This zoning ordinance, including the official zoning map, may be amended only by the city council. Changes or amendments may be initiated by city council, the planning board, board of adjustment, city staff, or by one or more private citizens, provided however that the amendment of the official zoning map to a conditional zoning district may only be initiated by all of the owners of the property subject to the rezoning.

a)

An application for any amendment shall contain a description and/or statement of the present and proposed zoning regulation or district boundary to be applied, the names and addresses of the owner or owners of the lot in question, the use of each adjacent property and such other information as shall be requested by the planning director. Such application shall be filed not less than 30 days prior to the planning board's meeting at which the application is to be considered.

b)

No application for any change in the zoning regulations applicable to the same property or any part thereof shall be filed until the expiration of one year from the date of final determination by city council. Provided, however, the one-year waiting period shall not be applicable to the rezoning of all or any part of property previously considered by city council where the new application requests assignment of a different zoning district classification.

A fee shall be paid to the City of Hendersonville for each application for an amendment to cover the cost of advertising and other administrative expenses. The fee shall be determined by a resolution of city council and may be amended at any time in like manner.

The advisability of amending the text of this zoning ordinance or the official zoning map is a matter committed to the legislative decision of the city council, per G.S. 160D-102(19), and is not controlled by any one factor. In determining whether to adopt or disapprove the proposed amendment to the text of this ordinance or the official zoning map, the city council shall consider the following factors among others:

a)

Comprehensive plan consistency. Consistency with the comprehensive plan and amendments thereto. This must be considered initially and independently by the planning board ahead of consideration by city council per G.S. 160D-604(d). The planning board shall provide a written recommendation to city council that addresses plan consistency and other matters as deemed appropriate by the planning board, but a comment by the planning board that a proposed amendment is inconsistent with the comprehensive plan shall not preclude consideration or approval of the proposed amendment by the city council.

Per G.S. 160D-605(a), a plan amendment and a zoning amendment may be considered concurrently by the city council. The plan consistency statement is not subject to judicial review. If a zoning map amendment qualifies as a "large-scale rezoning" under G.S. 160D-602(b), the city council statement describing plan consistency may address the overall rezoning and describe how the analysis and policies in the relevant adopted plans were considered in the action taken.

b)

Compatibility with surrounding uses. Whether and the extent to which the proposed amendment is compatible with existing and proposed uses surrounding the subject property. Per G.S. 160D-601(d) down-zoning, no amendment to zoning regulations or a zoning map that down-zones property shall be initiated nor is it enforceable without the written consent of all property owners whose property is the subject of the down-zoning amendment, unless the down-zoning amendment is initiated by the local government. For purposes of this section, "down-zoning" means a zoning ordinance that affects an area of land in one of the following ways:

(1)

By decreasing the development density of the land to be less dense than was allowed under its previous usage.

(2)

By reducing the permitted uses of the land that are specified in a zoning ordinance or land development regulation to fewer uses than were allowed under its previous usage.

c)

Changed conditions. Whether and the extent to which there are changed conditions, trends or facts that require an amendment. Also, see G.S. 160D-601(d), down-zoning.

d)

Public interest. Whether and the extent to which the proposed amendment would result in a logical and orderly development pattern that benefits the surrounding neighborhood, is in the public interest and promotes public health, safety and general welfare. Also, see G.S. 160D-601(d), down-zoning.

e)

Public facilities. Whether and the extent to which adequate public facilities and services such as water supply, wastewater treatment, fire and police protection and transportation are available to support the proposed amendment. Also, see G.S. 160D-601(d), down-zoning.

f)

Effect on natural environment. Whether and the extent to which the proposed amendment would result in significantly adverse impacts on the natural environment including but not limited to water, air, noise, storm water management, streams, vegetation, wetlands and wildlife.

