(a)

Applications for zoning changes and amendments. The regulations, restrictions, and district boundaries set out in this article may from time to time be amended, supplemented, changed or repealed. The procedure shall be as follows:

(1)

A zoning text or map amendment may be proposed by the city commission or the planning and zoning board. A zoning map amendment may be proposed by any individual, corporation, limited liability company, trust, partnership or other entity having a bona-fide interest in such property affected by the proposed amendment. A "bona fide interest" in the property is determined by either: (i) having a fee simple ownership in the property affected by the amendment, or (ii) by standing under a contract to purchase such property and having written consent of the fee simple property owner(s) for the proposed amendment. All zoning text or map amendments must be made by ordinance.

(2)

Applications shall be submitted on a standard application form accompanied by all pertinent information which may be required for proper consideration of the matter, along with payment of fees and charges as established by the city commission.

(3)

Applicants shall include prospective plans indicating the desired development scenario proposed as a result of an approval per the plan submission requirements established for conditional uses. Applicants shall also indicate if the proposed development includes a request for community redevelopment area (CRA) funds, including the amount requested and the purpose of such funding.

(4)

Any request requiring zoning changes or amendments shall require a transportation impact assessment (TIA) per the requirements provided under section 58-90(k)(1).

(5)

To the extent any article III zoning code text amendment is intended to prevail over or supersede any article III zoning code or other code provision, the provisions to be superseded must be stated with particularity. Without specific reference to the provisions to be superseded, there is no basis under the text amendment for property owners, applicants, or others to avoid compliance therewith as well as any other code provisions applicable to the matter under consideration. This provision does not prohibit the inclusion or application of non-codified conflicts clauses in ordinances adopting article III zoning code text amendments and other code amendments.

(b)

Standards for review of zoning amendments. All proposed zoning text or map amendments shall be submitted to the planning and zoning commission for study and recommendation. The commission shall study such proposals to determine:

(1)

The need and justification for the change;

(2)

When pertaining to the rezoning of land, the effect of the change, if any, on the particular property and the surrounding properties;

(3)

When pertaining to the rezoning of land, the amount of undeveloped land in the general area and in the city having the same classification as that requested;

(4)

That the proposed amendment is consistent with the applicable goals, policies, and text of the city's comprehensive plan, with appropriate consideration as to whether the proposed change will further, or at least not be contrary to, the purpose of this zoning ordinance and the general planning program;

(5)

That the proposed plan resultant from the zoning change and proposed use as to business type, operating hours, noise, parking and traffic impact will be compatible with the existing and anticipated land use activities in the immediate neighborhood and that such use will be compatible with the character of the surrounding area;

(6)

That adequate public facilities and services necessary to service the development associated with the proposed zoning will be available and in place at the time of impact of the development reliant upon such zoning;

(7)

That the building size, floor area ratio, height and mass are compatible with and consistent with the scale and character of the immediate neighborhood;

(8)

That the traffic generated from the proposed zoning shall not, on a daily or peak hour basis, degrade the level of service on adjacent roads or intersections or raise any traffic safety hazards; and

(9)

That the proposed zoning does not create, through noise, intensity of activity, traffic, overflow paring, storm water runoff, etc., any conditions that degrade the value of adjacent properties, the peaceful use of adjacent properties, degrade the economy of adjacent businesses or degrade the character of the surrounding neighborhood or negatively impact the future use of adjacent properties.

(c)

Requirements for public notification and hearings.

(1)

Generally. No recommendation for amendment to this zoning ordinance shall be made by the planning and zoning commission until and unless a public hearing has been held. Before any public hearing is held by the planning and zoning commission under the provisions of this section for zoning map amendment or for review of any conditional use request, notice shall be provided based upon the type and size of the request as detailed below. In cases where requests are not specifically indicated in this section, the planning and community development director shall determine the most appropriate level of public notice. Regardless of the size of the project, when any proposed amendment to the official zoning map or conditional use involves a project that is requesting community redevelopment area (CRA) funds, then a statement to that effect specifying the amount requested and the purpose shall be included in the notice required for the project.

