15.02.245 Rezoning.
A. The Town may, from time to time, amend the boundaries of any zone district by following the procedures in this section.
B. The Town Council may not determine that the zoning map should be amended (rezoning of property) unless the rezoning is consistent with the goals and policies of the comprehensive plan and promotes the general welfare of the community. If a proposed rezoning is inconsistent with the comprehensive plan, the request may only be approved if the applicant demonstrates that the requested rezone is justified because of changed or changing conditions in the particular area, in the Town in general or that the rezoning is necessary to correct a manifest error in the existing zone classification.
1. Rezoning of individual property may be initiated by the Town, by citizen petition or by application filed by the landowner.
2. Requests for rezoning initiated by the Town Council, Planning Commission or Town staff will be prepared as a draft ordinance by the Town Attorney and Town staff and shall be reviewed and considered by the Planning Commission and presented to the Town Council at a public hearing. In this instance, the Town shall be considered to be the applicant.
3. To initiate a rezoning of private property, the petitioner must be the owner of the affected property or a citizen of the Town who has submitted the application with a petition signed by owners of a majority of the land affected by the request. In this instance, the person submitting the application shall be considered to be the applicant.
C. The Planning Commission and Town Council may consider the following evaluation criteria for the analysis of rezoning applications:
1. The compatibility of the rezoning proposal with the surrounding zone districts and land uses in the vicinity of the site of the rezoning, including the characteristics of the existing neighborhood, the applicable area and bulk requirements, and the suitability of the site for development in terms of on-site characteristics;
2. The impacts of the rezoning upon expected traffic generation and road safety, availability of on-site and off-site parking and the availability of adequate utility services and street access to the site;
3. The impacts of the land uses of the proposed rezoning upon expected environmental quality, including air and water quality;
4. The community need for the proposed rezoning and the relationship of the proposed rezoning to the goal of overall community balance; and
5. Compatibility with the comprehensive plan.
D. The Town Council may, upon the request of the Planning Commission, Town staff or on its own motion, initiate a procedure for rezoning a significant area of the Town, consisting of six (6) or more individual ownership parcels. This rezoning is a legislative, not a quasi-judicial, act and may be accomplished by ordinance without notice to individual landowners. The procedure for legislative rezoning shall be as follows:
1. Requests for legislative rezoning initiated by the Town Council, Planning Commission or Town staff will be prepared as a draft ordinance by the Town Attorney and Town staff and shall be reviewed and considered by the Planning Commission and presented to the Town Council in a public hearing. In this instance, the Town shall be considered to be the applicant.
2. After conducting its review on the request, the Planning Commission shall transmit its recommendations to the Town Council.
3. Notice of the public hearing before the Town Council shall be given by publication of the request and descriptive material identifying the area proposed to be rezoned, the present zoning, and the proposed zoning. The notice shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the Town and by posting at the Town offices. Separate notice to individual property owners is not required, but may be given in the sole discretion of the Town. The Town’s choosing not to give such individual notice shall not be a basis for challenge of the legislative rezoning.
4. The Town Council shall consider the public testimony, the recommendations of the comprehensive plan, and the interests of the Town in general when considering a legislative rezoning.
5. The action of the Town Council in approving a legislative rezoning shall be recorded on the official zoning map in the manner required by PMC 15.02.105. (Ord. 711 §1 (Exh. A), 2017; Amended Ord. 757 §2, 2019)