First, it must be clearly understood that a zoning change is a legislative matter and it [is] brought about by amendment of the zoning ordinance—using variances to make changes is not legal. The pressures that are often brought to bear trying to have zoning changes made can be best handled if there is an established policy used in reviewing requests for zoning changes.

There are seven (7) basic questions which the planning commission should consider in connection with each request for rezoning:

1.

Was the land originally placed in the wrong district?

2.

Have technological, growth pattern, traffic or other changes made the original zoning obsolete?

3.

Will the proposed rezoning help or hurt the immediate neighborhood? (Affect property values in adjacent areas; adversely influence living conditions; seriously reduce light and air to adjacent areas).

4.

Will the change add to municipal service costs? (Fire and police protection or other services).

5.

Will the planned population density be altered? (This could overload schools, parks and other facilities).

6.

Will it necessitate changing the street plan because of generating unanticipated traffic?

7.

Will the change constitute a grant of a special privilege to an individual instead of promoting the general welfare?

Occasionally a proposed change poses additional complications and other factors must be considered. Answers to the listed questions usually cannot be so precise that they automatically furnish a solution.

One thing which should be remembered is that a request for a change is a claim that the existing zoning is a mistake, that the legislative body made a mistake; therefore, the petitioner should be prepared to present a detailed justification showing the change is needed and will benefit the general welfare.