The City Council may amend, supplement or change the text regulations and zoning district lines according to the following procedures:

   1.   Initiation of amendments. Proposed changes or amendments may be initiated by the City Council, Planning Board, Board of Adjustment, or by one or more owners or lessees of property within the area proposed to be changed or affected.

   2.   Petition. A petition for any change or amendment shall contain a description and/or statement of the present and proposed zoning regulation or district boundary to be applied and the names and addresses of the owner or owners of the property. Such petition shall be filed with the Zoning Enforcement Officer not later than three (3) weeks prior to the meeting at which the petition is to be considered.

   3.   Fee. A fee, set by the City Council, shall be paid to the City Clerk of the City of Claremont, North Carolina, for each petition for an amendment to cover the costs of advertising and other administrative expenses involved. (Ord. of 12-7-04, No. 37-02; Ord. of 8-7-06, No. 18-06)

   The Planning Board shall consider and make recommendations to the City Council concerning every proposed amendment, supplement, change, modification or repeal to this chapter as directed in G.S. 160D-604. The Planning Board, at its own discretion, may hold a public hearing if deemed necessary by the Planning Board. Otherwise, the Planning Board will send its recommendation directly to the City Council who shall hold a public hearing for every proposed zoning amendment.

   Members of the Planning Board shall not participate in or vote on any zoning amendment matter in a manner that would violate affected persons' constitutional rights to an impartial decision maker. Impermissible violations of due process include, but are not limited to, a close familial, business, or other associational relationship with an affected person, or a financial interest in the outcome of the matter. If an objection is raised to a board member's participation at or prior to the hearing or vote on that matter and that member does not recuse himself or herself, the remaining members of the board shall by majority vote rule on the objection. For purposes of this section, a close familial relationship means a spouse, parent, child, brother, sister, grandparent, or grandchild. The term includes the step, half, and in-law relationships.12 (G.S. 160D-109(d), (e), (f)). (Ord. of 12-7-04, No. 37-02; Ord. of 8-7-06, No. 18-06; Ord. of 6-21-21, No. 41-21)

   The City Council shall consider changes and amendments to this chapter as often as necessary, provided, however, that should the City Council deny a request for a zoning amendment, it shall not thereafter accept any other petition for the same change of zoning district affecting the same property, or any portion thereof, until the expiration of one (1) year from the date of such previous denial.

   Plan consistency. When adopting or rejecting any zoning text or map amendment, the City Council shall approve a brief statement describing whether its action is consistent or inconsistent with an adopted comprehensive plan. The requirement for a plan consistency statement may also be met by a clear indication in the minutes of the City Council, that at the time of action on the amendment, the City Council was aware of and considered the planning board's recommendations and any relevant portions of an adopted comprehensive plan. If the amendment is adopted and the action was deemed inconsistent with the adopted plan, the zoning amendment shall have the effect of also amending any future land use map in the approved plan and no additional request or application for a plan amendment shall be required. A plan amendment and a zoning amendment may be considered concurrently. The plan consistency statement is not subject to judicial review. If a zoning map amendment qualifies as a "large-scale rezoning" under G.S. 160D-602(b), the City Council statement describing plan consistency may address the overall rezoning and describe how the analysis and polices in the relevant adopted plans were considered in the action taken.

   Members of the City Council shall not participate in or vote on any zoning amendment matter in a manner that would violate affected persons' constitutional rights to an impartial decision maker. Impermissible violations of due process include, but are not limited to, a close familial, business, or other associational relationship with an affected person, or a financial interest in the outcome of the matter. If an objection is raised to a board member's participation at or prior to the hearing or vote on that matter and that member does not recuse himself or herself, the remaining members of the board shall by majority vote rule on the objection. For purposes of this section, a close familial relationship means a spouse, parent, child, brother, sister, grandparent, or grandchild. The term includes the step, half, and in-law relationships.12 (G.S. 160D-109(d), (e), (f)). (Ord. of 12-7-04, No. 37-02; Ord. of 8-7-06, No. 18-06; Ord. of 6-21-21, No. 41-21)

   1.   Legal notice of public hearing. No amendment shall be adopted by the City Council until after public notice and hearing. In accordance with N.C.G.S. 160D-601, notice of public hearing shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the City of Claremont at least once each week for two (2) successive weeks prior to the hearing. The first notice shall appear in the newspaper at least ten (10) days but not more than twenty-five (25) days prior to the hearing.

   2.   Mail notice requirements. In accordance with N.C.G.S. 160D-601, whenever the amendment involves a change in the zoning classification of a parcel of land, the owner of that parcel of land as shown on the county tax listing, and the owners of all parcels of land abutting or within one hundred (100) linear feet of that parcel of land as shown on the county tax listing, shall be mailed a notice of the proposed reclassification and a notice of the public hearing required in subsection 1. above. Such notice shall be sent by first class mail to the last address listed for such owners on the county tax listing. The person responsible for making the mailed notice shall certify to the City Council that such notice was indeed prepared and mailed.

   a.   In accordance with N.C.G.S. 160D-601 individual mailed notices may be waived in lieu of a substitute notice if the amendment meets at least one of the following criteria:

   (1)   If the zoning reclassification directly involves more than fifty (50) properties, owned by a total of at least fifty (50) different owners;

   (2)   If the proposal involves an amendment to the text of this chapter such that it changes the permitted, conditional, or accessory uses of a zoning district;

   (3)   If the city is adopting a water supply watershed protection program as required by N.C.G.S. 143-214.5.

   b.   Notice requirements for amendments meeting any of the three criteria of subsection 3(a) above are as follows:

   (1)   Notice of the public hearing shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the City of Claremont at least once each week for four (4) consecutive weeks prior to the hearing. The notice must include a map no less than one-half (½) the size of the newspaper page. The map must show the boundaries of the area affected by the proposed amendment;

   (2)   The city must post at least one (1) or more prominent signs immediately adjacent to the subject area. The signs must be of a type and size that may be reasonably expected to provide adequate notice of the proposal to the public;

   (3)   The city must notify by first class mail any property owner who resides outside the city’s zoning jurisdiction or outside the circulation area of the newspaper in which the notice is published. The notice must be mailed to the last address listed for such owners on the most recent county tax listing. (Ord. of 12-7-04, No. 37-02; Ord. of 8-7-06, No. 18-06; Ord. of 6-21-21, No. 41-21)

   Before taking such lawful action as it may deem advisable, the City Council shall consider the Planning Board’s recommendations on each proposed zoning amendment. If no recommendations are received from the Planning Board within thirty (30) days after their meeting, the governing board may act on the amendment without the planning board report. Under no circumstances shall the City Council adopt such amendments that would cause this chapter to violate the watershed protection rules as adopted by the North Carolina Environmental Management Commission. Amendments affecting the watershed protection portions of this chapter shall be filed with the North Carolina Division of Environmental Management, the North Carolina Division of Environmental Health, and the North Carolina Division of Community Assistance. (Ord. of 12-7-04, No. 37-02; Ord. of 8-7-06, No. 18-06; Ord. of 6-21-21, No. 41-21)