This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the town zoning ordinance.

(Code 1998, § 5-5-1)

These regulations as herein set forth have been made in accordance with the town's comprehensive plan and are designed to guide and accomplish a coordinated and harmonious development of the town, which will be in accordance with existing and future needs, and promote the public health, safety, morals, order, convenience, appearance, prosperity and the general welfare, as well as the efficiency and economy in the process of development.

(Code 1998, § 5-5-2)

The provisions of this chapter are adopted under authority granted by S.C. Code 1976, title 6, ch. 29.

(Code 1998, § 5-5-3)

The regulations in this chapter shall be effective for all lands within the corporate boundaries of the town.

(Code 1998, § 5-5-4)

(a)

This chapter establishes comprehensive zoning regulations for the town and provides for the administration, enforcement and amendment thereof, in accordance with the provisions of S.C. Code 1976, tit. 6, ch. 29, as amended and calls for the repeal of all ordinances in conflict herewith.

(b)

The intent of this chapter is to district all lands within the town into uniformly regulated development zones to provide for the orderly, safe and efficient land development within the town.

(Code 1998, § 5-5-5)

It is the legislative intent of the town council in adopting this chapter, that all provisions and sections thereof shall be liberally construed to protect and preserve the peace, health, safety and general welfare of the inhabitants of the town, and further that should any provision, portion, section or subsection of this chapter be held to be unconstitutional or invalid, such holdings shall not be construed as affecting the validity of any of the remaining provisions, portions, sections or subsections; it being the intent of the town council that this chapter shall stand, notwithstanding the invalidity of any provision, or section or paragraph thereof.

(Code 1998, § 5-5-6)

When provisions of this chapter require a greater width or size of yards or courts, or require a lower height of a building or fewer number of stories, or require a greater percentage of a lot to be left unoccupied, or impose other higher standards than are required in any other statute or local laws or regulations, provisions of this chapter shall govern.

(Code 1998, § 5-5-7)

All existing land use regulations adopted previously by the town, and contrary to this chapter, are hereby repealed. The adoption of the ordinance from which this chapter is derived, however, shall not affect or prevent any pending or future prosecution of, or action to abate, and existing violation of said regulations, as amended, if the violation is also a violation of the provisions of this chapter.

(Code 1998, § 5-5-8)

(a)

It is unlawful to construct, reconstruct, alter, demolish, change the use of or occupy any land, building or other structure, without first obtaining the appropriate permit or permit approval. No permit may be issued or approved unless the requirements of this chapter are complied with.

(b)

Whenever, by the provisions of this chapter the performance of any act is required, or the performance of any act is prohibited or whenever any regulation, dimension or limitation is imposed on the use of any land, or on the erection or alteration or the use or change of use of a structure or the uses within such structure, a failure to comply with such provisions of this chapter shall constitute a violation of this chapter. Every day on which a violation exists shall constitute a separate violation and a separate offense.

(Code 1998, § 5-5-9)

Any person who violates this chapter shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished as provided in S.C. Code 1976, tit. 6, ch. 29.

(Code 1998, § 5-5-10)

(a)

This chapter may be enforced by means of the withholding of building or zoning permits, or both, and the issuance of stop orders against any work undertaken by an entity not having a proper building or zoning permit, or both.

(b)

If a building or structure is erected, constructed, reconstructed, altered, repaired, converted or maintained, or any building, structure or land is used in violation of this chapter, the planning director, in addition to other remedies, may institute any appropriate action or proceeding to prevent the unlawful erection, construction, reconstruction, alteration, repair, conversion, maintenance or use; to restrain, correct or abate the violation; to prevent the occupancy of the building, structure; or land, or to prevent any illegal act, conduct, business or use in or about the premises.

(c)

In case a building, structure or land is or is proposed to be used in violation of this chapter, the town planning director may, in addition to other remedies, issue and serve upon a person pursuing the activity a stop order requiring that entity stop all activities in violation of this chapter.

