All territory which may be hereafter voluntarily annexed to the City of Cocoa shall be subject to the following standards and procedures:

A.

Pre-application meeting. Except where this requirement is specifically waived by the city manager, as provided in this article, a party which desires to annex property into the city shall meet with the staff of the community development and economic development departments to discuss informally the requirements of this article and the appropriateness of the application, prior to submitting an application for annexation.

B.

Application submittal. The applicant shall submit an application for annexation to the community development department for the city in accordance with its procedures and guidelines.

C.

Review process.

(1)

Staff review. Upon acceptance of the application for annexation the community development director, or the director's designee, shall review the application for consistency with the requirements of state law, the provisions of this article, and all other applicable regulations.

(2)

Planning and zoning board. If the application is found in compliance with the aforementioned provisions, the community development director shall bring the application forward to a public hearing of the planning and zoning board, unless this requirement is specifically waived by the city manager as provided in this article. The planning and zoning board shall make a recommendation to the city council to approve, deny, or approve with modifications or conditions. The planning and zoning board's recommendation shall be based upon the following considerations:

(a)

Whether the request is consistent with the requirements of F.S. ch. 171, and applicable special acts of the Florida Legislature, including requirements that the area proposed for annexation be contiguous to the city's boundaries, be reasonably compact, and meet all other requirements of state law; and

(b)

Whether the request is consistent with all applicable policies of the city's comprehensive plan; and

(c)

Any other matters which the planning and zoning board may deem relevant and appropriate, including any recommendations of the city staff.

(3)

City council. Unless waived as described below, the recommendation of the planning and zoning board shall be submitted to the city council for its consideration prior to final review and approval or denial of the application.

D.

Waiver of requirements. The city manager, or the manager's designee, may waive, upon recommendation of the community development director, the requirements set forth in this article for a pre-application meeting and/or review by the planning and zoning board.

(Ord. No. 21-02, § 2, 9-24-02)

All territory which may be hereafter involuntarily annexed to the City of Cocoa shall be subject solely to the discretion of the city council and applicable provisions of state law.

(Ord. No. 21-02, § 2, 9-24-02)