Whenever the public necessity or convenience, or general welfare, and good zoning practice requires, the city council may, by ordinance, amend, supplement or change the regulations, zoning district boundaries or classifications of property. Any such amendment may be initiated by 1) resolution of the city council; 2) motion of the planning commission; or 3) petition submitted to the director of planning by the property owners or their agents addressed to the city council.

(Ord. No. 5028-97, § 1; Ord. No. 7765-22, § 1)

(a)

Any resolution or motion by the city council or the planning commission shall state the public purposes of the proposed rezoning.

(b)

No amendment or re-enactment shall be made unless, in accordance with Section 15.2-2285.B. of the Code of Virginia, 1950, as amended, the city council has referred the proposed amendment or re-enactment to the city planning commission for its recommendations and the commission shall communicate its findings to the city council, indicating approval or disapproval with written reasons thereof. For the purposes of this article, the proposed amendment is deemed to be referred to the planning commission on the date the matter is to be first considered at a meeting by the planning commission. Failure of the planning commission to report one hundred (100) days after the first meeting of the commission after the proposed amendment or re-enactment has been referred to the commission, or such shorter period as may be prescribed by the governing body, shall be deemed approval, unless such proposed amendment or re-enactment has been withdrawn by the applicant prior to the expiration of such time period. In the event of and upon such withdrawal, processing of the proposed amendment or re-enactment shall cease without further action as otherwise would be required by this subsection.

(c)

The city planning commission shall hold at least one (1) public hearing on such proposed amendment or re-enactment prior to making its recommendations.

(d)

The city council shall hold at least one (1) public hearing on such proposed amendment or re-enactment prior to the approval and adoption thereof.

(e)

Substantially the same petition for a proposed amendment to this chapter map or text will not be reconsidered for a period of one (1) year from the date of final council action on the initial petition.

(f)

An affirmative vote of at least a majority of the members of the governing body shall be required to amend or re-enact this chapter.

(g)

Where public hearings are required on a proposed amendment or re-enactment of this chapter, notice of such amendment or re-enactment shall be given in accordance with Section 15.2-2204 of the Code of Virginia, 1950, as amended.

(h)

No action shall be taken on any petition herein until the petitioner shall have provided satisfactory evidence that any delinquent real estate taxes, nuisance charges, stormwater management utility fees, and any other charges owed to the city that constitute a lien on the subject property have been paid.

(Ord. No. 5028-97, § 1; Ord. No. 5269-99; Ord. No. 5866-02; Ord. No. 7765-22, § 1)

(a)

The petition for an amendment to the zoning ordinance shall be filed with the director of planning. At the time of such filing, the director of planning shall be consulted as to the appropriateness of the proposed amendments. Such petition shall include:

(1)

For a proposed amendment to the zoning ordinance text:

a.

A suggested wording of the proposed revision properly referenced to the existing ordinance by article and section number;

b.

The nature and extent of the amendment desired, together with an explanation of the reasons for seeking such change.

(2)

For a proposed amendment to the zoning map:

a.

A legal description of the property for which the change of zoning is requested.

b.

Three (3) plats showing the property drawn at a scale with sufficient references to existing streets and subdivisions to enable said property to be located on city maps, along with the area of proposed zoning change, in square feet or acres.

c.

Complete disclosure of the equitable ownership of the real estate to be affected including, in the case of corporate ownership, the names of stockholders, officers and directors and in any case the names and addresses of all of the real parties of interest. However, the requirement of listing names of stockholders, officers and directors shall not apply to a corporation whose stock is traded on a national or local stock exchange and having more than five hundred (500) shareholders. In the case of a condominium, the requirement shall apply only to the title owner, contract purchaser, or lessee if they own ten (10) percent or more of the units in the condominium.

d.

The names and addresses as far as practicable of property owners abutting the property of which said change is requested. For this purpose, property separated from the petitioned property by a street shall be considered to abut said property.

e.

A statement indicating the intended use of the property under the proposed zoning classification.

f.

A statement signed by the property owner giving consent to the submission of the application when the property owner is not the applicant.

g.