(Code 1998, § 5-5-11; Ord. No. 2005-16, § 5-5-11, 10-24-2005)

The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this chapter, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:

Addition (to an existing building) means any walled and roofed expansion to the perimeter of a building in which the addition is connected by a common loadbearing wall other than a firewall. Any walled and roofed addition which is connected by a firewall or is separated by independent perimeter loadbearing walls is new construction.

Agriculture means the art and science of cultivating the ground, the production of crops or livestock excluding, however, commercial greenhouses, the sale of nursery stock, riding stable, mink or fox or similar fur farms and dairy operations.

Alley means a roadway, other than a street, which affords only a secondary means of access to abutting property, and which is not intended for general traffic circulation.

Appeal means a request for a review of the planning director's interpretation of any provision of this chapter or a request for a variance.

Aquaculture means the art and science of cultivating water plants and animals.

Arboreta means a place where many kinds of trees and plants are grown for study or display.

Area of shallow flooding means a designated AO zone or VO zone on a community's flood insurance rate map (FIRM) with base flood depths from one to three feet where a clearly defined channel does not exist, where the path of flooding is unpredictable and indeterminate, and where velocity flow may be evident.

Area of special flood hazard means the land in the floodplain within a community subject to a one percent or greater chance of flooding in any given year.

Awning means a structure, as of canvas, extended before a window or door for protection from sun or rain.

Base flood means the flood having a one percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year.

Basement means that portion of a building having its floor subgrade (below ground level) on all sides.

Bed and breakfast means an owner-occupied dwelling unit which contains no more than five guestrooms where lodging, with meals, is provided for compensation.

Breakaway wall means a wall that is not part of the structural support of the building and is intended through its design and construction to collapse under specific lateral loading forces without causing damage to the elevated portion of the building or the supporting foundations system.

Building means any structure built for support, shelter, or enclosure for any occupancy or storage.

Building, accessory, means a subordinate structure, whether attached or detached, or a subordinate adjunct to the principal building, the use of which is customarily incidental to the permitted use of the principal building. Accessory buildings may include but are not limited to barns, sheds, tool rooms and similar structures.

Building, height, means the vertical distance measured from the elevation of the proposed or completed finished grade to the highest point of the roof.

Building, principal, means a building or, where the context so indicates, a group of buildings in which is conducted the main or principal use of the lot on which said building is situated.

Cabana means a small shelter used as bathhouse.

Canopy means a rooflike structure, usually placed over a doorway that provides protection from the weather.

Children services means those establishments engaged in the care of infants or children, or in providing pre-kindergarten education, where medical care or delinquent correction is not a major element. Such establishments may or may not provide substantial educational programs.

Cluster development means a development designed to concentrate buildings in specific areas on a site and to allow the remaining land to be used for recreation, common open space, and preservation of environmentally sensitive areas.

Coastal high hazard area means the area subject to high velocity waters caused by, but not limited to, hurricane wave wash. The area is designated on a FIRM as zone V1-30, zone VE or zone V.

Communication tower means any structure of any size which supports communications equipment, either broadcasting or receiving, and is utilized by any commercial, governmental, or other public users or quasi-public users. This definition does not include television reception antennas and satellite dishes, or amateur radio antennas as licensed by the Federal Communication Commission (FCC).

Communications means facilities providing point-to-point communication services including radio and television.

Community center means a place, structure, area, or other facility used for and providing religious, fraternal, social, and/or recreational programs generally open to the public and designed to accommodate and serve significant segments of the community.

Crop services means an establishment engaged in performing crop planting, cultivating and protecting services.

Density means the number of dwelling units per acre.

Development means any manmade change to improve or unimproved real estate, including, but not limited to, buildings or other structures, mining, dredging, filling, grading, paving, excavating, drilling operations, or permanent storage of materials or equipment.

Dwelling, duplex, means a detached building containing two dwelling units.

Dwelling, multifamily, means a building containing three or more dwelling units.

Dwelling, single-family detached, means a detached building containing only one dwelling unit not including mobile homes.

Dwelling unit means a room or group of rooms forming a single habitable unit with facilities used or intended to be used for living, sleeping, cooking, and eating by only one family.

