Minnesott Beach City Zoning Code
AMENDMENTS
§ 151.265 WHO MAY PETITION.
(A) A petition for a zoning amendment may be initiated by the Town Commissioners, the Planning Board, the owner of any property within the zoning jurisdiction of the town, any resident within the zoning jurisdiction of the town or any person with a legal interest in real property within the zoning jurisdiction of the town.
(B) No amendment to zoning regulations or the zoning map that down-zones property shall be initiated nor is it enforceable without the written consent of all property owners whose property is the subject of the down-zoning amendment, unless the down-zoning amendment is initiated by the town. For purposes of this section, "down-zoning" means a zoning ordinance that affects an area of land in one of the following ways:
(1) By decreasing the development density of the land to be less dense than was allowed under its previous usage.
(2) By reducing the permitted uses of the land that are specified in a zoning ordinance or land development regulation to fewer uses than were allowed under its previous usage.
(Ord. passed 2-10-2009, § 13.1; Ord. passed 7-6-2022, § 2.20)
§ 151.266 FEE.
A fee in accordance with the approved town fee schedule shall be paid to the town for each application for amendment to this ordinance to cover the costs of advertising and other administrative expenses involved.
(Ord. passed 2-10-2009, § 13.2)
2024 S-10
§ 151.267 APPLICATION PROCEDURE.
(A) Any application for a zoning amendment to this ordinance shall be filed with the Zoning Administrator at least ten days prior to the date on which it is to be introduced to the Town Commissioners.
(B) The Zoning Administrator shall be responsible for presenting the application to the Town Commissioners.
(C) Each application shall be signed, be in triplicate and shall contain at least the following information:
(1) The applicant’s name in full, applicant’s address and description of the property to be rezoned;
(2) The applicant’s interest in the property and the type of rezoning requested;
(3) If the proposed change would require a change in the zoning map, an accurate diagram of the property proposed for rezoning showing:
(a) All property lines with dimensions; north arrow;
(b) Adjoining streets with rights-of-way and paving widths;
(c) The location of all structures;
(d) The use of all land; and
(e) Zoning classification of all abutting zoning districts.
(4) A statement regarding the changing conditions, if any, in the area or in the town generally, that makes the proposed amendment reasonably necessary to the promotion of the public health, safety and general welfare.
(Ord. passed 2-10-2009, § 13.3)
§ 151.268 AMENDMENT SUBMISSION.
(A) All proposed zoning amendments to this ordinance or to the zoning map shall be submitted to the Planning Board for review and comment. The review and comment on ordinance amendments cannot be assigned to the governing board and must be performed by a separate board.
(B) The Planning Board shall advise and comment on whether the proposed amendment is consistent with any comprehensive plan that has been adopted and any other officially adopted plan that is applicable. The Planning Board shall provide a written recommendation within 30 days of referral of the requested amendment to the governing board that addresses plan consistency and other matters as deemed appropriate by the Planning Board. A comment by the Planning Board that a proposed amendment is inconsistent with the comprehensive plan shall not preclude consideration or approval of the proposed amendment by the governing board.
(C) The Planning Board recommendation is not binding on the Town Commissioners.
(Ord. passed 2-10-2009, § 13.4; Ord. passed 7-6-2022, § 2.21)
§ 151.269 REQUIRED PUBLIC HEARING.
(A) No ordinance that amends any of the provisions of this ordinance may be adopted until a public hearing has been held on the ordinance.
(B) The Administrator shall publish a notice of the public hearing on any amendments to this ordinance once a week for two successive weeks in a newspaper having general circulation in the area. The notice shall be published for the first time not less than ten days or more than 25 days before the date fixed for the hearing. In computing this period, the date of publication shall not be counted but the date of the hearing shall be.
(C) With respect to map amendments, the Administrator shall mail written notice of the public hearing to the recorded owners as shown on the county tax listing of all properties whose zoning classification are changed by the proposed amendment as well as the owners of all properties which are within 150 feet of the property rezoned by the amendment or whose property may be substantially impacted because of access or property activity as a result of the proposed rezoning. This notice must be deposited in the mail at least ten but not more than 25 days prior to the date of the public hearing. The person or persons mailing the notices shall certify to the Town Commissioners that the mailing was done and the certificate shall be deemed conclusive and absent of fraud.
(D) When a zoning map amendment is proposed, the Administrator shall prominently post a notice of the public hearing on the site proposed for rezoning, or on an adjacent public street or highway right-of-way at least ten but not more than 25 days prior to the date of the public hearing. When multiple parcels are included within a proposed zoning map amendment, a posting on each individual parcel is not required. However, the town shall post sufficient notices to provide reasonable notice to interested persons.
(E) The notice required or authorized by this section shall:
(1) State the date, time; and place of the public hearing;
(2) Summarize the nature and character of the proposed change;
(3) Reasonably identify the property whose classification would be affected by the amendment, if the proposed amendment involves a change in zoning district classification;
(4) State the full text of the amendment can be obtained from the Town Clerk; and
(5) State that substantial changes in the proposed amendment may be made following the public hearing.
