§ 1. Initiation of zoning amendment petition.

A.

Persons authorized to submit a zoning amendment petition. The following persons or classes of persons are hereby authorized to submit a zoning amendment petition:

(1)

The current record owner of any parcel of land may initiate any amendment to the zoning map regarding said parcel.

(2)

The planning and zoning commission or the governing body may initiate any amendment to the zoning map or zoning text, by motion after considering its merits at a public meeting.

(3)

The county administrator, the administrative official or their respective designee may initiate any amendment to the zoning text in order to update or revise this zoning ordinance where necessary.

(4)

A group of property owners may collectively petition to rezone a defined area by filing a written request for rezoning with the planning department, provided that the request is collectively signed by greater than fifty percent (50%) of all parcel owners of record within said area and that said owners collectively own more than fifty percent (50%) of the total area sought to be rezoned. The governing body shall consider the merits of the request at a noticed public meeting and decide, in their legislative discretion, whether the proposed request should be processed by the planning department as a zoning amendment or whether no further action should be taken. If the governing body approves the request at this stage, then the requestors shall be required to file a petition which meets all of the requirements of this section.

B.

Every petition addressed to the governing body, requesting an amendment or change in the regulations, restrictions, and boundaries herein established shall contain the following information and shall be presented to the county administrator or designee in the following form:

(1)

The petition shall be legible and shall be sworn to by the applicant or applicants, and shall include the address and phone number of the applicant(s);

(2)

It shall give an accurate legal description of the land involved, including street address, if any, and the names of all owners, mortgage holders, lienors and lessees;

(3)

It shall designate a public contact person on the application. The public contact person would be required to answer questions and provide information regarding the petition to the public;

(4)

It shall state the reason why such regulations, restrictions or boundaries should be amended, supplemented, changed or repealed;

(5)

It shall give the existing zoning district classification on the land and the zoning district classification to which it is desired a change be made;

(6)

It shall have attached a drawing or blueprint of the surrounding portion of the subdivision in which the land is located, or if unplatted land, the streets, highways, roads, alleys and public places surrounding the land;

(7)

It shall include a statement which indicates whether or not the applicant requests a formal hearing process using procedures for rules of evidence, expert witnesses and/or cross examination of witnesses. If the applicant desires additional time to make their presentation beyond established time frames as described in the application instruction packet, the applicant must indicate on the application form;

(8)

The application for a zoning amendment petition shall be in the form prescribed by the planning department.

(9)

Depending upon the size, location or complexity of the requested amendment, planning department staff may request additional information. It is the ultimate responsibility of the property owner or designated agent to ensure that the application is complete and sufficient and all requested information and materials have been provided to county staff.

(10)

The applicant, upon being first advised by the planning department that the application is incomplete or insufficient, shall have a total of one hundred and eighty (180) days to correct all completeness and sufficiency deficiencies. If the applicant fails or refuses to correct such deficiencies within this period, the said application shall be deemed abandoned and void. Any applicant whose application is declared abandoned or void under this provision may re-file such application at a subsequent date, without prejudice, upon payment of all required fees and submitting a complete and sufficient application.

(11)

Upon an applicant being advised by the planning department that the application is complete and sufficient, a public hearing shall be promptly scheduled at the next available planning and zoning commission meeting allowing sufficient time for public notice and advertising. At the request of the commission, the governing body or the applicant, any scheduled public hearing may be continued until a date certain (which date shall be set by the commission or the governing body, respectively, in their sole discretion). Notwithstanding the foregoing, the commission shall render a decision on the merits of the application within one hundred and eighty (180) days of the applicant being advised that the application is complete and sufficient. It shall be the responsibility of the applicant to ensure that its application is scheduled and acted upon in a timely fashion. Any application not acted on by the commission within said one hundred and eighty (180) day period shall be deemed abandoned and void, and such application shall be closed out by the planning department with no refunds of any fees paid by the applicant. Any applicant whose application is declared abandoned or void under this provision may re-file such application at a subsequent date, without prejudice, upon payment of all required fees and submitting a complete and sufficient application.

C.

The administrative official in conjunction with the planning director shall develop procedures for the processing of a petition for a zoning amendment.

D.

Public inquiry workshop.

(1)

Upon determination of need by the County staff based upon the number of public inquiries or the size and complexity of the proposed project, the applicant shall be required to conduct a public inquiry workshop prior to the scheduling of a public hearing on the application at a location convenient to the site in question and appropriate for public assembly in Hernando County as follows.

a.

The applicant shall provide sign notice by posting the property a minimum of ten (10) days prior to the scheduled workshop with a Public Inquiry Workshop notice sign as supplied by the planning department. The sign notice hereunder shall be in addition to all other notice provisions under this article.

b.

The applicant shall provide mail notice a minimum of ten (10) days prior to the scheduled Public Inquiry Workshop giving the time, place and purpose of the meeting to each property owner within one thousand (1,000) feet of the parcel covered by the application based on the mail list generated by the Property Appraiser's Office. The applicant shall provide the planning department a copy of the mail list and a notarized affidavit indicating that said notice was mailed. The mail notice hereunder shall be in addition to all other mail notice provisions under this article.

c.

The applicant shall provide a Citizen Sign-in sheet and executive summary explaining what information was provided to the public at the meeting to the planning department accompanied by a notarized affidavit indicating that the list is an official record of attendance at the meeting. The Citizen Sign-In sheet and executive summary will become a part of the official application file.

(2)

The applicant shall be responsible for all costs incurred in the notice procedure for the public inquiry workshop and the public hearing.

(Ord. No. 76-2, § 22, 2-17-76; Ord. No. 96-19, § 21, 9-10-96; Ord. No. 2001-06, § 13, 5-8-01; Ord. No. 2002-02, § 9, 2-12-02; Ord. No. 2003-02, §§ 15, 16, 2-11-03; Ord. No. 2008-05, § XX, 2-26-08; Ord. No. 2016-18, § V, 11-8-16)