Easement means a grant to the general public, a corporation, or a certain person of a strip or parcel of land for a specific purpose.

Electrical services means those establishments engaged in the generation, transmission and/or distribution of electric energy.

Elevated building means a nonbasement building built to have the lowest floor elevated above the ground level by means of fill, solid foundation perimeter walls, pilings, columns (posts and piers), shear walls, or breakaway walls.

Existing construction, as related to article 13, means any structure for which the "start of construction" commenced before June 17, 1986.

Family means a single person or two or more persons related by blood, foster relationship, marriage or adoption, together with not more than six additional persons not related by blood, marriage or adoption, living together as a single household unit.

Farm labor and management services means establishments engaged in supplying labor for agricultural production or harvesting and/or providing farm management services including management or complete maintenance of citrus groves, orchards, and vineyards.

Flood orflooding means a general and temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of normally dry land areas from:

(1)

The overflow of inland or tidal waters.

(2)

The unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters from any source.

Flood hazard boundary map (FHBM) means an official map of a community, issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, where the boundaries of the areas of special flood hazard have been defined as zone A.

Flood insurance rate map (FIRM) means an official map of a community, on which the Federal Emergency Management Agency has delineated both the areas of special flood hazard and the risk premium zones applicable to the community.

Flood insurance study means the official report provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The report contains flood profiles, as well as the flood boundary floodway map and the water surface elevation of the base flood.

Floodway means the channel of a river or other watercourse and the adjacent land areas that must be reserved in order to discharge the base flood without cumulatively increasing the water surface elevation more than one foot.

Floor means the top surface of an enclosed area in a building, including basement, (i.e., top of slab in concrete slab construction or top of wood flooring in wood frame construction). The term does not include the floor of a garage used solely for parking vehicles.

Functionally dependent facility means a facility which cannot be used for its intended purpose unless it is located or carried out in close proximity to water, such as a docking or port facility necessary for the loading and unloading of cargo or passengers, shipbuilding, ship repair, or seafood processing facilities. The term does not include long-term storage, manufacture, sales or service facilities.

Garage means any garage, except a private garage, used for the storage or care of motor vehicles, or where any such vehicles are equipped for operation, repaired or kept for enumeration, hire or sale.

Garage apartment means a dwelling unit provided in the same structure, usually on a separate level, as a garage.

Garage, private, means an accessory building to a principal building allowed in districts where residences are permitted, providing for the storage of motor vehicles.

Group development means a group of detached, semidetached, attached, groups of attached, clustered or multistoried buildings, including condominiums, townhouses, apartments and mobile or modular homes, on a parcel of land which has not been subdivided into customary streets, lots and blocks.

Group home means a facility serving nine or fewer, mentally handicapped or physically handicapped, persons provided that the facility provides care on a 24-hour basis and is approved by the appropriate state agency.

Guesthouse means any dwelling occupied by the owner or operator in which not more than five rooms are rented for guests, transients or travelers for compensation, but where no meals are served for compensation.

Highest adjacent grade means the highest natural elevation of the ground surface, prior to construction, next to the proposed walls of a building.

Historic structure means any structure that is any of the following:

(1)

Certified or preliminarily determined by the Secretary of the Interior as contributing to the historical significance of a registered historic district or a district preliminarily determined by the Secretary to qualify as a registered historic district;

(2)

Individually listed in the National Register of Historic Places (a listing maintained by the Department of Interior) or preliminarily determined by the Secretary of the Interior as meeting the requirements for individual listing on the National Register;

(3)

Individually listed on a state inventory of historic places in states with historic preservation programs which have been approved by the Secretary of the Interior; or

(4)

Individually listed on a local inventory of historic places in communities with history preservation programs that have been certified either:

a.

By an approved state program as determined by the Secretary of the Interior; or

b.

Directly by the Secretary of the Interior in states without approved programs.

Home occupation means an occupation, profession, activity, or use that is clearly a customary, incidental, and secondary use of a residential dwelling unit and which does not alter the exterior of the property.

Hotel means a building, other than a guesthouse, offering transient lodging accommodations on a daily rate to the general public and providing additional services, such as restaurants, meeting rooms and recreational facilities.

