Milton Freewater City Zoning Code
CHAPTER 3
ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS
10-3-1: DEVELOPMENT PERMIT REQUIRED:
Prior to development of a structure or land, a person shall obtain a development permit from the city. (Ord. 667, 9-24-1984)
10-3-2: PREAPPLICATION CONFERENCE:
Prior to submittal of a development permit application, the applicant and the director (or a designee) shall discuss the proposal for the purpose of determining the appropriate processing procedure level. The determination of the director shall be appealable to the planning commission as provided in section 10-3-12 of this chapter. (Ord. 667, 9-24-1984)
10-3-3: DEVELOPMENT PERMIT APPLICATION:
An application for a development permit shall consist of the materials specified in this section.
A. A completed development permit application form, which includes the applicant's current address which shall serve as the address for all correspondence and notices regarding the application. It shall be the applicant's responsibility to notify the city in writing of any change in address.
B. An explanation of intent, stating the nature of the proposed development, reasons for the permit request, pertinent background information, information required by the pertinent sections of this title, and other information that may have a bearing on the processing of an application of that level.
C. Proof that the property affected by the application is in the exclusive ownership of the applicant, or that the applicant has the consent of all partners in ownership of the affected property.
D. Legal description of the property affected by the application.
E. Additional information required by other sections of this title because of the level of development proposal or the area involved. (Ord. 667, 9-24-1984)
10-3-4: SUBMISSION OF DEVELOPMENT PERMIT APPLICATION:
Application materials shall be submitted to the director who shall have the date of submission indicated on each copy of the materials submitted. Within five (5) days from the date of submission, the director shall determine whether an application is complete. If the application is incomplete or otherwise does not conform to the provisions of this chapter, the director shall notify the applicant as soon as possible by mail, and by other means if necessary. Such notification shall contain a clear statement of the chapter provisions which have not been met.
An incomplete application may be resubmitted as soon as it is revised to overcome the deficiencies listed in the notification.
Upon receipt of a complete application, the director shall accept it and note the date of acceptance and the procedure necessary to process the application. (Ord. 667, 9-24-1984)
10-3-5: AGENCY REVIEW:
For level III procedures, or level II procedures, when necessary the director may transmit one copy of the application, or appropriate parts of the application to any public agency or governmental unit which may have a special concern related to the application, so that they can review and comment. If the referral agency does not comment within ten (10) days, unless an extension of up to ten (10) days is requested by the agency and granted by the director, the referral agency is presumed to have no comment. The director shall grant an extension only if the application involves unusual circumstances or if due to circumstances related to level III procedure. (Ord. 667, 9-24-1984)
10-3-6: PROCEDURE FOR PROCESSING APPLICATIONS:
An application for a development permit shall be processed under a level I, II, III or IV procedure. The director shall determine which procedure is specified by this chapter for a particular application. An application shall be processed under the highest number procedure required for any part of the proposal. (Ord. 667, 9-24-1984)
10-3-7: LEVEL I PROCEDURE:
A. Under the level I procedure, an application shall be processed, without public hearing or notification of other property owners.
The director shall issue a decision on a level I proposal within five (5) days of acceptance of the application.
B. Appeal of level I decisions is provided in section 10-3-12 of this chapter.
C. The director shall submit a list of the past month's level I actions to the planning commission at their regular business meetings.
D. In zones where level I uses are subject to site plan review, the procedures specified in chapter 8 of this title shall be used in addition to the level I procedures. When site plan review is required, the decision on a level I proposal shall be issued within fifteen (15) days of acceptance of the application. (Ord. 667, 9-24-1984)
10-3-8: LEVEL II PROCEDURE:
A. Under level II procedures, an application shall be processed without a public hearing.
B. The director shall mail notice of the proposal to persons designated by section 10-3-15 of this chapter to receive such notice. Form and content of the notice shall be as prescribed by section 10-3-15 of this chapter. Comments must be received within seven (7) days of the mailing date to be considered in the decision.
C. The director shall issue a decision on a level II proposal within ten (10) days of acceptance of the application.
D. Appeal of level II decisions is provided in section 10-3-12 of this chapter.
E. The director shall submit a list of the past month's level II actions to the planning commission at their regular business meetings.
F. In zones where level II uses are subject to site plan review, the procedures specified in chapter 8 of this title shall be used in addition to the level II procedure. When site plan review is required, the decision on a level II proposal shall be issued within thirty (30) days of acceptance of the application. (Ord. 667, 9-24-1984)
10-3-9: LEVEL III PROCEDURE:
The purpose of the public hearing is to gather information on the proposal and its relationship to the relevant criteria and standards of this title.
