Site Plan review and approval shall be required for all nonresidential, mixed-use, townhouse, single-family attached, and multifamily residential projects, and for all Planned Development district or Specific Use Permit.

No building permit shall be issued for any of the above developments until a Site Plan and all other required engineering/construction plans are first approved by the City. No certificate of occupancy shall be issued until all construction and development conforms to the Site Plan and engineering/construction plans, as approved by the City. The Site Plan review process shall include up to four steps:

An Application for Concept Plan (voluntary except for Planned Developments or Specific Use Permits) or Site Plan approval shall be comprised of the following (all required items/information must be received by the City Manager or his/her designee in order for a Concept Plan or Site Plan Application to be considered complete (see Section VIII.6 below) - incomplete submissions will not be reviewed until all deficient items and information have been received):

The Plan’s compliance with all provisions of the Zoning Ordinance and other ordinances of the City.

The impact of the development relating to the preservation of existing natural resources on the site and the impact on the natural resources of the surrounding properties and neighborhood.

The relationship of the development to adjacent uses in terms of harmonious design, facade treatment, setbacks, building materials, maintenance of property values, and any possible negative impacts.

The provision of a safe and efficient vehicular and pedestrian circulation system.

The design and location of off-street parking and loading facilities to ensure that all such spaces are usable and are safely and conveniently arranged.

The sufficient width and suitable grade and location of streets designed to accommodate prospective traffic and to provide access for firefighting and emergency equipment to buildings.

The coordination of streets so as to arrange a convenient system consistent with the Thoroughfare Plan of the City, as adopted and amended.

The use of landscaping and screening to provide adequate buffers to shield lights, noise, movement, or activities from adjacent properties when necessary, and to complement and integrate the design and location of buildings into the overall site design.

Exterior lighting to ensure safe movement and for security purposes, which shall be arranged so as to minimize glare and reflection upon adjacent properties.

The location, size, accessibility, and configuration of open space areas to ensure that such areas are suitable for intended recreation and conservation uses.

Protection and conservation of soils from erosion by wind or water or from excavation or grading.

Protection and conservation of watercourses and areas that are subject to flooding.

The adequacy of water, drainage, sewerage facilities, solid waste disposal, and other utilities necessary for essential services to residents and occupants.

Consistency with the Comprehensive Master Plan of the City as adopted or amended.

The Applicant(s) should avail themselves of the advice and assistance of the City officials, and should consult early and informally with the City Manager, the Building Official, the City Planner, the City Engineer, and other applicable administrative officers before preparing a Concept Plan (a voluntary plan, except for Planned Developments or Specific Use Permits) or a Site Plan in order to save time, money and to avoid potential unnecessary delays.

Prior to formal application for approval of any Concept Plan or Site Plan, the Applicant(s) shall request and attend a pre-application conference with the City Manager or designee, the City Planner, the City Engineer, the Building Official, and any other pertinent City official(s) in order to become familiar with the City’s development regulations and the development process. At the pre-application conference, the developer may be represented by his/her attorney, land planner, engineer, agent and/or surveyor.

Upon official submission of a complete Application for Concept Plan or Site Plan approval, the City shall commence technical review of the development proposal by forwarding a copy of the Application to Development Review Committee (DRC) (such as the City Manager, Community Development Director, Municipal Services Director, City Planner, Building Official, Police Chief, Fire Chief, etc.). The DRC shall review the Application and shall ascertain its compliance with these and other applicable City regulations. Following DRC and other City staff review of the Plan and supporting documents, and following discussions with the Applicant on any revisions deemed advisable and the kind and extent of improvements to be installed, the Applicant shall resubmit additional copies of the corrected Plan to the City Manager or designee no later than seven (7) calendar days prior to the Commission meeting. Failure to resubmit corrected copies of the Plan back to the City in time shall be cause for the City Manager or designee to forward the Plan Application to the Commission as it was originally submitted rather than the corrected version (corrected copies of the Plan resubmitted to the City less than seven days prior to the meeting date shall not be accepted or forwarded to the Commission). If, upon resubmission of the corrected Plan to the City, the City Manager or designee determines that the Application is still incomplete or not correct (i.e., not ripe for consideration), the Plan Application shall be subject to denial.

