Ofallon City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XVI
Amendment Procedure
Section 400.665 Zoning District Amendments And Text Amendments.
[Ord. No. 7042, 8-24-2023]
A.
Text Amendments. A proposed amendment to the written text of the City's Zoning Code, Subdivision and Land Development Code, signage regulations or flood hazard prevention requirements shall be submitted for consideration by the Planning and Zoning Commission and City Council. Said proposed text amendment shall only be submitted by the Director of Planning and Development, the Mayor, any member of the City Council, any member of the Planning and Zoning Commission or other appointed official of the City. A text amendment proposed by any citizen, organization or other governmental body must be sponsored by the Mayor or a member of the City Council. Said proposed text amendment shall not require the filing of an application per the requirements of Section 400.670 of this Article, but shall be prepared in a format that identifies the proposed new text to be added or amended and/or the proposed text to be deleted. Said proposed text amendment shall be subject to a public hearing before both the Planning and Zoning Commission and City Council. The legal notice advertising the public hearings shall be in accordance with the requirements of Section 400.685(A) of this Article.
B.
Zoning District Classification Amendments (Zonings And Rezonings). An application for an amendment, revision or change in the zoning district classification on the City's Official Zoning Map may be filed in the Planning and Development Department for consideration by the Planning and Zoning Commission and City Council. Said application may be filed by the owner(s) or their authorized or designated representative(s) of the property proposed to be zoned/rezoned. For City-initiated zonings/rezonings, said application may be filed by the Director of Planning and Development, the Mayor, any member of the City Council, any member of the Planning and Zoning Commission or other appointed official of the City. All proposed zoning district classification amendments shall be referred to the Planning and Zoning Commission for review and recommendation to the City Council. All proposed zoning district classification amendments, including City-initiated zonings/rezonings, shall be subject to the public hearing notification and sign posting requirements established in Section 400.685 of this Article.
C.
The Zoning Of Newly Annexed Territories. All new territories that are not zoned to one (1) or more of the City's existing zoning district classifications concurrent with their annexation into the City shall retain their County zoning district classification until such time as the new territory is zoned to one (1) or more of the City's existing zoning district classifications per the requirements of this Article.
D.
Protest Of A Zoning District Classification Or Zoning Regulation Amendment. In case a timely protest against a proposed zoning district classification amendment or zoning regulation amendment is presented, duly signed and acknowledged by the owners of thirty percent (30%) or more, either of the areas of the land (exclusive of streets and alleys) included in such change or within an area determined by lines drawn parallel to and one hundred eighty-five (185) feet distant from the boundaries of the district proposed to be changed, said amendment shall not become effective except by the favorable vote of two-thirds (2/3) of all of the members of the City Council. Protest petitions must be filed with the City Clerk not later than 4:00 P.M. on the seventh day following the date advertised for the start of the public hearing before the Planning and Zoning Commission in the notice required by Section 400.685 below.
E.
Fees. The owner(s) or their authorized or designated representative(s) of a property proposed to be zoned/rezoned per the requirements of this Article shall pay the fees, costs and expenses established in Appendix B,[1] "Schedule of Fees, Costs and Expenses," no part of which shall be refundable to the petitioner(s).
[1]
Editor's Note: See Title IV, Appendixes.
F.
Effect Of The Denial Of A Zoning/Rezoning. No application which has been denied (either wholly or in part) shall be resubmitted for a period of twelve (12) months from the date of said order of denial, except on grounds of new evidence or proof of change of factors found valid by the Director of Planning and Development.
Section 400.670 Information Required In Amendment Procedure.
[Ord. No. 7042, 8-24-2023]
A.
The petitioner shall submit a detailed description of the property to the Planning and Development Department. When the petition involves a change in the Zoning Map, the petitioner shall submit the following information.
1.
A legal description of the property.
2.
A scaled map of the property, correlated with the legal description, and clearly showing the property's location.
3.
The name and address of the petitioner.
4.
The petitioner's interest in the property, and if the petitioner is not the owner, the name and address of the owner(s).
5.
Date of filing with the City Clerk.
6.
Signature(s) of petitioner(s) and owner(s) certifying the accuracy of the required information.
7.
The present and proposed zoning.
Section 400.675 Processing Procedures For Zoning Amendments.
[Ord. No. 7042, 8-24-2023]
A.
The review and determination procedures on an application for a zoning amendment shall be as follows:
Section 400.680 Findings Of Fact Required.
[Ord. No. 7042, 8-24-2023]
A.
In reviewing any petition for a zoning amendment, the Planning and Zoning Commission shall identify and evaluate all factors relevant to the petition, and shall report its findings in full, along with its recommendations for disposition of the petition, to the Council. The facts to be considered by the Commission shall include but not be limited to, the following:
1.
Whether or not the requested zoning change is justified by a change in conditions since the original ordinance was adopted or be an error in the original ordinance.
2.
The precedents, and the possible effects of such precedents, which might likely result from approval or denial of the petition.
3.
The ability of the City or other government agencies to provide any services, facilities, and/or programs that might be required if the petition were approved.
