The City Council, from time to time, upon the recommendation of the Planning and Zoning Commission, may amend, supplement or change the zoning district boundaries or the regulations herein or subsequently established. Recommendations of such amendment may be initiated by the Council or Commission on their own motion, or by petition as hereinafter set forth. No amendment affecting zoning district boundaries shall be passed, however, until completion of the citizen review process required in section 35-2601.1 of this Article XXVI and after a public hearing held in accordance with the requirements of section 35-2602 of this Article XXVI relating to applications.

(Ord. No. 3063, § 3, 11-18-99; Ord. No. 3139, § 1, 5-27-00)

Applications for amending this Code shall be made on a form provided by the Zoning Administrator and shall be signed by the property owner. In the event the application includes property other than that owned by the applicant, a letter shall accompany the application from the property owner authorizing the applicant to include said property in the application. In the case of an application for rezoning for more than one (1) property, such property shall be contiguous.

(Ord. No. 1450, § I, 4-11-85; Ord. No. 1488, § I, 5-23-85; Ord. No. 3063, § 3, 11-18-99)

A. Prior to any public hearing, as required under section 35-2602 of this Article XXVII, on any area plan application, on any preliminary development plan application, or on any application for any zoning ordinance that changes any property from one zoning district to another, that imposes any regulation not previously imposed, or that removes or modifies any such regulation previously imposed, the applicant shall provide notice of a neighborhood meeting. Notification shall include mailing a written notice, and at the discretion of the Zoning Administrator, may include posting a sign on the development site, and electronic/digital outreach.

(1) Written notice.

i. A written notice of the neighborhood meeting shall be mailed to all landowners of property located within six hundred (600) feet of the subject property, and the address of any registered neighborhood organizations located within one-quarter (¼) mile of the subject property, and to such other persons as the Zoning Administrator reasonably determines to be other potentially affected citizens.

For any Zoning Ordinance or Preliminary Development Plan pertaining to a mid-rise development, and to any area plan application, the distance shall be expanded to one-quarter (¼) mile for adjacent property owners, and to a one-half (½) mile for registered neighborhood organizations.

All distances shall be measured from the property lines of the development site.

ii. The written notice shall also include a general explanation of the substance of the proposed area plan application, preliminary development plan application or zoning ordinance application and shall state the date, time and place scheduled for a neighborhood meeting, at which any adjacent landowner or those other potentially affected citizens, as determined under section 35-2601.1A., will be provided a reasonable opportunity to express any issues or concerns that the landowner or citizen may have with the proposed application before the public hearing required under section 35-2602. The content of said written notice shall be reviewed and approved by the Zoning Administrator prior to mailing.

For any area plan, preliminary development plan, or any zoning ordinance pertaining to a mid-rise development, at least two (2) neighborhood meetings shall be held by the applicant, prior to the applicant being scheduled for public hearings by the Planning and Zoning Commission and City Council.

iii. The written notice required by [section] 35-2601.1A. shall be mailed by first class mail at least fifteen (15) days prior to the neighborhood meeting.

(2) Sign posting. The applicant shall post a sign on the subject property, at least fifteen (15) days prior to the neighborhood meeting, in accordance with design standards specified by the City of Chandler. The sign shall be located along an arterial street, neighborhood entry, or other high visibility location. The content of the sign shall be reviewed and approved by the Zoning Administrator prior to installation. The applicant shall remove the sign at the conclusion of the citizen review process.

(3) Electronic/digital outreach. The applicant shall implement one electronic/digital method of outreach at least fifteen (15) days prior to the neighborhood meeting in accordance with standards specified by the City of Chandler. The method and content shall be reviewed and approved by the Zoning Administrator prior to implementation. The content of the selected method shall be updated to reflect citizen input and any other revisions and remain until the conclusion of the final council decision. The Zoning Administrator or designee shall post the notice on one or more social media platforms as deemed necessary.

If the Zoning Administrator determines that special circumstances warrant additional notification, the Zoning Administrator may require one or more of the following additional means of notification to be provided at least fifteen (15) days prior to the neighborhood meeting:

1. Written notice shall be personally delivered to each property within three hundred (300) feet which contains an inhabited building; such notice shall be in the form of a door hanger in accordance with the design standards prescribed by the City of Chandler. The deliverer shall provide written certification to the City that such notices were delivered in this manner on a particular date or dates.

2. Notice shall be provided in such other manner as deemed necessary or desirable by the Zoning Administrator.

After providing the required notifications, the applicant shall submit to the Zoning Administrator a copy of the mailing list, a photograph of the sign, a copy of the electronic/digital methodology and a notarized affidavit of notification; said affidavit shall be in a form prescribed by the City of Chandler.