(F) If the adoption or modification would result in changes to the zoning map or would change or affect the permitted uses of land located five miles or less from the perimeter boundary of a military base, the town shall provide written notice of the proposed changes by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the commander of the military base not less than ten days nor more than 25 days before the date fixed for the hearing. If the commander of the military base provides comments or analysis regarding the compatibility of the proposed development regulation or amendment with military operations at the base, the governing board shall take the comments and analysis into consideration before making a final determination on the ordinance.
(Ord. passed 2-10-2009, § 13.5; Ord. passed 7-6-2022, §§ 2.22, 2.23; Ord. passed 2024)
§ 151.270 TOWN COMMISSIONERS ACTION ON AMENDMENTS.
(A) In considering proposed changes in the text of this ordinance or in the zoning map, the Town Commissioners act in their legislative capacity and must proceed in accordance with the requirements and provisions set forth in this subchapter.
(B) At the conclusion of the public hearing on a proposed amendment, the Town Commissioners may proceed to vote on the amendment, refer it for further study or take any other action consistent with the usual rules of procedure. All development regulation adopted pursuant to G.S. Chapter 160D shall be adopted by ordinance.
(C) The Town Commissioners are not required to take final action on a proposed amendment within any specific period of time but should proceed as expeditiously as practicable on petitions for amendments since inordinate delays can result in the petitioner incurring unnecessary costs.
(D) If no written report is received from the Planning Board within 30 days of referral of the amendment to that Board, the governing board may proceed in its consideration of the amendment without the Planning Board report. The governing board is not bound by the recommendations, if any, of the Planning Board.
(E) Prior to adopting or rejecting any zoning text or map amendment, the Town Commissioners shall adopt a statement describing whether its action is consistent or inconsistent with an adopted comprehensive or land-use plan. The requirement for a plan consistency statement may also be met by a clear indication in the minutes of the governing board that at the time of action on the amendment the Board of Commissioners was aware of and considered the Planning Board's recommendations and any relevant portions of an adopted comprehensive or land-use plan. That statement is not subject to judicial review.
(F) When adopting or rejecting any petition for a zoning map amendment, a statement analyzing the reasonableness of the proposed rezoning shall be approved by the Town Commissioners. This statement of reasonableness may consider, among other factors, (i) the size, physical conditions, and other attributes of the area proposed to be rezoned; (ii) the benefits and detriments to the landowners, the neighbors, and the surrounding community; (iii) the relationship between the current actual and permissible development on the tract and adjoining areas and the development that would be permissible under the proposed amendment; (iv) why the action taken is in the public interest; and (v) any changed conditions warranting the amendment. If a zoning map amendment qualifies as a "large-scale rezoning" under G.S. § 160D-602(b), the governing board statement on reasonableness may address the overall rezoning.
(G) A Town Commissioner shall not vote on any zoning map or text amendment where the outcome of the matter being considered is reasonably likely to have a direct, substantial and readily identifiable financial impact on the member.
(Ord. passed 2-10-2009, § 13.6; Ord. passed 7-6-2022, § 2.24)
§ 151.271 PROTEST TO ZONING DISTRICT CHANGES.
(A) If a petition opposing a change in the zoning classification of any property is filed in accordance with the provisions of this section, then the proposed amendment may be adopted only by a favorable vote of three-fourths of the Town Commissioners. For the purposes of this division, vacant positions on the Town Board of Commissioners and members who are excused from voting shall not be considered “members of the council” for calculation of the requisite supermajority.
(B) To trigger the three-fourths vote requirement, the petition must:
(1) (a) Be signed by the owners of either:
1. Twenty percent or more of the area included in the proposed change; or
2. Five percent of a 100-foot-wide buffer strip extending along the entire boundary of each discrete or separate area proposed to be rezoned.
(b) A street right-of-way shall not be considered in computing the 100-foot buffer strip area as long as that street right-of-way is 100 feet wide or less. When less than the entire parcel of land is subject to the proposed zoning map amendment, the 100-foot buffer strip shall be measured from the property line of that parcel. In the absence of evidence to the contrary, the town may rely on the county tax listing to determine the “owners” of potentially qualifying areas.
(2) Be in the form of a written petition actually bearing the signatures of the requisite number of property owners and stating that the signers do protest the proposed change or amendment;
(3) Be received by the Town Clerk in sufficient time to allow the governing body at least two normal working days before the date established for a public hearing on the proposed amendment to determine the sufficiency and accuracy of the petition; and
(4) Be on a form provided by the Town Clerk and contain all the information requested on this form.
(C) A person who has signed a protest petition may withdraw his or her name from the petition at any time prior to the vote on the proposed zoning amendment. Only those protest petitions that meet the qualifying standards set forth in G.S. §§ 160D-102, 160D-18(d) and 160D-603 at the time of the vote on the zoning amendment shall trigger the supermajority voting requirement.
(D) The foregoing provisions concerning protests shall not be applicable to any amendment which initially zones property added to the territorial coverage of the ordinance as a result of annexation or otherwise, or to an amendment to an adopted:
(1) Conditional zoning;
(2) Conditional zoning and special use permits; or
(3) If the amendment does not change the types of uses that are permitted within the district or increase the total approved density for residential development, or increase the total approved size of any buffers or screening approved for the special use or conditional zoning.
(Ord. passed 2-10-2009, § 13.7; Ord. passed - -2021)