Landfill, cellulose, means landfills which dispose of wood, wood products, stumps, brush and similar material.

Landfill, inert, means a landfill which disposes of nonburnable, nontoxic, nonhazardous waste such as ash and cinders, broken concrete, crushed stone, clay waste, and glass.

Landfill, sanitary, means a landfill for household garbage, municipal solid waste and nonhazardous waste.

Lot means a parcel of land in single ownership occupied or intended for occupancy by a building together with accessory buildings, including the yard space required under this chapter. All of this land shall be shown on a map in a request for a building permit.

Lot, corner, means a lot abutting upon two or more streets at their intersection.

Lot, interior, means any lot other than a corner lot.

Lot, through, means an interior lot which abuts two or more streets.

Lot, width, means the length of a straight line drawn between the points where the front required setback line intersects the side lot lines.

Lot line means a line which marks the boundary of a lot.

Lot line, front, in the case of an interior lot, means the lot line separating said lot from the street right-of-way, in the case of a corner lot or through lot, the lot line separating said lot from the street which is designated as the front street.

Lot line, rear, means the lot line opposite and most distant from the front lot line; in the case of irregularly shaped lot, such lot line shall be an imaginary line parallel to the front lot line but not less than ten feet long and measured within said lot.

Lot line, side, means any lot line which is not a front lot line or a rear lot line; a lot line separating a lot from a side street is an exterior side lot line, while a lot line separating a lot from another lot is an interior side lot line.

Lot of record, means a lot which is a part of a subdivision, a plat of which has been recorded with the county, or a lot described by metes and bounds, the description of which has been recorded with the county prior to the adoption of the ordinance from which this chapter is derived.

Manufactured home or mobile home means a structure transportable in one or more sections, which is built on a permanent chassis and designed to be used as a dwelling with or without a permanent foundation when connected to the required utilities, and includes the plumbing, heating, air conditioning, and electrical systems contained in it. Mobile homes or manufactured homes manufactured after June 15, 1976, must meet the criteria of compliance with the Construction and Safety Standards Act and have been properly certified by the department of housing and urban development. Manufactured homes or mobile homes do not include recreational vehicles or travel trailers.

Mean sea level means the average height of the sea for all stages of the tide. It is used as a reference for establishing various elevations within the floodplain. For purposes of this chapter, the term is synonymous with National Geodetic Vertical Datum (NGVD).

Membership sports and recreational clubs means sports and recreational clubs which are restricted to use by members and their guests.

Mobile home park means a lot, or tract of land on which two or more mobile homes are parked within spaces that are rented. This includes any building, structure, vehicle or enclosure used as a part of the equipment of such mobile home park.

Modular building unit means any building of closed construction, regardless of type of construction or occupancy classification, other than a mobile or manufactured home, constructed off site in accordance with the applicable codes, and transported to the point of use for installation or erection. Modular buildings must be certified by the state building codes council.

Motel means a facility containing rooming units, each of which maintains a separate entrance and is designed, intended, or used primarily for the accommodation of automobile travelers.

National Geodetic Vertical Datum (NGVD), as corrected in 1929, means a vertical control used as a reference for establishing varying elevations within the floodplain.

New construction means any structure for which the start of construction commenced after June 17, 1986. The term also includes any subsequent improvements to such structure.

Nonconforming buildingor structure means a building or structure lawfully existing at the time of the enactment of the ordinance from which this chapter is derived, or a subsequent amendment thereto, that does not conform to the area, height and placement regulations of this chapter for new structures.

Nonconforming use means a use of either land or structure lawfully existing at the time of the enactment of the ordinance from which this chapter is derived, or a subsequent amendment thereto, that does not conform to the applicable use provisions, as shown in article IV of this chapter.

Occupied or used, these terms shall be considered as though followed by the terms "or intended, arranged to be used or occupied."

Recreational vehicle means a vehicle which is:

(1)

Built on a single chassis;

(2)

Four hundred square feet or less when measured at the largest horizontal projection;

(3)

Designed to be self-propelled or permanently towable by a light-duty truck; and

(4)

Designed primarily not for use as a permanent dwelling but as temporary living quarters for recreational, camping, travel or seasonal use.

