§ 16.5. Public hearing, procedures, and rezoning standards.

a.

Public hearing required. Before enacting an amendment to this ordinance, one public hearing must be held by the mayor and council.

b.

Applicant notification. The city clerk must notify the applicant of the date, time, and place of the required public hearing.

c.

Publication of notice. Not less than 15 days, and not more than 45 days prior to the date of the public hearing, the city clerk shall advertise the date, time, place and purpose of the public hearing in a newspaper of general circulation in Union Point. The notice shall also include the location of the property, the present zoning classification of the property, and the proposed zoning classification of the property.

d.

Sign. In addition to the newspaper notice, not more than 45 days and not less than 15 days prior to the mayor and council's public hearing, the city clerk shall have posted in a conspicuous place on the lot or parcel to be rezoned or which will be utilized under a requested text amendment, one or more signs, which shall provide adequate notice of the zoning action.

e.

Hearing. A public hearing of the mayor and council shall be conducted by the city clerk. Such hearing shall be governed by the following sections, which are adopted pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 36-66-5(a).

f.

Administrative record. Minutes of the meeting will be taken by the city clerk or his/her delegate. A complete tape recording of a public hearing may be requested and will be available at the expense of a party making a timely request.

g.

Call to order and summarize requirements. The public hearing shall be called to order by the presiding officer, who shall summarize the requirements as to speakers' conduct and time limits, and other matters of procedure.

h.

Report. The city clerk shall present the application and all its supporting documents, along with a written analysis of the requested zoning's impact on the zoning standards.

i.

Speakers' conduct. All speakers shall speak only from the podium, shall address only the merits of the pending application, and shall address remarks only to the mayor and council. Each speaker shall refrain from personal attacks on any other speaker, any discussion irrelevant to the pending application, or any other inappropriate behavior. No debate or argument between speakers or with council members will be allowed. Speakers shall not repeat previous comments, as repetition deprives other speakers of valuable time to provide new information. The presiding officer or his/her designee shall refuse a speaker the right to continue, if the speaker, after once being cautioned, continues to violate any section of this ordinance. Speakers should provide supporting documentation prior to the date of the hearing. Speakers shall sign the speaker list prior to the hearing.

j.

Applicant's initial presentation. The applicant or applicant's representative shall present and explain the application after being permitted to proceed. The applicant will be allowed not less than ten minutes combined total to make an initial presentation and subsequent rebuttal, but the applicant and all supporters shall have a combined time limit of no more than 15 minutes.

k.

Other interested parties. After the applicant's presentation, interested persons who support the application, after being permitted to speak by the presiding officer, may address the proposed application by standing and stating their name, address, and interest and any comments on the pending application. Persons other than the applicant who support the application are allowed to speak in support of the pending application for no more than two minutes each, and are also subject to the 15 minute combined total time limit.

l.

Opponents. Persons opposing an application are allowed at least ten minutes total as a group (and in no event less than the combined time used by the applicant and supporters), to address their opposition to the application. The opponents shall have a combined total time limit of no more than 15 minutes. It is suggested that supporters and opponents each obtain one spokesperson to present their views. No individual except the applicant, or an attorney, or a designated representative of a group, shall speak longer than two minutes or more than one time.

m.

Applicant's summary. The applicant may make brief summary remarks using any reserved time, after which the presiding officer shall close the public hearing.

n.

Withdrawal. If an application for amendment to the zoning ordinance or official zoning map is withdrawn in writing by the applicant at any time after the publication of the newspaper notice and posting of the required sign but prior to a decision by the mayor and council, then the same property or application may be not considered for zoning by the mayor and council until the expiration of at least 60 days immediately following the withdrawal of the rezoning application. The withdrawal must be in writing and signed by the applicant. The application will be considered to have been withdrawn if the applicant, his/her authorized agent or his/her attorney fails to appear at the mayor and council's hearing. By withdrawing in this manner, the same property or application may not be considered by the mayor and council until the expiration of at least 60 days from the date of the scheduled public hearing for which the applicant failed to appear.

o.

Mayor and council action. The mayor and council shall review the record, consider the zoning amendment criteria of section 16.6, and vote on the application. The mayor and council may approve, approve with conditions, table for further action, or deny the application. Within seven days of its decision, the city clerk shall so notify the applicant in writing.

p.

Denial. If the zoning ordinance amendment or official zoning map amendment is denied by the mayor and council, then the same property may not be considered for rezoning until the expiration of at least six months immediately following the denial of the rezoning.

(Ord. of 9-19-2005(2), § 5; Amend. of 4-10-2007, § 3)