A conditioned or unconditioned proffer statement.

h.

One (1) electronic copy, one (1) eleven (11) by seventeen (17) inches paper copy and one (1) full-sized twenty-four (24) by thirty-six (36) inches scalable paper copy of a more detailed plan as may be deemed necessary by the director of planning to perform the required evaluation. Such additional information may include, but need not be limited to: topography, ingress and egress, location of buildings and improvements vegetations, surrounding land use, proposed connections to existing or proposed water, sewer and drainage facilities.

(b)

All applications shall be annotated with either of the following statements:

(1)

"I hereby proffer that the development of the subject property of this application shall be in accordance with the conditions set forth in this submission." or

(2)

"I hereby proffer that the development of the subject property of this application shall not be subject to any additional conditions not otherwise provided for the requested zoning district by ordinance."

(Ord. No. 5028-97, § 1; Ord. No. 6419-07, § 1; Ord. No. 7315-16; Ord. No. 7765-22, § 1; Ord. No. 7913-23)

No action shall be taken on any petition herein until the petitioner shall have paid a filing fee to the City of Newport News in the amount specified in this section. The base application fee shall be six hundred fifty dollars ($650.00). To this amount shall be added an acreage fee in the amount of one hundred fifty dollars ($150.00) per acre for each acre subject to the petition; provided, however, that a minimum per acre fee of one hundred fifty dollars ($150.00) shall be assessed and that a maximum per acre fee based upon one hundred (100) acres shall be assessed. The aforesaid fees are non-refundable.

(Ord. No. 5028-97, § 1; Ord. No. 6419-07, § 1; Ord. No. 7765-22, § 1)

An applicant may request the planning commission to defer action on an application filed in accordance with this article. The applicant shall pay a non-refundable processing fee of four hundred ($400.00) before the request for deferral is considered by the planning commission.

(Ord. No. 7765-22, § 1)

(a)

A petition may include and provide for the voluntary proffering in writing, by the owner, of reasonable conditions, prior to a public hearing before the city planning commission and/or the city council, in addition to the regulations provided for the zoning district or zone by this chapter, as a part of a rezoning or amendment to a zoning map, provided that (1) the rezoning itself gives rise to the need for the conditions; (2) such conditions have a reasonable relation to the rezoning; and (3) all such conditions are in conformity with the comprehensive plan as defined in Section 15.2-2223 of the Code of Virginia, 1950, as amended. Reasonable conditions shall not include, however, conditions that impose upon the applicant the requirement to create a property owner's association under Chapter 26 (Section 55-508 et seq.) of Title 55 of the Code of Virginia, 1950, as amended, which includes an express further condition that members of a property association pay an assessment for the maintenance of public facilities owned in fee by a public entity, including open space, parks, schools, fire departments, and other public facilities not otherwise provided for in Section 15.2-2241 of the Code of Virginia, 1950, as amended; however, such excluded facilities shall not include sidewalks, special street signs or markers, or special street lighting in public rights-of-way not maintained by the Virginia Department of Transportation.

(b)

Once proffered and accepted as part of an amendment to the zoning ordinance, such conditions shall continue in effect until a subsequent amendment changes the zoning on the property covered by such conditions; however, such conditions shall continue if the subsequent amendment is part of a comprehensive implementation of a new or substantially revised zoning ordinance.

(c)

No proffer shall be accepted by the city unless it has adopted a capital improvement program pursuant to Section 15.2-2239 of the Code of Virginia, 1950, as amended. In the event proffered conditions include the dedication of real property or payment of cash, such property shall not transfer and such payment of cash shall not be made until the facilities for which such property is dedicated or cash is tendered are included in the capital improvement program, provided that nothing herein shall prevent the city from accepting proffered conditions which are not normally included in such capital improvement program. If proffered conditions include the dedication of real property or the payment of cash, the proffered conditions shall provide for the disposition of such property or cash payment in the event the property or cash payment is not used for the purpose for which proffered.

