The Zoning Officer shall be the designated authority charged with the administration and enforcement of this Ordinance. The City Administrator or a designee of the City Administrator shall serve in this capacity. The Zoning Officer may also serve as the staff advisor to the City Council, Planning and Zoning Commission, Board of Adjustment, city staff, and citizens relating to the administration, interpretation, implementation, and enforcement of the provisions of this Ordinance.

The Zoning Officer shall have the following duties:

A Certificate of Occupancy shall be required for any of the following:

No such use, or change of use, shall be permitted unless a Certificate of Occupancy, approved by the Zoning Officer, has been issued.

Written application for a Certificate of Occupancy for a new building or for an existing building which is to be altered, shall be made at the same time as the application for the Building Permit for such building. Said Certificate shall be issued within ten (10) days after a written request for the same has been made to the Zoning Officer or his agent, and only after the erection or alteration of such building or part thereof has been completed in conformity with the provisions of this Ordinance. The Zoning Officer shall issue the Certificate of Occupancy not more than ten (10) days after the erection or alteration has been approved by the City.

Written application for a Certificate of Occupancy for the use of vacant land, or for a change in the use of land or a building, or for a change in a nonconforming use to a conforming use, as herein provided, shall be submitted to the Zoning Officer for review on forms available in the Zoning Officer's office. If the proposed use is in conformity with the provisions of this Ordinance and has been approved by the Zoning Officer, the Certificate of Occupancy shall be issued within ten (10) days after the application has been made.

Every Certificate of Occupancy shall state that the building or the proposed use of a building or land complies with all provisions of Hempstead's codes and ordinances. A record of all Certificates of Occupancy shall be kept on file in the office of the Zoning Officer or a designee and copies shall be furnished upon request to any person having proprietary or tenancy interest in the building or land affected.

Pending the issuance of a regular certificate, a temporary Certificate of Occupancy may be issued by the Zoning Officer for a period not exceeding six (6) months, during the completion of alterations or during partial occupancy of a building pending its completion. Such temporary certificates shall not be construed as in any way altering the respective rights, duties, or obligations of the owners or of the City relating to the use or occupancy of the premises or any other matter covered by this Ordinance.

The purpose of an amendment procedure is to provide for changes in the test [text] of the Zoning Ordinance (text amendment) and to change the boundaries of zoning districts (rezoning) shown on the Official Zoning Map. Since these regulations represent the City's effort to provide for the orderly development of the community, no change shall be made in these regulations except:

No amendment shall be made to this Ordinance which is not in compliance with the City's long-range Comprehensive Planning Activities.

Any person, or corporation, or an authorized agent interested in any property, may initiate proceedings to allow the consideration of a change in the zoning classification of such property or to the regulations pertaining to said property. In the event that ownership stated on the application and that shown on City records are different, the applicant shall submit proof of ownership or legal standing to submit the application. The Planning and Zoning Commission or City Council may, on its own motion, initiate proceedings to consider a change to the zoning on any property or to the regulations pertaining to property, when it finds that the public interest would be served by consideration of such a request.

Each application for a text amendment or rezoning shall be made in writing on a form provided by the Hempstead City Administrator and shall be filed with the City Administrator. Each application shall be accompanied by payment of the appropriate fee. An application for a rezoning shall also include plans and drawings in a form acceptable to the City Administrator and containing sufficient information necessary to determine the impact on properties affected by the rezoning request.

Upon receipt of a complete application for a change in zoning classification, the City Administrator shall set the dates for public hearings before the Planning and Zoning Commission and the City Council. Not less than ten (10) days before a public hearing before the Planning and Zoning Commission, written notice of the hearing shall be sent to all owners of real property, as indicated on the most recently approved municipal tax roll, located within two hundred feet (200’) of the property for which the change in classification is proposed. The notice may be served by depositing same into the United States Mail, within the City of Hempstead, properly addressed, and with postage prepaid. Not less than fifteen (I 5) days prior to the public hearings, notice of the hearings shall be published in the official newspaper of the City or any newspaper of general circulation within the City of Hempstead.

