The Planning and Zoning Commission shall hold regular monthly meetings open to the public and advertised at least seven (7) calendar days in advance in one newspaper of general circulation in the City. Special meetings may be held by the Planning and Zoning Commission for items of urgency following twenty-four (24) hours advance notification of place, time and date of the meeting and items to be considered. The notice shall be posted at three (3) public places.

The Planning and Zoning Commission may decide administrative items and summary replats in open meetings. Recommendations to City Commission on subdivision applications may be made in open meetings. Level III Home Occupation and Conditional Use applications may be decided only after a public hearing is duly publicized. Recommendations to the Commission on variances, special use permits, annexations or amendments to this Code or the Official Planning and Zoning District Map may be made only after a public hearing is duly publicized. Hearings may be held in conjunction with scheduled meetings of the Planning and Zoning Commission.

The following applications reviewed by the Planning and Zoning Commission may be done only after a public hearing at which all parties in interest and citizens shall have an opportunity to be heard.

A.

Requirements of public notice. A Public Notice for Conditional Use Permits, Special Use Permits, Level III Home Occupation Permits, Annexations, Change of Districting, Variances, or Amendments to this Code, shall state the time and place of the public hearing, shall be published at least fifteen (15) days prior to the date of the hearing in one newspaper of general circulation in the City.

B.

Requirement of notice to property owners.

1.

Notice of the public hearing shall be mailed by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the owners as shown by the records of the County Treasurer, of lots or land within the area proposed to be changed and within one hundred (100) feet, excluding public right-of-way, of the area proposed to be changed. Whenever:

i.

A change of Districting is proposed for an area of one block or less

ii.

An application is for a Conditional Use, Special Use, Variance, or Level III home occupation permit.

2.

Whenever a change in Districting is proposed for an area of more than one block, the procedure stated in the preceding paragraph shall be following except that property owners shall be advised by first class mail. If a notice by first class mail to an owner is returned undelivered, City staff shall attempt to discover the owner's most recent address and shall remit the notice by certified mail, return receipt requested, to that address.

3.

Notice shall be mailed not less than fifteen (15) days prior to the required public hearing.

4.

Notice of the proposed hearing date, time, and location shall be placed on the subject property fifteen (15) days prior to the required public hearing.

5.

Fees and costs: The applicant shall bear the cost of mailing, envelopes and publication of all notices and shall provide the maps and property owner information to the City staff in a timely manner. The City staff shall calculate the costs of mailing and publishing and require payment prior to publishing the notice or sending out the mailed notices. The application form shall specify the manner and format in which the mailing list (property owners) shall be delivered to the City staff. The City staff may charge an additional fee as specified by Commission Resolution for doing the research required to create the property owner list.

C.

Recommendations of the Planning and Zoning Commission. Recommendations of the Planning and Zoning Commission shall be made in accordance with the criteria stated in Article II of this Code.

D.

Report to the City Commission. The Planning and Zoning Commission shall provide a written recommendation within its minutes and in a special letter to the City Commission on all matters.

The City Commission shall hold meetings open to the public and advertised in accordance with the City's Open Meetings Resolution whenever the City Commission is to consider a recommendation of the Planning and Zoning Commission. Approval of most decisions concerning this Code and Official Planning and Zoning District Map shall require a simple majority vote of a quorum of the City Commission. In order for a vote to be valid on a particular issue, a quorum must actually vote regarding the measure. A member who abstains is not deemed to have voted on the issue. The City Commission shall not allow a change under the conditions imposed by Section 11-7-4(H) of this Code or decide an appeal unless voted by a majority of all members of the Commission.

A.

Grounds for appeal. Any aggrieved person, officer, department, board or bureau of the City that is affected by a decision of an administrative officer, board, or commission in the administration or enforcement of this Code, or any other resolution, rule or regulation, adopted pursuant to Sections 3-21-1 through 3-22-12 of the New Mexico State Statutes 1978, as amended may appeal such decision to the City. Such appeal must be initiated in writing within fifteen (15) days after all other procedures authorized by this Code have been exhausted.

1.

Appeal of any action of the designated Zoning Administrator or his/her designee is to the Planning and Zoning Commission. The Commission may decide such appeals or refer the appeal to the City Commission with its recommendation for action. The decision of the Commission may be appealed to the City Commission. Decisions of the City Commission may be appealed to District Court.

2.

Appeal of all other matters concerning this Code shall be to the City Commission.

B.

Appeal submission. An appeal of a decision by City Staff or the Planning and Zoning Commission shall state specifically the claim of error or abuse and shall demonstrate that the decision is not supported by evidence in the matter. The appeal shall be filed with the City Clerk for placement upon the agenda of the Planning and Zoning Commission or City Commission, respectively. Any appeal of a decision of the City Commission shall be filed with the District Court.

C.

Authority of the City Commission. When an appeal alleges that there is error in any order, requirement, decision or determination by an administrative official or board in the enforcement of this Code, or any other resolution, rule or regulation adopted pursuant to the above stated state statutes, the City Commission, by a majority vote of all its members, may, after all other procedures established by the provisions of this Code have been exhausted, reverse or affirm any order, requirement, decision or determination of an administrative official or board; or make determination of an administrative official or board; or make any change in an order, requirement, decision or determination of an administrative official.

D.

Stay of proceedings. An appeal shall stay all proceedings in furtherance of the action appealed unless the officer, official, commission, or board from whom the appeal is taken, certified that by reason of facts a stay would cause imminent peril of life and property. Upon certification, the proceedings shall not be stayed except by order of District Court after notice to the official, commission, or board from whom the appeal is taken.

E.

Notice of appeal. Public notice of an appeal must be given in the manner of hearings of the Planning and Zoning Commission and as stated at Section 11-7-2(A) of this Code.

F.

Fee. A non-refundable fee as set by City Commission Resolution must accompany each appeal.

G.

Time for decision. An appeal that is to be ruled on by the City shall be decided by the City within sixty (60) days of its filing at each level after filing.

H.

Protest of district change by property owners. If the owners of twenty (20) percent or more of the area of the lots and land included in the area proposed to be changed or within one hundred (100) feet excluding public right-of-way, object to the area proposed to be changed, the proposed change in Districting shall not become effective unless approved by a majority vote of all the members of the City Commission.

Any person aggrieved by a determination of the City Commission, or any officer, department or board of the City may present to the District Court a petition, duly verified, setting forth that the decision is illegal, in whole or in part, and specifying the grounds of the illegality. The petition shall be presented to the court within thirty (30) days after the decision is entered in the records of the City Clerk and shall be as required under applicable statutes.