(Ord. No. 5028-97, § 1; Ord. No. 5269-99; Ord. No. 5669-01, § 1)

(a)

In addition to the requirements set forth in section 45-3402, the city planning commission may recommend a change to the proposed rezoning in the following areas:

(1)

It may recommend to reduce or enlarge the extent of land under consideration;

(2)

It may recommend that the land be rezoned to a different zoning classification.

Before recommending a larger extent of land or rezoning to a less restrictive use, the commission shall hold a further public hearing on the matter, of which proper notice shall be given according to section 45-3402.

(b)

After a recommendation for approval or denial of the application by the planning commission, any change made in the materials submitted as a part of the original application, when determined by the city council to be of significance, may necessitate the return of the application to the planning commission.

(Ord. No. 5028-97, § 1; Ord. No. 7765-22, § 1)

In addition to the requirements set forth in section 45-3402 above, any amendment adopted by the city council may be modified from the original text, provided that before approving the rezoning of a larger extent of land or a change to a less restrictive use, the council shall refer the application back to the planning commission for public hearing on the matter, of which proper notices shall be given according to section 45-3402.

(Ord. No. 5028-97, § 1)

Withdrawal of an application for a change of zoning map or text may be requested prior to a public hearing provided such request is filed in writing to the director of planning three (3) days prior to the public hearing; however, if the application is denied by the city council, substantially the same application shall not be reconsidered within one (1) year of denial.

(Ord. No. 5028-97, § 1; Ord. No. 7765-22, § 1)

(a)

Upon adoption of the rezoning petition, the subject property shall be appropriately annotated on the zoning map, referencing the conditions, if applicable. The city zoning administrator shall keep a conditional zoning index on file for public inspection. The index shall contain the ordinance setting forth the conditions attached to each special annotation on the zoning map. Such conditions shall become a part of the zoning regulations applicable to the subject property and in addition to the specific district regulations.

(b)

Upon approval of conditional zoning petitions, any site plan, subdivision plat or development plan thereafter submitted for the development of the subject property shall be in substantial conformity with all proffered statements, plans, profiles, elevations or other submissions; and no development plan shall be approved until compliance with conditions has been met.

(Ord. No. 5028-97, § 1)

(a)

In accordance with Section 15.2-2299 of the Code of Virginia, the zoning administrator shall be vested with all necessary authority on behalf of the city council to administer and enforce conditions attached to a rezoning or amendment to the zoning map, including:

(1)

The ordering in writing of the remedy of any noncompliance with such conditions:

(2)

The bringing of legal action to insure compliance with such conditions, including injunction, abatement or other appropriate action or proceedings; and

(3)

Requiring a guarantee, satisfactory to the city council, in an amount sufficient for and conditioned upon the construction of any physical improvements required by the conditions, or a contract for the construction of such improvements and the contractor's guarantee, in like amount and so conditioned, which guarantee shall be reduced or released by the city council, or agent thereof, upon the submission of satisfactory evidence that construction of such improvements has been completed in while or in part.

(b)

Failure to meet all conditions of an approved conditional zoning petition shall constitute cause to deny the issuance of any of the required use, occupancy, or building permits, as may be appropriate.

(Ord. No. 5028-97, § 1; Ord. No. 5269-99)

Any zoning applicant or any other person who is aggrieved by the decision of the zoning administrator relating to an approved conditional zoning amendment may petition the city council for review of the decision of the zoning administrator.

All such petitions for review shall be filed with the clerk of the city council within thirty (30) days from the date of the decision for which review is sought, and such petition shall specify the grounds upon which the petitioner is aggrieved.

(Ord. No. 5028-97, § 1)

There shall be no amendment or variation of conditions created pursuant to the provisions of section 45-3405 until after public hearing before the city planning commission and/or city council advertised in accordance with the provisions of section 45-3402.

(Ord. No. 5028-97, § 1)

Every action contesting a decision of the city council adopting or failing to adopt a proposed zoning ordinance or amendment thereto shall be filed within thirty (30) days of such decision with the circuit court having jurisdiction of the land affected by the decision. However, nothing in this subsection shall be construed to create any new right to contest the action of the city council.

(Ord. No. 5028-97, § 1)