It is the purpose of this article to make provisions for those uses, which are essential or desirable for the orderly development of the city and for the public convenience or welfare but which, because of their particular characteristics, or area requirements, should be given individual considerations particularly with respect to the effect on vicinity property. Those uses which are not specifically intended for the zoning district may be permitted as special exception uses if they are limited as to number, area, location, operational characteristics, or relation to the neighborhood or vicinity permitted uses, and would not adversely affect the public health, safety, comfort, appearance, morals and general welfare.

Four (4) main characteristics distinguish special exception uses from uses permitted by right:

(1)

Special exception uses may be restricted as to number, area or location within an individual district in which they are located.

(2)

Special exception uses may be subject to more stringent development standards than uses that are permitted by right.

(3)

Special exception uses may be subject to restricted hours of operation and other aspects pertaining to a specific use.

(4)

Special exception uses may be subject to conditions intended to mitigate adverse impacts to public facilities and services, economic conditions, and the environment, which are projected to be greater than those of uses permitted by right.

(Ord. No. 83-2-497, art. 22, § 1, 2-24-83; Ord. No. 03-07-1089, § 5, 7-22-03)

Except as provided by this section, such uses shall be confined to those specially listed as permitted special exception uses in the district regulations and shall be subject to the conditions and limitations prescribed therein.

(Ord. No. 83-2-497, art. 22, § 2, 2-24-83)

Any owner or lessee of any lands in the city, in order to utilize lands for any purpose listed as a special exception use, shall first obtain a certificate approving and permitting such use in the manner provided below:

(1)

The owner, or the representative of the owner designated by writing, specifically authorizing an application in the owner's name, for a special exception use on an identified parcel of land shall make application, on forms to be provided, with the office of community development.

(2)

The application for special exception use permit shall set forth the use desired with sufficient detail to reasonably apprise the administrative personnel, the membership of the planning and zoning board and the governing body of the nature, extent, scope and purpose of the proposed use. Except as provided in subsection (13) below, the application form shall require, at a minimum, the following:

a.

The name and address of the owner and/or applicant of the applicable real property;

b.

The authority of the applicant if other than the owner;

c.

The location of the real property and of the proposed use on the parcel of land;

d.

The zoning district in which the real property lies at the time of the application;

e.

The proposed gross floor area of the use and of the building in which the use will be located;

f.

The intended hours of operation;

g.

The type of vehicles, which will utilize the site. If applicant proposes the use of buses or vans for transportation of visitors to or from their site, the applicants shall be required to register said vehicles through the city's vehicle registration program and such requirement may be a condition of approval.

h.

A conceptual site plan showing proposed access and parking;

i.

A traffic generation or traffic impact analysis;

j.

Public facility impact analyses;

k.

An economic impact analysis for non-business or non-industrial uses, with the exception of churches and other religious institutions, proposed in a commercial or industrial zoning district.

(3)

The community development staff shall examine such application to determine whether all pertinent information has been provided and upon finding same to be in order shall within 30 days forward same to the planning and zoning board for consideration at the next regular meeting of such board.

(4)

The community development staff shall notify the applicant of the date set for the planning and zoning board hearing on the application.

(5)

At the time of the hearing on the application the planning and zoning board shall allow both proponents and opponents of the application to be heard and such hearing shall be reported.

(6)

After receiving all relevant materials and information, the planning and zoning board shall by vote of a simple majority of members present and voting either recommend approval, approval subject to certain conditions or restrictions, or denial of the application to the governing body and upon a recommendation of denial, the planning and zoning board shall inform the governing body of the reasons for such action.

(7)

The recommendations of the planning and zoning board shall be transmitted to the governing body and placed on the agenda for the next available meeting of the governing body and the applicant shall be notified in writing of the date and time for the hearing on the application.

(8)

The governing body, after hearing all persons desiring to be heard with respect to the application, shall by simple majority vote of those present and voting determine to either grant or deny the application or whether to grant the application subject to certain conditions, restrictions, limitations or requirements as are reasonably calculated to achieve the purpose of this chapter.