Residential care means those establishments engaged in the provision of residential social and personal care for children, the aged, and special categories of persons with limited ability of self care, but where medical care is not a major element.

Roominghouse orboardinghouse means a residential structure that provides lodging with or without meals, is available for permanent or long-term occupancy only, and which makes no provision for cooking in any of the rooms occupied by paying guest. Roominghouses or boardinghouses should not be confused with hotels or motels, which offer short-term accommodations.

Salvage yard or junkyard means an area of land on which waste material or inoperative vehicles and other machinery are collected, stored, salvaged, or sold.

Sand dunes means the naturally occurring accumulations of sand in ridges or mounds landward of the beach.

Service stations means buildings or premises, or portions thereof, arranged or designed to be used for the retail sale of oil, gasoline, or other fuel for use by motor vehicles, including facilities for changing and repairing tires, polishing, greasing, washing or minor servicing of such motor vehicles.

Setback line means a line, marking the setback distance from the street or lot lines, which establishes the minimum required front, side and rear open space of a lot.

Shall, is always mandatory.

Sign means a name, identification, image description, display, or illustration which is affixed to, painted, or represented directly or indirectly upon a building, structure, or piece of land and which directs attention to an object, product, place, activity, facility, service, event, attraction, person, instruction, organization or business and which is visible from any street, right-of-way, sidewalk, alley, park or other public property.

Sign, area, means that area which is contained within a single continuous perimeter enclosing the extreme limits of such sign. It shall include any material or color forming an integral part of the display face or used to differentiate such signs from its background but shall not include supports. Where two sides of a double-faced sign are not more than 24-inches apart at the widest point, the sign area shall be computed by measuring one face only. The area for signs consisting of individual letters that are erected directly onto a wall exclusive of any surface shall be measured by finding the area of the imaginary rectangle or square of vertical and horizontal lines which fully enclose all sign words, copy or message.

Sign, awning, means a sign on or attached to an awning.

Sign, banner, means pennants and flags. Any animated rotating, fluttering or nonstationary device made of flexible materials designed to attract attention.

Sign, canopy, means a sign on or attached to a canopy.

Sign, face, means the side of the sign which consist of the message.

Sign, freestanding, means a sign, which is supported by one or more columns, uprights or braces and is not attached, supported or suspended to or from a building or structure.

Sign, marquee, means a sign on or attached to a marquee.

Sign, off-premises, means a sign that advertises activities, goods, or products that are available elsewhere than within the building or on the lot where the sign is located.

Sign, on-premises, means a sign that advertises a business or services that are provided on the premises.

Sign, painted wall, means a sign which has been painted on a building which advertises a product or service.

Sign, permanent, means a sign which is permanently attached to a building, the grounds, or other structure and which meet the structural and installation standard of the building code and electrical standards of the national electrical code.

Sign, portable, means any sign that is not permanently affixed to a building, other unmovable structure, or the ground.

Sign, projecting, means any sign other than a wall sign that is attached to and projects from the wall or face of a building or structure.

Sign, roof-mounted, means a sign which is erected on or above the roofline of a building and which is wholly or partially supported by the building.

Sign, sandwich, means a sign which is "A" shaped and utilizes copy on both sides, resting on the ground with no permanent attachment.

Sign, temporary, means a sign which is not permanently attached to a building, the ground or other structures and may not meet the structural and installation standards of the building code or electrical standards of the national electrical codes.

Sign, wall, means a sign which is in any manner affixed to any exterior wall of a building.

Soil preparation services means those establishments engaged in land breaking, plowing, application of fertilizer, seedbed preparation and other services for improving the soil for crop planting.