All Concept Plan and Site Plan Applications shall be reviewed by the Planning and Zoning Commission, and if in conformance with the provisions of this Ordinance and all other applicable regulations and codes of the City, they shall then be considered for approval by the City Council.

The City Manager, or his/her designee, shall schedule consideration of the Concept Plan or Site Plan on the regular agenda of the Planning and Zoning Commission in a timely manner after the submission is received (or, in the case of an incomplete submission, after the submission is deemed complete). The Commission shall review the Concept Plan or Site Plan and shall recommend approval, approval subject to certain conditions, or disapproval of the Concept Plan or Site Plan. If the Commission recommends approval (with or without conditions) of the Plan, then it will be forwarded to the City Council for consideration. If the Commission recommends disapproval of a Plan Application, the Commission shall state such disapproval and the reasons therefor. The Applicant or property owner may appeal such decision to City Council by filing a written Notice of Appeal in the office of the City Manager or designee no later than ten (10) calendar days after the date upon which the Commission denied the Application. The Notice of Appeal shall set forth in clear and concise fashion the basis for the appeal. The City Council shall consider the appeal at a public meeting no later than thirty (30) calendar days after the date upon which the Notice of Appeal was filed. The City Council may change the decision of the Commission by vote of three-fourths (3/4) majority of the full City Council. The City Council may also, where appropriate, remand the Concept Plan or Site Plan Application back to the Commission for reconsideration if it believes that there is a compelling reason to do so (such as the introduction of significant new facts or testimony, etc.). The City Council shall determine final approval or disapproval of all Concept Plan or Site Plan Applications.

Prior to the lapse of approval for a Concept Plan or Site Plan, the Applicant may petition the City, in writing, to extend the Plan approval. Such petition shall be considered at a public meeting before the Commission and then City Council and an extension may be granted by City Council at such meeting. If no petition for extension of Concept Plan or Site Plan approval is submitted, then the Plan shall be deemed to have expired and shall become null and void. Any new request for Concept Plan or Site Plan approval shall be deemed a “new project”; shall be submitted with a new application form, with a new filing fee, and with new plans and materials in accordance with the procedures set forth in this Section; and shall be reviewed for compliance with the ordinances and regulations in effect at the time the new Application is made.

In no instance shall more than one (1) extension be considered or granted for a Concept Plan or Site Plan.

In determining whether to grant a request for extension, the City Council shall take into account the reasons for the lapse, the ability of the property owner to comply with any conditions attached to the original approval, and the extent to which development regulations would apply to the Concept Plan or Site Plan at that point in time. The Commission and City Council shall either extend the Concept Plan or Site Plan or deny the request, in which instance the originally approved Plan shall be deemed null and void. The property owner must thereafter submit a new Concept Plan or Site Plan Application for approval as a “new project,” and shall conform to the zoning and development regulations then in effect.

Submission and approval of a Concept Plan (a voluntary plan except for Planned Development or Specific Use zoning requests) can be the first step in the approval process for a development project (either residential or nonresidential) if the Applicant prefers to do so. City review and approval of a Concept Plan has many benefits for both the City and the Applicant. The Applicant benefits in that he/she gains preliminary review and scrutiny (as well as input and suggestions) on the overall conceptual layout of the proposed development from the City’s DRC. Approval of a Concept Plan may also offer the Applicant some level of confidence that subsequent plan submissions will be favorably received and approved with few major changes to the project’s design and layout provided that the project complies with City regulations. For example, once the Site Plan and Preliminary Plat (and corresponding engineering plans) are submitted for a nonresidential project, unforeseen changes in site layout can prove to be expensive in terms of design and engineering costs and time lost due to major plan revisions. The City benefits in that it is allowed to become familiar with and involved in the project early in the development process (which is particularly important for large-scale developments and subdivisions). This allows the City to plan for and closely coordinate the provision of public facilities and services, thereby potentially avoiding future problems such as undersized utility lines, inadequate roadway capacities, unanticipated shortfalls in public services, and fiscal inefficiencies resulting from lack of planning and coordination.

