within the municipality if the:
1. City council makes a written finding of compelling, countervailing public interest; or
2. The area is not zoned.
Temporary zoning regulations may prohibit or regulate the erection, construction, reconstruction, or alteration of any building or structure or any subdivision approval. The city council shall establish a period of limited effect for the ordinance, which period may not exceed six months. (Ord. 12-11-2001C § 2 (part))