Meriden City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XIII
Amendment Procedure
§ 213-77 Amendments authorized.
The districts established by this chapter or the boundaries thereof may be changed or altered or any provision thereof may be changed, altered or amended and any property within the City may be rezoned, reclassified or established whenever the public necessity, convenience or general welfare requires the same by the procedure set forth in this section.
§ 213-78 Initiation of procedure.
[Amended 8-21-1989; 6-15-2026]
Any such change, amendment, alteration, rezoning or establishment (singly or collectively referred to herein as an "amendment") may be initiated by:
A.
The filing of a verified petition of one or more persons having a legal or equitable interest in the property affected by the proposed amendment, which petition shall be filed with the Planning Department and which shall contain reasons why the change of zone is being sought and shall be accompanied by a map of the property at an appropriate scale showing a radius of 500 feet and the names of all property owners, including addresses, within the radius, to comply with Title 8, Chapter 124, of the Connecticut State Statutes.
§ 213-79 Public hearings; notice.
A.
Public hearing and notice. The City Council, acting as the Zoning Commission, shall hold a public hearing on all proposed amendments to this chapter or the Zoning Map, and the City Clerk shall publish a notice of said hearing in a newspaper having a substantial circulation in the municipality at least twice at intervals of not less than two days, the first not more than 15 days nor less than 10 days and the last not less than two days before such hearing.
B.
Additional notice.
(1)
In addition, for proposed Zoning Map amendments, the Council shall give notice of any such hearing at least 10 days prior to the date of the hearing to the applicant filing the application and to the property owners whose property is located within, abutting and directly across the street from all boundaries of the proposed Zoning Map change.
(2)
The applicant shall provide the names of abutting property owners from the latest City of Meriden Assessor's records. Abutting property owners are considered to include those across a street.
(3)
Further, the petitioner shall erect or cause to have erected a sign on the premises affected by the proposed amendment at least 10 days prior to the pubic hearing on such variance or special exception. Said sign shall be a minimum of four feet by five feet with black lettering no smaller than three inches by 1/2 inch on a white background. Said sign shall be weather-resistant, securely fastened or staked, be clearly visible from the street closest to the affected property and be maintained as such until the day following the public hearing.
(a)
The sign shall contain the following information:
Public Notice | |
|---|---|
A petition for an amendment to the Zoning Map has been filed with the City Council acting as the zoning commission. A public hearing will be held on said petition on (date of hearing) in City Hall. |
(b)
The sign shall also contain a summary of the petitioner's application.
(4)
A report from the Zoning Enforcement Officer attesting to whether the above-described sign was erected and maintained as required shall be made part of the record at the public hearing. Failure of a petitioner to comply with this requirement may be grounds for automatic denial of the amendment, with consideration being given to cases where weather conditions or acts of vandalism have destroyed a properly posted sign.
§ 213-80 Consideration by Planning Commission.
Prior to the aforesaid hearing, the Planning Commission shall consider the proposed amendment and make a report of its findings and recommendations with respect to the proposed amendment and shall submit to the Zoning Commission by filing with said Commission an attested copy of such report within 35 days after receipt of the proposed change. Failure of the Planning Commission to report within said period shall be deemed to be an approval by the Planning Commission of the proposed amendment.
§ 213-81 Consideration by City Council.
Upon filing of such report by the Planning Commission or upon the expiration of said 35 days as aforesaid and after notice has been given as provided in § 213-79A hereof, the City Council shall hold a public hearing and hear and consider said matter, at which time the statement of the vote of the Planning Commission approving, disapproving or proposing modification of such proposal shall be publicly read or, in the alternative, a public statement made by the Planning Commission, as filed, to report on the proposal. Where a proposed amendment is by petition, within 65 days following the conclusion of said hearing the City Council, acting as the Zoning Commission, shall act on the petition. If the Planning Commission reports negatively, the City Council, acting as the Zoning Commission, would require a 2/3 vote to approve a zone change.
