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An ongoing responsibility of the Planning Commission (PC) is to review various types of development proposals within the City. A major responsibility of the Planning Director is to provide recommendations to the PC regarding those proposals. The City’s Chief Zoning Official is charged with administering the zoning ordinance on a day-to-day basis, with the assistance of Community Development staff. The Deputy City Attorney is available to consult on the legal ramifications of the decisions made by the Commission. Other municipal officials are also consulted as needed.
The Commission makes recommendations to the City Council on proposed amendments to the zoning ordinance. Amendments to the ordinance must be approved by Council because only they have the authority to change municipal laws. There are two types of amendments:
District Changes (Rezonings)
Landowners have the right to petition the City for a change in the zoning of their property. The City can also initiate a change in zoning. The PC recommends approval or disapproval of the request to Council.
Text Amendments
The zoning ordinance is not intended to be a static document and often needs to be amended. The PC recommends ordinance text changes to Council.
The Planning Commission makes recommendations to the City Council on Planned Unit Developments, which allow the City to set aside zoning ordinance regulations in light of other considerations. The establishment of a Planned Unit Development is considered an amendment to the ordinance. Several types of Planned Unit Developments are allowed under the City’s zoning ordinance:
Planned Unit Development Districts
The Commission makes recommendations to Council on Planned Unit Development District proposals, which allow for a mix of land uses that would not otherwise be permitted under the zoning ordinance.
Planned Unit Residential Developments
The Planning Commission makes recommendations to Council on Planned Unit Residential Development proposals, which allow the City to set aside dimensional ordinance regulations (e.g., building setbacks) in light of other considerations.
Planned Building Group Shopping Centers
The PC makes recommendations to Council on PlannedBuildingGroupShopping Centerproposals, which allow for the development of large commercial developments with many tenants.
The City’s zoning ordinance provides the Commission with the final authority on several other types of zoning reviews that often govern project proposals:
Conditional Use Permits (CUP)
Land uses which require a Conditional Use Permit in certain zoning districts allow the City Planning Commission to exercise additional control over those developments in order to ensure that it will have a minimal impact on adjacent and other nearby properties.
Site Plan Reviews
Land uses that require a Site Plan Review also allow the Planning Commission the opportunity to affect development proposals in order to ensure that it will have a minimal impact on neighboring land.
Class A Nonconforming Use Designations
Land uses that existed before current zoning regulations went into effect are designated as nonconforming uses and are allowed to continue. The zoning ordinance permits the PC to allow for a change in the type of nonconforming use as long as the proposed change lessens the effect of the nonconformity on neighboring properties.
Alley and Street Vacations
Streets and alleys that are closed still exist legally and can be reopened. The vacation of alleys and streets expunges their rights-of-way legally. The vacated right-of-way is then divided along its centerline and retuned to the adjacent properties from which it was appropriated. The
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