A.

Persons authorized to submit a zoning amendment petition. The following persons or classes of persons are hereby authorized to submit a zoning amendment petition:

(1)

The current record owner of any parcel of land may initiate any amendment to the zoning map regarding said parcel.

(2)

The planning and zoning commission or the governing body may initiate any amendment to the zoning map or zoning text, by motion after considering its merits at a public meeting.

(3)

The county administrator, the administrative official or their respective designee may initiate any amendment to the zoning text in order to update or revise this zoning ordinance where necessary.

(4)

A group of property owners may collectively petition to rezone a defined area by filing a written request for rezoning with the planning department, provided that the request is collectively signed by greater than fifty percent (50%) of all parcel owners of record within said area and that said owners collectively own more than fifty percent (50%) of the total area sought to be rezoned. The governing body shall consider the merits of the request at a noticed public meeting and decide, in their legislative discretion, whether the proposed request should be processed by the planning department as a zoning amendment or whether no further action should be taken. If the governing body approves the request at this stage, then the requestors shall be required to file a petition which meets all of the requirements of this section.

B.

Every petition addressed to the governing body, requesting an amendment or change in the regulations, restrictions, and boundaries herein established shall contain the following information and shall be presented to the county administrator or designee in the following form:

(1)

The petition shall be legible and shall be sworn to by the applicant or applicants, and shall include the address and phone number of the applicant(s);

(2)

It shall give an accurate legal description of the land involved, including street address, if any, and the names of all owners, mortgage holders, lienors and lessees;

(3)

It shall designate a public contact person on the application. The public contact person would be required to answer questions and provide information regarding the petition to the public;

(4)

It shall state the reason why such regulations, restrictions or boundaries should be amended, supplemented, changed or repealed;

(5)

It shall give the existing zoning district classification on the land and the zoning district classification to which it is desired a change be made;

(6)

It shall have attached a drawing or blueprint of the surrounding portion of the subdivision in which the land is located, or if unplatted land, the streets, highways, roads, alleys and public places surrounding the land;

(7)

It shall include a statement which indicates whether or not the applicant requests a formal hearing process using procedures for rules of evidence, expert witnesses and/or cross examination of witnesses. If the applicant desires additional time to make their presentation beyond established time frames as described in the application instruction packet, the applicant must indicate on the application form;

(8)

The application for a zoning amendment petition shall be in the form prescribed by the planning department.

(9)

Depending upon the size, location or complexity of the requested amendment, planning department staff may request additional information. It is the ultimate responsibility of the property owner or designated agent to ensure that the application is complete and sufficient and all requested information and materials have been provided to county staff.

(10)

The applicant, upon being first advised by the planning department that the application is incomplete or insufficient, shall have a total of one hundred and eighty (180) days to correct all completeness and sufficiency deficiencies. If the applicant fails or refuses to correct such deficiencies within this period, the said application shall be deemed abandoned and void. Any applicant whose application is declared abandoned or void under this provision may re-file such application at a subsequent date, without prejudice, upon payment of all required fees and submitting a complete and sufficient application.

(11)

Upon an applicant being advised by the planning department that the application is complete and sufficient, a public hearing shall be promptly scheduled at the next available planning and zoning commission meeting allowing sufficient time for public notice and advertising. At the request of the commission, the governing body or the applicant, any scheduled public hearing may be continued until a date certain (which date shall be set by the commission or the governing body, respectively, in their sole discretion). Notwithstanding the foregoing, the commission shall render a decision on the merits of the application within one hundred and eighty (180) days of the applicant being advised that the application is complete and sufficient. It shall be the responsibility of the applicant to ensure that its application is scheduled and acted upon in a timely fashion. Any application not acted on by the commission within said one hundred and eighty (180) day period shall be deemed abandoned and void, and such application shall be closed out by the planning department with no refunds of any fees paid by the applicant. Any applicant whose application is declared abandoned or void under this provision may re-file such application at a subsequent date, without prejudice, upon payment of all required fees and submitting a complete and sufficient application.

C.

The administrative official in conjunction with the planning director shall develop procedures for the processing of a petition for a zoning amendment.

D.

Public inquiry workshop.

(1)

Upon determination of need by the County staff based upon the number of public inquiries or the size and complexity of the proposed project, the applicant shall be required to conduct a public inquiry workshop prior to the scheduling of a public hearing on the application at a location convenient to the site in question and appropriate for public assembly in Hernando County as follows.

a.

