(A)   An applicant for an approval required by this title must be the owner of the subject property or a person who has written permission from the owner to make application in the name of the owner.

   (B)   Unless waived or excepted by specific provisions of this chapter, title, or title IX of this code, the procedures in this chapter apply to preliminary development plan reviews and applications for: an amendment of this title or title IX of this code, a zoning map amendment (except a legislative rather than quasi-judicial revision of the zoning map), a variance, a planned unit development, a conditional use permit, a subdivision, a scenic route approval, a request to vacate an easement or right of way, appeals, or other land use decisions referenced by this title and title IX of this code.

   (C)   The provisions of section 3.15.02, "Preliminary Development Plan Review", of this chapter, apply prior, and in addition, to the formal application for a land use approval. Evidence of compliance with section 3.15.02 of this chapter must be submitted as part of the application. (Ord. 821, 2-23-2006, eff. 3-16-2006)

   (A)   Presentation Of Plan: The applicant will present to the administrator and commission, in a scheduled meeting, but a nonpublic hearing, a preliminary development plan for review and discussion. All materials to be reviewed and discussed shall be provided, or be available, to commission members at a regular scheduled meeting of the commission.

   (B)   Neighborhood Meetings: It is required that the applicant organize one, or more, meetings of neighboring groups before submitting plans for a public hearing. The purpose of such meetings is to obtain input to improve plans and reduce negative comment from neighbors.

      1.   Timing: Within 75 days and not less than 7 days prior to the submittal of an application, the applicant shall conduct a neighborhood meeting.

      2.   Notification: Notification of the neighborhood meeting shall be sent by US mail to all property owners within 300' of the site of the proposed application at least 14 days prior to the date of the meeting. The notice shall describe the application and invite those property owners to the neighborhood meeting to discuss the proposal.

      3.   Summary of the Meeting: The application submitted to the City shall include a summary of the comments received at the meeting and a listing of the persons attending.

   (C)   Review And Meetings Not Required For Appeals: Preliminary development plan review and neighborhood meetings are not required for appeals.

   (D)   Waiver Of Requirements: The administrator may waive the requirements of this section for those applications deemed to be routine in nature or to have no substantial impact on adjacent properties or the community at large. (Ord. 821, 2-23-2006, eff. 3-16-2006; amd. Ord. 983, 12-19-2019, eff. 1-1-2020)

   (A)   Date; Quorum: The date for public hearings shall be fixed by the chairman of the commission within a reasonable time and in no event shall the date be set later than seventy five (75) days after the receipt of a complete application and all necessary documents pertinent thereto. Notwithstanding the absence of a quorum of the commission at the time set for a particular hearing, members of the commission present may by public announcement at the time and place of the hearing continue that hearing to a time and place where a quorum is anticipated to be present, exercising the power of the chair to set the time of hearing, and thus utilizing actual notice to those who responded to public notice. Further public notice of such a continued hearing need only be given by posting at city hall.

   (B)   Public Notice: The commission, through the administrator, shall give public notice at least fifteen (15) days prior to the hearing date in the official newspaper of the city. Notice shall be made available to all radio stations within the county for use as a public service announcement.

   (C)   Notice To Adjacent Property Owners: The applicant shall give notice by regular first class U.S. mail or personal delivery, and shall provide an affidavit, or proof, of such notice, to each owner of property of record as shown on records obtained from the Valley County assessor's office, or a commercial title company doing business in the county or city, any portion of which is located within three hundred feet (300') of the exterior boundary of the subject property, and to all others as required by state law to be entitled to notice. The notice shall be mailed or delivered at least fourteen (14) days prior to the scheduled public hearing. The notice shall give the date, time and place of the hearing, the name(s) of the applicant(s), the relief sought, an identification of the subject property, and such other information as may be prescribed by the commission. If the city is the applicant for modification or revocation of a variance or conditional use, such notice shall also be sent to the owner of the subject property by certified mail, return receipt requested, and delivered by hand to the occupant of the property. If an applicant is not the owner of all of the property affected by the application, as a zoning map amendment initiated by some but not all owners of the property affected, such notice shall also be sent to the owner of the subject property by certified mail, return receipt requested.

   (D)   Notice To Property Owner: In the event that the application has been filed by a person other than the property owner as such property owner is shown on the last equalized assessment roll, notice shall be mailed to the property owner.

   (E)   Request For Notice; Fee: Notice shall be given by first class mail to any person who has filed a written request with the administrator. Such a request may be submitted at any time during the calendar year and shall apply for the balance of such calendar year. The city may impose a reasonable fee on persons requesting such notice for the purpose of recovering the cost of such mailing.

   (F)   Additional Notices: If, during the preliminary review of the proposed project, the commission decides that a greater number of property owners, or owners with properties more than three hundred feet (300') from the exterior boundary of the subject property, should be noticed, the commission will so advise the applicant of the decision and the additional notices required.

