The regulations, restrictions, and boundaries set forth in this chapter may from time to time be amended, supplemented or repealed by the Town Council. Any person may petition the Town Council for an amendment.

Proposals for the adoption, amendment, or repeal of this chapter or the Zoning Map shall be made to the Town Council.

Immediately upon receipt of the proposal, the Council shall refer the proposal to the Commission for study and recommendation. The Commission shall, in turn, notify and seek the advice of the Coventry Department of Planning and Development, and shall report to the Town Council within 45 days after receipt of the proposal with its findings and recommendations as prescribed in § 255-1810.

Where a proposal for adoption, amendment, or repeal of this chapter or the Zoning Map is made by the Commission, the requirements for study by the Board may be waived, provided that the proposal by the Commission include its findings and recommendations pursuant to § 255-1810.

The Town Council shall hold a public hearing within 65 days of receipt of a proposal, giving proper notice as prescribed in § 255-1820. The Town Council shall render a decision on any proposal within 45 days after the date of completion of the public hearing.

The provisions of this section pertaining to deadlines shall not be construed to apply to any extension consented to by an applicant.

Include a statement on the general consistency of the proposal with the Coventry Comprehensive Plan, including the goals and policies statement, the implementation program, and all other applicable elements of the Comprehensive Plan; and

Include a demonstration of recognition and consideration of each of the applicable purposes of zoning, as presented in § 255-110.

This chapter shall not be adopted, repealed, or amended until after a public hearing has been held upon the question before the Town Council. The Town Council shall first give notice of the public hearing by publication of notice in a newspaper of general circulation within the Town at least once each week for three successive weeks prior to the date of the hearing, which may include the week in which the hearing is to be held, at which hearing an opportunity shall be given to all persons interested to be heard upon the matter of the proposed ordinance. Written notice, which may be a copy of the newspaper notice, shall be mailed to the Associate Director of the Division of Planning of the Rhode Island Department of Administration, and, where applicable, to the parties specified in Subsections B, C, D and E, at least two weeks prior to the hearing. The newspaper notice shall be published as a display advertisement, using a type size at least as large as the normal type size used by the newspaper in its news articles, and shall:

Where a proposed general amendment to this chapter includes changes to the Zoning Map, public notice shall be given as required by § 255-1830A.

Where a proposed amendment to this chapter includes a specific change in a zoning district map, but does not affect districts generally, public notice shall be given as required by § 255-1830A with the additional requirements that:

Notice of a public hearing shall be sent by first class mail to the city or town council of any city or town to which one or more of the following pertain:

Notice of a public hearing shall be sent to the governing body of any state or municipal water department or agency, special water district, or private water company that has riparian rights to a surface water resource and/or surface watershed that is used or is suitable for use as a public water source and that is within 2,000 feet of any real property which is the subject of a proposed zoning change; provided, however, that the governing body of any state or municipal water department or agency, special water district, or private water company has filed with the Building Inspector a map survey, which shall be kept as a public record, showing areas of surface water resources and/or watersheds and parcels of land within 2,000 feet thereof.

No defect in the form of any notice under this section shall render this chapter or amendment invalid, unless the defect is found to be intentional or misleading.

Costs of any notice required under this section shall be borne by the applicant.

In granting an amendment to this chapter the Town Council may limit the change to one of the permitted uses in the zone to which the subject land is rezoned, and may impose such limitations, conditions, and restrictions, including, without limitation:

The responsible Town official shall cause the limitations and conditions so imposed pursuant to § 255-1830A to be clearly noted on the Zoning Map and recorded in the land evidence records of the Town, provided, however, in the case of a conditional zone change, that the limitations, restrictions, and conditions shall not be noted on the Zoning Map until the zone change has become effective.

If the permitted use for which the land has been rezoned is abandoned or if the land is not used for the requested purpose for a period of two years or more after the zone change becomes effective, the Town Council may, after a public hearing as set forth in § 255-1820, change the land to its original zoning use before the petition was filed.

If any limitation, condition, or restriction in this chapter imposed pursuant to § 255-1830 is held to be invalid by a court in any action, that holding shall not cause the remainder of this chapter to be invalid.