The Common Council, by Ordinance, following review and recommendation by the Department of City Development and by the City Plan Commission may rezone (change to district boundaries) or amend this Ordinance whenever the public necessity, convenience, or good zoning practice so require.

A.

Rezonings Initiated (Amend The Zoning Map To Change The District Boundaries). A petition to rezone (amend the Zoning Map to change the district boundaries) any lot/land may be initiated by the Common Council, City Plan Commission, or property owners. Where the petition is initiated by property owners, owners of at least fifty (50) percent of all of the lots/lands sought to be rezoned must sign the petition to rezone the property to a certain district.

A petition to rezone by property owner(s) shall be filed with the Department of City Development and shall include/have attached the following:

1.

Application Fee. A nonrefundable application fee in the amount established by the Common Council, from time to time, by Resolution, without a concept plan and with a concept plan.

2.

Purpose. A statement of the purpose of rezoning.

3.

Plot Plan. A plot plan drawn to scale showing the area proposed to be rezoned, its location, its dimensions, and adjacent zoning districts. The lots/lands sought to be rezoned shall also be identified by address(es), tax parcel identification number(s) and legal description.

4.

Conceptual Development Plan. A Conceptual Development Plan consisting of, but not limited to, the following:

a.

Building Plan. Color rendering of the proposed building(s), inclusive of all elevations. A display board including all façade and roof materials. A general floor plan for proposed buildings.

b.

Site Development Plan. Location of buildings, parking lots, access drives, landscaping areas, drainage features and significant material features of the development in compliance with City General and Zoning Ordinances.

5.

Land Use and Operational Plan. A Land Use and Operational Plan describing the proposed land uses and a plan of business operation.

6.

Proposed Industrial Development Consisting of Multiple Lots and/or Buildings. In lieu of providing the information required in Subparagraphs 10.02.A.3 and 10.02.A.4, an application for an industrial development may include a proposed lot layout plan. A proposed layout plan must include a street layout drawn to scale, a copy of covenants and/or restrictions, if any, that will be recorded on the property with the Register of Deeds, and elevation designs of representative examples of buildings to be built. Covenants and/or restrictions approved by the City cannot be amended without further approval of the City. Nothing contained herein may be construed to prohibit additional covenants and/or restrictions properly placed on the property provided that no such additional covenant or restriction conflicts with the covenants and/or restrictions approved by the City.

7.

Additional Information. Additional information as required by the City Plan Commission, Common Council, or Director of City Development at any time during the review process.

The Department of City Development shall prepare a list of the names and addresses of all property owners within one hundred (100) feet of the property excluding street rights-of-way. The Division will mail to all such listed property owners, by regular mail, a notice of the proposed rezoning and a map depicting the location and scope of the proposed rezoning in relation to the adjacent zoning districts. Written notice shall be addressed to the owner appearing on the most current tax roll of the City at the address stated on said tax roll. If no owner or address for the owner appears on the tax roll, the written notice to such property owner shall not be required. Failure of a property owner to receive said notice shall not invalidate any action taken by the Common Council due to the publication of a legal notice in the official City newspaper.

B.

Ordinance Amendments. An Ordinance amendment may be initiated and sponsored by the Mayor, Common Council, an Alderperson, Alderpersons, or the City Plan Commission.

C.

Lands Coming Into the City through Boundary Adjustment Agreement or a Special Act of the State Legislature. The Common Council may divide areas of land depicted as Parcels A1 through A10 on the map identified in Article IV A of the "Agreement to Clarify and Ultimately Supersede the 1984 Cooperative Agreement for Orderly Development between the City of Kenosha and the Town of Pleasant Prairie" effective December 12, 1988, coming into the City through boundary adjustment agreement under authority of Wis. Stats. § 66.027, or through a special Act of the State Legislature, into zoning districts in accordance with the City Zoning Ordinance and as depicted on the Official City Zoning Map and may cause said areas of land to be placed into said Zoning Ordinance districts upon the effective date any such parcel of land comes into the City. The procedure specified in Wis. Stats. § 62.23(7)(d)1, for preparing and recommending zoning districts for such areas of land shall be followed.

(Ord. No. 50-24, § 1, 12-2-2024)

The City Plan Commission shall review all proposed rezonings and amendments and shall recommend to the Common Council that the proposed ordinance be approved, amended, or denied.

The Common Council shall hold a public hearing upon each rezoning or amendment after publishing a Class 2 Notice under Wis. Stats. ch. 985, listing the date, time, place, and rezoning or amendments proposed. The City Clerk shall also give at least ten (10) days prior written notice to the Clerk of any municipality within one thousand (1,000) feet of any land to be affected by the proposed rezoning or amendment.

A.

