Little Compton City Zoning Code
§ 14-9.11
Adoption, Amendment and Administration of Zoning Chapter.
[Ord. 6/23/94, Art. 9]
a.
Procedure. Other than for proposals originated by the Town Council, the Town Clerk shall be the officer to receive a proposal for adoption, amendment, or repeal of a zoning ordinance or zoning map(s). Immediately upon receipt of such proposal, the Town Clerk shall refer such proposal to the Town Council and the Planning Board for study and recommendation. If the proposal originates with the Town Council, the Town Council shall refer such proposal to the Planning Board and the Building Official. The Planning Board shall report to the Town Council within 45 days after receipt of the proposal, giving its findings and recommendations. The Town Council shall hold a public hearing within 65 days of receipt of proposal, giving proper notice as prescribed in Subsection c below. The Town Council shall render a decision on any such proposal within 45 days after the date of completion of the public hearing. The provisions of this subsection pertaining to deadlines shall not be construed to apply to any extension consented to by the applicant. Except for action initiated by the Town Council or a Town agency or official, all applications shall be accompanied by a filing fee as established by the Town Council and payable to the Town of Little Compton. Said filing fee shall be set in an amount required to cover the expenses of public hearing notification, stenographic services for public hearing records and any other expenses incurred in the processing of the application and the final action thereon. Said fee shall be returnable only in the event the application is withdrawn prior to the issuance of official public hearing notice. Said fee may be waived at the discretion of the Town Council upon the showing of financial hardship by the applicant.
b.
Review by Planning Board. Among its findings and recommendations to the amendment or repeal of this chapter or zoning map, the Planning Board shall:
1.
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
c.
Notice and Hearing Requirements.
1.
No zoning ordinance shall be adopted, repealed, or amended until after a public hearing has been held upon the question before the Town Council.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 such public hearing by publication of notice in a newspaper of general circulation within the Town at least once each week for three consecutive weeks prior to the date of such 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 to the proposed ordinance. Written notice, which may be a copy of said newspaper notice, shall be mailed to the parties specified in Subsections c2, 3, 4 and 5 of this subsection, at least two weeks prior to the hearing. Such newspaper notice shall be published as a display advertisement, using a type size at least as large as the normal type size used by the newspaper in its news articles, and shall:
[Amended 9-5-2019]
(a)
Specify the place of said hearing and the date and time of its commencement;
(b)
Indicate that adoption, amendment or repeal of a zoning ordinance is under consideration;
(c)
Contain a statement of the proposed amendments to the ordinance that may be printed once in its entirety, or summarize or describe the matter under consideration;
(d)
Advise those interested where and when a copy of the matter under consideration may be obtained or examined and copied; and
(e)
State that the proposal 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 such alteration or amendment must be presented for comment in the course of said hearing.
2.
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 c1 of this subsection.
3.
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 in Subsection c1 of this subsection, with the additional requirements that:
(a)
Notice shall include a map showing the existing and proposed boundaries, zoning district boundaries, and existing streets and roads and their names, and Town boundaries where appropriate; and
(b)
Written notice of the date, time and place of the public hearing and the nature and purpose thereof shall be sent by certified mail, return receipt required, to all owners of real property whose property is located within 200 feet of the perimeter of the area proposed for change, whether within the Town or within an adjacent city or town in which the property is located.
4.
Notice of a public hearing shall be sent by certified mail, return receipt required, to the city or town council of any city or town to which one or more of the following pertain:
(a)
Which is located within 200 feet of the boundary of the area proposed for change; or
(b)
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.
5.
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 company has filed with the Building Official 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.
6.
No defect in the form of any notice under this section shall render any ordinance or amendment invalid, unless such defect is found to be intentional or misleading.
d.
Costs. Costs of any notice required under this section shall be borne by the applicant.
e.
Limitations and Conditions. In granting a zoning ordinance amendment, the Town Council may limit the change to one or more of the permitted uses in the zone to which the subject land is rezoned, and impose such limitations, conditions and restrictions, including without limitation:
1.
Requiring the petitioner to obtain a permit or approval from any and all Federal, State or local governmental agencies having jurisdiction over the land and use which are subject to the zoning change;
2.
Relating to the effectiveness or continued effectiveness of the zoning change; and/or
3.
Relating to the use of the land as it deems necessary.
The Chair of the Planning Board and the Town Clerk shall cause the limitations and conditions so imposed to be clearly noted 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 Council may, after a public hearing as herein before set forth, change the land to its original zoning use before such petition was filed. If any limitation, condition, or restriction in an ordinance amendment is held to be invalid by a court in any action, that holding shall not cause the remainder of the ordinance to be invalid. |
f.
Limit on Successive Petitions. Where the Town Council denies or grants leave to withdraw to an application for amendment of this chapter, the Council shall not consider another application for substantially the same amendment for a period of one year from the date of such denial or withdrawal. This period may be waived if the later application is accompanied by an affidavit presenting facts, to the satisfaction of the Town Council, showing that a substantial change in circumstances exists, justifying a rehearing of the proposed amendment.