These regulations, including the official zoning maps, may be amended by the city council:

(1)

On its own motion,

(2)

On petition, or

(3)

On recommendation of the planning commission, but no amendment shall become effective unless it shall have been submitted to the planning commission for review and recommendation.

The following policies and procedures are herein established to provide guidelines for the following activities.

(1)

The adoption of a new zoning ordinance;

(2)

The adoption of an amendment to the zoning ordinance which changes the text of the ordinance;

(3)

The adoption of an amendment to the zoning ordinance which rezones property from one zoning classification to another (Map Amendment);

(4)

The adoption of an amendment to the zoning ordinance which zones property to be annexed into the City of Camilla; and

(5)

The grant of a permit relating to a conditional use.

Applications for amendment of this ordinance may be made in the form of proposals for amendments of the text of this ordinance, or proposals for amendment of the zoning map, or proposals for conditional uses. Applications for amendment shall be on forms provided by the planning director or his designee, shall be submitted to the planning director or his designee, and shall include a fee as established by the city council to defray expenses.

Applications shall be submitted by the first Friday of each month, as an established submittal deadline in order for the application to be reviewed by the planning commission the following month. Only completed applications will be accepted by the established submittal deadline. Any required site plans are due at least ten days prior to the established planning commission meeting date.

No application for a zoning change affecting the same parcel of property or part thereof previously defeated shall be accepted by the planning director or his designee until the expiration of at least six months immediately following the defeat of the rezoning request by the city council.

Application forms shall be obtained from the planning director or his designee. All applications shall include but not be limited to the following:

(1)

The street address and location of the subject property.

(2)

A legal survey plat of the property in question including a locator map. Plat must include signature of registered surveyor and registration number.

(3)

The present zoning classification and the proposed zoning classification for the subject property.

(4)

All applications shall be signed by the owners or authorized agent (authorization must be on file) and include the name and address, and daytime phone number of the owner or authorized agent.

(5)

The area of land proposed to be rezoned shall be stated in acres to the nearest hundredth of an acre.

(6)

The application file number, date of application, and action taken on all prior rezoning for all or a part of the subject property.

(7)

In the case of a proposed official zoning map amendment or proposed text amendment, the application shall include a written analysis of the impact of the proposed rezoning or text amendment with respect to each of the zoning criteria set forth in section 21.05(1).

(8)

In the case of a proposed text amendment, the application also shall set forth the new text to be added and the existing text to be deleted.

(9)

In the case of a proposed conditional use, the application shall set forth the existing and proposed use, and shall include a written analysis demonstrating compliance of the proposed use with the conditional use criteria set forth in section 3.14(3), as well as details of operations regarding such proposed use.

The planning commission shall hold a properly advertised public hearing pursuant to the procedures herein and review each application in light of the comprehensive plan, the future land use map, the zoning criteria, and other facts presented at their meeting and issue a finding which recommends "approval" , "approval with conditions", or "denial" of the application. The planning commission may recommend that conditions be attached to the proposal, such as specific site plans or written requirements for a particular use and its development, when appropriate to mitigate impacts of the proposal on surrounding properties consistent with the purposes of the Zoning Code and the Comprehensive Plan. The planning director, or his designee, will prepare a report on each application to assist the planning commission in their decision making process. The report shall address the application, other materials of record, the criteria applicable to the type of application requested, and the comprehensive plan and future land use plan. The planning commission finding shall be forwarded as a recommendation to the city council. If a quorum of the planning commission is present and fails to take action at the advertised public hearing, it will be forwarded to the city council with no recommendation. The minutes of the planning commission meeting, as well as the staff report and other documents of record, will be given to the city council so that they may take into account all issues that were raised.

(1)

Posting of property. Not less than 15 days nor more than 45 days prior to the date set for the public hearings before the planning commission and the city council on any application for a map amendment initiated by anyone other than the local government, the planning director shall have erected at least one sign, of no less than 17 inches by 24 inches, for every public road frontage the subject property has. If no public road abuts thereon, then such sign shall be erected along the nearest opened, public right-of-way. Signs shall be erected in such a manner as may be most readily seen by the public. Each sign shall show the application file number, the present zoning classification, the proposed zoning classification, the scheduled date, time, and place of public hearings, and the telephone number and contact to call for further information. Each notification sign shall be maintained at all times by the planning director or his designee until a decision has been made by the city council, then removed.

(2)

Newspaper advertisement. Not less than 15 nor more than 45 days prior to the scheduled date of the public hearings before the planning commission and city council, notice shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation within the City of Camilla for map amendments, text amendments, and conditional uses. The notice shall include the time, place, and purpose of the hearing. If the zoning action for a map amendment is initiated by a party other than the local government, said notice shall also include the location of the property, the present zoning classification, and the proposed zoning classification of the property.

