Whenever the public necessity, convenience, general welfare or good zoning practice justifies such action, whenever such action is in substantial conformance with the General Plan of the City, and after due consideration and report on same by the Planning Commission, the City Council may, by ordinance, create, amend, supplement or change the uses and regulations of the comprehensive zoning law, or include or place any property within the City into any zone as created and defined in this chapter.

Such changes may be initiated by the following:

Applications shall be made by one or more owners of property to be zoned or rezoned. Applications shall be verified for proper signature.

Applications shall be made on forms prescribed by the Community Development Department and shall be filed in the office of the Community Development Department.

Applications shall be accompanied by a Coastal Development Permit application and by such data and information necessary to assure a full presentation of the facts and circumstances to justify the reasonableness of the proposed action.

Applications for a specific plan may be submitted for consideration concurrently with the rezoning application.

No application from one or more property owners of the same property, or essentially the same property, which has been denied by the Planning Commission or City Council shall be accepted by the Community Development Department within twelve months of such denial; provided, however, that the Planning Commission or City Council may permit the processing of such application by the affirmative vote of a majority of their members.

Where the application omits property which could be considered to form a logical extension or completion of existing or proposed zone boundaries, the Community Development Department shall have the discretion to include such property in the notice of hearing on such application, provided such property represents not more than twenty-five percent of the total area under consideration for rezoning. Notice of hearing shall include the information that the Planning Commission will consider reclassification of other property than that for which application is made.

An application may be refused to be accepted by the Community Development Department unless it complies with the requirements of this chapter and unless it is completely filled out.

Notice of hearing shall be published at least once in a newspaper of general circulation published and circulated in the City, as provided by City ordinance or policy, no less than ten days prior to the date set for the public hearing.

Notice of hearing shall be made by mailing a postal card or letter to all of the owners of property within three hundred feet of the exterior boundary of the property involved, as well as the owners of the subject property, such owners and their addresses being established for this purpose by the latest tax assessment rolls provided by the county assessor; provided, however, that in the case where the ownership or address has recently changed and such knowledge is available to the Community Development Department, notice shall also be sent in this manner to the current owners of the property, such notice to include the nature of the proposal, a description of the property under consideration, and the time and place of the public hearing.

In certain cases where mailed notice of hearing is deemed to be impractical, notice may be effected by posting upon the subject property and within the area of the subject property a notice bearing the same information as contained in the notice to be mailed. If more than one property is involved, and posting is done, then notices shall be posted not more than one hundred feet apart on the side of the street upon which the property fronts, for a distance of not less than three hundred feet in each direction from the property. The notice shall be posted at least ten days prior to the date set for the public hearing, and the Community Development Department shall sign an affidavit of posting to be held in the record.

No defect or irregularity in the giving of such notice shall invalidate the public hearing.

Where application is made for a change of classification or change of boundaries, or a variance, or a conditional use permit, the Community Development Department or the Planning Commission shall have the discretion to include in the notice of hearing on such application notice that the Planning Commission will consider classification of other than that for which application is made and/or additional properties and/or uses.

The Planning Commission may, by minute action, establish its own rules, regulations and procedures for conduct of public hearings, including the time and place of the hearings.

The member of the Planning Commission presiding at a hearing is empowered to administer oaths to any person testifying before it.

The provisions of Section 56801 of the Government Code, relating to evidence and procedure in zoning matters, are adopted by reference and shall apply to hearings under this title.

If, for any reason, testimony on any case set for public hearing cannot be completed on the day set for such hearing, the Planning Commissioner presiding at such public hearing may, before the adjournment or recess thereof, publicly announce the time and place to and at which the hearing will be continued, and such announcement shall serve as sufficient notice of such continuance and without recourse to the form of announcement of public notice as provided for elsewhere in this title. Any hearing may be continued from time to time. In the absence of a quorum, the Community Development Department on behalf of the Planning Commission, and the City Clerk, on behalf of the Council, may continue a hearing to the next regular meeting.

A summary of all pertinent testimony offered at a public hearing and the names of the persons testifying shall be recorded and made a part of the permanent files of the case.

If from the facts presented the Planning Commission finds that the public necessity, convenience, general welfare or good zoning practice requires the adoption or modification of a portion of the comprehensive zoning law or the classification or reclassification of property to any zone, the Planning Commission may recommend, by the affirmative vote of not less than a majority of the total membership of the Commission, by resolution, the adoption of an ordinance by the City Council adopting or modifying a comprehensive zoning law or classifying or reclassifying property into particular zones.

The Planning Commission may recommend the inclusion of property in particular zones as requested by the applicant or the inclusion of the property into any other more restrictive zones as defined and as classified in this title.

For the purpose of determining the restrictiveness of zones, the order in which a zone appears in Section 19.06.010, shall govern, as follows: The first zone shall be the most restrictive, and the last, the least.

If such required findings cannot be made, the Planning Commission shall deny the application.

If the application for change or reclassification or adoption or amendment of the comprehensive zoning law is denied by the Planning Commission, the applicant or any interested party may, within ten days of the date of denial, appeal to the City Council by written notice of appeal filed with the City Clerk. Such appeal shall set forth specifically wherein the Planning Commission's findings were in error and wherein the public necessity, convenience, welfare or good zoning practice require such change or reclassification.

Upon receipt of such appeal, the City Clerk shall set the matter for public hearing in the manner prescribed and shall forward the findings of fact to the City Council.

The City Council may, after the public hearing and consideration of the matter, affirm the action of the Planning Commission or may grant the appeal or a modification thereof by the affirmative vote of not less than a majority of its total membership; provided, that any modification of the recommended ordinance or a grant of appeal from the denial of the Planning Commission shall first be referred to the Planning Commission for report and recommendation, but the Planning Commission shall not be required to hold a public hearing thereon. Failure of the Planning Commission to report within forty days after the reference shall be deemed to be approval of the proposed modification or grant of appeal, and the Council may thereafter adopt, by ordinance, the modification thus referred by the Planning Commission.

That all public improvements, including paving of streets and alleys, curbs, gutters, sidewalks, sewers and drainage facilities, as well as necessary dedication deemed needed to serve the uses authorized under the proposed zoning, be installed as a precedent to the zoning in order to prevent the imposition of a burden upon the community and the City created by such uses;

That a Specific Plan for the development of the property be submitted and approved by the Planning Commission and City Council before the zoning recommended for the property becomes effective; such Specific Plan may include, but not be limited to, the location of the building or buildings, the proposed use of the land, architectural and landscaping features, parking areas and building elevations. The criteria for requirement of a Specific Plan shall be established by the Planning Commission as determined by State law.