Common Council Action. Following such hearing and after careful consideration of the City Plan Commission's recommendations, the Common Council shall vote on the passage of the proposed rezoning. The enactment of a zoning amendment shall require a simple majority vote of the members of the Common Council who have been duly elected or appointed for a current regular or unexpired term and whose service has not terminated by death, resignation, or removal from office, with the exception of Down Zonings per Section 10.07.

B.

Conceptual Development Plan Consistency Required. The Rezoning Ordinance shall contain a requirement that the development of the property be consistent with conceptual development plans required in Section 10.02.A.

(Ord. No. 50-24, § 2, 12-2-2024)

Zoning Map amendments petitioned by a majority of property owners and subsequently approved by the Common Council for a proposed development shall be reviewed on an annual basis by the City Plan Commission. The Commission shall evaluate and recommend whether the zoning classification should be amended in the event that site development has not commenced.

Editor's note— Ord. No. 08-24, § 1, adopted Feb. 21, 2024, repealed § 10.06, which pertained to floodland district boundary changes limited and derived from Code of 2021 § 10.06.

Down Zoning. A Down Zoning ordinance may be enacted only by the favorable vote of at least two-thirds (⅔) of the Common Council who have been duly elected or appointed for a current regular or unexpired term and whose service has not terminated by death, resignation, or removal from office, except that if the Down Zoning ordinance is requested, or agreed to, by the person who owns the land affected by the proposed ordinance, the ordinance may be enacted by a simple majority of the members of the Common Council who have been duly elected or appointed for a current regular or unexpired term and whose service has not terminated by death, resignation, or removal from office.

(Ord. No. 50-24, § 3, 12-2-2024)

Editor's note— Ord. No. 50-24, § 3, adopted Dec. 2, 2024, repealed the former § 10.07 and enacted a new § 10.07 as set out herein. The former § 10.07 pertained to protest and derived from Code of 2021 § 10.07.

A.

Amendments. The municipal governing body may alter, supplement or change the district boundaries and the regulations contained in this Ordinance in accordance with the requirements of Wis. Stats. § 62.23(7)(d)2, NR 117, Wisconsin Administrative Code, and the following:

1.

A copy of each proposed text or map amendment shall be submitted to the appropriate district office of the Department within five (5) days of the submission of the proposed amendment to the municipal planning agency;

2.

All proposed text and map amendments to the shoreland-wetland zoning regulations shall be referred to the municipal planning agency, and a public hearing shall be held as required by Wis. Stats. § 62.23(7)(d)2. The appropriate district office of the Department shall be provided with written notice of the public hearing at least ten (10) days prior to such hearing.

B.

Criteria. In order to ensure that this Ordinance will remain consistent with the shoreland protection objectives of Wis. Stats. § 144.26, the municipal governing body may not rezone a wetland in a shoreland-wetland zoning district, or any portion thereof, where the proposed rezoning may result in a significant adverse impact upon any of the following wetland functions:

1.

Storm and flood water storage capacity;

2.

Maintenance of dry season stream flow or the discharge of groundwater to a wetland, the recharge of groundwater from a wetland to another area or the flow of groundwater through a wetland;

3.

Filtering or storage of sediments, nutrients, heavy metals or organic compounds that would otherwise drain into navigable waters;

4.

Shoreline protection against erosion;

5.

Fish spawning, breeding nursery or feeding grounds;

6.

Wildlife habitat; or

7.

Areas of special recreational, scenic or scientific interest, including scarce wetland types and habitat or endangered species.

C.

DNR Review and Notification.

1.

Where the district office of the Department determines that a proposed rezoning may have a significant adverse impact upon any of the criteria listed in Section 10.08.B. of this Ordinance, the Department shall so notify the municipality of its determination either prior to or during the public hearing held on the proposed amendment.

2.

The appropriate district office of the Department shall be provided with:

a.

A copy of the recommendation and report, if any, of the municipal planning agency on a proposed text or map amendment, within ten (10) days after the submission of those recommendations to the municipal governing body.

b.

Written notice of the action on the proposed text or map amendment within ten (10) days after the action is taken.

3.

If the Department notifies the municipal planning agency in writing that a proposed amendment may have a significant adverse impact upon any of the criteria listed in Section 10.08.B. of this Ordinance, that proposed amendment, if approved by the municipal governing body, shall not become effective until more than thirty (30) days have elapsed since written notice of the municipal approval was mailed to the Department, as required by Section 10.08.C.2.b. of this Ordinance. If within the thirty-day period, the Department notifies the municipality that the Department intends to adopt a superseding Shoreland-Wetland Zoning Ordinance for the municipality as provided by Wis. Stats. § 62.231(6), the proposed amendment shall not become effective until the Ordinance adoption procedure under Wis. Stats. § 62.231 (6), is completed or otherwise terminated.