(2)

Public notice requirements.

a.

In addition to notice required by state law, for any proposed conditional uses involving drive-in business components, two-story buildings in the O-2 district of less than 10,000 gross square feet above grade, residential projects of three units or less, conditional use for restaurant or liquor licenses, new or used car sales, vehicle repair or service, parking lots or recreational facilities, said notice of the hearing shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation within the city at least 15 days in advance of the hearing; written notice of the time and place of such meeting and the proposed action to be taken shall be posted upon the property and mailed to all owners of record of property within 500 feet of the property requested for rezoning at least 15 days prior to the public hearing. The public notice posted on the property shall be erected to be in full view of the general public on each street side of said land and shall be erected by the applicant.

b.

In addition to notice required by state law, for any amendment to the official zoning map for land of less than one acre and for conditional uses involving church expansions, residential projects of four to 25 units, buildings over 10,000 gross square feet and less than 35,000 gross square feet above grade, day care, nursing homes and assisted living complexes said notice of the hearing shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation within the city at least 15 days in advance of the hearing; written notice of the time and place of such meeting and the proposed action to be taken shall be posted upon the property and mailed to all owners of property of record within 1,500 feet of the property requested for rezoning at least 15 days prior to the public hearing. The public notice posted on the property shall be erected to be in full view of the general public on each street side of said land and shall be erected by the applicant.

c.

In addition to notice required by state law, for any proposed amendment to the official zoning map for land of more than 80,000 square feet and for conditional uses involving residential projects with over 25 units, buildings over 35,000 gross square feet above grade and third-floor projects in the central business district, said notice of the hearing shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation within the city at least 30 days in advance of the hearing; written notice of the time and place of such meeting and the proposed action to be taken shall be posted upon the property and mailed to all owners of record of property within 1,500 feet of the property, and mailed to all households as determined from the listing of utility billing addresses within the entire city limits at least 30 days prior to the public hearing. The public notice posted on the property shall be erected to be in full view of the general public on each street side of said land and shall be erected by the applicant. Said postings of properties shall remain in place through the public hearing process. The city shall monitor this posting and provide replacements for any postings lost due to weather, vandalism, etc. However, the absence of a posting due to these conditions beyond the control of the city or the applicant shall not constitute a breach of this requirement provided a good faith effort is made to comply.

d.

Any public notice required after the initial advertised public hearing by the planning and zoning commission for a meeting of the planning commission due to tabling, continuance, postponement by the applicant or any other action by the planning commission shall revert to the 15-day notice requirements as specified in subsection (2)a. outlined above and the additional notice requirements of subsections (2)b. and c. shall not apply to these additional meetings of the planning and zoning commission unless staff is otherwise directed by the planning commission so as to allow for requests to be heard at the next regular or special meeting of the planning and zoning commission.

e.

The initial public notice shall include the expected date, time and place of the public hearing for the expected first reading by the city commission of the ordinance for consideration to amend the official zoning map. If the date, time or place of the city commission first public hearing changes due to tabling, continuance, postponement by the applicant or other action by the planning and zoning commission, then the notice requirements for the city commission public hearings shall be as required for the adoption of ordinances by F.S. ch. 166.

f.

Any proposed zoning text amendment proposed by the planning and zoning commission or city commission shall include notice as deemed appropriate by that commission given the nature and character of the amendment.

(d)

Planning and zoning commission recommendation. The planning and zoning commission following their public hearing may recommend approval, approval with conditions, preliminary approval, denial or submit such request with no recommendation to the city commission in the case of a tie vote. However, if the planning and zoning commission makes no recommendation following two advertised public hearings from the date of the initial public notice, it shall be considered submitted to the city commission without recommendation on the proposed zoning text or map amendment. This provision shall not include any public hearing during which the applicant requests that the application be tabled, postponed or continued or any public hearing where the planning commission deems that the plans submitted do not meet the application submission requirements, notice is deemed insufficient or any other procedural deficiency.

(e)

Reserved.

(f)

Future applications.

