The uses listed below are hereby classified as special uses and upon issuance of a special use permit by the planning commission and city council after a public hearing, such uses may be allowed in any zoning district where they are prohibited by this chapter. The planning commission and city council shall consider the health, safety, welfare and continued aesthetic beauty of the community when approving, approving with conditions, or denying a special use permit.

Any public buildings erected and used by any department of the city, township, county, state or federal government.

Cellular tower or antenna (commercial uses).

Community buildings.

Daycare centers, preschools and group homes, wherever the same is allowed as a permitted use, subject to the granting of a special use permit. In addition to all other requirements for obtaining a special use permit, the following criteria must be met:

   A.   All applicable state laws have been complied with.

   B.   The applicable local laws have been complied with.

   C.   The facility shall be harmonious with the surrounding properties.

   D.   The proposed facility shall have suitable parking and traffic flow areas for the safe pick up and delivery of children.

   E.   No playground equipment shall be permitted in the front or side yards.

   F.   Fenced play areas shall be enclosed or protected, well drained, free from hazards, and shall be readily accessible to the center.

Electrical and natural gas substations and regulating facilities.

Hospitals, nonprofit fraternal institutions, provided that they are used solely for fraternal purposes, and institutions of an educational, religious, philanthropic character, and any nonprofit museums.

Items erected to a height that exceeds the regulations listed within this title. These items may include chimneys, church steeples, cooling towers, elevator bulkheads, fire towers, monuments, stacks, stage towers or scenery lofts, tanks, water towers, ornamental towers, spires, wireless towers, grain elevators or necessary mechanical appurtenances.

Mortuary or funeral home.

Nursing home or assisted living.

Public or private cemeteries, including mausoleums.

Public park, playground or outdoor recreational facility.

Water and wastewater treatment facilities. (Ord. 2001-2, 6-12-2001; amd. Ord. 2003-11, 4-13-2004)

   A.   Request For Special Use Permit: Upon receiving a request for a special use permit, the zoning administrator shall review the proposal and a public hearing date shall be set before the planning commission. Upon a request for a special use permit, the planning commission shall give not less than fifteen (15) days' public notice of a hearing thereon in a newspaper of general circulation. The notice shall contain the particular location of the property affected by the special use permit requested, as well as a brief statement of the nature of special use permit or what the special use permit consists of. In addition, the City Clerk will post a notice of the public hearing in three (3) locations.

   B.   Notice To Property Owners: If a request for a special use permit is sought, the applicant shall furnish the City Clerk a complete list containing the names and last known addresses of the property owners required to be served at the time the application is filed plus a written notice. The City Clerk will be responsible for mailing the special use permit application to the surrounding property owners by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, not less than fifteen (15) days and not more than thirty (30) days prior to the hearing. One (1) owner of each property within two hundred fifty feet (250') in each direction of the lot line of the subject property shall be notified unless waived. Property ownership shall be based on the tax records of Hancock County and/or how the property is recorded with the Recorder of Deeds for Hancock County. The number of feet occupied by all public roads, streets, alleys, and other public ways shall be excluded in computing the two hundred fifty foot (250') requirement. Said notice shall contain the address of the subject property, the name and address of the applicant and property owner, a brief statement of the nature of the special use permit, and the date and location of the public hearing relative to the application. If, after a bona fide effort to determine such address by the applicant, the owner of the property on which notice is served cannot be found at his or its last known address, or the mailed notice is returned because the owner cannot be found at the last known address, the notice requirements of these provisions shall be deemed satisfied. Failure to comply with the provisions of this subsection shall render the application invalid. Upon the hearing, any party may appear in person or by agent or by attorney. (Ord. 2001-2, 6-12-2001)

   C.   Fees: The party filing for a special use permit to the Planning Commission shall pay a fee per the application fee schedule in chapter 12 of this title at the time of filing. An additional fee shall be paid for the costs of publication for the public hearing to be held on the special use permit. For applications that involve more than three (3) property owners surrounding the subject property, the applicant shall pay the current postal rate for each letter the City Clerk sends by registered or certified mail. The letters will not be sent out until the fees are paid. The fees shall be paid to the City Clerk, who shall give a receipt therefor; and a copy of the receipt shall be presented to the Planning Commission with the special use permit, as evidence that the fees required in the case have been paid. The fees thus collected by the City Clerk shall be paid to the credit of the General Fund of the City. (Ord. 2001-2, 6-12-2001; amd. Ord. 2012-3, 6-12-2012)

Before issuance of any special use permit for any of the above buildings or uses, the Planning Commission shall review the conformity of the proposal with the standards of the land use plan, and with recognized principles of engineering design, land use planning and landscape architecture. The Planning Commission may approve or disapprove the special use permit as submitted or, before approval, may require that the applicant modify, alter, adjust or amend the proposal as the Planning Commission deems necessary to the end that it preserve the intent and purpose of this title to promote public health, safety and the general welfare. After receiving the recommendations and report of the Planning Commission, the City Council may pass the proposed special use permit with or without change, may reject it, may resubmit it to the Planning Commission for further consideration, or take other appropriate action. (Ord. 2001-2, 6-12-2001; amd. Ord. 2003-11, 4-13-2004)

   A.   Applications for a special use permit, under the terms of this section, shall be accompanied by evidence concerning the feasibility of the proposed request and its effect on surrounding property and shall include a detailed site plan defining the areas to be developed for buildings, the areas to be developed for parking, the locations of sidewalks and driveways and the points of ingress and egress, including access streets where required, the location and height of buildings, the location and type of buffers, the type of lighting and the location, size and number of signs.

   B.   In the event a special use permit is granted under the terms of this section, any change thereafter in the approved use or site plan shall be resubmitted and considered in the same manner as the original proposal. (Ord. 2001-2, 6-12-2001)