   (G)   Failure To Receive Notice: The failure to receive notice by any person entitled thereto by law or by this chapter does not affect the validity of any action taken pursuant to the procedures set forth in this chapter.

   (H)   Posting Notice On Property: The applicant shall post notice, in a form approved by the administrator, conspicuously on the premises which is the subject of the application, not less than fifteen (15) days prior to the hearing date. The applicant shall provide photographic evidence of such notice to the administrator.

   (I)   Published Notice And Map: When notice of a hearing on a proposed zoning map amendment, conditional use, variance, scenic route application, planned unit development, or other zoning action is required to two hundred (200) or more property owners or purchasers of record, notice otherwise required by subsections (C) and (D) of this section need not be given; provided, that the published notice under subsection (B) of this section includes a map identifying the property together with text indicating the general nature of the zoning change proposed. The format of notice shall be provided by the administrator.

   (J)   Payment Of Fees: Fees shall be paid by the applicant at the time of filing an application. Fees shall be in accordance with a fee schedule established periodically by the council by resolution. These fees shall include costs of publication, mailing fees, any application fees and other charges as may be set by the council by resolution. (Ord. 821, 2-23-2006, eff. 3-16-2006)

The commission and/or council shall conduct all public hearings under this title as follows:

   (A)   A sign-in roster shall be kept at the entrance to the hearing room for all persons who wish to testify at the hearing on a particular application or issue.

   (B)   The chair of the meeting shall conduct the hearing in accordance with "Robert's Rules Of Order, Newly Revised", or its most recent revision.

   (C)   A transcribable record shall be taken and maintained, including audio and written.

   (D)   The chair shall call upon the administrator or staff to make preliminary presentation of facts and recommendations to the commission, including a summary of any comments or recommendations from other agencies.

   (E)   The chair shall then invite the applicant to make a presentation of the proposal to the commission.

   (F)   Every document or tangible thing referred to by any person during testimony (including charts, maps, photographic evidence or any other evidence) shall be marked and entered into the record of the proceeding. Such exhibits shall be maintained at the office of the city clerk during the appeal period, and if incorporated into or referenced by a condition of approval, thereafter for as long as necessary to ensure conformance. No exhibit shall be used or presented by an applicant as expressing the applicant's intent or promise, unless the applicant intends that compliance with that exhibit may be made a condition of the approval of the application.

   (G)   After the administrator or staff presentation and presentation by the applicant, the chair shall open the hearing for public testimony and shall invite the public to address the commission in the order of names found on the sign-in roster. If in the opinion of the chair the number of persons testifying is so large as to unduly delay the process of the hearing, the chair may limit public testimony to three (3) minutes or such other time for each member of the public.

   (H)   All persons testifying before the commission or council shall state, for the record, their full name and address.

   (I)   Members of the commission, council or the attorney assigned to advise the commission or council may question any person who testified at any time or may, upon approval of a majority of the members present, recall a person for further testimony.

   (J)   Before the close of the public testimony, the chair shall ask if any person attending the hearing who did not sign the roster wishes to be heard and any such person shall be given one opportunity to testify.

   (K)   At the close of public testimony, the chair shall solicit comments from administrator or staff for additional facts or clarifications as a result of the testimony given. After comments from administrator or staff, the applicant or appellant shall be given an opportunity to address final comments to the commission or council.

   (L)   After all testimony, the chair shall declare the public hearing closed and shall bring the matter back before the commission or council for discussion and action. Audience participation ceases at that time. The public hearing may be continued upon motion to a date certain which shall be announced to the public there assembled.

   (M)   The discussion and decision may be deferred until another date certain which shall be then announced to the public there assembled. (Ord. 821, 2-23-2006, eff. 3-16-2006)

Within thirty five (35) days after the public hearing, the commission shall recommend to the council either approval, conditional approval, or disapproval of an application; or, in the case of preliminary approval of a subdivision plat, make its decision to approve or not to approve such plat, with or without conditions. Upon making a recommendation, granting or denying an application, the commission shall specify in the minutes, and forward to the council, findings of fact and conclusions of law which shall include:

   (A)   The ordinance and standards used in the evaluation of the application.

   (B)   The manner in which the applicant complies or does not comply with the standards used in evaluating the application.

   (C)   The reasons for the recommendation upon, or approval or denial of the application.

   (D)   The conditions, if any, upon which a recommendation or an approval was made.

   (E)   A denial by the commission is a denial of an application, and, unless appealed to the city council, the application will be terminated and the application fee forfeited.

   (F)   The actions, if any, that the applicant could take to gain approval of the application.