(9)

Upon the granting of a special exception use by action of the governing body, the city manager shall issue a special exception use permit setting forth in detail the use permitted with any special conditions, restrictions, limitations, or requirements established by the governing body.

(10)

All determinations made by either the planning and zoning board or the governing body pursuant to this chapter shall take into consideration the standards and guidelines set forth below in section 106-159.

(11)

Applications for special exception use permits for stationary outdoor vendors shall be filed in accordance with section 86-153.

(12)

Applications for special exception use permits for pain management clinic shall be filed in accordance with section 86-196 of the city's Code of Ordinances.

(13)

For applications for churches and other religious institutions, where the gross floor area of the use is 2,000 square feet or less, and the proposed maximum occupancy is 50 persons or less, the items in subsections (2)(i), and (2)(j) above shall not be required; provided that for purposes of this subsection, no more than 1,000 square feet of the gross floor area may be used for assembly purposes as shown on a to-scale floor plan. Should the church or religious institution use grow to exceed 1,000 square feet of gross floor area of assembly use, or exceed 2,000 square feet of gross floor area of combined assembly and office use, or exceed a maximum occupancy of 50 persons, the holder of the special exception use permit shall be required to re-apply for a special exception and provide all of the required information in subsection (2) at that time.

(Ord. No. 83-2-497, art. 22, § 3, 2-24-83; Ord. No. 91-11-800, § 3(Exh. A), 11-14-91; Ord. No. 03-07-1089, § 5, 7-22-03; Ord. No. 07-04-1185, § 3, 4-10-07; Ord. No. 12-03-1265, § 3, 3-28-12; Ord. No. 16-01-1323, § 2, 1-12-16; Ord. No. 20-04-1399, (Exh. A), 4-28-20)

(a)

General standards. The standards and guidelines to be applied by the administration, the planning and zoning board and by the governing body in considering applications for a special exception use are as follows:

(1)

The effect of such use on surrounding properties. An otherwise lawful activity may, because of its location, interfere with the property rights of adjacent landowners by creating an unreasonable disruption to the area by way of increased noise, storage and use of dangerous materials, undesired increase or intensity of development and other reasons. It is the intent of this section that each application for approval of a special exception use be evaluated in light of the unique characteristics of the neighborhood in which it is to be located and the positive and negative effects that it will have on that neighborhood and the community in general. Special consideration is to be given to the effect that the proposed special exception use will have on the safety and welfare of the minor residents of the area.

(2)

Access, traffic generation and road capacities. Consideration will be given to the design capacity of the adjacent roadways, the current and projected volume/capacity ratio of the roadways, the particular traffic generation characteristics of the proposed special exception use including the type of vehicular traffic associated with such use, and traffic generation characteristics of other uses permitted in the particular zoning districts.

(3)

Availability of and impacts upon the capacity of utilities, public facilities and services, such as police and fire protection, water and sewer service, and drainage systems.

(4)

Conformity to and compliance with the stated goals, objectives, policies and land uses, including land use intensity, established by the city comprehensive development plan.

(5)

Any additional factors or considerations which may be reasonably calculated to materially affect public health, safety, welfare, and morals.

(b)

Additional standards for commercial and industrial districts.

(1)

The proposed special exception use shall contribute to the economic stability of the community. The proposed special exception use shall not create any negative impacts on economic base and ability to develop vicinity land in business/industrial zoning districts. For special exception uses in commercial and industrial districts, special consideration shall be given to employment generation, public revenue generation, proximity to and extent of frontage on arterial roadways and the percentage of the building to be occupied. In commercial and industrial zoning districts the cumulative square footage of non-business and non-industrial uses, with the exception of churches and other religious institutions, shall be limited to 20 percent of the total building gross floor area.

(2)

Compatibility with the operating characteristics of permitted uses on the same or adjacent parcels. Special consideration shall be given to parking, noise, traffic characteristics and volume, and other operational characteristics.

(3)

Should it be determined that the proposed special exception use will generate more intense adverse impacts on public services or facilities, the economic base, or vicinity properties than would permitted uses of comparable size, the special exception may still be approved provided the applicant agrees to special exception use permit conditions or enters into an agreement to makes those modifications to hours of operations or other operational characteristics, site plan or building features, and to provide those off-site improvements or other contributions deemed necessary to mitigate these impacts so as not to negatively impact adjacent and surrounding commercial and residential areas, public facilities and services, the economic base or the environment.