B. The applicant, upon consultation with the Zoning Administrator, shall establish a time, date and place for the neighborhood meeting that provides a reasonable opportunity for potentially affected citizens, as determined under section 35-2601.1A. to discuss and express their respective views concerning the application and any issues or concerns that they may have with the zoning or rezoning ordinance, the preliminary development plan, and/or the area plan that may proposed in the application. Within five (5) business days following the neighborhood meeting, the applicant shall submit to the Zoning Administrator a neighborhood meeting summary that identifies the people in attendance and the issues that were discussed. The applicant shall also submit comments received through the electronic/digital outreach method to the Zoning Administrator. The Zoning Administrator or planning staff shall report the results of the neighborhood meeting and of the electronic/digital outreach to the Planning and Zoning Commission and City Council at such time as they take action on the application.

C. At the discretion of the Zoning Administrator, an alternative citizen review process may be used that does not involve a neighborhood meeting. The alternative process shall consist of the following:

1. The written notice described in this section 35-2601.1, except that the notice shall only indicate the name, address and phone number of the member of the planning staff to whom an adjacent landowner or other potentially affected citizen, as determined under section 35-2601.1A., may contact to express any issues or concerns that the landowner or citizen may have with the proposed rezoning.

2. A staff report summarizing any issues or concerns so expressed, which shall be presented to the Planning and Zoning Commission and City Council at such time as they take action on the application, and the applicant at a reasonable period of time prior to the public hearing.

(Ord. No. 3139, § 2, 5-27-00; Ord. No. 3640, § 3, 1-13-05; Ord. No. 3802, § 2, 6-8-06; Ord. No. 4567, § VI, 10-20-14; Ord. No. 4931, § 2(Exh.), 8-13-20)

A. The Planning and Zoning Commission shall hold a public hearing on any zoning ordinance which changes any property from one (1) zoning district to another, imposes any regulation not previously imposed, or which removes or modifies any other regulation previously imposed. Notice of the date, time and place of the hearing, including a general explanation of the matter to be considered and including a general description of the area affected, shall be given fifteen (15) days before the hearing, in the following manner:

(1) The City shall prepare and publish the notice once in a newspaper of general circulation published or circulated in the City of Chandler, or if there is none, it shall be posted on the affected property in such a manner as to be legible from the public right-of-way and in at least ten (10) places in the City of Chandler. A posted notice shall be printed so that the following are visible from a distance of one hundred (100) feet: the word "zoning," the present zoning district classification, the proposed zoning district classification, the date and time of the hearing.

(2) In addition to publication, copies of the notice shall be mailed to owners of any property, in whole or part, within six hundred (600) feet of the boundary of the subject property, and the address of any Registered Neighborhood Organization within one-quarter (¼) mile of the boundary of the property being considered for rezoning. A listing of property owners within six hundred (600) feet of the subject property, consistent with current records of the Maricopa County Assessor's Office at the time of application and complete with their mailing addresses, and a list of Registered Neighborhood Organizations within one-quarter (¼) mile, shall be provided to the City by the applicant for use in such mailing. Failure of the applicant to complete an accurate list of property owners, and Registered Neighborhood Organizations may, in the opinion of the Zoning Administrator, invalidate the application. Failure of a property owner, or minority of property owners, or Registered Neighborhood Organizations to receive this notice, however, shall not invalidate the application if, in the opinion of the Zoning Administrator, a reasonable effort to notify all parties has been made. These requirements may be waived by the Zoning Administrator if circumstances so warrant.

(a) The six hundred (600) foot notice to adjacent property owners and the one-quarter (¼) mile notice to registered neighborhood organizations as specified herein shall be expanded to one-quarter (¼) mile for adjacent property owners, and to one-half (½) mile for registered neighborhood organizations, for any preliminary development plan, or any zoning ordinance pertaining to a mid-rise development, and to any area plan application.

(b) The one-quarter (¼) mile and the one-half (½) mile distances shall be measured from the property boundary lines of the parcel for which the mid-rise development is being proposed.

(3) In proceedings involving rezoning of land which abuts other municipalities or unincorporated areas of the County or a combination thereof, copies of the notice of public hearing shall be transmitted to the planning agency of such governmental unit abutting such land.

(4) In addition to publication, the following additional notifications shall be required unless waived by the Zoning Administrator:

(a) The applicant shall post a minimum four-foot by eight-foot wooden sign on the subject property, in accordance with design standards specified by the City of Chandler. The sign must be located along an arterial street, neighborhood entry, or other high visibility location. The applicant shall remove the sign at the conclusion of the public hearing process.

