Zoning Ordinance Information

Zoning Ordinance Information
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The content on this webpage is a work in progress and will change as the revised Zoning Ordinance is amended. Please check back often to obtain the most up to date information. Important Announcement Following the Planning Commission’s formal recommendation for approval of the Zoning Ordinance on August 17, 2010, City Council will consider introducing an ordinance to adopt the new Zoning Ordinance at their Monday, September 13th regular meeting. Then, at their Monday, September 27, 2010 meeting, City Council will vote whether to adopt the new ordinance. Both meetings will be held at 7 p.m. in the Council Chambers at the Charles T. Yancey Municipal Building (503 W. Main Street). Please note that if the text of the Zoning Ordinance is adopted by City Council on September 27th, the new ordinance will not go into until January 1, 2011. This will allow time for a new Zoning Map to be adopted as well. Also, The City Council and Planning Commission will hold a joint public hearing on the new Zoning Map on October 12th at 7 p.m. in the Council Chambers at the Charles T. Yancey Municipal Building (503 W. Main Street). Copies of the FORMER zoning map and the PROPOSED zoning map can be found by clicking on the “Zoning Map” tab above. History and Process The Zoning Ordinance is a set of regulations governing the use of land in the City. Over the years, as minor revisions have occurred, the original document has become either out of date, in conflict with other sections, and/ or does not adequately address issues faced by the City today. In 2008, two consultant firms, Duncan Associates and LandDesign, teamed to perform a comprehensive revision of the existing ordinance. In October 2008, the consultants presented a Diagnostic Report to City Council. This document provided a broad perspective on the project and the major policy issues that the City should address. This document also served as the guide for the revisions. Over the past year, Staff has worked closely with the consultants to develop a substantially new ordinance based on the Diagnostic Report. A Joint City Council/ Planning Commission Worksession was held on May 19, 2010 so that the decision makers could review the rough draft of the proposed ordinance and understand the important changes proposed. The Planning Commission held subsequent meetings on June 1st and June 22nd to further refine the document. Another Joint City Council/ Planning Commission Worksession will be held on August 9th to receive further input from the public. Eventually, the Planning Commission will make a final report and recommendation to the City Council. Council will then consider the Planning Commission’s recommendations and then make any final changes before deciding whether or not to accept the revised Zoning Ordinance. Once the text of the Zoning Ordinance is adopted, the City will update the official Zoning Map to reflect the new ordinance. The review and adoption of the new Zoning Map will be a public process as well.