(A)

Amendments to the text of this ordinance or to the zoning map may be made in accordance with the provisions of this article.

(B)

Conditional zoning requests shall be made in accordance with the provisions of section 8-7.

(C)

As provided in G.S. 160D-108, amendments, modifications, supplements, repeal or other changes in zoning regulations and restrictions and zone boundaries shall not be applicable or enforceable without consent of the owner with regard to buildings and uses for which either: (i) a building permit has been issued pursuant to G.S. 160D-1110 prior to the enactment of the ordinance making the change or changes as long as the permit remains valid and unexpired pursuant to G.S. 160D-1111 and unrevoked pursuant to G.S. 160D-1115; or (ii) a vested right has been established pursuant to G.S. 160D-108 or 160D-108.1 and the provisions of section 4-15 of this ordinance and such vested right remains valid and unexpired.

(D)

The review process for an amendment to the text of this ordinance or to the zoning map shall include:

(1)

Planning services department staff review;

(2)

Planning and zoning board review and recommendation in accordance with section 8-3; and

(3)

City council review and action.

(Ord. No. 1-2006, § 1, 1-9-2006; Ord. No. 68-2024, Exh. A, 12-2-2024)

(A)

Any person or organization may petition the city council to amend this ordinance. The petition shall be filed with the UDO administrator and shall include, among the information deemed relevant by the UDO administrator:

(1)

The name, address, and phone number of the applicant;

(2)

A metes and bounds description and a scaled map of the land affected by the amendment if a change in zoning district classification is proposed; and

(3)

A description of the proposed map change or a summary of the specific objective of any proposed change in the text of this ordinance.

(B)

Petitions for amendments shall be submitted to the UDO administrator 21 days prior to the date of the planning and zoning board meeting at which the petition will be reviewed.

(C)

No amendment to zoning regulations or a zoning map that down-zones property shall be initiated nor is it enforceable without the written consent of all property owners whose property is the subject of the down-zoning amendment, unless the down-zoning amendment is initiated by the local government. For purposes of this section, "down-zoning" 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 land development regulation to fewer uses than were allowed under its previous usage.

(Ord. No. 1-2006, § 1, 1-9-2006; Ord. No. 68-2024, Exh. A, 12-2-2024)

(A)

Members of the planning and zoning board shall not vote on recommendations regarding any zoning map or text amendment where the board member would have any conflict of interest as described in article III, section 3.

(B)

All proposed amendments to the UDO shall be submitted to the planning board for review and comment. If no written report is received from the planning board within 30 days of referral of the amendment to that board, the city council may proceed in its consideration of the amendment without the planning board report. The city council is not bound by the recommendations, if any, of the planning board.

The planning board shall advise and comment on whether the proposed amendment is consistent with any comprehensive plan that has been adopted and any other officially adopted plan that is applicable. The planning board shall provide a written recommendation to the city council that addresses plan consistency and other matters as deemed appropriate by the planning board, but a comment by the planning board that a proposed amendment is inconsistent with the comprehensive plan shall not preclude consideration or approval of the proposed amendment by the city council.

If a zoning map amendment qualifies as a "large-scale rezoning" under G.S. 160D-602(b), the planning board statement describing plan consistency may address the overall rezoning and describe how the analysis and policies in the relevant adopted plans were considered in the recommendation made.

(Ord. No. 1-2006, § 12, 1-9-2006; Ord. No. 68-2024, Exh. A, 12-2-2024)

(A)

Upon receipt of a recommendation from the planning and zoning board, the city council shall set a date for a public hearing on the proposed amendment. The public notice required for the public hearing shall be in accordance with section 8-5.

(B)

At the conclusion of a public hearing on the proposed amendment, the city council may proceed to vote on the proposed amendment, refer it to a committee for further study, or take any other action consistent with its usual rules of procedure.

(C)

The city council need not await the recommendations of the planning and zoning board before taking action on a proposed amendment nor is the city council bound by any recommendations of the planning and zoning board that are before it at the time it takes action on a proposed amendment.

(D)

The city council is not required to take final action on a proposed amendment within any specific period of time, but it should proceed as expeditiously as practicable on petitions for amendments since inordinate delays can result in the petitioner incurring unnecessary costs.

(E)

Voting on amendments to this ordinance shall proceed in the same manner as other ordinances.

(F)

A city council member shall not vote on any zoning map or text amendment where the outcome of the matter being considered is reasonably likely to have a direct, substantial, and readily identifiable financial impact on the member.

