[Criteria for amending this zoning ordinance are as follows:]

A.

Authority. This ordinance, including the official zoning map of the City of York, may be amended from time to time by the York City Council as herein specified, but no amendment shall become effective unless it shall have been proposed by or shall first have been submitted to the planning commission for review and recommendation. The planning commission shall have its initial regular meeting and up to two more consecutive regular meetings to finalize a recommendation and submit its report to the city council. If the planning commission does not submit its report within the prescribed time, city council may proceed to act on the application without awaiting the recommendations of the planning commission.

B.

Requirement for change. Whenever the public necessity, convenience, general welfare or good zoning practice justifies such action, and after the required review and report by the planning commission, the city council may undertake the necessary steps to amend this ordinance.

C.

Procedure for amendments. Requests to amend this ordinance shall be processed in accordance with the following requirements:

1.

Initiation of amendments. A proposed amendment to this ordinance may be initiated by the planning commission or by application filed with the planning and development department, by the owner or owners of the property proposed to be changed; provided that action shall not be initiated for a zoning amendment affecting the same parcel or parcels of property, or any part thereof, by a property owner or owners more than once every 12 months. The 12-month period shall commence on the date when city council takes final action on an application.

2.

Application forms; fees. Application forms for amendment requests shall be obtained from the planning and development department. Completed forms together with a legal plat of the property(s) and application fees plus any additional information the applicant feels to be pertinent, shall be filed with the planning and development department. The planning and development department shall issue a receipt. Such fees are intended to offset the costs of advertising and administrative expenses. Any communication purporting to be an application for an amendment shall be regarded as mere notice to seek relief until it is made in the form required.

Applications for amendments shall be submitted in proper form in accordance with the approved planning commission application/deadline calendar.

3.

Action by planning commission. All papers and other data submitted by the applicant on behalf of the amended request shall be transmitted to the planning commission. The planning commission, at regular meeting, shall review and prepare a report, including its recommendation, for transmittal to the city council. All meetings of the planning commission shall be open to the public. At a meeting, any party may appear in person, or be represented by an agent or by attorney. No member of the planning commission shall participate in a matter in which he has any pecuniary or special interest. Following action by the planning commission, the recommendation and all papers and data pertinent to the application shall be transmitted to the city council for final action.

Annexation requests for residential projects shall be accepted only twice a year at designated time periods (application deadlines of February 1 and August 1). Annexation applications that include a residential component shall only be allowed in accordance with the R-8, R-9, R-10, R-11 or PUD zoning districts. Due to the need for transparency of intended property usage to verify compliance with the Comprehensive Plan and Future Land Use Map, the TU zoning designation shall not be utilized for annexation requests. Such annexation requests must include a completed rezoning application and annexation petition, detailed legal boundary description of the property(s), a basic description of the proposed project for the site and required application fees. The submittal should be reviewed in accordance with specific criteria including compliance with the comprehensive plan and the land use map, residential mixture ratios, maximum number of allowed residential units per year, type of zoning district requested and compliance with requirements of the district as well as other factors deemed appropriate by the planning commission and city council.

4.

Public hearing. Before enacting or amending this [zoning] ordinance, city council shall hold a public hearing thereon, at which parties in interest and citizens shall have an opportunity to be heard. Two notices of such hearing shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the City of York. One notice shall be published at least 30 days prior to the hearing, and the second notice at least 15 days prior thereto.

When a proposed amendment affects the district classification of property, notice of such amendment shall be conspicuously posted on or adjacent to property affected, with at least one such notice being visible from each public thoroughfare that abuts the property. Such signs shall be posted at least 15 days prior to the hearing and shall indicate the nature of the change proposed, identification of the property affected, and the time, date and place of the hearing.

5.

Changes in zoning map. Following final action by the city council, any necessary changes shall be made in the official zoning map by the city clerk. A written record of the type and date of such change shall be maintained by the city clerk. Until such change is made, no action by the city council on amendments to this ordinance shall be considered official.

(Ord. No. 08-483, § 3, 9-2-2008; Ord. No. 23-703, 10-3-2023; Ord. No. 25-751, 5-6-2025)