Upon receipt of a complete application for a change in a zoning regulation, or upon initiation by City Council or the Planning and Zoning Commission of consideration of a change in regulation, the City Administrator shall set the date(s) for the public hearing(s) before the Planning and Zoning Commission and City Council. Not less than fifteen (15) days before each public hearing, notice of the hearing(s) shall be published in the official newspaper of the City or any newspaper of general circulation within the City of Hempstead without the necessity for notifying property owners by mail.

Prior to the issuance of the notice of a public hearing before the Planning and Zoning Commission and City Council, the applicant may, by written notice to the City Administrator, withdraw the application or request rescheduling of the public hearing to a later regular meeting date. Once public notice is given, the applicant may withdraw the application or request for rescheduling only with the approval of the City Council. The City Council may reject a request to withdraw an application or request to reschedule and conduct the public hearing as stated in the notification and take action as appropriate within the context of the public notice provided.

After the public hearing, the Planning and Zoning Commission shall submit a report to the City Council with a recommendation that the application be approved, approved with amendments and conditions, tabled, or denied. The vote of the Planning and Zoning Commission at the conclusion of a public hearing and the minutes pertaining thereto, shall constitute the Commission's final report to the City Council.

In the event a protest to an application is filed by the close of the public hearing(s) with the City Secretary, duly signed and acknowledged, by the owners of either:

If finally approved by the required number of votes of the City Council, the Mayor shall execute the Ordinance.

Any pending application shall automatically expire if no action of any kind has been taken on it by the City Council for a period of one year. If no Ordinance granting a zoning change in accordance with this Article has been adopted within six (6) months of the date on which the City Council voted approval of an application, such application shall be automatically placed on the City Council agenda for further consideration.

The purpose of the Specific Use Permit process is to identify those land uses which may be appropriate within a zoning district but, due to either their location, function, or operation, could have a potentially harmful impact on adjacent properties or the surrounding area; and to provide for a procedure whereby such uses may be permitted by further restricting or conditioning them so as to mitigate or eliminate such adverse impacts.

The Planning and Zoning Commission shall make a report to the City Council which shall recommend approval or denial of a Specific Use Permit for a use in any district in which such use is authorized under this Ordinance, following proper application, and after notice to affected landowners and public hearing, in accordance with the procedures and criteria herein established.

No Certificate of Occupancy or Building Permit for a purpose authorized only as a specific use within a zoning district shall be issued unless the applicant obtains a Specific Use Permit from the City Council. The application for a Specific Use Permit shall be submitted on a form provided by the Zoning Officer and accompanied by a site plan in a form acceptable to the City Administrator.

The Planning and Zoning Commission may require additional information or plans as necessary and appropriate for review.

The procedures associated with the review and approval or denial of a Specific Use Permit shall be the same as those associated with a zoning map amendment, as described in Section 2.03, above.

The Planning and Zoning Commission shall recommend denial of a specific use if it finds that the proposed use:

Site plans may be required by the Planning and Zoning Commission as a part of the Specific Use Permit review process. Specific use site plans considered by the Planning and Zoning Commission shall be approved only after the Planning and Zoning Commission finds that the proposed development, if completed as proposed, will comply with all applicable provisions of this Ordinance and all conditions deemed necessary.

The Planning and Zoning Commission may recommend, and the City Council may establish such conditions of approval as are necessary to assure that the proposed land use meets the criteria set forth in this Ordinance which may include without limitation requirements for special yards, lot sizes, open spaces, buffers, fences, walls or screening; requirements for installation and maintenance of landscaping or erosion control measures; requirements for street improvements, regulation of vehicular ingress and egress, and traffic circulation; regulation of signs, regulation of hours and other characteristics or operation; establishment of development schedules or time limits for performance or completion; and such other reasonable conditions as the City Council may deem necessary to insure compatibility with surrounding uses and to preserve the public health, safety, and welfare.