Start of construction means, for other than new construction or substantial improvements under the Coastal Barrier Resources Act (P.L. 97-348), includes substantial improvement, and means the date the building permit was issued, provided the actual start of construction, repair, reconstruction, or improvement was within 180 days of the permit date. The actual start means the first placement of permanent construction of a building on a site, such as the pouring of slabs or footings, installation of piles, construction of columns, or any work beyond the stage of excavation or the placement of a manufactured home on a foundation. Permanent construction does not include land preparation, such as clearing, grading and filling; nor does it include the installation of streets and/or walkways; nor does it include excavation for a basement, footings, piers or foundations or the erection of temporary forms; nor does it include the installation on the property of accessory buildings, such as garages or sheds not occupied as dwelling units or not part of the main building. For a substantial improvement, the actual start of construction means the first alteration of any wall, ceiling, floor or other structural part of a building, whether or not that alteration affects the external dimensions of the building.

Street means a thoroughfare which is maintained by the state, the county, the town or a private entity and affords the principal means of access to abutting property.

Structural alterations means any change, except for repair or replacement, in the supporting members of a building such as, but not limited to, bearing walls, columns, beams or girders.

Structure means a walled and roofed building that is principally above ground, a manufactured home, a gas or liquid storage tank, or other manmade facilities or infrastructures.

Subdivider means any person who undertakes the subdivision of land as defined herein.

Subdivision means the division of a tract or parcel of land into two or more lots, building sites or other divisions for the purpose, whether immediate or future, of sale, legacy or building development; including all division of land involving a new street or a change in existing streets; including resubdivision; and, where appropriate to the context, relates to the process of subdividing or to the land or area subdivided.

Substantial damage means damage of any origin sustained by a structure whereby the cost of restoring the structure to its before damaged condition would equal or exceed 50 percent of the market value of the structure before the damage occurred.

Substantial improvement means any combination of repairs, reconstruction, alteration or improvements to a building, in which the cumulative cost equals or exceeds 50 percent of the market value of the building.

(1)

The market value of the building should be:

a.

The appraised value of the building prior to the start of the initial repair or improvement; or

b.

In the case of damage, the value of the building prior to the damage occurring.

(2)

This term includes structures which have incurred substantial damage, regardless of the actual repair work performed.

(3)

For the purposes of this definition, substantial improvement is considered to occur when the first alteration of any wall, ceiling, floor or other structural part of the building commences, whether or not that alteration affects the external dimensions of the building.

(4)

The term does not, however, include any project for improvement of a building required to comply with existing health, sanitary or safety code inspections which have been identified by the code enforcement official and which are solely necessary to assure safe living conditions.

Trailer, travel orrecreational, means a trailer intended for temporary and occasional occupancy, such as off-the-road accommodations during recreational or camping trips; such definition does not to include a mobile home, nor any permanent dwelling unit.

Use means the utilization of land or structure, as established at the time of adoption of the ordinance from which this chapter is derived; a use is not established by mere statement of intent or indicative action, but by substantial investment and actual construction on the premises.

Use, accessory, means a subordinate use, which is customarily incidental to the principal use on the same lot. (See the terms "building, accessory," "building, principal", and "lot.")

Use, principal, means a primary use and chief purpose for which a lot is used. (See the terms "building, accessory," "building, principal", and "lot.")

Use, temporary, means a short-term use of land and where facilities or structures for such use are not permanent.

Variance means a grant of relief from the requirements of this chapter which permits construction in a manner otherwise prohibited by this chapter where specific enforcement would result in unnecessary hardship.

Veterinary services means those establishments primarily engaged in the practice of veterinary medicine, dentistry, or surgery for animals.

Yard means the yard space of a lot which is established by and between the street, or the lot lines, and the required setback line and which shall be open, unoccupied and unobstructed by any structure or part thereof from the ground to the sky, except as otherwise provided by this chapter.

Yard, front, means the required open space extending the full width of the lot and to a depth equal to the required setback line, measured horizontally at right angles to the front lot line.

Yard, rear, means the required open space extending the full width of the lot and to a depth equal to the required setback line, measured horizontally at right angles to the rear lot line.

Yard, side, means the required open space extending from the required front open space to the rear required open space and of a depth equal to the side required setback line, measured horizontally at right angles to the side lot line.