(1)

Whenever the city commission has, by amendment, changed the zoning classification of property, the planning and zoning commission shall not consider any petition for the rezoning of any part or all of the same property for a period of one year from the effective date of the amendatory ordinance.

(2)

Whenever the planning and zoning commission has taken action to recommend the denial of a petition for the rezoning of property and that recommendation has been approved by the city commission, or when the planning and zoning commission has recommended granting a petition for the rezoning of property and the city commission has reversed that recommendation and denied the petition, the planning and zoning commission shall not:

a.

Consider any further petition for the same rezoning of any part or all of the same property for a period of one year from date of such action by the city commission;

b.

Consider a petition for any other kind of rezoning on any part or all of the same property of a period of one year from the date of such action by the city commission.

(3)

The time limits of this subsection may be waived by the affirmative vote of four members of the city commission, when such action is deemed necessary to prevent injustice or to facilitate the proper development of the city.

(g)

Commission decisions. The decision of the planning and zoning board and the city commission may be made to affirm or deny the original request of the applicant or it may modify the request to approve a portion of the request or alternative version of the zoning text or map amendment. The planning and zoning board may recommend and the city commission may impose conditions upon the approval of a zoning amendment. Such conditions may not restrict the range of permitted uses within a zoning district but such conditions may restrict or impose requirements upon the development or use of such land such as limitations on building size, height, setbacks or other site design or building design or use features,

The decision of the city commission on any zoning text or map amendment shall be by ordinance. Pursuant section 2.08(c) of the City Charter, the affirmative vote of at least four members of the city commission shall be required for the approval of the following matters:

(1)

A rezoning or change in use of park land to a use that is not a recreational or park use;

(2)

A rezoning or change in use of land currently zoned public and quasi-public (PQP) district or zoned parks and recreation (PR) district;

(3)

A rezoning of lakefront property from a residential use to a commercial use, mixed-use, medium-density residential use, or high-density residential use;

(4)

A zoning map amendment that changes the use of property from a residential category to a non-residential category, except that this subsection does not apply to changes from a residential use to a public, quasi-public or recreational use;

(5)

A zoning map or text amendment or Land Development Code amendment that increases the maximum allowed residential units per acre (density) or floor area ratio (intensity) by more than 25 percent from the existing maximum allowed residential units per acre or floor area ratio; in evaluating floor area ratio increases for the purposes of this provision, parking garage square footage is included;

(6)

Approving a development order authorizing development within "wetlands" as defined by Florida Statutes or the Florida Administrative Code.

(h)

Continuances. Requests for continuances and continuances of public hearings before the planning and zoning board or city commission relating to rezoning, zoning code text change, conditional use, lakefront review, or other development order applications will be handled in the following manner:

(1)

If after a public hearing has been duly advertised, the applicant requests a continuation or postponement of such public hearing, the planning and zoning board or the city commission may grant the applicant's request for a continuance for up to six months after the date of the originally advertised public hearing. Further, upon its own motion at a public hearing, the planning and zoning board or city commission may continue the public hearing for up to six months with the concurrence of the applicant. The planning and zoning board and city commission shall each have the authority to deny any request for a continuance.

(2)

If after an originally scheduled public hearing is continued at the request of the applicant, the applicant does not desire to proceed with the continued public hearing the applicant shall withdraw its application, otherwise the planning and zoning board or city commission will proceed with the continued public hearing. Thus, the applicant may only receive one continuance (one from each the planning and zoning board and city commission) of a public hearing at the applicant's own request. However, if at a city commission public hearing, the applicant's request for a postponement or continuance is based exclusively and entirely on a lack of all five members of the city commission being present to consider the matter, the city commission may waive the one applicant requested continuance restriction set forth in this subsection.

(3)

If at any time the planning and zoning board or city commission lacks a quorum to conduct business on the date of an advertised public hearing, the public hearing shall be deemed automatically continued to the date of the next regularly scheduled meeting of the planning and zoning board or city commission without the need to re-advertise the public hearing, unless it is continued as provided in the next sentence. Further, in the event of a lack of quorum, with unanimous consent of the members of the planning and zoning board or city commission who are present constituting less than a quorum after a call to order, the public hearing may be continued to a special meeting or other regular meeting occurring within 45 days from the date of the originally scheduled public hearing without the need to re-advertise the public hearing.