The applicant, owner or grantee of the Specific Use Permit shall be bound by and comply with the written requirements of the Specific Use Permit, and the attached site plan drawings or other documents as approved by the City Council. The Zoning Officer shall maintain a record of all Specific Use Permits granted by the City.

A Specific Use Permit shall remain valid until such time as one of the following actions is taken:

No building, premise, or land used under a Specific Use Permit may be substantially changed unless a new Specific Use Permit is granted for the change. In the event a change is determined by both the City Administrator and the Zoning Officer to be non-substantial, the City Administrator may approve the change. The City Administrator shall maintain a record of all such determinations and shall appraise [apprise] the Planning and Zoning Commission of such determinations.

It is recognized that new types of land use will develop and that forms of land use not presently anticipated may seek to locate in the City of Hempstead. New or unlisted forms of land use shall not include those land uses that can reasonably be interpreted by the Zoning Officer or his designee as being similar to permitted on [or] specific uses already listed in the district regulations for the district in which the new use is to be located, or in the Land Use Regulation Matrix found at the end of Article 3, of this Ordinance. In order to provide for such changes and contingencies where new or unlisted land uses are not specified as a permitted use or a specific use in any zoning district, a determination as to the appropriate classification of any new or unlisted form of land use shall be made in accordance with the terms of this section of the Ordinance.

The City Administrator shall refer questions concerning any new or unlisted use to the Board of Adjustment requesting an interpretation as to the zoning district into which such use should be placed. The referral shall be accompanied by a statement of facts listing the nature of the use and whether it involved dwellings, sales, processing, type of product, storage, anticipated employment, transportation system requirements, the general requirements for public utilities such as water and sanitary sewer, and other information deemed necessary to assist the Board of Adjustment in its deliberations.

The Board of Adjustment shall hold a public hearing for the purpose of considering the nature and characteristics of the proposed use and its compatibility with the uses permitted in the various districts, and shall determine the zoning district or districts within which such use is most similar and should be permitted.

Written records of the rulings of the Board of Adjustment pertaining to land use classification shall be maintained by the City Administrator. The City Administrator shall regularly update the provisions of the Zoning Ordinance text by incorporating said rulings into the written text.

Within the districts established by this Ordinance or amendments thereto, there exist lots, structures, uses of land and structures, and characteristics of use which were lawful before this Ordinance was enacted, amended or otherwise made applicable to such lots, structures or uses, but which do not conform to the regulations of the district in which they are located. It is the intent of this section of the Ordinance to permit such nonconformance to continue, under regulations herein contained, until the same are removed, but not to encourage their survival.

Nonconforming uses are hereby declared to be incompatible with the permitted uses in the districts involved.

It is further the intent of this Ordinance that nonconforming uses shall not be enlarged upon, expanded, or extended, nor be used as a basis for adding other structures or uses prohibited elsewhere in the same district. Except as herein provided, no nonconforming use of land or buildings nor any nonconforming structure shall be enlarged, changed, altered, or repaired except in conformity with the regulations contained in this Article.

Any use or structure which does not conform with the regulations contained in the zoning district in which it is located is deemed to be a legal nonconforming use when:

Nonconforming lots which do not meet the minimum area, width, or depth requirements for the district in which they are located may be used for any lawful purpose permitted within the zoning district in which they are located. However, the use of such a lot shall be subject to a determination by the Zoning Officer that a good faith effort has been made to follow all rules and regulations associated with this Ordinance.

It shall be the responsibility of the owner, operator, or occupant to provide proof that a nonconforming structure or use of land or building existed prior to the enactment of this Ordinance.

Nothing in this Article shall prevent the restoration of a building destroyed to the extent of not more than fifty percent (50%) of its reasonable value by fire, explosion, or other casualty or act of God, or a public enemy, nor the continued occupancy or use of such a building or part which existed at the time of such destruction.

No nonconforming use or structure may be substituted for any other nonconforming use or structure. Only uses permitted by right and approved specific uses may be substituted for nonconforming uses or structures.

