(A)   The Town Council may, on its own motion or upon motion or petition by any person within the planning and development regulation jurisdiction of the town, after public notice and hearing, amend, supplement, change, modify or repeal the regulations herein established or the maps which are part of this chapter, subject to the rules prescribed in this chapter. No regulation or map shall be amended, supplemented, changed, modified or repealed until after a public hearing in relation thereto, at which parties in interest and citizens shall have an opportunity to be heard. A notice of the hearing shall be given circulation in the town, notice to be published the first time not less than 10 days nor more than 25 days prior to the date fixed for the hearing.

   (B)   Whenever there is a zoning map amendment (rezoning), the owner of that parcel of land as shown on the county tax listing, and the owners of all parcels of land abutting that parcel of land as shown on the county tax listing, shall be mailed a notice of a public hearing on the proposed amendment by first class mail at the last addresses listed for the owners on the county tax abstracts. This notice must be deposited in the mail at least 10 but not more than 25 days prior to the date of the public hearing. The person or persons mailing the notices shall certify to the Town Council that fact, and the certificate shall be deemed conclusive in the absence of fraud.

   (C)   The first class mail notice required under division (B) above shall not be required if the zoning map amendment directly affects more than 50 properties, owned by a total of at least 50 different property owners, and the town elects to use the expanded published notice provided for in this division. In this instance, the town may elect to either make the mailed notice provided for in division (B) above or may as an alternative elect to publish notice of the hearing as required by G.S. § 160D- 602, but provided that each advertisement shall not be less than ½ of a newspaper page in size. The advertisement shall only be effective for property owners who reside in the area of general circulation of the newspaper which publishes the notice. Property owners who reside outside of the newspaper circulation area, according to the address listed on the most recent property tax listing for the affected property, shall be notified according to the provisions of division (A) above.

   (D)   When a zoning map amendment is proposed, the town shall prominently post a notice of the public hearing on the site proposed for rezoning or on an adjacent public street or highway right-of- way. The notice shall be posted within the same time period specified for mailed notices of the hearing. When multiple parcels are included within a proposed zoning map amendment, a posting on each individual parcel is not required, but the town shall post sufficient notices to provide reasonable notice to interested persons.

   (E)   No member of the Town Council shall vote on, nor shall any member of an appointed board providing advice to the Town Council vote on, any zoning map or text amendment where the outcome of the matter being considered is reasonably likely to have a direct, substantial and readily identifiable financial impact on the member.

   (F)   A statement analyzing the reasonableness of a proposed rezoning shall be prepared for each petition for a rezoning.

   (G)   Per G.S. § 160D-605, prior to adopting or rejecting any zoning amendment, the Town Council shall adopt a brief statement describing whether its action is consistent with the adopted CAMA Comprehensive & Land Use Plan. The requirement for a plan consistency statement may also be met by a clear indication in the minutes of the Town Council that at the time of action on the amendment the Town Council was aware of and considered the Planning Board's recommendations and any relevant portions of the adopted Comprehensive & Land Use Plan, If a zoning map 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 Town Council statement describing plan consistency may address the overall rezoning and describe how the analysis and policies in the relevant adopted plans were considered in the action taken.

(Ord. 04-21, passed 10-6-2004, § 67; Am. Ord. 06-06, passed 6-7-2006; Am. Ord. 21-01, passed 6-2-2021)

   (A)   Every proposed amendment, supplement, change, modification or repeal to this chapter shall be referred to the Planning Board for its recommendation and written report. All petitions for a change in the zoning map shall include a legal description of the property involved and the names and addresses of current abutting property owners. If no written report is received from the Planning Board within 30 days of referral of the amendment to that Board, the Town Council may proceed in its consideration of the amendment without the Planning Board report.

   (B)   Per G.S. § 160D-604, when conducting a review of proposed zoning text or map amendments pursuant to this chapter, the Planning Board shall advise and comment on whether the proposed action is consistent with the adopted Comprehensive & Land Use Plan and any other officially adopted plan that is applicable. The Planning Board shall provide a written recommendation to the Town Council that addresses plan consistency and other matters as deemed appropriate by the Planning Board, but a comment by the Planning Board that a proposed amendment is inconsistent with the comprehensive plan shall not preclude consideration or approval of the proposed amendment by the governing board. If a zoning map amendment qualifies as a "large-scale rezoning" under G.S. § 160D-602(b), the Planning Board statement describing plan consistency may address the overall rezoning and describe how the analysis and policies in the relevant adopted plans were considered in the recommendation made.

   (C)   A Planning Board member shall not vote on any matter pursuant to this chapter where the outcome of the matter being considered is reasonably likely to have a direct, substantial, and readily identifiable financial impact on the member. A Planning Board member shall not vote on any zoning amendment if the landowner of the property subject to a rezoning petition or the applicant for a text amendment is a person with whom the member has a close familial, business, or other associational relationship.

(Ord. 04-21, passed 10-6-2004, § 69; Am. Ord. 06-06, passed 6-7-2006; Am. Ord. 16-05, passed 10-5-2016; Am. Ord. 21-01, passed 6-2-2021)

   (D)    Violations of this chapter shall subject the offender to a civil penalty in accordance with the specific penalty provisions contained within the respective chapter and section, where applicable. Offenders violating this chapter shall be subject to civil penalty upon the issuance of a citation for the violation. The civil penalty, if not paid to the Town Clerk within 15 days of the issuance of a citation, may be recovered by the town in a civil action in the nature of debt. Unless otherwise provided by a specific provision of this chapter, the civil penalties shall be no more than $500 for each violation, and each day any single violation continues shall be a separate violation.

(Ord. 04-21, passed 10-6-2004, § 58; Am. Ord. 19-05, passed 11-6-2019) each day any single violation continues shall be a separate violation.