(4)

If a public hearing is continued or postposed to a time that is more than 45 days from the date of the originally advertised public hearing, the continued public hearing date shall be re-advertised in the same manner as was required for the original public hearing date except as otherwise provided in subsection (c). If the planning and zoning board or city commission continues a public hearing to a time certain that is to occur within 45 days of the originally noticed public hearing date, the continued public hearing date does not have to be re-advertised except for the public posting of the planning and zoning board or city commission agenda for which the matter is to be heard.

(5)

If re-advertising is required due to a continuance or tabling of a public hearing, the applicant shall pay all costs necessary to cover the advertising and notice costs and other administrative expenses relating to continuing or tabling and re-advertising the public hearing. The planning and community development department shall have the authority to establish a fee schedule for costs and expenses relating to continuances or postponement.

(6)

The planning and zoning board and city commission shall each have the authority to continue or table any scheduled public hearing with or without the applicant's consent in the event it is determined that: (i) the applicable required advertising or notice of the public hearing was not provided, so that a future public hearing can be scheduled with proper advertising and notice; or (ii) the application is incomplete or there is a lack of relevant information needed to make a decision on the applicant's request.

(i)

Preliminary action. Preliminary action may be recommended by the planning and zoning commission and may be approved by the city commission. Preliminary action is the first step of a two-step approval process. A preliminary action for a zoning map amendment would constitute approval of the first reading of the zoning map amendment ordinance. The final approval requires the resubmission of additional plan documents or other relevant materials as may be deemed necessary to the planning and zoning commission and/or city commission. Following review and acceptance of the supplementary materials, the city commission may, at its discretion provide the final approval by the adoption of the zoning map amendment ordinance at its second reading. The city commission may request a subsequent review and recommendation by to the planning and zoning commission prior to consideration of the second reading of the zoning map amendment ordinance. Preliminary action does not establish a contractual obligation for the city to issue development orders and building permits until the final approval is granted.

(j)

Development agreements.

(1)

The approval of zoning map amendments may require the utilization of a development agreement. The development agreement incorporates the plan submissions, written application materials and verbal representations of the applicant as well as including any special conditions and restrictions. A development agreement may be approved by the city commission coincident with the initial final approval of the zoning map amendment or conditional use or may be executed at a later time. Unless specifically specified in the development agreement, development agreements utilized pursuant to zoning map amendments or conditional use approvals do not have to conform to the requirements of F.S. § 163.3221 et seq., or section 58-7 of the Land Development Code. Development agreements shall be prepared by the City of Winter Park pursuant to the terms and conditions outlined by the planning and zoning commission and the city commission or development agreements may be prepared by the applicant subject to review and approval by the city attorney. Applicants shall be required to reimburse the city for actual city staff and city attorney expenses.

Development agreements provided as part of the submissions for a final approval shall be reviewed by the planning commission.

(2)

In cases where preliminary approvals are granted for amendments to the official zoning map, the effective date of such ordinance may be upon the date of execution of a development agreement following the subsequent review and approval by the city commission, following recommendation from the planning and zoning commission of the additional plan documents or other relevant materials as may be deemed necessary as exhibits for the development agreement.

(k)

Plan submittals for commission review.

(1)

Whenever an applicant submits plans as required by this Code, only the plans delivered to the planning commission members prior to the public hearing for their review as part of the official agenda packet together with a staff report analysis and other pertinent information shall be the basis for action by the planning and zoning commission. If those plans are substantially modified then such application shall be postponed and re-advertised for a subsequent meeting.

(2)

Similarly, when the planning and zoning commission makes a recommendation on an application pursuant to specific plans, and those plans are significantly changed for submission to the city commission public hearing, then the significantly changed plans shall first be reviewed by the planning and zoning commission for recommendation before they are considered by the city commission for approval.

(3)

The city commission shall not act on any application containing significantly changed plans but shall refer the significantly changed plans back to the planning and zoning commission, for subsequent review and recommendation unless such changes are in response to specific conditions of approval made by the planning and zoning commission.