The applicant shall provide sign notice by posting the property a minimum of ten (10) days prior to the scheduled workshop with a Public Inquiry Workshop notice sign as supplied by the planning department. The sign notice hereunder shall be in addition to all other notice provisions under this article.

b.

The applicant shall provide mail notice a minimum of ten (10) days prior to the scheduled Public Inquiry Workshop giving the time, place and purpose of the meeting to each property owner within one thousand (1,000) feet of the parcel covered by the application based on the mail list generated by the Property Appraiser's Office. The applicant shall provide the planning department a copy of the mail list and a notarized affidavit indicating that said notice was mailed. The mail notice hereunder shall be in addition to all other mail notice provisions under this article.

c.

The applicant shall provide a Citizen Sign-in sheet and executive summary explaining what information was provided to the public at the meeting to the planning department accompanied by a notarized affidavit indicating that the list is an official record of attendance at the meeting. The Citizen Sign-In sheet and executive summary will become a part of the official application file.

(2)

The applicant shall be responsible for all costs incurred in the notice procedure for the public inquiry workshop and the public hearing.

(Ord. No. 76-2, § 22, 2-17-76; Ord. No. 96-19, § 21, 9-10-96; Ord. No. 2001-06, § 13, 5-8-01; Ord. No. 2002-02, § 9, 2-12-02; Ord. No. 2003-02, §§ 15, 16, 2-11-03; Ord. No. 2008-05, § XX, 2-26-08; Ord. No. 2016-18, § V, 11-8-16)

The commission or the governing body, as a condition to the reviewing of any proposed zoning change, may require the submission of a site plan for the purpose of converting a proposed zoning amendment to a planned development district. Such approval shall be in accordance with the terms and conditions of Article VIII for Planned Development Projects.

The governing body may approve a conventional zoning amendment petition as a planned development project (PDP) rather than a conventional zoning district if the governing body finds that the county would be better served with a planned development project and the applicant has provided a master plan that meets the requirements of the planned development district acceptable to the governing body to support the rezoning for a planned development project, and the planned development project is more restrictive than the district advertised for consideration. If a zoning amendment is approved as a planned development project by the governing body, then the applicant shall be instructed to prepare a revised plan, if applicable, indicating all approved special conditions, if any, and showing all of the appropriate and applicable data and information within thirty (30) days of approval or the rezoning shall become null and void.

(Ord. No. 98-24, § 7, 8-25-98; Ord. No. 2002-02, § 9, 2-12-02; Ord. No. 2008-05, § XX, 2-26-08)

The public hearing before the commission shall be pursuant to and consistent with notice and hearing requirements in this zoning ordinance. The recommendation of the commission shall be reported to the governing body by the planning department.

(Ord. No. 2002-02, § 9, 2-12-02; Ord. No. 2008-05, § XX, 2-26-08)

The governing body shall hold at least one public hearing after due public notice if any change is to be considered and shall then act on the proposed change, provided that nothing herein shall alter any more stringent notice and hearing requirements provided by statute.

(Ord. No. 2002-02, § 9, 2-12-02; Ord. No. 2008-05, § XX, 2-26-08)

The commission may refuse to review any proposed amendment which has been rejected by the governing body within the past twelve month period and an amendment request for the same zoning district or textual change will not be scheduled within the twelve month time period without prior approval by the commission.

In order to obtain the approval of the commission, an applicant must make a written request, with justification, to the commission for relief from this requirement. The commission shall make a decision at a public meeting as to whether it wishes to hear the request within the twelve-month period.

The action of the commission shall be reported to the governing body. Within two weeks of the public meeting where the commission makes a decision regarding scheduling of any proposed amendment within the twelve month period, the governing body may reverse the commission's decision by majority vote.

This provision shall not apply where a property owner submits a new application which is materially different than the rejected application.

(Ord. No. 2002-02, § 9, 2-12-02; Ord. No. 2005-01, § 8, 2-8-05; Ord. No. 2008-05, § XX, 2-26-08)

The administrative official shall maintain the zoning map current and up to date in digital format which shall be available to the public.

(Ord. No. 2002-02, § 9, 2-12-02; Ord. No. 2008-05, § XX, 2-26-08)

In addition to the requirements for publication of due public notice of a public hearing, the planning department shall be responsible for the following required notices:

A.