Submission and approval of a Concept Plan is mandatory for a zoning request for a Planned Development or Specific Use Permit. Submission and approval of a Concept Plan is encouraged (but not required) in the following circumstances:

The purpose of a Concept Plan is to allow opportunity for the Planning and Zoning Commission and City Council to preview various development-related aspects of the project, including proposed major thoroughfare and collector street patterns; land use patterns and trends; environmental issues and constraints; building orientation and massing; conformance to the Comprehensive Plan, Zoning Ordinance (if the subject property is within the City’s corporate limits), Subdivision Regulations, Future Land Use Plan, Thoroughfare Plan and other applicable plans and guidelines; and the property’s relationship to adjoining subdivisions or properties. Review of a Concept Plan would also assist the City in evaluating the possible impacts of the proposed development in terms of provision of essential public facilities and services, respecting and preserving important natural features and the environment, provision of open space and recreational opportunities, and protecting the general health, safety and welfare of the community.

When the overall development project is to be developed in phases, the Concept Plan area shall include the entire zoned property from which the phases are being developed, as well as an approximate development schedule. Where significant natural or man-made features, such as thoroughfares or creeks, make inclusion of the entire property in the Concept Plan unnecessary to adequately review the items to be shown on a Concept Plan, the Plan may include a smaller study area. Boundaries such as major thoroughfares (existing or proposed), creeks, political subdivisions, or other such natural or man-made features may be used to delineate the smaller study area.

Submission of an Application for Concept Plan approval shall be preceded by a pre-application conference with the City staff (see Subsection VIII.9.1). The Concept Plan shall be prepared by a qualified civil engineer, land planner, architect or surveyor, at a scale no smaller than one inch equals two hundred feet (1" = 200') and on sheets twenty-four inches by thirty-six inches (24" x 36"), and it shall show the following:

The Concept Plan shall be used only as an aid to show the anticipated layout of the proposed development, and to assess the adequacy of public facilities or services that will be needed to serve the proposed development. Any proposed use or development depicted on the Concept Plan shall not be deemed formal authorization or approval by the City until a final Site Plan is approved for the development (Concept Plan approval is to be thought of as a general acknowledgment by the City that the proposed layout generally conforms to the City’s zoning regulations, and that the proposed development can be adequately served by required public facilities or services). If the Applicant chooses to construct only the initial phase(s) of a multi-phase project designated in the Concept Plan, a new Concept Plan may be required for Site Plan approval of subsequent phases, if the proposed development layout, character, or other conditions affecting the development substantially change from one phase to the next.

The approved Concept Plan shall be valid for a period of six (6) months (i.e., 180 calendar days) from the date of Concept Plan approval by City Council (see Section VIII.9.3).

Submission and City approval of a Site Plan is required as stated in Section VIII.4. The purpose of final Site Plan approval is to ensure that a development project is in compliance with all applicable City ordinances and guidelines prior to commencement of construction. Approval of the Site Plan, Preliminary Plat, landscape plan, building facade plan, and engineering plans are required prior to site construction.

When the overall development project is to be developed in phases, the Site Plan area shall include only the portion of the overall property that is to be developed/constructed.

Submission of an Application for Site Plan approval shall be preceded by a pre-application conference with the City Staff. The Site Plan shall be prepared by a qualified civil engineer, land planner, architect or surveyor, at a scale no smaller than one inch equals one hundred feet (1" = 100') and on sheets twenty-four inches by thirty-six inches (24" x 36") and eleven inches by seventeen inches (11" x 17"), and it shall clearly show in detail how the site will be constructed (such as paving, buildings, landscaped areas, utilities, etc.). The Site Plan shall include, but not be limited to the following:

The Site Plan shall be considered authorization to proceed with construction of the site provided all other required City approvals are obtained (such as Preliminary Plat, engineering plans, landscape plan, building facade plans, building permits, etc.). The approved Site Plan shall be valid for a period of six (6) months (i.e., 180 calendar days) from the date of approval by the City Council (also see Section VIII.9.3).