(G)

A statement analyzing the reasonableness of the proposed rezoning shall be prepared for each petition for a rezoning to a conditional district, or other small-scale rezoning. A draft of such statement shall be prepared by the applicant at the time of application for the consideration of the staff, planning board, and city council.

(H)

Prior to adopting or rejecting any zoning amendment, the city council shall adopt a statement describing whether its action is consistent with an adopted comprehensive plan and explaining why the council considers the action taken to be reasonable and in the public interest. That statement is not subject to judicial review.

(Ord. No. 1-2006, § 13, 1-9-2006; Ord. No. 68-2024, Exh. A, 12-2-2024)

(A)

No ordinance that amends any of the provisions of this ordinance may be adopted until a public hearing has been held on such ordinance.

(B)

The city clerk shall publish a notice of the public hearing on any ordinance that amends the provisions of this ordinance once a week for two successive weeks in a newspaper having general circulation in the city. The notice shall be published for the first time not less than ten days nor more than twenty-five days before the date fixed for the public hearing. In computing this period, the date of publication shall not be counted but the date of the public hearing shall be.

(C)

With respect to map amendments, the city clerk shall provide first class mail notice of the public hearing to the record owners for tax purposes of all properties whose zoning classification is changed by the proposed amendment as well as the owners of all properties within 100 feet of the property rezoned by the amendment. The UDO administrator shall also post notices of the public hearing in the vicinity of the property rezoned by the proposed amendment and take any other action deemed by the UDO administrator to be useful or appropriate to give notice of the public hearing. The person or persons mailing the notices shall certify to the city council that fact, and the certificates shall be deemed conclusive in the absence of fraud.

(D)

In the event that a rezoning directly affects more than 50 properties the procedures required by G.S. 160D-602(b) shall be used to notify interested parties.

(E)

The notice required or authorized by this section shall:

(1)

State the date, time, and place of the public hearing;

(2)

Summarize the nature and character of the proposed change;

(3)

If the proposed amendment involves a change in zoning district classification, reasonably identify the property whose classification would be affected by the amendment;

(4)

State that the full text of the amendment can be obtained from the city clerk;

(5)

State that substantial changes in the proposed amendment may be made following the public hearing; and

(F)

The person or persons mailing notices to adjoining property owners, as defined in G.S. 160D-602, shall certify to the city council that fact.

(Ord. No. 1-2006, § 15, 1-9-2006; Ord. No. 68-2024, Exh. A, 12-2-2024)

In deciding whether to adopt a proposed amendment to this ordinance, the central issue before the city council is whether the proposed amendment advances the public health, safety or welfare. All other issues are irrelevant, and all information related to other issues at the public hearing may be declared irrelevant by the chairman and excluded. When considering proposed map amendments:

(A)

Except for rezoning requests submitted in accordance with section 8-7, the city council shall not consider any representations made by the petitioner that, if the change is granted, the rezoned property will be used for only one of the possible range of uses permitted in the requested classification. Rather, the city council shall consider whether the entire range of permitted uses in the requested classification is more appropriate than the range of uses in the existing classification.

(B)

The city council shall not regard as controlling any advantages or disadvantages to the individual requesting the change, but shall consider the impact of the proposed change on the public at large.

(A)

The conditional zoning districts are established to allow city council, as part of its legislative decision making, to consider proposed uses and tailor the zoning to accommodate those uses and promote innovative design while addressing anticipated problems that may arise from the establishment of the proposed uses.

(B)

The conditional zoning district approval process allows city council to approve a proposal for a specific use with reasonable conditions to assure the compatibility of the use with surrounding properties. The conditional zoning district process is a voluntary procedure intended for firm development proposals. Proposed uses for a conditional zoning district shall be restricted to permitted uses in the underlying general zoning district.

(C)

The conditional zoning process shall utilize the same procedures that apply to text amendment and map amendments, as set forth in sections 8-2 to 8-5.

(D)

No conditional zoning district shall be established until: (1) a petition for reclassification of the district has been submitted; (2) the applicant has consented in writing to all conditions of approval for the rezoning; and (3) city council has approved the petition in accordance with the procedures delineated in sections 8-2 to 8-5. Every petition for the reclassification of a property to a conditional zoning district shall be accompanied by: (1) a site plan containing the requisite information specified in appendix A; and (2) a list of proposed uses within the proposed conditional zoning district.

