The city commission may from time to time amend, supplement or change by ordinance the boundaries of the districts or the regulation herein established. Before taking any action on the proposed amendments, supplement or change, the city commission shall submit the same to the city planning and zoning commission for its recommendation and report. A public hearing shall be held by the city commission before adopting any proposed amendment, supplement, or change. Notice of such hearing shall be given by publication one time in a paper published in the City of Mercedes, Texas, stating the time and place of such hearing, which time shall not be earlier than fifteen (15) days after the publication.

Unless such proposed amendment, supplement or change has been approved by the city planning and zoning commission or if a protest against such amendment, supplement or change has been filed with the city secretary, duly signed and acknowledged by the owners of twenty (20) percent or more either of the area of the lots proposed in such proposed change or those immediately adjacent in the rear thereof extending two hundred (200) feet therefrom or those directly opposite thereto extending two hundred (200) feet from the street frontage of such opposite lots such amendment shall not become effective except by three-fourths (3/4) vote of the governing body of the City of Mercedes, Texas.

All zone change and amendment requests submitted to the City Planner for consideration by the Planning and Zoning Commission and the City Commission of the City of Mercedes, Texas, must be accompanied by payment in advance of fifty dollars and no cents ($50.00), to cover the administrative, office, printing, mailing, and legal publication costs before said request can be submitted to the Planning and Zoning Commission or the City Commission for consideration.

The City Commission of the City of Mercedes, Texas shall have the inherent right to initiate rezoning on any property or series of properties within its municipal jurisdiction when deemed to be in the best interests of the City. The process to discern whether or not to initiate a change of land use zoning will include, but not be limited to, Planning Staff’s written examination report to the City Commission justifying the institution of the rezoning public hearing process. If the City Commission acts by majority vote to initiate rezoning, the typical statutory public hearing process must be complied with.

Editor’s note–Ordinance 2017-19 amended the zoning ordinance but did not specify the manner of inclusion of such provisions. Designation as section 3 of article 25 was at the discretion of the editor.