(4)

Whenever an applicant requests a work session or pre-application meeting before the planning and zoning commission or city commission or both combined commissions, such plans shall be submitted at least two weeks prior to such meeting and the planning staff shall prepare for review by such commissions, a preliminary report outlining the extent of the zoning variances and other issues that such application will entail.

(l)

Significant changes to buildings or approved plans.

(1)

Significant changes to buildings or approved plans are defined below. There are two times when plan documents are reviewed following a preliminary approval or following a final approval with respect to a determination of significant change. The first time is following a preliminary approval when plan documents are submitted for final approval as required by this Code. The second time is when plan documents are submitted for site development and building permits. In the first situation, the planning staff, based upon the criteria set forth below shall make a staff recommendation indicating the facts and conditions as they understand them to be. The planning and zoning commission shall then, following the required public hearing and based upon the criteria set forth below, make a recommendation either that:

a.

No significant changes have been made; or

b.

That significant changes have been made but those changes are acceptable to the planning and zoning commission; or

c.

That significant changes have been made which are not acceptable to the planning and zoning commission in which case the developer must amend such plan documents and resubmit such plans for final approval in order to build the project in conformance with the parameters of the original preliminary approval.

(2)

This action by the planning and zoning commission is a recommendation. The city commission shall then, following the required public hearing, make the final decision either that:

a.

No significant changes have been made; or

b.

That significant changes have been made but those changes are acceptable to the city commission; or

c.

That significant changes have been made which are not acceptable to the city commission in which case the developer must amend such plan documents and resubmit such plans for final approval in order to build the project in conformance with the original parameters of the preliminary approval.

(3)

In the second instance, the planning and development director must insure that the plan documents submitted for site development and building permits are consistent with the plan documents given final approval by the city commission. Any such determination of significant change by the planning and community development director in this instance may be appealed to the city commission following recommendation from the planning and zoning board. In order to determine whether a significant change shall be deemed to occur, the following criteria shall be used:

a.

When there is an increase in the height of a building of more than one foot; or

b.

When there is an increase in the square footage of a proposed building of more than 500 square feet above grade; or

c.

When there is an increase in the impervious lot coverage of more than 1,000 square feet; or

d.

When there is a change in the architectural style of the building; or

e.

When there is a major shift or relocation of the site and floor plan(s) or the distribution of uses within the building or major shift or relocation in the features of building location, storm water retention, parking area and/or driveways; or

f.

When additional variances are requested that have not previously been made part of the public record in the review by the planning and zoning board and/or the city commission; or

g.

When the planning director or city commission believes a material change has been made in a plan detail that was critical to the consensus or decision made by the board or commission.

(4)

The planning and zoning commission and the city commission will allow only the submission of one plan change to be reviewed under this section. For example, a project cannot increase the building height by one foot (which is not a significant change) and then request another determination for another additional foot increase in height and then another request and so on.

(m)

Rezonings discouraged. In furtherance of the policies of the comprehensive plan, some types of re-zonings are discouraged in certain areas, as set forth in the future land use element policies.

(n)

Limit on application after denial. If a rezoning or conditional use request is denied, a new application for a rezoning or conditional use pertaining to the same property will not be accepted or processed for a period of one-year from the date of the public hearing for which the denial vote occurred.

(Ord. No. 2388, §§ 1, 3, 10-10-00; Ord. No. 2632-05, § 1, 6-13-05; Ord. No. 2668-06, § 1, 5-8-06; Ord. No. 2796-10, § 2, 2-22-10; Ord. No. 2797-10, § 1, 4-22-10; Ord. No. 2849-11, § 14, 9-12-11; Ord. No. 2860-11, § 1, 11-14-11; Ord. No. 2910-13, § 2, 2-11-13; Ord. No. 3096-17, § 8, 12-11-17; Ord. No. 3163-20, § III, 2-10-20; Ord. No. 3225-21, § 1, 11-10-21; Ord. No. 3250-22, § 2, 8-10-22; Ord. No. 3317-24, § 1, 10-17-24)