B. The commission may approve, deny, or approve with such conditions as are necessary to bring the proposal into conformance with the standards of this title. Conditions of approval may include actions necessary to avoid imposition of undue public service obligations on the city, or mitigation of detrimental effects on other property owners. Conditions of approval shall state the standard or policy which permits or requires such condition. (Ord. 667, 9-24-1984)
C. Action on level III procedure application shall be completed by the planning commission within fifty five (55) days of acceptance of the application unless circumstances such as the need for additional information warrant continuation of the public hearing or deferral of decision to a later meeting. In cases of delay, a specific statement of the grounds for the delay, and a date for final action shall be announced as part of the decision to delay. In any case, the commission shall complete a level III action within sixty five (65) days of acceptance of the application. (Ord. 764, 5-26-1992)
D. The decision of the commission may be appealed by a party to the hearing in accordance with section 10-3-12 of this chapter. (Ord. 667, 9-24-1984)
10-3-10: LEVEL IV PROCEDURE:
A. Under the level IV procedure, applications are first scheduled for a public hearing before the planning commission pursuant to section 10-3-14 of this chapter, the planning commission then makes a recommendation to the city council who also holds a public hearing. The purpose of the hearings is to gather information on the proposal, and its relationship to any relevant zoning criteria and to any relevant comprehensive plan policies. (Ord. 667, 9-24-1984)
B. The planning commission shall complete action on the proposal within fifty five (55) days of acceptance of the application unless a delay is approved as permitted in subsection 10-3-14B of this chapter. (Ord. 764, 5-26-1992)
C. If the planning commission has recommended denial of a proposal, the city council may review the record of the planning commission's action, and terminate action on the proposal without further review.
For actions which are not terminated or for actions which receive a recommendation of approval from the planning commission, the city council shall conduct a public hearing. Form of notice and persons to receive notice are as required by section 10-3-15 of this chapter.
At the public hearing, the council shall review the report of the planning commission and other pertinent information, and interested persons shall be given the opportunity to present new testimony and information relevant to the proposal that was not heard before the planning commission and make final arguments why the matter should or should not be approved, and if approved, the nature of the provisions to be contained in approving action.
D. The city council shall make a finding of fact for each applicable criteria and comprehensive plan policy, and may uphold or reverse a finding or recommendation of the planning commission.
The council may approve, deny, or modify a proposal. Changes in the zone map or zoning ordinance test approved under the level IV procedure shall be made by ordinance.
E. The council shall complete action on a level IV procedure within one hundred twenty (120) days of acceptance of the application. (Ord. 667, 9-24-1984)
10-3-11: WRITTEN NOTICE OF DECISION:
Approval or denial of an application made pursuant to this chapter shall be accompanied by a brief statement which explains the criteria and standards applicable to the application, and the findings which support the decision shall be entered in the minutes of the meeting during which the findings are adopted. (Ord. 667, 9-24-1984)
10-3-12: APPEAL, NOTICE:
A. Authorization To Appeal: A person may appeal a decision of the planning director or of the site plan review committee to the planning commission. A person may appeal a decision of the planning commission to the city council.
B. Standing To Appeal: A person shall have standing to appeal if the person:
1. Is the applicant.
2. Is on the affected party notification list.
3. Was not on the affected party notification list, but participated in the original decision process.
C. Review Of Lower Decision: The city council may review a decision of the planning commission on its own initiative.
The planning commission may review a decision of the planning director on its own initiative.
Notice for review by initiative shall be the same as required for the original application.
D. Notice And Form Of Appeal: Written notice of the intent to appeal must be filed with the planning director within fifteen (15) days of the date of the decision which is being appealed. If notice is not filed within this period, the decision shall be final.
Appeals shall be filed on forms provided by the planning department. Appeals shall state the decision or portion thereof which is being appealed, the provision(s) of this title which was the basis of the decision, and grounds of appeal which is alleged to invalidate the decision. (Ord. 667, 9-24-1984)
10-3-13: PROCEDURE FOR ACTING ON AN APPEAL:
The planning commission or city council shall hold a hearing on the appeal within forty five (45) days from the date the appeal is filed.
An appeal shall be based on, but not limited to, the record of the decision being appealed.
