The purpose of this Article is to establish the procedures for:

Amendments to zoning district boundaries or to the provisions and regulations contained in this Chapter, authorization of a Special Land Use Permit, Planned District or an Overlay District, may be initiated in the following manner.

Upon receipt of recommendations of the City Manager and the City Planner, the City Council shall periodically establish a schedule of fees, charges and expenses, escrows, and a collection procedure for all matters pertaining to this Chapter. The schedule of fees shall be filed with the City Clerk in the offices of the City Planner. Until all applicable fees, charges and expenses have been paid in full, no action shall be taken on any matter or on any appeal provided by this Chapter.

Before any action shall be taken as provided in this Article, a fee, as set forth in the fee schedule kept in the offices of the City Planner, shall be paid to the City for each application for rezoning, Special Land Use Permit, Special Land Use Permit Expansion, Planned District and Overlay District to cover the costs of advertising and other administrative expenses involved, including the cost of certified mailings.

Petitions filed by the second (2nd) to last Wednesday of each month shall be forwarded to the Council for referral to the City Plan Commission for consideration at their meeting the following month.

Any petition for a rezoning, Special Land Use Permit, Special Land Use Permit Expansion, Planned District or Overlay District not finalized within six (6) months of the original filing date shall become null and void and the petitioner shall be required to resubmit his/her petition in order to effect any changes sought.

Should the petitioner withdraw the petition for a rezoning, Special Land Use Permit, Special Land Use Permit Expansion, Planned District or Overlay District within five (5) working days of the initial filing, any fees deposited with the City shall be refunded. Under no condition shall the fee or any part thereof be refunded for failure of the petition for rezoning, Special Land Use Permit, Special Land Use Permit Expansion, Planned District or Overlay District to be adopted by the Council.

When a petition involves a change in the zoning district classification of a property(s) and Zoning Map or a Special Land Use Permit, Special Land Use Permit Expansion, Planned District or Overlay District, the following information shall be submitted to the Director of Public Works on application forms provided by the City.

Any request for a proposed rezoning amendment, Special Land Use Permit, Special Land Use Permit Expansion, Planned District, Overlay District, supplement, change, modification or repeal shall first be submitted by the City staff to the City Council for referral to the City Plan Commission. The City Plan Commission shall use the following as guidelines for its recommendations.

The City Plan Commission shall recommend approval, conditional approval or denial of the same and a report of its action shall be filed by the City Plan Commission with the City Council. During its review process the City Plan Commission may consider and require a letter of recommendation by the Director of Public Works. If the City Plan Commission makes no recommendation within sixty (60) days of the receipt of the petition, it shall be considered to have made a recommendation approving the proposed rezoning, Special Land Use Permit, Special Land Use Permit Expansion, Planned District, Overlay District, amendment, supplement, modification, change or repeal. Upon the filing of the recommendations by the City Plan Commission with respect to any proposed rezoning, Special Land Use Permit, Planned District, Overlay District, amendment, supplement, modification, change or repeal, the Council shall proceed to hold a public hearing in relation thereto.

In case of an adverse report by the City Plan Commission or if a protest against such proposed amendment, Special Land Use Permit, Special Land Use Permit Expansion, Planned District, Overlay District, supplement, change, modification or repeal shall be presented in writing to the City Clerk, duly signed and individually notarized by the owners of thirty percent (30%) or more, either of the area of the land (exclusive of streets, places and alleys) included within such proposed amendment, Special Land Use Permit, Special Land Use Permit Expansion, Planned District, Overlay District, supplement, change, modification or repeal or within an area determined by lines drawn parallel to and one hundred eighty-five (185) feet distant from the boundaries of the district proposed to be changed, such amendment, Special Land Use Permit, Special Land Use Permit Expansion, Planned District, Overlay District, supplement, change, modification or repeal shall not become effective except by the favorable vote of two-thirds (2/3) of all the members of the City Council. Said protest petition shall be filed with the City Clerk within seven (7) days from the advertised date of the public hearing concerning such proposed Special Land Use Permit, Special Land Use Permit Expansion, rezoning, amendment, supplement, modification, change or appeal.

The recommendations of the City Plan Commission shall not be binding on the City Council which may approve or disapprove the City Plan Commission's findings; provided however, that the affirmative vote of six (6) members of the City Council shall be required to adopt any Special Land Use Permit, Special Land Use Permit Expansion, rezoning, resubdivision, amendment, supplement, modification, change or appeal contrary to the recommendation of the Commission.

Upon the receipt of the recommendations and report by the City Plan Commission with respect to any proposed zoning amendment, Special Land Use Permit, Special Land Use Permit Expansion, Planned District, Overlay District, supplement, change, modification or repeal, the City Council shall proceed to hold a public hearing in relation thereto within sixty (60) days upon the filing of the City Plan Commission report and recommendations.

The City Council shall cause notice of the time, place and purpose of such public hearing to be published in two (2) consecutive issues of a newspaper of general circulation in the City, the first (1st) notice of which shall be published at least fifteen (15) days prior to the date of the hearing and shall, in addition, cause similar notices to be prominently posted at least fifteen (15) days prior to the hearing on the subject property and on City bulletin boards. The notice shall contain the following information.

Any person or persons, firm, association or corporation who shall remove, mar, scratch, obliterate or in any manner deface, hide from view or tamper with any such sign or signs, notice or notices shall be guilty of a misdemeanor punishable as provided in Section 100.130.