(c)

Additional standards for residential districts. The following standards shall be applied to any non-residential special exception use application in any residential area or any more intensive residential special exception use application in a less intensive residential area.

(1)

The location of the proposed special exception use shall not be hazardous or inconvenient to the residential character of the area where it is to be located.

(2)

The size of the proposed special exception use and the nature and intensity of the operations involved will not be hazardous or inconvenient to the residential character of the area or to long range development in accordance with the land use element of the comprehensive plan.

(3)

The proximity of the proposed special exception use to single-family uses or to other non-residential uses will not adversely impact the character of the neighborhood.

(4)

The location of the special exception use will not result in isolation an existing or planned residential area from other residential development.

(5)

The design of buildings of special exception uses in residential districts shall be similar to residential structures in the same general area or neighborhood. Such a finding shall be based on consideration of building mass, height, materials, window arrangements, yards, landscaping and similar considerations.

(6)

The proposed use will have direct access to an arterial or collector street. Ingress and egress shall be designed to minimize traffic congestion on the public roadways serving the residential neighborhood.

(7)

Parking areas for special exception uses shall be of adequate size for the particular use and shall be located and designed to provide suitable screening from adjoining residential uses, with ingress and egress that maximize vehicular and pedestrian safety and minimizes traffic congestion in the residential district.

(8)

Should it be determined that the proposed special exception use will generate adverse impacts, such as but not limited to those mentioned above, lighting and noise, on the residential neighborhood as proposed, the special exception use may not be approved unless the applicant agrees to special exception use permit conditions or enters into an agreement to limit hours of operations or modify other operational characteristics, site plan or building features, as needed to offset these impacts.

(Ord. No. 83-2-497, art. 22, § 4, 2-24-83; Ord. No. 03-07-1089, § 5, 7-22-03; Ord. No. 20-04-1399, (Exh. A), 4-28-20)

Lot and building requirements of the zoning district in which the special exception use is to be located shall be complied with.

(Ord. No. 83-2-497, art. 22, § 5, 2-24-83)

Signs shall comply with the zoning district requirements in which a special exception use is located or such requirements as may be imposed by the governing body upon approval of such special exception use.

(Ord. No. 83-2-497, art. 22, § 6, 2-24-83)

A special exception use permit as provided in this article shall be effective for a period of 12 months. Unless construction of the project is commenced on or before the last day of the 12th month following the date of approval the permit shall expire. Approval of a special exception use permit shall remain effective while an active building permit is in effect for the project.

(Ord. No. 83-2-497, art. 22, § 7, 2-24-83)

Application fees shall be charged in accordance with ordinance.

(Ord. No. 83-2-497, art. 22, § 8, 2-24-83)

(a)

When the city council has approved or granted a special exception or variance, pursuant to the terms of this article, such approval or grant shall become null and void unless the appropriate building or other permit or license pursuant thereto is applied for in writing (in a form prepared by the community development department) within six (6) months (one hundred eighty (180) days) of the date of such approval or grant. However, the community development director or his designee may authorize an additional six-month extension of such special exception use or variance from the date of the original approval, upon a showing of an appropriate hardship.

(b)

The denial of a six-month extension shall be directly appealable to the city council at the next regularly scheduled city council meeting, which after hearing such decisions of the city council, shall be final as to the specifically requested extension.

(c)

The city council may grant additional extensions beyond the aforementioned combined 12-month period upon a showing of an appropriate hardship.

(d)

Hardship shall be defined herein such that the granting of an extension will not be contrary to the public interests and the general spirit and intent of the zoning regulations and, where owing to special conditions, literal enforcement of the provisions of the zoning regulations will result in an unnecessary hardship in the use of the property involved and, granting permission to the applicant to obtain the extension will not violate the strict terms of the zoning ordinance and the same will uphold the spirit of the ordinance and yet permit substantial justice.

(Ord. No. 93-5-849, § 2, 5-27-93)