Upon adoption of findings, the appellate body may affirm, modify, or reverse the lower decision.
Hearing procedure for appeals shall be as prescribed in section 10-3-14 of this chapter. (Ord. 667, 9-24-1984)
10-3-14: PUBLIC HEARING PROCEDURE:
A. The city council shall adopt by resolution and publish procedures for public hearings for quasi-judicial, legislative, and appeal hearings. These procedures shall give opportunity to interested parties to present, oppose, and rebut testimony and evidence which relates to the published standards and criteria of this title or other portions of this code. Testimony which is not related to these standards and criteria cannot be considered by the commission in its decision. Public hearings shall be conducted in a businesslike fashion. Disruptive or abusive conduct may be grounds for immediate suspension of the proceedings.
B. The city council or the planning commission may continue a hearing to a date and time specified if the council or commission feels that additional factual information is necessary to make a decision. Hearings may also be continued to serve notice to persons in addition to those originally notified when the council or commission feels that additional citizen involvement is warranted. (Ord. 667, 9-24-1984)
10-3-15: NOTIFICATION OF SURROUNDING PROPERTY OWNERS OR AFFECTED PARTIES:
A. Form Of Notice: All individual public notice provided to surrounding property owners or affected parties required by this chapter to receive such notice shall at a minimum contain the following:
1. Explain the nature of the application and the proposed use or uses which could be authorized;
2. List the applicable criteria from the ordinance and the plan that apply to the application at issue;
3. Set forth the street address or other easily understood geographical reference to the subject property;
4. State the date, time and location of the hearing;
5. State that failure of an issue to be raised in a hearing, in person or by letter, or failure to provide sufficient specificity to afford the decision maker an opportunity to respond to the issue precludes appeal to the board based on that issue;
6. Include the name of a local government representative to contact and the telephone number where additional information may be obtained;
7. State that a copy of the application, all documents and evidence relied upon by the applicant and applicable criteria are available for inspection at no cost and will be provided at reasonable cost;
8. State that a copy of the staff report will be available for inspection at no cost at least seven (7) days prior to the hearing and will be provided at reasonable cost; and
9. Include a general explanation of the requirements for submission of testimony and the procedure for conduct of hearings. (Ord. 764, 5-26-1992)
Required notice shall be mailed to owners of record, as indicated by the county assessor records, by first class mail. Failure of a person to receive notice prescribed by this chapter shall not impair the validity of the hearing or the decision.
B. Persons To Receive Notice Of Level II Applications:
1. Notice of level II applications shall be given to all persons owning property which has a common boundary with the subject parcel, or which would have a common boundary but for the presence of a public right of way.
2. Comments on a level II application must be received in the planning department within seven (7) days of the mailing date of the notice to be considered in the decision.
3. The director shall issue a decision on a level II proposal within ten (10) days of acceptance of the application. (Ord. 667, 9-24-1984)
C. Persons To Receive Notice Of Level III Applications:
1. Notice of level III applications shall be given to all persons owning property within two hundred feet (200') of the exterior boundary of the subject parcel. Level III notice shall be mailed at least twenty (20) days prior to the hearing date.
2. Notice of level III applications shall also include one notice in a newspaper of general circulation in the area (newspaper must be published in Oregon) at least ten (10) days prior to the public hearing. (Ord. 764, 5-26-1992)
D. Persons To Receive Notice Of Level IV Applications:
1. Notice of level IV applications shall be given to all persons owning property within two hundred feet (200') of the exterior boundary of the subject parcel. Notice shall be mailed at least ten (10) days prior to the hearing date.
2. Notice of level IV applications shall also include two (2) notices in a newspaper of general circulation in the area (newspaper must be published in Oregon) for two (2) consecutive weeks prior to the hearing date, with the first date of publication to be at least twenty (20) days prior to the hearing date. (Ord. 764, 5-26-1992)
3. Notice of level IV application shall be sent to the department of land conservation and development as required by Oregon Revised Statutes 197.610.
4. When a level IV application is a text amendment, and not specific to any property, notice as provided in subsection D1 of this section is not required.
E. Additional Notice: Nothing in this section shall be construed as limiting the provisions of notice to additional persons by whatever means, consistent with the principle of gathering productive citizen input. (Ord. 667, 9-24-1984)
10-3-16: FEES:
The city council shall adopt by resolution and publish a schedule of fees for the various permits and administrative procedures prescribed by this title. (Ord. 667, 9-24-1984)