Except as provided in this Chapter, no building shall be erected or structurally altered, and no building or premises shall be used for any purposes other than as permitted in the zoning district in which the building or premises is located. No lot area shall be so reduced or diminished that the yards or open spaces shall be smaller than those prescribed by this Chapter, nor shall the lot area be reduced in any manner except in conformity with the regulations established for the district in which such building is located. No yard or other open space provided about any building for the purpose of complying with this Chapter shall be considered as providing yard or other open space for any other building.

(Prior code 23-26; Ord. 09-14 §4, 2014; Ord. 2025-16 §2, 2025)

The regulations contained in this Chapter are not retroactive in their application to existing buildings.

(Prior code 23-27)

In their interpretation and application, the provisions of this Chapter shall be held to be the minimum requirements adopted for the promotion of the public health, safety and welfare. Whenever the requirements of this Chapter are at variance with any other lawfully adopted rules, regulations or ordinances, the more restrictive, or that imposing the higher standards, shall govern.

(Prior code 23-28)

Should any section, clause or provision of this Chapter be declared by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such decision shall not affect the validity of this Chapter as a whole or any part thereof other than the part so declared to be invalid.

(Prior code 23-29)

It shall be the duty of the Zoning Administrator to enforce the provisions of this Chapter.

(Prior code 23-30; Ord. 05-10 §2, 2010)

No building shall be constructed or structurally altered and used until the Building Inspector has certified that such building and the use thereof comply with the provisions of this Chapter or that such use has been granted by the Board of Adjustment.

(Prior code 23-31)

Before issuing a building permit for the construction, alteration or moving of a building the Building Inspector shall satisfy themselves that such building and the use thereof after construction, alteration or new location will conform to the provisions of this Chapter.

(Prior code 23-32)

No vacant land shall be used and no existing use of land shall be changed to another use until the Zoning Administrator has certified that such use complies with the provisions of this Chapter.

(Prior code 23-33; Ord. 09-14 §5, 2014; Ord. No. 2018-07, § 2, 4-5-2018)

(a)

Any land use application fee required by this Chapter shall be nonrefundable and shall be used by the City to defray the City's in-house administrative costs associated with the subject application, including, but not limited to, City staff time to administer and process the application and the costs of inspections, publications and notices and other requirements.

(b)

Any development review cash deposit required by this Chapter shall be refundable, as further provided below, and shall be used by the City to reimburse the City's direct costs in processing the application that are not covered by the land use application fee, including, but not limited to, outside consultant fees necessary to review the application, such as legal, planning and engineering fees, the costs of document recordation and reproduction and public hearing expenses.

(c)

The City shall maintain a separate account of the development review cash deposit and track all monies deposited into and withdrawn from such account throughout the application process. The City shall make monthly statements of account activity available to the applicant.

(d)

A development review cash deposit account shall maintain a minimum balance in an amount specified by the Zoning Administrator based upon the Zoning Administrator's reasonable estimate of the direct costs that will be incurred by the City that will not be covered by the land use application fee. The City shall provide written notice to the applicant when the account balance is below such minimum amount, and the applicant shall pay the amount necessary to meet or exceed the minimum balance within ten (10) days of the City's notice. Failure by the applicant to replenish the account within the time specified shall be cause for the City to cease processing the application, to refrain from scheduling the application for consideration before any City body or person, to deny approval of the application and to withhold building permits and certificates of occupancy for the project.

(e)

Within ninety (90) days after final approval of the application or within ninety (90) days after the date on which the applicant has given written notice that they will not proceed with the application, the City will determine the balance owing to the applicant, that amount being the amount deposited over the costs incurred, and return that amount to the applicant's mailing address on file.

(f)

If the City incurs costs beyond the amount deposited with the City and the applicant fails to pay such costs within sixty (60) days after written notice from the City, the City may avail itself of any remedy available at law or in equity to collect such costs. The City may also assess interest on any such amount past due at the rate of eighteen percent (18%) per annum.

(Ord. 15-10 §1, 2010; Ord. 09-14 §7, 2014; Ord. 2025-02 §1, 2025)

(a)

Subject to the exceptions provided by Subsection (e) below, if requested by the Zoning Administrator, the applicant shall attend a preapplication meeting with the City planning staff and such other personnel as the City deems necessary.

(b)

The purpose of the preapplication meeting is to define the scope of the project, to alert the applicant and the City to any particular circumstance concerning the subject property and, in general, to settle on the suitability of the proposed project prior to extensive planning.

(c)

An informal preliminary application shall be submitted at the preapplication meeting. The informal application should describe the nature and scope of the proposed application and, in the case of a PUD application, shall include a sketch plan reflecting total acreage, adjacent landowners, adjacent land uses, existing and proposed streets, highways and utilities that will service the project, major physical features, including drainages, the location of natural features in and around the development and existing and proposed uses, including the number of dwelling units. The City Planner may waive any of these requirements in their discretion.

(d)

Prior to or at the time of the preapplication meeting, the applicant shall submit a development review cash deposit in the amount set forth in the Fee Schedule adopted by the City Council from time to time. If the applicant submits a complete formal application for a project within six (6) months of the preapplication meeting concerning said project, the deposit submitted pursuant to this Subsection shall be credited towards the development review cash deposit required for the formal application.

(e)

The preapplication meeting required by this Section shall not apply to applicants for sign permits, minor amendments to PUDs requiring administrative approval only, site development plans for new single-family residences, new two-family residences and new accessory structures and variances and appeals to the Board of Adjustment.

(Ord. 15-10 §2, 2010; Ord. 09-14 §8, 2014; Ord. 2025-02 §1, 2025)

No application filed under this Chapter shall proceed to hearing or to the final administrative decision-making process, as applicable, until such application has been deemed complete by the City Manager. Any application that requires additional or modified submittals shall be considered abandoned if the required submittal or resubmittal is not made within one hundred eighty (180) days of the date of written notice of the required submittal or resubmittal. No abandoned application shall be further processed, and any project proposed by an abandoned application may be subsequently proposed again only through an entirely new application, including but not limited to a new application form, all required submittals and applicable fees.

(Ord. No. 2017-05, §3, 5-4-2017)