Rochester City Zoning Code
35-220 CHANGES
AND AMENDMENTS.
A. Authority.
1. Whenever the public necessity, convenience, general welfare or good zoning practice require, the Village Board of Trustees may, by ordinance, change the district boundaries, land uses, or amend, change or supplement the regulations established by this Chapter and other zoning and land use chapters, and amendments thereto.
2. Such change or amendment shall be subject to the review and recommendation of the Village Plan Commission.
3. The provisions of this Chapter shall apply to other zoning and land use chapters where no specific provisions are set forth in those chapters.
B. Initiation. A change or amendment may be initiated by the Village Board, Village Plan Commission, Village Historic Preservation Committee, or by a petition of one or more of the owners or lessees of property within the area proposed to be changed. The petitioner shall pay the fee required prior to any publication or hearing thereon, and no part thereof shall be returned to the applicant regardless of the disposition of the petition.
C. Petitions. Petitions for any change to the district boundaries or amendments to the regulations shall be filed with the Village Clerk, describe the premises to be rezoned or the regulations to be amended, list the reasons justifying the petition, and in case of a change of use, specify the proposed use and have attached the following:
1. Plot plan drawn to scale showing the area proposed to be rezoned, its location, its dimensions, the location and classification of adjacent zoning districts, and the location and existing use of all properties within 300 feet of the area proposed to be rezoned.
2. Owner's names and addresses of all properties lying within 300 feet of the area proposed to be rezoned.
3. Additional information required by the Village Plan Commission or Village Board.
D. Recommendations. The Village Plan Commission shall review all proposed changes and amendments within the corporate limits after signs have been posted and notice has been sent to abutting property owners as set forth in s. 35-240 and the public has been given the opportunity for input, and shall recommend that the petition be granted as requested, modified, or denied. The recommendation shall be made at a meeting subsequent to the meeting at which the petition is first submitted, and shall be made in writing to the Village Board.
E. At the first Village Board meeting subsequent to initial consideration by the Plan Commission, the Village Board shall determine whether to schedule a public hearing for consideration of an ordinance to enact the change or amendment.
F.. Hearings. The Village Board shall hold a public hearing prior to enacting any such ordinance, and shall give notice as required by applicable state statutes, inclusive of notice to neighboring municipalities, the owner or operator of an airport, or the DNR when applicable.
G. Village Board Action. Following such hearing and after careful consideration of the Village Plan Commission's recommendation, the Village Board shall vote on the proposed change or amendment.
H. Shoreland, Shoreland-Wetland and Floodplain District Boundary Changes Limited. See the applicable Chapter of this Code.
I. Protest; Super-Majority Votes.
1. Airport Affected Area. If the proposed amendment would make any change in an airport affected area, and no part of the area to be changed is more than three miles from the airport, and the owner or operator of the airport bordered by the airport affected area protests against the amendment, the amendment shall not become effective except by the favorable vote of two-thirds of the of the members of the Village Board voting on the proposed change. (Note: 2017 Wisconsin Act 243, Section 8., repealed the supermajority requirement in the event of a protest against a proposed change effective 1-1-2019. Wis. Stat. s. 62.23(7)(d)2m.a. applies until 12-31-18.)
2. Down Zoning.
a. In this Code, “Down Zoning Ordinance” means a zoning ordinance that affects an area of land in one of the following ways:
(1) By decreasing the development density of the land to be less dense than was allowed under its previous usage.
(2) By reducing the permitted uses of the land, that are specified in a zoning ordinance or other land use regulation, to fewer uses than were allowed under its previous usage.
b. The Village Board may enact a down zoning ordinance only if the ordinance is approved by at least two-thirds of its members-elect, except that if the down zoning ordinance is requested, or agreed to, by the person who owns the land affected by the proposed ordinance, the ordinance may be enacted by a simple majority of the members-elect.
3. Notices of such tentative recommendations or proposed changes in the regulations may contain the street names and house or lot numbers for purposes of identification if the commission or board so determines.
J. Comprehensive Plan. All proposed ordinances must be reviewed for compliance with the November 2009 “A Multi-Jurisdictional; Comprehensive Plan for Racine County: 2035” as amended from time to the (the “Village Comprehensive Plan”) adopted by and applicable to the Village of Rochester. No change may be adopted in violation of Wis. Stat. s. 66.1001(3), which requires that zoning ordinances be consistent with the adopted plan.