No amendment shall be adopted by the city council until after a public notice and hearing. Notice of the date, time and place of the public hearing shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation once a week for two successive weeks, with the first notice to be published not less than ten nor more than 25 days prior to the date of the hearing.

a)

When a zoning map amendment is proposed, the owner of that parcel of land as shown on the county tax listing, and the owners of all parcels of land abutting that parcel of land as shown on the county tax listing, shall be mailed a notice of a public hearing on the proposed amendment by first class mail at the last addresses listed for such owners on the county tax abstracts. This notice must be deposited in the mail not less than ten nor more than 25 days prior to the date of the public hearing. The person of persons mailing such notices shall certify to the city council that fact, and such certificate shall be deemed conclusive in the absence of fraud.

b)

The first class mail notice required under subsection (a) of this section shall not be required if the zoning map amendment directly affects more than 50 properties, owned by a total of at least 50 different property owners, and the city elects to use the expanded published notice provided for in this subsection. In this instance, the city may elect to either make the mailed notice provided for in subsection (a) of this section, or may as an alternative elect to publish notice of the hearing in a newspaper of general circulation once a week for two successive weeks, with the first notice to be published not less than ten nor more than 25 days prior to the date of the hearing, provided that each advertisement shall not be less than one-half of a newspaper page in size.

c)

When a zoning map amendment is proposed, the city shall prominently post a notice of the public hearing on the site proposed for rezoning or on an adjacent public street or highway right-of-way. The notice shall be a minimum of 18 inches by 24 inches in size. When multiple parcels are included within a proposed zoning map amendment, a posting on each individual parcel is not required, but the city shall post sufficient notices to provide reasonable notice to interested persons.

Before taking any action on a proposed amendment to the zoning ordinance, subdivision ordinance, or the official zoning map, the city council shall consider the planning board's written recommendations regarding adoption of the amendment. If no written report is received from the planning board within 30 days of referral of the amendment to that board, the city council may proceed in its consideration of the amendment without the planning board report.

11-5-3.1 Effect. In case of a qualified protest against a zoning map amendment, that amendment shall not become effective except by favorable vote of three-fourths of all members of the city council. The foregoing provisions concerning protests shall not be applicable to any amendment which initially zones property added to the territorial coverage of the ordinance as a result of annexation.

To qualify as a protest against a zoning map amendment, the petition must be signed by the owners of either 20 percent or more of the area included in the proposed change or five percent of a 100-foot wide buffer extending along the entire boundary of each discrete or separate area proposed to be rezoned. A street right-of-way shall not be considered in computing the 100-foot buffer area as long as that street right-of-way is 100 feet wide or less. When less than an entire parcel of land is subject to the proposed zoning map amendment, the 100-foot buffer shall be measured from the property line of that parcel. In the absence of evidence to that contrary, the city may rely on the county tax listing to determine the "owners" of potentially qualifying areas.

11-5-3.2 Petition form and requirements. No protest against any change in, or amendment to the zoning map shall be valid or effective for the purposes of this section unless it be in the form of a written petition actually bearing the signatures of the requisite number of property owners and stating that the signers do protest the proposed change or amendment, and unless it shall have been received by the city clerk in sufficient time to allow the city at least two normal work days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays, before the date established for a public hearing on the proposed change or amendment to determine the sufficiency and accuracy of the petition. In addition to the proper owner signatures, a protest petition shall identify each property owner signing the petition by address and by parcel qualifying the property owner to protest. Identification of qualifying parcel shall be by Henderson County Land Records map and parcel identification number. A person who has signed a protest petition may withdraw their name from the petition at any time prior to the vote on the proposed zoning amendment. Only those protest petitions that meet the qualifying standards set forth in this section at the time of the vote on the zoning amendment shall trigger the supermajority voting requirement.

Amendments, modifications, supplements, repeal or other changes in zoning regulations and restrictions and zone boundaries shall not be applicable or enforceable without the consent of the owner with regard to lots for which building permits have been issued pursuant to G.S. 160D-403 and G.S. 160D-1110 prior to the enactment of the ordinance making the change or changes so long as the permits remain valid and unexpired pursuant to G.S. 160D-403(c) and G.S. 160D-1111, and unrevoked pursuant to G.S. 160D-403(f) and G.S. 160D-1115.

It is the intent of this ordinance that applicants for rezoning to any district other than a conditional zoning district shall be prohibited from discussing the specific manner in which they intend to use or develop the property.