   (G)   The time limit set forth above for acting on the application may be extended at the request of the developer and approved by the commission. (Ord. 821, 2-23-2006, eff. 3-16-2006)

Within twenty (20) days after a recommendation has been made or a decision has been rendered, the administrator shall provide the applicant with written notice of the action. (Ord. 821, 2-23-2006, eff. 3-16-2006)

   (A)   Right To Hearing; Exceptions: Within forty five (45) days after receipt of a recommendation and findings of fact and conclusions of law from the commission, the council shall hold a public hearing at which interested persons shall have the opportunity to be heard, except when:

      1.   The recommendation is for a variance, subdivision, planned unit development, or conditional use permit; and

      2.   The commission recommended that no second hearing be held; and

      3.   An appeal of the commission's action is not filed.

When these three (3) conditions are met, the council may act on the commission's recommendation without conducting a second hearing.

   (B)   Public Notice Of Hearing: If a hearing before the council is required, notice shall be given to the public at least fifteen (15) days prior to the hearing date, by publication, in the official newspaper of the city. Notice shall also be made available to all radio stations within the county.

   (C)   Notice To Adjacent Property Owners: Notice of the hearing shall be given by regular United States mail or personal delivery to each owner of property as shown on records obtained from the Valley County assessor's office, or a commercial title company doing business in the county or city, any portion of which is within three hundred feet (300') of the subject property, and to such other persons as may be required by state law. The notice shall give the date, time and place of the hearing; the name(s) of the applicant(s); the relief sought; an identification of the subject property; and, such other information as may be required by the council. Notice shall also be posted conspicuously on the subject property not less than one week prior to the hearing date. When notice of a hearing on a proposed zoning map amendment, conditional use, variance, planned unit development, or other zoning action is required to two hundred (200) or more property owners or purchasers of record, notice by mail and by posting as stated above need not be given; provided, that the published notice under subsection (B) of this section includes a map identifying the property together with text indicating the general nature of the zoning change proposed.

   (D)   Second Hearing; Fee: When a second hearing is required under any circumstances, the applicant shall pay a second filing fee, in addition to the postage and publication fees for the second hearing.

   (E)   Amendment Concerning Lands Within Impact Area: If an amendment to the zoning map or a planned unit development is proposed with respect to lands in the impact area, and the action proposed would be of legislative, rather than quasi-judicial scope as those terms are understood in land use planning law, then final action must also include approval of the amendment or proposal by the board, whether by identical county ordinance or by county ordinance referring to the city ordinance, after public hearing conducted jointly with the council. Nothing in this subsection shall be read to preclude approval by both council and board where doubt exists as to the legislative or quasi-judicial character of a particular action respecting the zoning map or planned unit development. (Ord. 821, 2-23-2006, eff. 3-16-2006)

   (A)   Right To Appeal: An aggrieved person may appeal the commission decision, or request a hearing on the commission recommendation, by filing a notice of appeal or request for hearing in writing with the city clerk no later than ten (10) days after the issuance of the findings and conclusions of the commission. When such notice of appeal or request is received, proceedings before the council shall be on the record made below. A notice of appeal shall set out with particularity the decision or part thereof from which the appeal is being taken, and whether or not facts found by the commission are disputed by appellant.

   (B)   Time Limits For Actions: The council shall hold a public hearing on the appeal and the application appealed within forty five (45) days of the request and shall follow the hearing procedures established in section 3.15.04 of this chapter. When there is no required hearing, the council shall put the matter down on its agenda upon a date certain for the consideration of written and oral arguments; notice of such hearing shall be provided to appellant no later than fifteen (15) days before the hearing; should appellant desire to file written arguments, appellant shall do so no later than five (5) days prior to the hearing.

   (C)   Stay Of Proceedings: An appeal or request for hearing stays all proceedings in furtherance of the action appealed from unless, after the notice of appeal or request for hearing is filed, the council finds that by reason of the facts stated in the application, a stay would cause imminent peril to health, safety or property.

   (D)   Council Action: After the hearing has been held, the council may:

      1.   Grant or deny the appeal or the permit; or

      2.   Delay such decision for no longer than sixty (60) days after the hearing date for further study or hearing; provided, however, that the council must render a decision no later than sixty (60) days from the date of the hearing. (Ord. 821, 2-23-2006, eff. 3-16-2006)

   (A)   A person aggrieved by a decision by the administrator under this title may appeal such decision to the commission.

   (B)   Appeals shall be filed within ten (10) days after mailing of notice of decision by the administrator.

   (C)   Appeals shall be conducted as a public hearing before the commission in the manner set forth in subsections 3.15.04 and 3.15.08 of this chapter. (Ord. 821, 2-23-2006, eff. 3-16-2006; amd. Ord. 998, 1-14-2021)

A person aggrieved by a decision under this title may, after all remedies have been exhausted under local ordinances, seek judicial review under the procedures provided by sections 67-5215(b) through (g) and section 67-5216, Idaho Code. (Ord. 821, 2-23-2006, eff. 3-16-2006)