(a)

This article, including the zoning map, may be amended by ordinance adopted by city council, following review and recommendations by the Harrisonburg Planning Commission. Amendments to this article may include changes of the regulations and/or of the zoning districts as established on the zoning map.

(b)

The planning commission will have its public hearings during a regular monthly meeting, if applications are pending. The city council will hold public hearings at such time and places as it may deem necessary.

(Ord. of 4-23-96)

A proposed change of district or text may be initiated by the city council on its own motion, or on recommendation by the planning commission, or by petition of the property owner or owners within the territory proposed to be rezoned. In the latter case, the petition shall be addressed to city council but shall be filed with the city planner in the department of planning and community development. The city planner shall transmit the petition to the planning commission for recommendation. All petitions shall be in writing and shall specify:

(1)

The nature and extent of the change desired, with appropriately detailed "plan of development" showing what kind of development will be established;

a.

Reasons for seeking the change; and

b.

The names and addresses, as far as practical, of the property owners affected by the change.

(2)

The petition requesting the proposed change and required fee shall be filed in the department of planning and community development in sufficient time to be placed on the planning commission agenda. The plan of development for the proposed change and all data pertaining thereto shall be filed in the office of the city planner in sufficient time for conducting staff review prior to consideration by the planning commission. (See article D, Site Plan Review.)

(Ord. of 4-23-96)

Requests to amend the text and regulations of this chapter or to amend the text of the Comprehensive Plan shall be accompanied with a payment of four hundred fifty dollars ($450.00). Requests to amend the zoning map or to amend any map associated with the Comprehensive Plan shall be accompanied with a payment of five hundred fifty dollars ($550.00) plus thirty dollars ($30.00) per acre.

In addition, if the rezoning or comprehensive plan amendment requires a traffic impact analysis (TIA) review by the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT), then all additional fees for those reviews shall be made payable to the Virginia Department of Transportation. If the rezoning or comprehensive plan amendment requires a traffic impact analysis review, only by the city, then one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) shall be made payable to the city. These applications shall not be considered accepted until the TIA has been reviewed.

(Ord. of 4-23-96: Ord. of 5-28-02, § 3; Ord. of 7-22-08(5); Ord. of 9-27-11; Ord. of 6-26-18(3))

(a)

All proposed amendments to this chapter shall be transmitted by the city planner to the planning commission for recommendation and report prior to action thereon by the city council. Before making any recommendation on a proposed amendment, the planning commission shall give notice of a public hearing thereon, as set forth in § 15.1-431 of the Code of Virginia, 1950, as amended. Unless the proposal is withdrawn by letter or other formal notice before the hearing, the hearing shall be held at the time and place announced; provided however, that if the hearing is postponed, new public notice shall be given as set forth above. If the postponement is at the request of the applicant or otherwise the fault of the applicant, then the additional public notice shall be at the applicant's expense. Following each hearing, the planning commission shall adopt its recommendation, and shall present the proposed amendment to the city council, together with its recommendations and any appropriated explanatory materials. The failure of the planning commission to report to the city council within ninety (90) days after the close of the public hearing on the proposed amendment shall be deemed approval.

(b)

Before approving and adopting any amendment to this chapter, the city council shall hold at least one public hearing thereon, after which the city council may make appropriate changes or corrections in the proposed amendments; provided, that no additional land may be zoned to a different classification than was contained in the public notice required by this section nor shall any land be zoned to a more intensive use classification than was contained in the public notice without an additional public hearing as required by this section. The hearing shall be held at the time and place announced in the public notice. An affirmative vote of at least a majority of the members of city council shall be required to amend any provision of this chapter.

(c)

The planning commission shall not recommend, nor shall the city council adopt, any amendment to this chapter until notice of intention to do so has been published once a week for two (2) successive weeks in a newspaper published or having general circulation in the city. Such notice shall specify the time, date and place of the hearing at which persons affected may appear and present their views. The second notice shall be published not less than six (6) days before the hearing.