No nonconforming use or structure may be extended or enlarged, and no nonconforming use of land may be enlarged or increased, to occupy a greater area of land than was occupied at the time the site achieved nonconforming status.

The Zoning Officer shall be responsible for the initial preparation of a survey of zoning nonconformities in Hempstead, and shall be responsible for the maintenance of such survey. A one-time notice shall be mailed to all owners of properties on the initial survey, and shall therefore [thereafter] be maintained at City Hall for public inspection.

The right to use a parcel of land or a structure in a nonconforming manner shall terminate under any of the following circumstances:

A small, undersized, or oddly shaped lot which was platted or otherwise legally recorded prior to the adoption of this Ordinance may be used for any lawful purpose permitted within the zoning district in which it is located. However, the design, layout, and use of such a lot shall be subject to a determination by the Zoning Officer that a good faith effort has been made to follow the rules and regulations associated with this Ordinance as closely as possible.

It shall be the responsibility of the City Council to prepare a land use and zoning plan for any area to be annexed by the City of Hempstead. After annexation, said area shall come before the City Council and the Planning and Zoning Commission to be zoned in accordance with the aforementioned plan and the land use plan for the annexed area and shall become an integral component of the City's comprehensive city planning activities.

The boundaries of the zoning districts established within the City of Hempstead shall be drawn on an Official Zoning Map, adopted as part of this Ordinance, and incorporated as a part of this Ordinance by this reference thereto.

One original of the Official Zoning Map shall be filed in the office of the City Secretary and labeled as the Official Zoning Map of the City of Hempstead, Texas. This copy shall be the Official Zoning Map and shall bear the signature of the Mayor and attestation of the City Secretary. This map shall not be changed in any manner except by Ordinance. In case of any questions regarding boundary interpretation or land use classification, this map, together with any amending Ordinances, shall be controlling.

A copy of the original Official Zoning Map shall be placed in the office of the City Administrator. Said copy shall be used for reference and shall be maintained up-to-date by posting thereon all subsequent amendments. Reproductions of the Official Zoning Map may be made for informational purposes.

The Zoning Officer shall be the individual primarily responsible for the interpretation of the text of this Ordinance and the Official Zoning Map. If the Zoning Officer determines that the meaning of a word or a provision is unclear, or that the application of same to a particular circumstance is uncertain, then the Zoning Officer shall provide a written statement of interpretation, specifying the reasons supporting the interpretation. Unless the interpretation is revised by the Board of Adjustment, City Administrator, or modified by amendment to this Ordinance, the interpretation of the Zoning Officer shall be presumed to be correct.

An interpretation by the Zoning Officer may be appealed to the Board of Adjustment in accordance with the provisions set forth in this Ordinance. The Zoning Officer may request an interpretive ruling from the Board of Adjustment by placing the request on the appropriate agenda of the Board.

The zoning district boundary lines shown on the Zoning District Map usually follow streets, alleys, property lines, or extensions thereof. Where uncertainty exists as to the boundaries of districts as shown on the Official Zoning Map, the following rules shall apply:

It shall be the responsibility of the City Administrator to annually update this Ordinance. All amendments to the text or the map of this Ordinance shall be incorporated in said annual recodification. Each new entry or modification to this Ordinance shall include an annotation as to the date at which such change occurred.

This Ordinance shall be maintained and updated in a three-ring binder format.

Fees for zoning amendments, specific use permits, and any other permits or review procedures associated with this Ordinance shall be established by the City Council and shall be made known to citizens by means of a fee schedule which shall be available from the City Administrator.

The City Council, upon a vote of the majority of members present, may waive the fee for an amendment, specific use permit, or any other permit or review procedure associated with this Ordinance. However, fees may be waived only in the case of extreme hardship on the applicant or in cases where a submission of a zoning action is required by the Planning and Zoning Commission or the Board of Adjustment.

All fees attributable to non-staff consultants such as a City Attorney, City Engineer, Contract Inspector, and other similar contract personnel shall be payable by the applicant. Failure to pay such fees shall suspend or nullify the review or approval of an application until such fees are paid in full.