For the purpose of promoting the public health, safety, morality, comfort and general welfare, conserving the value of property throughout the City, lessening or avoiding congestion in the public streets and highways, and controlling the aesthetics of redevelopment or development the Governing Body may, from time to time, in the manner hereinafter set forth, amend the regulations imposed in the districts created by this title or amend district boundary lines, including the zoning map and table of general uses; provided, that in all amendatory ordinances adopted under the authority of this chapter, due allowance shall be made for existing conditions, the conservation of property values, the direction of building development to the best advantage of the entire City, and the uses to which property is devoted at the time of the adoption of such amendatory ordinance.

Amendments may be initiated by the Governing Body, the Planning Commission or upon application of the owner of property affected.

A.

Fee-Information. Such applications shall be in writing, and shall be accompanied by a fee established annually by the Governing Body, except those recommended by the Governing Body, or Planning Commission, and shall contain the proposed language of the zoning ordinance to be inserted, a description and map of the property affected, if effecting a change in the zoning map, together with such other information as the Governing Body shall require. Such application shall contain upon submittal, an ownership list certified by a registered abstractor, or title company, or the Johnson County Office of Records and Tax Administration, of the owners of record on the date such list was prepared of all property located within two hundred (200) feet of the peripheral boundaries of the property to be affected by the proposed amendment.

B.

Procedure. All proposed amendments shall first be submitted to the City planning staff for recommendation and report. Upon receiving such application for amendment, the planning staff may, when deemed desirable, may submit copies of the request to other City departments or other affected City or county agencies for written recommendations, protests or comments. Upon the development of staff recommendations, the Planning Commission shall hold a public hearing thereon and shall cause an accurate written summary to be made of the proceedings.

C.

Public Hearing and Notice of Hearing:

1.

The secretary of the Planning Commission shall cause notice of the public hearing to be published in the official city newspaper at least twenty (20) days prior to the hearing. Such notice shall fix the time and place for such hearing, and contain a statement regarding the proposed changes in regulations and restrictions in the boundaries of any zone or district. If such proposed amendment is not a general revision of existing ordinances and will affect specific property, it shall be designated by legal description or a general description sufficient to identify the property under consideration. In addition to such publication notice, written notice of such proposed amendment shall be mailed at least twenty (20) days prior to the hearing to all owners of real property within the area to be altered and to all owners of record of real property of lands located within two hundred (200) feet of the area proposed to be altered and an opportunity granted to all interested parties to be heard. In the event five (5) or more property owners of record owning ten (10) or more contiguous or non-contiguous lots, tracts or parcels of the same zoning classification initiate a rezoning of their property from a less restrictive to a more restrictive zoning classification, such amendments shall require notice by publication and hearing in like manner as required in this section. Whenever the City initiates a rezoning from a less restrictive to a more restrictive zoning classification of ten (10) or more contiguous or non-contiguous lots, tracts or parcels of the same zoning classification having five (5) or more owners of record, such amendment shall require written notice to be mailed. The written notice shall also contain a statement that a complete legal description of the property proposed to be rezoned is available for public inspection in the Planning Department office in City Hall.

2.

When the notice has been properly addressed and deposited in the mail, failure of a party to receive of notice shall not invalidate any subsequent action taken by the Planning Commission or Governing Body. The Planning Commission may recommend amendments to the zoning regulations which affect only a portion of the land described in the notice or give all or part of the land described a zoning classification of a lesser change than set forth in the notice. The zoning classifications as lesser changes within each zoning classification are as follows:

3.

The enforcement officer, or such person as he may designate, shall cause to be affixed to the property to be rezoned a sign. Such sign is to specify the existing zoning, the zoning requested, the date, time and place of the public hearing, and shall be affixed to the property not less than twenty (20) days preceding the public hearing.

D.

Consideration and Recommendation of the Planning Commission and Action by the Governing Body. The Planning Commission, in its consideration and making recommendations and the Governing Body in its consideration and decision of a zoning matter shall to the extent deemed relevant consider the following factors. These factors are suggestions or guidelines and are not exclusive. Other factors may be equally or more important depending on the circumstances of a particular application:

1.

Existing uses and zoning classifications within the general area of the property in question;

2.

Suitability of the property to uses permitted under the existing zoning classification;

3.

The character of the neighborhood;

4.

The length of time the subject property has remained vacant as zoned;

5.

The relative gain to the public health, safety and welfare by the destruction of the value of the owners' property as compared to the hardship imposed upon individual landowners;

6.

The extent to which the removal of the restriction will detrimentally affect nearby property;

7.

The recommendations of professional staff;

8.

Conformance of the requested change to the adopted Comprehensive Plan;

Provided any such amendment, if in accordance with the land use plan or land use element of the Comprehensive Plan, shall be presumed to be reasonable.

E.

Action on Zoning Amendment.

1.

A vote either for or against an amendment by a majority of the Planning Commission members present and voting at the hearing shall be required to recommend approval or denial of the amendment to the Governing Body. If the Planning Commission fails to make a recommendation on a zoning request, the Planning Commission shall be deemed to have made a recommendation of disapproval.

2.

When the Planning Commission submits a recommendation of approval or disapproval of such amendment, the Governing Body if it approves such recommendation may either adopt such recommendation by ordinance or take no further action thereupon, as appropriate.

3.

Upon receipt of a recommendation of the Planning Commission which the Governing Body disapproves, the Governing Body may override the Planning Commission recommendation by a two-thirds (⅔) vote, or the Governing Body shall return such recommendation to the Planning Commission with a statement specifying the basis for disapproval. The Planning Commission after reconsidering the same may re-submit its original recommendations giving the reasons therefore or submit new and amended recommendations. Upon the receipt of such recommendations, the Governing Body may adopt or may revise or amend and adopt such recommendations by ordinance, or it may disapprove.

4.

If the Planning Commission fails to deliver its recommendations to the Governing Body within ten (10) days after receipt of the Governing Body's statement specifying disapproval, the Governing Body shall consider such course of inaction on the part of the Planning Commission as a resubmission of the original recommendations and proceed accordingly.

5.

If any zoning amendment shall affect the boundaries of any zone or district, the amending ordinance shall describe the boundaries as amended, or, if the City has made provisions for the fixing of the same upon an official map which has been incorporated by reference, the amending ordinances shall define the change or the boundary as amended, shall order the official map to be changed to reflect such amendment and shall amend the section of the ordinance incorporating the same and reincorporate such map as amended.

6.

Regardless of whether or not the Planning Commission approves or disapproves a proposed zoning amendment or fails to recommend, if a protest petition against such amendment is filed in the office of the City Clerk within fourteen (14) days after the date of the conclusion of the public hearing, pursuant to the publication notice, signed by the owners of record of twenty percent (20%) or more of any real property proposed to be rezoned or by the owners of twenty percent (20%) of the total area, excepting public street and ways, within or without the corporate limits of the City and located within two hundred (200) feet of the boundaries of the property proposed to be rezoned, the ordinance shall not be passed except by at least three-fourths (¾) vote of all of the members of the Governing Body. However, if the rezoning request is initiated by five (5) or more property owners of record owning ten (10) or more contiguous or non-contiguous lots, tracts, or parcels of the same zoning classification to rezone their property from a less restrictive to a more restrictive zoning classification, the recommendation by the Planning Commission shall not be subject to the above noted protest petition provisions. Whenever the City initiates a rezoning from a less restrictive to a more restrictive zoning classification of ten (10) acres or more contiguous or non-contiguous lots, tracts or parcels of the same zoning classification having five (5) or more owners of record, the amendment is subject to a protest petition only by the property owners affected.