(Code 1998, § 5-5-12)

(a)

Intent. For the purpose of establishing and maintaining sound, stable and desirable development within the town limits, this chapter may be amended to correct a manifest error in the chapter or, because of changed or changing conditions in a particular area or in the municipality generally to rezone an area, extend the boundary of an existing zoning district, or to change the regulations and restrictions thereof, and then only as reasonably necessary to the promotion of the public health, safety or general welfare.

(b)

Initiation. Subject to the limitations of the statement of intent of subsection (a) of this section, an amendment to this chapter may be initiated by:

(1)

The town council on its own motion;

(2)

The planning commission; or

(3)

Any individual, corporation, organization, or owner having vested interest in the property to be rezoned.

(c)

Referral of petition to planning commission. The town council, upon receipt of a petition to amend this chapter, which has been examined and approved as to form by the town clerk, shall refer the same to the planning commission for study and report. The planning commission shall cause a complete study of the petition to be made and shall recommend such action as it deems proper. The planning commission shall have 60 days to submit such report.

(d)

Action contingent on report. The town council shall not take action on the amendment until the report on the amendment has been received. If the planning commission fails to submit the report within 60 days, it is deemed to have approved the amendment.

(e)

Public hearing and notice.

(1)

A public hearing shall be held by the town council before adoption of any proposed amendment to this chapter. Notice of the public hearing shall be given by publishing the notice in a newspaper of general circulation in the town stating the time and place of such hearing and the substance of the proposed amendment. This notice shall appear in the newspaper not less than 15 days before the date set for the public hearing.

(2)

Any parcel, regarding which a petition for change in zoning classification has been filed by any person, shall be posted for at least 15 days prior to the public hearing. The posted notice information shall be provided to the property owner or his agent by the planning director. The posted notice shall be erected by the property owner or his agent and shall be posted on or adjacent to the property affected, with at least one such notice being visible from each public thoroughfare that abuts the property. All notices shall include the following information:

a.

The present zoning classification.

b.

The proposed zoning classification.

c.

The time and place of the public hearing.

d.

The location where additional information may be obtained.

(3)

Additionally, all property owners within a 300-foot radius of a proposed rezoning site, as identified from current published real estate ownership records, may be notified by letter. Such letters may be sent no later than the date of the published advertisement.

(4)

If the town maintains a list of groups that have expressed interest in being informed of zoning proceedings, notice of such proceedings may be mailed to these groups.

(Code 1998, § 5-5-20; Ord. No. 2005-15, 11-28-2005; Ord. No. 2006-41, 7-24-2006)

(a)

Filing of applications. All petitions for amendments to this chapter shall be in writing, signed and filed in triplicate with the town clerk for presentation to the town council. A nonrefundable filing fee as determined by the town council will be charged in order to pay mailing, advertising, meeting, and relating administrative cost of the petition.

(b)

Contents of petition. All petitions for amendments to this chapter, without limiting the right to file additional material, shall contain at least the following:

(1)

The petitioner's name, address and interest of every person having a legal or equitable interest in the land covered by the petition.

(2)

The nature and effect of the proposed amendment.

(3)

A valid permit to construct individual sewage disposal system, or proof of connection to a public sewer, or reasonable assurance that the same can be obtained, or evidence that proposed use does not require sewerage facilities.

(4)

If the proposed amendment would require a change in the zoning map, a legal plat map showing:

a.

The land which would be affected by the proposed amendment.

b.

A legal description of such land with tax map number.

c.

The present zoning classification of the land.

d.

The zoning classification of all abutting zoning districts.

e.

All public and private rights-of-way and easements bounding and intersecting the land under consideration.

f.

The names and addresses of the owners of all adjacent lands.

(5)

The alleged error in the text of this chapter, if any, which would be corrected by the proposed amendment with a detailed explanation of such error in the chapter, which is alleged, and detailed reasons how the proposed amendment will correct the same.

(6)

The changed or changing conditions, if any, in the area or in the town generally that make the proposed amendment reasonably necessary to the promotion of the public health, safety and general welfare.

(7)

All other circumstances, factors and reasons which the applicant offers in support of the proposed amendment.

(Code 1998, § 5-5-21)