The Board of Adjustment shall prescribe the form in which application shall be made for variances, conditional use permits or special use permits. It may prepare and provide blanks for such purpose and may prescribe the type of information to be submitted in the application by the applicant. No application shall be accepted unless it complies with such requirements.

Each application for a variance shall be accompanied by a written statement of facts by the petitioner showing why, in the opinion of the petitioner, the granting of said variance is necessary in order that the provisions of § 450-64, Required showing for variance, of this chapter may be met. In cases where the Board of Adjustment considers the conditions set forth in this statement as not falling within the scope of the variance procedure, the applicant shall be so informed, whereupon, if the application is filed, it shall be signed by the petitioner to the effect that he has been so informed. Filing of an application shall not constitute any indication of approval.

An application for a variance, conditional use or special use permit, as provided herein, shall be also accompanied by:

A fee of $175 for each variance or special use application and a fee of $800 for each conditional use application shall be paid to the City of Las Vegas through the Community Development Department upon the filing of such application as provided in this chapter. Paying of the application fee shall not be construed in any way to be approval of the proposed permit, and no refund of any fee shall be granted under any circumstances. All entities which submitted a medical cannabis application or recreational license application with the New Mexico Cannabis Control Division ("CCD") for commercial cannabis activity or cannabis consumption area, including without limitation all entities currently and completely licensed for medical use pursuant to the Lynn and Erin Compassionate Use Act[1], are required to submit a conditional use application to the City, pay the nonrefundable application fee and provide a copy of the entity's approved license from the CCD for the City's consideration of conditional use for commercial cannabis activity or a cannabis consumption area, with the understanding that submittal of such application to the City shall not in any way guarantee approval. Currently licensed hemp producers in good standing with the New Mexico Environmental Department and the Secretary of State's Office, and currently licensed medical cannabis producers in good standing with the New Mexico Department of Health and the CCD seeking dual licensure for recreational cannabis production, must also submit a conditional use application to the City, and comply with all City codes.

All completed applications for variances, conditional use or special use permits, as provided in this chapter, shall be set by the City Manager or City Manager's designee for public hearing. The date of the first hearing shall not be less than 15 days or more than 60 days from the date of the filing of a completed application.

Notice of time and place of public hearings shall be given in the following manner:

The Board of Adjustment shall cause to be made by its own members, or members of its staff, such investigation of fact bearing upon an application set for hearing, including an analysis of precedent cases as will serve to provide the necessary information to assure action on each case consistent with the purpose of this chapter and with previous amendments and variances.

If, for any reason, testimony on any matter set forth for public hearing cannot be completed on the day set for such hearing, the Board member presiding at such public hearing may, before the adjournment or recess thereof, publicly announce the time and place to, and at which, said hearing will be continued, and no further notice shall be required.

A summary of all pertinent testimony offered at public hearings in connection with an application filed pursuant to provisions of this chapter and the names and addresses of persons testifying at all public hearings before the Board of Adjustment shall be recorded and made a part of the permanent files of the case.

Not later than 10 days following the rendering of a decision that a variance, conditional use permit of special use permit be granted or denied, a notice of the decision shall be mailed to the applicant at the address shown on the application filed with the Board of Adjustment.

The order of the Board of Adjustment in granting or denying a variance or special use permit shall become final and effective 10 days after the rendering of its decision granting or denying the variance or special use permit, unless within such ten-day period an appeal in writing is filed with the City Council by either an applicant or an opponent. The filing of such an appeal within such time limit shall stay the effective date of the order of the Board until such time as the Council has acted on the appeal as hereinafter set forth in this article.

Upon filing of a written appeal to the City Council as provided herein, the City Manager shall forthwith cause to be transmitted to the City Council certified copies of all material in the Board of Adjustment files which are pertinent to the matter in question.

Within 30 days following the receipt of the written appeal the Council shall conduct a duly advertised public hearing, public notice of which shall be given in the same manner as provided in § 450-85 of this article. The hearing before the Council shall be a hearing de novo, and all interested persons may appear and present evidence.

The findings and decision of the City Council shall be signed by the Mayor not more than 20 days following the hearing, and said findings and decision shall state, among other things, the facts and reasons which, in the opinion of the Council, make the granting or denial of the variance, conditional use, or special use permit necessary to carry out the general purpose of this chapter.

The decision of the City Council shall be final and conclusive on such appeal; provided, however, that in cases where the Board of Adjustment's action has been a denial of a variance, conditional use or special use permit, the City Council shall not grant a variance, conditional use or special use permit nor eliminate or modify any condition imposed by the Board except upon order of the Council passed by not less than two-thirds vote of all members thereof.

Not later than 10 days following the ordering that a variance, conditional use or special use permit be granted or denied, a copy of said findings and decision shall be mailed to the applicant or opponent, or to both if they be different parties, and one copy shall be transmitted to the Board of Adjustment for filing in its permanent record on the case.

No reapplication for a variance, conditional use or special use permit, which has been denied, shall be filed earlier than six months after the date of such denial unless specific authority to do so has been granted by the Board of Adjustment or by the City Council. Any reapplication for a variance or special use permit shall be considered as a new application and shall be treated as such, including payment of a new filing fee.