(d)

When a proposed amendment of this chapter involves a change in the zoning classification of twenty-five (25) or less parcels of land, then, in addition to the advertising as required in the preceding paragraph, written notice shall be given at least five (5) days before the hearing to the owner or agent of each parcel involved, and to the owners of all abutting property and property immediately across the street or road from the property affected. Notice sent by registered or certified mail to the last known address of such owner, as shown on the current real estate tax assessment books, shall be deemed adequate compliance with this requirement.

(e)

Posting of property. Notwithstanding any advertising requirements imposed by the Code of Virginia, as amended, any property proposed for review due to a change of district or any public hearing as elsewhere specified in this article shall be posted for public notice as specified below. At least fourteen (14) days prior to the planning commission's public hearing on the pending application, the city shall erect on the subject property signs indicating a public hearing and a contact phone number for persons wanting more information regarding the public hearing/meeting. Such signs may not be removed until the city council has acted upon the application, and shall be removed no later than five (5) days thereafter. The city shall determine the number of signs required, placement, and type of posting; however, there shall be at least one sign posted along each public right-of-way abutting the property. Neither the commission's recommendation nor the city council's decision on a land use action shall be invalid solely due to the failure to the removal of a posted sign or failure to post a sign.

(Ord. of 4-23-96; Ord. of 5-28-02, § 4; Ord. of 1-24-23(1))

Editor's note— Ord. of April 27, 2010(1), repealed § 10-3-120, which pertained to plan of development and derived from Ord. of 4-23-96.

No request for amendment to this chapter, including the zoning map, or substantially the same request shall be reconsidered within one year of the date acted upon by the city council.

(Ord. of 4-23-96)

Applications for a change in zoning may be withdrawn from consideration before the first notice of a public hearing thereon has been published and fees refunded if no publication cost is incurred. Application for a change in zoning which are withdrawn after the end of the public hearing shall be considered as denied for the purpose of one-year limitation or reconsideration as provided in section 10-3-121.

(Ord. of 4-23-96; Ord. of 4-27-10(2))

(a)

Purpose. Where competing and incompatible uses conflict, traditional zoning methods and procedures are sometimes inadequate. In such cases, more flexible and adaptable zoning methods are needed to permit differing land uses and at the same time to recognize effects of change. City council may accept proffers pursuant to Virginia Code §§ 15.2-2303 and 15.2-2303.4 whereby a zoning reclassification may be allowed subject to certain conditions proffered by the zoning applicant for the protection of the community even though said conditions may not be generally applicable to land similarly zoned. While the conditions may vary from property to property by reason of the nature of the use and different circumstances at a particular location, it is not the intention of this section to authorize conditions limited to a particular individual or group, owner or operator, and the provisions of this section shall not be used for purpose of discrimination in housing.

(b)

Proffers addressing impacts from new residential development uses. For zoning map amendments that propose new residential development or new residential uses as defined in and subject to Virginia Code § 15.2-2303.4, any proposed proffers addressing the impacts resulting from the new residential development or new residential uses must comply with Virginia Code § 15.2-2303.4.

(c)

Proffer in writing. As part of a petition for rezoning or amendment of the zoning district map, the owner or owners of the property involved may, prior to a public hearing before the city council, voluntarily proffer in writing such reasonable conditions, in addition to the regulations provided for the zoning district or districts as herein set forth, as they deem appropriate for the particular case; provided, that:

(1)

The rezoning itself must give rise for the need for the conditions;

(2)

Such conditions shall have a reasonable relation to the rezoning;

(3)

All such conditions shall be in conformity with the comprehensive plan.

For the purpose of this chapter, "proffered conditions" shall be interpreted to include written statements, development plans, profiles, elevation and/or other demonstrative materials. Materials of whatever nature and intended as conditions shall be annotated with the following statement signed by the owner or owners of the subject property:

"I (we) hereby proffer that the development of the subject property on this application shall be in strict accordance with the conditions set forth in this submission."

