Pursuant to Minnesota Statutes 15.99, an application for an amendment shall be approved or denied within sixty (60) days from the date of its official and complete submission unless extended pursuant to Statute or a time waiver is granted by the applicant. Pursuant to Minnesota Statutes 15.99, the City staff is hereby authorized to extend the sixty- (60) day time limit by a time period not to exceed sixty (60) additional days, provided written notice of such extension is provided to the applicant before the end of the initial sixty- (60) day period. Additional City requirements are as follows:

(Amended by Ord. No. 2004-02, 01/13/04; Ord. No. 2008-09, 03/25/08)

Subd. 1.

Requests for zoning amendments (text or map) shall be filed with the Zoning Administrator on an official application form. The applicant's signature shall be provided on the application form. Additionally, if the applicant is not the fee owner of the property, the fee owner's signature shall also be provided on the application form, or the applicant shall provide separate written and signed authorization for the application from the fee owner. An application for a zoning amendment shall be accompanied by: 1) a fee as set forth in the City Code; and 2) detailed written and graphic materials, the number, size, and format as prescribed by the Zoning Administrator, fully explaining the proposed change, development, or use. The application shall be considered as being officially submitted and complete when the applicant has complied with all the specified information requirements.

(Amended by Ord. No. 2004-02, 01/13/04; Ord. No. 2010-21, 11/23/10; Ord. No. 2019-01, 02/12/19)

Subd. 2.

Within 15 business days of receipt of a complete application, as determined by staff review, for either a rezoning (map amendment) or for a text amendment affecting a PUD, the Zoning Administrator shall cause a notice to be mailed to all owners of land within 750 feet of the boundary of the property in question, informing them of the receipt of the application and the anticipated schedule for consideration of the amendment. This provision shall not apply in the case of a rezoning initiated by the City if the amendment affects an area greater than 40 acres.

(Amended by Ord. No. 99-5, 01/19/99; Ord. No. 2004-02, 01/13/04; Ord. No. 2019-01, 02/12/19)

Subd. 3.

Upon receipt of a complete application, as determined by staff review, and following preliminary staff analysis of the application and request, the Zoning Administrator, when appropriate, shall set a public hearing following proper hearing notification. The Planning Commission shall conduct the hearing, and report its findings and make recommendations to the City Council. Notice of said hearing shall consist of a property description and description of request, and shall be published in the official newspaper at least ten days prior to the hearing. A written notification of said hearing shall be mailed at least ten days prior to the hearing to all owners of land within 750 feet of the boundary of the property in question.

(Amended by Ord. No. 2019-01, 02/12/19)

Subd. 4.

Failure of a property owner to receive said notice(s) shall not invalidate any such proceedings as set forth within this Chapter.

Subd. 5.

The Zoning Administrator shall instruct the appropriate staff persons to prepare technical reports where appropriate, and provide general assistance in preparing a recommendation of the action to the City Council.

Subd. 6.

The Planning Commission shall consider possible adverse effects of the proposed amendment. Its judgment shall be based upon (but not limited to) the following factors:

(a)

The proposed action has been considered in relation to the specific policies and provisions of and has been found to be consistent with the City Comprehensive Plan, including public facilities and capital improvement plans.

(b)

The proposed action meets the purpose and intent of this Ordinance or in the case of a map amendment, it meets the purpose and intent of the individual district.

(c)

There is adequate infrastructure available to serve the proposed action.

(d)

There is an adequate buffer or transition provided between potentially incompatible districts.

Subd. 7.

The Planning Commission and City staff shall have the authority to request additional information from the applicant concerning operational factors or to retain expert testimony with the consent and at the expense of the applicant concerning operational factors, said information to be declared necessary to establish performance conditions in relation to all pertinent sections of this Chapter.

Subd. 8.

The applicant or a representative thereof may appear before the Planning Commission in order to present information and answer questions concerning the proposed request.

Subd. 9.

The Planning Commission shall make a recommendation on the request. Such recommendations shall be accompanied by the report and recommendation of the City staff.

Subd. 10.

The City Council shall not act upon an amendment until they have received a report and recommendation from the Planning Commission and the City staff or until sixty (60) days after the first regular Planning Commission meeting at which the request was considered.

Subd. 11.

Upon receiving the report and recommendation of the Planning Commission and the City staff, the City Manager shall schedule the application for consideration by the City Council. Such reports and recommendations shall be entered in and made part of the permanent written record of the City Council meeting.

Subd. 12.

Upon receiving the report and recommendation of the Planning Commission and the City staff, the City Council shall have the option to set and hold a public hearing if deemed necessary.

Subd. 13.

If, upon receiving said reports and recommendations of the Planning Commission and City staff, the City Council finds that specific inconsistencies exist in the review process and thus the final recommendations of the City Council will differ from that of the Planning Commission, the City Council may before taking final action, refer the matter back to the Planning Commission for further consideration. The City Council shall provide the Planning Commission with a written statement detailing the specific reasons for referral. This procedure shall be followed only one time on a singular action.

Subd. 14.

For any application which changes all or part of the existing classification of a zoning district from residential to either commercial or industrial, approval shall require passage by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the full City Council. Approval of any other proposed amendment shall require passage by a majority vote of the full Council.

(Amended by Ord. No. 2001-27, 08/14/01)

Subd. 15.

The amendment shall not become effective until such time as the City Council approves an ordinance reflecting said amendment.

Subd. 16.

Whenever an application for an amendment has been considered and denied by the City Council, a similar application for an amendment affecting substantially the same property shall not be considered again by the Planning Commission or City Council for at least six months from the date of its denial, unless the six-month waiting period is waived by a majority vote of the full City Council.

Subd. 17.

All decisions made by the City regarding zoning shall be final, except that any aggrieved person shall have the right to appeal within 30 days of the date the decision is rendered, to the District Court in Hennepin County. Any person seeking judicial review under this provision must serve the City and all necessary parties, including any landowners, within the 30-day period defined above.

(Ord. No. 2022-10, § 2, 8/16/2022; Ord. No. 2025-02, § 4, 3/25/2025)

The City Council or Planning Commission may, upon their own, initiate a request to amend the text or the district boundaries of this Chapter. The procedural requirements of Sections 21010.01, Subd. 1 and Subd. 2 of this Chapter shall not apply to such proposed amendments except to the extent required by State Statute. Any person owning real estate within the City may initiate a request to amend the district boundaries or text of this Chapter so as to affect the said real estate.

Prior to approving an application for rezoning, the applicant shall provide certification to the City that there are no delinquent property taxes, special assessments, interest, or City utility fees due upon the parcel of land to which the rezoning application relates.