Required mail notice. Upon the fixing of a date for a public hearing, the planning department shall provide mail notice giving the time, place and purpose of the public hearing to each property owner within five hundred (500) feet of the parcel covered by the application based upon the mail list generated by the Property Appraiser's Office and furnished by the applicant. The notice shall be mailed at least ten (10) days prior to the scheduled public hearing.

Required mailing notice for Public Service Facility Overlay Districts (PSFOD) for a telecommunications tower: The planning department shall provide mail notice giving the time, place and purpose of the public hearing to each property owner within 1.320 feet of the parcel covered by the application based upon the mail list generated by the Property Appraiser's Office and furnished by the applicant. The notice shall be mailed at least ten (10) days prior to the scheduled public hearing.

B.

Required sign notice: The applicant shall, upon fixing a date for public hearing on a proposed zoning amendment involving a change in Zoning district classification and not less than ten (10) days prior to the date set for the first public hearing, provide sign notice by posting sign(s) on the parcel of land for which the change in Zoning district classification is proposed. Such sign shall have the size, the shape, design and color determined by the planning department. Upon such sign shall be printed or otherwise made to appear the following information:

PUBLIC NOTICE
REZONING HEARING BEFORE
PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION
AND/OR
COUNTY COMMISSION
(as applicable)
HERNANDO COUNTY, FLORIDA
(insert date, meeting time, and location)
PROPOSED TO BE REZONED FROM
_______ TO _______

The sign(s) furnished by the Planning and Development Department shall be posted by the applicant along each front lot line with the bottom of the sign at least three (3) feet above grade on the property being considered for rezoning. The sign cards shall be posted at the outer property line along the road or street frontage and shall be clearly visible. If the frontage is in excess of three hundred (300) feet, posting of the signs shall be determined by the Planning and Development Department. In those cases where the property does not have frontage on a road, the sign cards shall be posted at the property corners, and where the access road intersects with the nearest county road. After the sign is posted, the applicant shall make an affidavit certifying that he had posted the required sign. The affidavit shall include a description of the parcel of land on which such sign was placed. Such affidavit must be filed with the planning department prior to the public hearing. The county shall make affidavit forms available for use by the applicant. It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure that the sign(s) are appropriately posted and remain on the property during the public hearing process in legible condition. If the condition of the sign(s) deteriorate through the process, it shall be the responsibility of the applicant to repost the property at no cost to the county. Failure to maintain the signs in accordance with this section may result in a delay of the public hearing process. The applicant shall be responsible for removal of the sign(s) within 10 days of the date the decision on the applicant's application becomes final or the date of appeal of a commission or governing body decision for judicial determination, whichever comes first. Failure to timely remove any such sign(s) is prohibited.

C.

Procedures in the event of a state of emergency or other cause. In the event that a state of emergency is declared to exist for the date of a scheduled public hearing before either the commission or the governing body, or if exigent circumstances require the closure of county offices for the date of such hearing, such that no meeting is or can be held, notice of the rescheduled hearing date shall be required to be published a minimum of five (5) days prior to the rescheduled date.

(Ord. of 12-4-72, § VI(a)(1); Ord. No. 76-2, § 23, 2-12-76; Ord. No. 86-18, § 1, 8-5-86; Ord. No. 96-19, § 21, 9-10-96; Ord. No. 97-3, § 10, 3-4-97; Ord. No. 98-18, § 9, 6-23-98; Ord. No. 2004-11, § 21, 8-3-04; Ord. No. 2005-01, §§ 9, 10, 2-8-05; Ord. No. 2008-05, § XX, 2-26-08; Ord. No. 2016-18, § VI, 11-8-16)

Where an applicant files a petition requesting a zoning amendment or that land owned by them be rezoned and placed in a different zoning district classification, including planned-development projects, they shall pay all costs and expenses in connection with notice of such hearings and related notices, as required by the provisions of this ordinance, in addition to the fees required for commission review and administration.

The requirements of this section shall not be deemed nor construed as applying to any public hearing held by the commission or governing body on their own motion or volition, to consider any amendment, supplement, change or repeal of any regulation, restriction or boundary in connection with the zoning ordinance.

(Ord. No. 74-8, § 10, 10-15-74; Ord. No. 2008-05, § XX, 2-26-08)

The commission and the governing body may establish regular dates for public hearings on zoning amendments. Such dates shall be duly advertised.

(Ord. No. 2008-05, § XX, 2-26-08)