Lincoln City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XVII
Adoption and Amendment
§ 260-90 Power of Council to adopt and amend.
For the purpose of promoting the public health, safety, morals, and general welfare, the Town Council shall have the power, in accordance with the provisions of this chapter and state law, to adopt, amend, or repeal, and to provide for the administration, interpretation, and enforcement of, a zoning ordinance. The Zoning Ordinance, and all amendments thereto, shall be consistent with the Comprehensive Plan, and shall provide for the implementation of the Comprehensive Plan.
§ 260-91 Procedure.
The Zoning Enforcement Officer shall receive a proposal for adoption, amendment, or repeal of a zoning ordinance or zoning map(s). Immediately upon receipt of the proposal, the officer shall refer the proposal to the Town Council and to the Planning Board for study and recommendation. The Planning Board shall report to the Town Council within 45 days after receipt of the proposal, giving its findings and recommendations as prescribed in § 260-90 of this article. Where a proposal for adoption, amendment, or repeal of a zoning ordinance or zoning map is made by the Town Planning Board, the requirements for study by the Board may be waived, provided that the proposal by the Planning Board include its findings and recommendations pursuant to § 260-90 of this article. The Town Council shall hold a public hearing within 65 days of receipt of a proposal, giving proper notice. The Town Council shall render a decision on any proposal within 45 days after the date of completion of the public hearing. The provisions of this section pertaining to deadlines shall not be construed to apply to any extension consented to by an applicant.
§ 260-92 Review by Planning Board.
Among its findings and recommendations to the Town Council with respect to a proposal for adoption, amendment, or repeal of a zoning ordinance or zoning map, the Planning Board shall:
A.
Include a statement on the general consistency of the proposal with the Comprehensive Plan of the Town, including the goals and policies statement, the implementation program, and all other applicable elements of the Comprehensive Plan; and
§ 260-93 Notice and hearing requirements.
[Amended 2-24-2025 by Ord. No. 2025-5]
A.
No zoning ordinance shall be adopted, repealed, or amended until after a public hearing has been held upon the question before the Town Council. The Town Council shall first give notice of the public hearing by publication of notice in a newspaper of local circulation within the Town at least once each week for three successive weeks prior to the date of the hearing, which may include the week in which the hearing is to be held, at which hearing opportunity shall be given to all persons interested to be heard upon the matter of the proposed ordinance. Written notice shall be mailed to the parties specified in Subsections B, C, D, E and F of this section, at least two weeks prior to the hearing. The same notice shall be posted in the Town clerk's office and one other municipal building in the municipality and the municipality must make the notice accessible on their municipal home page of its website at least 14 days prior to the hearing. The newspaper notice shall:
(1)
Specify the place of the hearing and the date and time of its commencement;
(2)
Indicate that adoption, amendment, or repeal of a zoning ordinance is under consideration;
(3)
Contain a statement of the proposed amendments to the ordinance that may be printed once in its entirety, or summarize and describe the matter under consideration as long as the intent and effect of the proposed regulation is expressly written in that notice;
(4)
Advise those interested where and when a copy of the matter under consideration may be obtained or examined and copied; and
(5)
State that the proposals shown thereon may be altered or amended prior to the close of the public hearing without further advertising as a result of further study or because of the views expressed at the public hearing. Any alteration or amendment must be presented for comment in the course of the hearing.
B.
Where a proposed general amendment to an existing zoning ordinance includes changes in an existing Zoning Map, public notice shall be given as required by Subsection A of this section.
C.
Where a proposed text amendment to an existing zoning ordinance would cause a conforming lot of record to become nonconforming by lot area or frontage, written notice shall be given to all real property owners as shown on the current real estate tax assessment records of the Town. Notice shall be given by first-class mail at least two weeks prior to the hearing at which the text amendment is to be considered, with the content required in Subsection A of this section. If the Zoning Ordinance contains an existing merger clause to which the nonconforming lots would be subject, the notice shall include reference to the merger clause and the impacts of common ownership of nonconforming lots. For any notice sent by first-class mail, the sender of the notice shall submit a notarized affidavit to attest to such mailing.
D.