(E)

Conditional zoning district decisions are a legislative process. If a petition is approved under this section, the district that is established shall be governed by the approved petition and all conditions which may have been attached thereto. Any additional approved rules, regulations and conditions to the approval are binding on the property as an amendment to this ordinance and to the zoning map. All subsequent development and use of the property shall be in accordance with the standards for the approved conditional district, the approved petition, and all conditions attached to the approval. Only those uses and structures indicated in the approved petition and site plan shall be allowed on the subject property. Any development in the district shall comply with all provisions of and conditions to the approved petition and site plan.

(F)

Following the approval of the petition for a conditional zoning district, the subject property shall be identified on the zoning map by the appropriate district designation.

(G)

Significant changes to an approved petition or to the conditions attached to the approved petitions shall be treated as amendments to the regulations or to the zoning maps and shall be processed in accordance with this section. Examples of significant changes include: increasing the number of buildings; increasing the number of dwelling units more than five units or ten percent of the total approved, whichever is less; adding driveways to throughfares; reducing parking spaces below the minimum standards; reducing buffers or yards; moving structures closer to adjacent properties in a residential district or when abutting a residential use; reducing open space; changing owner occupied units to rental if noted on the site plan; increasing the mass of buildings; or any other change which the planning director determines should be reviewed by city council prior to approval. Minor changes in the detail of the site plan which will not alter the basic relationship of the proposed development to surrounding properties or the standards and requirements of these regulations or to any conditions attached to the approval may be approved by the planning and development services director without going through the amendment process or a public hearing. The planning and development services director, at his discretion, may forward any application for changes in detail to city council for its consideration as an amendment to this ordinance or the zoning map. The applicant may appeal the decision of the planning and development services director to the board of adjustment for review and decision as to whether an amendment to the approved district shall be required. Appeals to the board of adjustment shall be conducted in accordance with article VII.

(H)

It is intended that property shall be reclassified to a conditional zoning district only in light of firm plans to develop the property. Therefore, if all applicable permits are not obtained within two years from the date of approval of the rezoning petition to a conditional zoning district or if any owner of the property rezoned challenges a condition applicable to the case, the planning and development services director shall either initiate a reclassification of the property in accordance with the procedures established in this article or shall forward a report to city council recommending that the property be reclassified to the original zoning district or to another district.

(I)

After a certificate of occupancy has been issued for the development approved as a conditional zoning district, the planning and development services director shall periodically inspect the use and maintenance of the subject property to ensure continued compliance with this ordinance, the approved petition and site plan, and any conditions attached by city council to approval of the petition.

(Ord. No. 1-2006, §§ 1, 14, 1-9-2006; Ord. No. 4-2021, § 1(Exh. A), 3-1-2021; Ord. No. 68-2024, Exh. A, 12-2-2024)

The UDO administrator shall keep a record of all text amendments to this ordinance which involve regulations, standards, or procedures regarding public water supply watersheds as outlined in section 10-1. Copies of all such amendments shall, upon adoption, be provided to the Supervisor of the Classification and Standards Group, Water Quality Section, North Carolina Division of Environmental Management. Under no circumstances shall an amendment be adopted which would cause this ordinance to violate the public water supply watershed rules as adopted by the North Carolina Environmental Management Commission.

(Ord. No. 1-2006, § 1, 1-9-2006)

(A)

All requests for revisions of areas of special flood hazard boundaries and base flood elevations shall be reviewed and approved by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

(B)

The existing location of any area of special flood hazard as defined in section 10-2 may be amended in cases where:

(1)

A flood control project of the federal, state, city or municipal government has substantially altered the flood hazard;

(2)

Flood data indicates that the boundaries of either of the areas as shown on the official flood boundary and floodway map are no longer correct; or

(3)

A private individual, corporation, firm or municipal agency has submitted plans for a channel improvement or relocation requiring an amendment to the official flood hazard boundary map.

(C)

Applications for an amendment to the official flood boundary and floodway map shall be processed in the same manner as an amendment to the official zoning map. The applicant shall be responsible for submitting the proposed amendment and supporting documentation to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for its approval. The application for flood zone map amendments shall be deemed incomplete if not accompanied by a letter of approval from FEMA.

(D)

All amendments to the official flood boundary map and floodway map shall be filed in accordance with G.S. 143-215.56(c).

Editor's note— Ord. No. 68-2024, Exh. A, adopted Dec. 2, 2024, repealed §§ 8-10—8-13, which pertained to protests to zoning district changes, withdrawal of amendment petitions, petition resubmittal, and notification of decisions and derived from Ord. No. 1-2006, §§ 1 and 16, Jan. 9, 2006.