Once proffered and accepted as part of an amendment to the zoning ordinance such conditions shall continue in full force and effect until a subsequent amendment changes the zoning in the property covered by such conditions; provided, however, that such conditions shall continue if the subsequent amendment is part of a comprehensive implementation of a new or substantially revised zoning ordinance.

(d)

Review and revision of proffered conditions. Additional conditions or modified conditions may be proffered by the applicant during or subsequent to the public hearing before the planning commission; provided, however, that after proffered conditions are signed and made available for public review and the public hearing before the city council has been advertised (whether or not jointly held with the planning commission) no change or modification to any condition shall be approved without a second advertised public hearing thereon.

After the city council public hearing has been advertised or commenced, should additional or modified conditions be proffered by the applicant, which conditions were discussed at the public hearing before the planning commission, then a second public hearing need be held only before the city council before the application and the modified conditions can be approved.

Should additional conditions be proffered by the applicant at the time of the public hearing before the city council, which conditions were not addressed at the public hearing before the planning commission, or if the proffered conditions are modified beyond the scope of any conditions considered at the public hearing before the planning commission, the application shall be the subject of a second public hearing before both the planning commission and the city council, which hearing may be either separately or jointly held.

(e)

Annotation of zoning map. The zoning map shall show by an appropriate symbol on the map the existence of conditions attaching to the zoning on the map. The administrator shall keep in his office and make available for public inspection a conditional zoning index. The index shall provide ready access to the ordinance creating conditions in addition to the regulations provided for in a particular zoning district. Such conditions shall become a part of the zoning regulations applicable to the property in question, regardless of changes in ownership or operation, unless subsequently changed by an amendment to the zoning district map, and such conditions shall be in addition to the specific regulations set forth in this chapter for the zoning district in question.

(f)

Enforcement of conditions. The administrator shall be vested with all necessary authority on behalf of the city council to administer and enforce conditions attached to such rezoning or amendment to the zoning map, including:

(1)

The ordering in writing of the remedy of any noncompliance with such conditions;

(2)

The bringing of legal action to ensure compliance with such conditions, including injunction, abatement or other appropriate action or proceeding; and

(3)

Requiring a guarantee, satisfactory to the city council, in an amount sufficient for and conditioned upon the construction of any physical improvements required by the conditions or a contract for the construction of such improvements and the contractor's guarantee, in like amount and so conditioned, which guarantee shall be reduced or released by the city council, or agent thereto, upon the submission of satisfactory evidence that construction of such improvements has been completed in whole or in part.

Provided, further, that failure to meet all conditions shall constitute cause to deny the issuance of any of the required use, occupancy or building permits, as may be appropriate.

(g)

Conformity of development plans. Upon approval, any site plan, subdivision plat or development plan thereafter submitted for the development of the property in question shall be in substantial conformity with all proffered statements, plans, profiles, elevations or other demonstrative materials, and no development shall be approved by any city official in the absence of said substantial conformity. For the purpose of this section, "substantial conformity" shall mean that conformity which leaves a reasonable margin for adjustment to final engineering data but conforms with the general nature of the plans, profiles, elevations and other demonstrative materials presented by the applicant.

(h)

Change of approved conditions. Once conditions have been approved, and there is cause for an amendment which would be in substantial conformity with the proffered conditions, then an application shall be filed for an amendment. If the amendment concerns an approved site plan, such application shall include the submission requirements for a site plan set forth in article D. Such amendment shall be the subject of public hearings in accordance with the requirements for a new application.

(i)

Review of the administrator's decision. Any zoning applicant or any other person who is aggrieved by the decision of the administrator pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (f) above may petition the city council for the review of the decision of the administrator. All such petitions for review shall be filed with the zoning administrator and with the clerk of the city council within thirty (30) days from the date of the decision for which review is sought, and such petitions shall specify the grounds upon which the petitioner is aggrieved.

(Ord. of 4-23-96; Ord. of 7-24-01; Ord. of 4-27-10(3); Ord. of 1-28-25(1))