(b) The applicant shall personally deliver notice to each property within three hundred (300) feet that contains an inhabited building; the notice shall be in the form of a door hanger in accordance with design standards prescribed by the City of Chandler. The deliverer shall provide written certification to the City that such notices were delivered in this manner on a particular date or dates.

(5) In addition to publication, the City of Chandler may give notice of the hearing in such other manner as it may deem necessary or desirable.

B. After the hearing, the Commission shall render its decision in the form of a written recommendation to the City Council. The recommendation shall include the reasons for the recommendation and be transmitted to the City Council in such form and manner as may be specified by the City Council.

C. If the Commission has held a public hearing, the City Council may adopt the recommendations without holding a second public hearing if there is no objection, request for public hearing or other protest. The City Council shall hold a public hearing if requested by the party aggrieved or any member of the public or of the City Council or, in any case, if no public hearing has been held by the Commission. Notice of the time and place of the hearing shall be given in the time and manner provided for the giving of notice of the hearing by the Commission as specified in subsection A. In addition, the City of Chandler may give notice of the hearing in such other manner as it may deem necessary or desirable.

(Ord. No. 1331, 4-9-84; Ord. No. 1784, § 1, 3-12-87; Ord. No. 3063, § 3, 11-18-99; Ord. No. 3640, § 4, 1-13-05; Ord. No. 3802, § 2, 6-8-06; Ord. No. 4567, § VII, 10-20-14; Ord. No. 4931, § 2(Exh.), 8-13-20)

In the event that an application is denied by the Council, the Commission shall not reconsider the application nor consider another application of amendment of the Zoning Code applying to property described in the original application, or any part thereof, for at least ninety (90) days from the date of said denial action.

(Ord. No. 4931, § 2(Exh.), 8-13-20)

Editor's note— Ord. No. 4931, § 2(Exh.), adopted August 13, 2020, repealed § 35-2603, which pertained to conditional zoning and derived from Ord. No. 3063, § 3, adopted Nov. 18, 1999. Additionally, said ordinance renumbered §§ 35-2604 and 35-2605 as §§ 35-2603 and 35-2604.

A. If the owners of twenty (20) percent or more either of the area of the lots included in a proposed change, or those immediately adjacent in the rear or any side thereof extending one hundred fifty (150) feet therefrom or of those directly opposite thereto extending one hundred fifty (150) feet from the street frontage of the opposite lots, file a protest in writing against a proposed amendment, it shall not become effective except by the favorable vote of three-fourths (¾) of all members of the City Council. If any members of the City Council are unable to vote on such a question because of a conflict of interest, then the required number of votes for passage of the question shall be three-fourths (¾) of the remaining membership of the Council, provided that such required number of votes shall in no event be less than a majority of the full membership.

B. All written protests shall describe the property owned by the protestants with sufficient clarity so as to be easily located on a map of the City and with relation to the area under consideration. If said property is not so described, the Council may disregard any such protest or protests.

(Ord. No. 2348, § 1, 3-25-93; Ord. No. 2354, § 1, 3-25-93; Ord. No. 3063, § 3, 11-18-99; Ord. No. 4931, § 2(Exh.), 8-13-20)

(1) Administrative completeness review time frame. For each application for a zoning amendment related to residential zoning, the Zoning Administrator shall designate a staff member to review the application. City staff reviewing the application shall determine whether the application is administratively complete within thirty (30) days after receiving the application. If staff determines that the application is not administratively complete, staff shall provide the applicant with a comprehensive list of the specific deficiencies in a written notice to the applicant. Upon issuance of the notice, the administrative completeness review time frame and overall time frame contained in this section are suspended until staff receives the missing information from the applicant. Staff shall determine whether a resubmitted application is administratively complete within fifteen (15) days after receiving the resubmitted application.

(2) Approval or denial of residential zoning applications. After determining that a residential zoning application is administratively complete, the Chandler City Council shall approve or deny the application within one hundred eighty (180) days. The City may extend the time frame to approve or deny the request beyond one hundred eighty (180) days for either of the following reasons:

(a) For extenuating circumstances, staff may grant a one-time extension of not more than thirty (30) days.

(b) If an applicant requests an extension, the City may grant extensions of thirty (30) days for each extension requested.

(3) Exceptions. This section does not apply to land that is designated as a district of historical significance pursuant to Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 9-462.01(a) or an area that is designated as historic on the National Register of Historic Places. This section also does not apply to parcels that are already zoned as a Planned Area Development (PAD).

(Ord. No. 5113, § 2(Exh.), 12-9-24)