4.
Effect of approval of the petition on the condition and/or value of property in the City or in adjacent civil divisions.
5.
Effect of approval of the petition on adopted development policies of the City and other government units.
6.
The zoning and land use recommended by the Comprehensive Development Plan.
B.
All findings of fact shall be made a part of the public records of the meetings of the Commission and the Council. A petition shall not be approved unless these and other identified facts be affirmatively resolved in terms of the general health, safety, welfare, comfort, and convenience of the citizens of the City.
Section 400.685 Public Hearing Notification And Sign Posting Requirements.
[Ord. No. 7042, 8-24-2023]
A.
Legal Notice Advertising The Public Hearing(s). Proposed zoning district classification amendments (zonings/rezonings), revised Planned Unit Development area plan applications, Planned Development area plan applications, Planned Development final plan applications, Mixed-Use Traditional Development District area plan applications, Mixed-Use Traditional Development District final plan applications, conditional use permit applications and amendments to the written text of the City's Zoning Code, Subdivision and Land Development Code, Signage Regulations and Flood Hazard Prevention Requirements will be subject to public hearings before both the Planning and Zoning Commission and City Council. Preliminary plat applications will be subject to a public hearing before the Planning and Zoning Commission. The Planning and Development Department will prepare the legal notice advertising the public hearing(s). The legal notice shall be placed at least fifteen (15) days prior to the date of the public hearing before the Planning and Zoning Commission in a newspaper of general circulation throughout the City. The legal notice shall contain the date, time, place and nature of the public hearing(s). The public hearing before the City Council (not applicable for preliminary plat applications) will be scheduled for the next regularly scheduled meeting of the City Council following the initial public hearing before the Planning and Zoning Commission.
B.
Notification Of Adjacent Property Owners. The City will be responsible for researching and notifying by mail all property owners of the public hearing(s) whose property limits are within an area determined by lines drawn parallel to and within a distance of three hundred (300) feet from the site of proposed zoning district classification amendments (zonings/rezonings), revised Planned Unit Development area plan applications, Planned Development area plan applications, Planned Development final plan applications, Mixed-Use Traditional Development District area plan applications, Mixed-Use Traditional Development District final plan applications, conditional use permit applications and preliminary plat applications. Notices shall be postmarked at least fifteen (15) days prior to the public hearing before the Planning and Zoning Commission.
C.
Sign Posting Requirements. Upon filing an application requesting a zoning district classification amendment (zonings/rezonings), approval of a revised Planned Unit Development area plan, approval of a Planned Development area plan, approval of a Planned Development final plan, approval of a Mixed-Use Traditional Development District area plan, approval of a Mixed-Use Traditional Development District final plan, approval of a conditional use permit or approval of a preliminary plat, the Planning and Development Department shall, within seven (7) days of the application filing deadline (5:00 P.M. the following Friday), post a sign(s) at least six (6) square feet in size upon the subject property advertising the public hearings before the Planning and Zoning Commission and City Council (Note: Preliminary plats only require a public hearing before the Planning and Zoning Commission).
1.
Required Number Of Signs. One (1) sign will be placed along each street that abuts the subject site. However, the Director of Planning and Development shall have the discretion of waiving the requirements for sign placement along multiple street frontages if he/she determines that sign placement along the most heavily traveled street frontage(s) will suffice. If the subject site has more than three hundred (300) feet of frontage along any street, the Director of Planning and Development shall have the discretion of requiring the placement of additional signs. If the subject site does not abut a street, the sign(s) will be placed on each side of any contiguous land owned by the petitioner or owner(s) of the subject site which does abut a street. If no such contiguous property is owned by the applicant or owner(s) of the subject site, the sign(s) will be placed in such location(s) as deemed appropriate by the Director of Planning and Development to best inform the general public of the public hearing(s). If the Director of Planning and Development determines that there is no location where a sign could be placed that would be visible to the general public, the Director shall have the discretion of waiving the sign posting requirements.
2.
Sign Placement. The required sign(s) will be posted in a conspicuous location unobstructed to view from the street, and will be placed no closer than ten (10) feet from any right-of-way line and/or property line and no further than fifteen (15) feet back from the right-of-way line and/or property line. The required sign(s) will not be erected in the street right-of-way or in a manner that would obstruct the vision of motorists or pedestrians per the sight triangle requirements of Section 400.260(F) of the Zoning Code.
3.
Sign Removal. The required sign(s) will remain posted until final action is taken on the proposed zoning district classification amendment, revised Planned Unit Development area plan, Planned Development area plan, Planned Development final plan, Mixed-Use Traditional Development District area plan, Mixed-Use Traditional Development District final plan, preliminary plat or conditional use permit. The Planning and Development Department will remove all signs within seven (7) days of such final action.
4.
Failure To Post Signs. Failure to post sign(s) per the requirements of this Section shall result in the postponement of the originally scheduled public hearings and the applicant shall be responsible for both the cost of readvertising the public hearings and the renotification of the adjacent property owners.