(3)

Annexation procedures. If the proposed zoning is for a map amendment for property to be annexed into the City of Camilla, the procedures set forth in O.C.G.A. § 36-66-4(d), as amended, shall be followed.

(1)

Notice to interested parties. A notice shall be delivered to the applicant, of the date, time, and place of hearings. All application files shall be placed in the custody of the planning department and shall be open to public inspection during regular office hours.

(2)

Hearing procedure. Upon the completion of a rezoning application, conditional use permit or the draft of a text amendment, public hearings will be scheduled by the Planning Director or designee before the planning commission and the city council respectively. Notice of said hearings shall be as provided herein. Printed copies of the policies and procedures governing calling and conducting of these public hearings shall be available for distribution to the general public.

(a)

All public hearings on zoning matters shall be placed on the planning commission/city council's agenda under a section entitled "Public Hearings". After an initial presentation of a specific zoning request to the planning commission/city council by the designated planning staff, citizen comments will be heard in an orderly fashion. The planning commission/city council's chairman or designated representative will ask for those citizens speaking in favor of the request first, including the applicant, followed by those opposed to the issue.

(b)

Citizens shall be allowed a minimum time period to be no less than ten minutes per side for presentation of data, evidence, and opinions by proponents of each zoning decision and for the presentation by opponents of each proposed zoning decision. When there is a large number of citizens wishing to testify at a given hearing, the presiding officer may invoke time limitations on individual speakers; however, the time limitation is not to be less than ten minutes per side. In such cases, these time limits shall apply to all speakers.

(c)

Citizens shall address their comments to the presiding commission as a whole. Individual attacks or cross-examination of commission/council members, city employees, or other citizens will be ruled out of order.

(d)

After all citizen comments have been received, further discussion of the specific application is reserved for the planning commission/city council. The commission/council has the privilege to ask any questions of staff or any citizen present for clarification.

(e)

If the planning commission is presiding over the hearing they may then vote on the application for a map, conditional use or text amendment and forward their recommendation to the city council. Failure of the planning commission to take action will result in no recommendation being forwarded to the city council.

(3)

Pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 36-67A-3, as amended, all speakers shall be required to provide names and addresses for the public record and sign a "campaign disclosure form". This form requires all those speaking in favor of, or in opposition to a rezoning disclose whether they have made campaign contributions aggregating $250.00 or more to any member of the city council within the past two years. Such disclosure shall include the name of the councilmember(s), the dollar amount, description, and date of each such campaign contribution.

(4)

Public hearings records standards. The planning commission secretary and city clerk shall mechanically record the proceedings of their respective public hearings. If requested by any party, verbatim transcripts of the public hearing can be prepared, but only if requested and purchased in advance by the requesting party. Recorded tapes of public hearings shall be kept secure and not erased for one year from the date of the public hearing. A summary of the proceedings of each meeting will be made available to the public within two working days after the meeting. The record of the public hearing and all evidence (e.g., maps, drawings, traffic studies, etc.) submitted at the public hearing shall be noted as such and shall become a permanent part of the particular zoning amendment's file.

In order to provide for the public health, safety, morality, and general welfare of the citizens of the city, the following zoning criteria are established for all map amendments and text amendments. The criteria for conditional use permits are set forth in section 3.14. Copies of these standards and those in section 3.14 shall be printed and made available for distribution to the general public. The following criteria, the staff report, the recommendation of the planning commission, the record presented and any other factors relevant to balancing the above stated public interest, shall be considered by the city council in making any zoning decision for map amendments and text amendments. In addition, the city council may require that conditions be attached to the proposal, such as specific site plans or written requirements for a particular use and its development, when appropriate to mitigate impacts of the proposal on surrounding properties consistent with the purposes of the zoning code and the comprehensive plan.

(1)

Zoning criteria.

(a)

Existing uses and zoning of nearby property.

(b)

The extent to which property values are diminished by the present zoning restrictions.

(c)

The extent to which the destruction of property values, resulting from existing zoning of specific parcels promotes the health, safety, morals or general welfare of the public.

(d)

The relative gain to the public, as compared to the hardship imposed upon the individual property owner by the proposed zoning classification.

(e)

The suitability of the subject property for the zoning purposes as proposed.

(f)

The length of time the property has been vacant under the present zoning classification, considered in the context of land development in the area in the vicinity of the property.

(g)

Conformity with or divergence from the city's comprehensive plan.