Where a proposed amendment to an existing ordinance includes a specific change in a Zoning District Map, but does not affect districts generally, public notice shall be given as required by Subsection A of this section, with the additional requirements that:
(1)
Notice shall include a map showing the existing and proposed boundaries, zoning district boundaries, and existing streets and roads and their names, and city and town boundaries where appropriate; and
(2)
Written notice of the date, time, and place of the public hearing and the nature and purpose thereof shall be sent to all owners of real property whose property is located in or within not less than 200 feet of the perimeter of the area proposed for change, whether within the Town or within an adjacent city or town. The notice shall be sent by registered or certified mail to the last known address of the owners, as shown on the current real estate tax assessment records of the Town in which the property is located.
E.
Notice of a public hearing shall be sent by first-class mail to the City or Town Council of any city or town to which one or more of the following pertain:
(1)
Which is located in or within not less than 200 feet of the boundary of the area proposed for change; or
(2)
Where there is a public or quasi-public water source, or private water source that is used or is suitable for use as a public water source, within 2,000 feet of any real property that is the subject of a proposed zoning change, regardless of municipal boundaries.
F.
Notice of a public hearing shall be sent to the governing body of any state or municipal water department or agency, special water district, or private water company that has riparian rights to a surface water resource and/or surface watershed that is used or is suitable for use as a public water source and that is within 2,000 feet of any real property which is the subject of a proposed zoning change; provided, however, that the governing body of any state or municipal water department or agency, special water district, or private water company has filed with the Building Inspector in the city or town a map survey, which shall be kept as a public record, showing areas of surface water resources and/or watersheds and parcels of land within 2,000 feet thereof.
G.
Notwithstanding any of the requirements set forth in Subsections A through E of this section, the Town shall establish and maintain a public notice registry allowing any person or entity to register for electronic notice of any changes to the Zoning Ordinance. The Town shall provide public notice annually of the existence of the electronic registry by publication of notice in a newspaper of general circulation within the Town.
H.
No defect in the form of any notice under this section shall render any ordinance or amendment invalid, unless the defect is found to be intentional or misleading.
I.
Costs of any notice required under this section shall be borne by the applicant.
J.
Limitations, conditions, and restrictions.
(1)
In granting a Zoning Ordinance amendment, the Town Council may limit the change to one of the permitted uses in the zone to which the subject land is rezoned, and impose such limitations, conditions, and restrictions, including, without limitation:
(a)
Requiring the petitioner to obtain a permit or approval from any and all state or local governmental agencies or instrumentalities having jurisdiction over the land and use which are the subject of the zoning change;
(b)
Those relating to the effectiveness or continued effectiveness of the zoning change; and/or
(c)
Those relating to the use of the land; as it deems necessary;
(d)
In the case of a conditional zone change, fees, held in escrow, equal to the original notice requirements. These fees would be used to publish the notice of reversion, if the conditions for change are not met.
(2)
The Town Clerk and the Zoning Enforcement Officer shall cause the limitations and conditions so imposed to be clearly referenced on the Zoning Map and recorded in the land evidence records; provided, however, in the case of a conditional zone change, the limitations, restrictions, and conditions shall not be noted on the Zoning Map until the zone change has become effective. If the permitted use for which the land has been rezoned is abandoned or if the land is not used for the requested purpose for a period of two years or more after the zone change becomes effective, the Town or City Council may, after a public hearing as hereinbefore set forth, change the land to its original zoning use before the petition was filed. If any limitation, condition, or restriction in an ordinance is held to be invalid by a court in any action, that holding shall not cause the remainder of the ordinance to be invalid.
K.
The above requirements are to be construed as minimum requirements.
L.
Effective date. This chapter is in effect when passed by the Town Council as of May 15, 2007.
M.
Severability. If any provision of this chapter or any rule, regulation or determination made thereunder, or the application thereof to any person, agency or circumstances, is held invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, the remainder of this chapter or the rule, regulation or determination and the application of such provisions to other persons, agencies, or circumstances shall not be affected thereby. The invalidity of any section or sections of this Zoning Ordinance shall not affect the validity of the remainder of the ordinance.