The provisions of this chapter shall be known as the rezoning and zoning text amendment procedure. The purpose of these provisions is to prescribe the procedure by which changes may be made in the text of the zoning regulations and in the application thereof to specific properties. This procedure shall apply to all proposals to rezone property, to change the text of the zoning regulations, or to establish, amend, or delete any development control map.

(Ord. No. 869, § 1, 6-7-2022)

Action by the city council to rezone any property, change the text of any provision of the zoning regulations, or establish, amend, or delete any development control map, not previously considered by the planning commission shall first be referred to the planning commission for its report and recommendation.

(Ord. No. 869, § 1, 6-7-2022)

(a)

Private party initiation. The owner of any property, or their authorized agent, may make application to the planning commission to rezone such property, to amend or delete any development control map applicable thereto by fully completing the forms provided by the planning department, signed by the legal owner(s) of property affected by the proposed amendment, and shall include the filing fee set by the city.

(b)

Agency initiation. The planning commission may, and upon request of the city council shall, initiate action to rezone or reclassify any property, to change the text of the zoning regulations, or to establish, amend, or delete any development control map. The action may also be initiated by the planning director. Such initiation shall be for the purpose of reviewing the merits of the proposal and shall not imply advocacy by the commission for the rezoning or other change. A city council or planning commission initiated process is exempt from Section 16.57.040.

(Ord. No. 869, § 1, 6-7-2022)

(a)

Application checklist. The application submittal shall contain all of the materials required by the rezoning/zoning text amendment checklist. The rezoning/zoning text amendment checklist shall be developed and maintained by the planning department.

(b)

Application fee. A rezoning/zoning text amendment application fee shall be paid at the time of application submission to the planning department. The variance application fee shall be set by city council resolution.

(c)

The application shall be submitted to the planning department for review. The planning department shall have thirty calendar days to review the application:

(1)

If the planning department determines that the application is incomplete, the department will notify the applicant of the application's deficiencies. The applicant will have a maximum of ninety calendar days from the date of the notification letter to correct the deficiencies. If the applicant fails to provide further response or correction of the application, the application process is deemed to have lapsed at the expiration of the ninetieth day.

(2)

Whenever the planning department determines that an application is complete, the potential action will be reviewed for environmental compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Upon completion of the environmental review, the planning department will schedule a public hearing with the planning commission.

(Ord. No. 869, § 1, 6-7-2022)

A public hearing by the planning commission shall be held and noticed in compliance with Government Code §§ 65090 through 65096.

(Ord. No. 869, § 1, 6-7-2022)

(a)

The commission shall approve, modify, condition, or disapprove an application following its consideration whether the existing zone or regulations are inadequate or otherwise contrary to the public interest, and may approve, modify, or disapprove the application.

(b)

The planning commission may recommend reasonable conditions on the approval of any rezoning for the purposes of ensuring consistency of the proposed zoning with the general plan, mitigating environmental impacts, minimizing functional conflicts with surrounding land uses, or any other purpose that is determined to protect the public health, safety, or general welfare. Conditions imposed on a rezoning pursuant to this section may include, but shall not be limited to, dedication of additional road rights-of-way and requirements for participation in the cost of public improvements, reasonably related to the land uses that would be allowed by the proposed zoning, and limitations on the type and nature of land uses allowed in the new zone district.

(c)

In the event of approval or modified approval, the planning director on behalf of the planning commission shall submit a written report conveying the commission's recommendation on the application to the city council giving reasons for the recommendation and the relationship of the proposed amendment to affected elements of the general plan and any affected community or specific plans.

(Ord. No. 869, § 1, 6-7-2022)

The city council shall hold a public hearing in the same manner specified in Section 16.57.050 following the planning commission's recommendation for approval or modified approval of the application. The city council shall introduce, and exercise its discretion to adopt, modify, condition, or reject the proposed ordinance.

(Ord. No. 869, § 1, 6-7-2022)

In case the applicant or other affected are not satisfied with the action of the planning commission they may, within ten calendar days after the rendition of the decision thereon by the commission, appeal in writing to the city council pursuant Section 16.14.030.

(Ord. No. 869, § 1, 6-7-2022)