1. Preapplication Meetings.
A. Preapplication Staff Meeting.
1. Purpose.
a. The preapplication staff meeting is intended to provide an opportunity for the applicant to meet with City staff to discuss submittal requirements, review procedures, and to identify any issues associated with the proposed development concept.
2. Applicability.
a. A preapplication staff meeting may be requested by an applicant for any application type and shall be required for applications as indicated in
Section 405.010: Summary Table Of Application Procedures.
b. The preapplication staff meeting requirements may be waived by the Community Development Director if the Director determines that the proposal would not have significant impacts on the surrounding properties, environment, or infrastructure.
3. Procedure.
a. The applicant shall submit a request for a preapplication meeting to the Community Development Director.
b. At least seven (7) days prior to the scheduled preapplication meeting, the applicant shall submit the following materials at a minimum:
(1) A written description of the proposed project;
(2) Conceptual drawings showing the location, layout, and primary elements of the proposal; and
(3) Proposed uses, location of uses, and densities.
4. Effect.
a. Any information or discussions held at the preapplication staff meeting shall not be binding on the City or the applicant.
b. Discussions of potential conditions to mitigate impacts do not reflect actions by the decision-making body until and unless a decision-making body takes formal action.
B. Preapplication Neighborhood Meeting.
1. Purpose.
a. A preapplication neighborhood meeting is intended to allow residents, businesses, and organizations in the area surrounding a proposed development an opportunity to learn about the project details and to provide feedback to the applicants.
2. Applicability.
a. A preapplication neighborhood meeting is required for applications as indicated in
Section 405.010: Summary Table Of Application Procedures.
b. The preapplication neighborhood meeting requirements may be waived by the Community Development Director if the Director determines that the proposal would not have significant impacts on the surrounding properties, environment, or infrastructure.
3. Notice.
a. The applicant shall be responsible for providing notice by mail to all owners of record within five hundred (500) feet of the boundaries of the property.
b. Notice shall be provided at least fifteen (15) days prior to the meeting date and shall include the meeting date, time, location, address of the proposed development and short description of the proposed project.
c. The applicant shall also provide notice to the Community Development Director and the Aldermen of the Ward in which the project is located.
4. Meeting Specifics.
a. The meeting shall be organized by the applicant.
b. City staff are not required to plan, organize, attend or participate in the meeting.
c. The applicant shall present, at a minimum, proposed land uses, a conceptual site layout of buildings, parking and vehicle access, and the preliminary design concept. Engineered plans are not required.
d. The applicant shall provide an opportunity for attendees to provide feedback and ask questions.
e. As part of the application submittal, the applicant shall submit a summary of the meeting, list of attendees, copy of the presentation and proof of notification.
f. The applicant is required to host one (1) preapplication neighborhood meeting, but may agree to conduct additional meetings before or after filing an application.
2. Application Submission And Handling.
A. Authority To Apply.
1. Unless expressly stated otherwise in this Code, applications may be submitted by the following entities:
a. The property owner;
b. An authorized party submitting on behalf of the property owner, as evidenced by a notarized affidavit from the property owner; or
c. An authorized contract purchaser, tenant, or other authorized party, as evidenced by a notarized affidavit from the property owner.
2. If there are multiple property owners, contract purchasers, or other persons authorized to submit the application, all such persons shall sign the application or a letter or document consenting to the application.
3. No application shall be submitted or accepted prior to completing the required preapplication meetings as indicated in
Section 405.010: Summary Table Of Application Procedures.
B. Application Content And Fees.
1. The application shall be submitted to the Department of Community Development or Department of Public Works, as applicable, on a form established by the director of the applicable department.
2. Application forms listing submission requirement details shall be established and maintained by the City.
3. The application, plans, and supporting documents shall provide sufficient detail to verify conformance with the applicable standards of this Code and the application-specific review criteria.
4. Application fees shall be paid at the time of submittal in accordance with the fee schedule in
Section 135.100: Planning and Zoning Fees, of the Municipal Code.
C. Submittal Deadlines And Review Schedules.
1. Applications requiring review or approval by the Planning and Zoning Commission or Board of Adjustment as indicated in
Section 405.010: Summary Table Of Application Procedures, shall be filed in the office of the Community Development Director at least thirty-five (35) days prior to a regularly scheduled meeting of the Planning and Zoning Commission or Board of Adjustment.
2. The Community Development Director shall establish a more specific processing cycle for each type of application, which includes:
a. Dates of regular meetings of review bodies and decision makers that comply with all legal requirements for notice and public meeting deadlines;
b. Deadlines for receipt of a complete application for consideration at a particular meeting;
c. The scheduling of staff review, agency review and staff reports on complete applications;
d. The steps and benchmarks in the application process (including required notice requirements, public meetings, public hearings, decision meetings and review by other bodies).
D. Concurrent Applications.
1. At the discretion of the Community Development Director or Public Works Director, as applicable, multiple applications types may be filed for the same property and may be reviewed and acted on concurrently.
2. Whenever two (2) or more application types are required under this Code, the Community Development Director or Public Works Director, as applicable, shall determine the order and timing of review.
3. When a development includes multiple parcels, a separate application for each property shall be submitted unless the Community Development Director or Public Works Director, as applicable, approves a consolidated application.
E. Determination Of Completeness.
1. The Community Development Director or Public Works Director, as applicable, shall determine whether the application is complete or incomplete within seven (7) days of submittal.
2. An application will be considered complete if it is submitted in the required number and form, includes all required information, and is accompanied by the required fee. A complete application shall be processed in accordance with the procedures in this Chapter.
3. If an application is determined to be incomplete, written notice explaining the deficiencies must be provided to the applicant. No further processing of an incomplete application will occur until the deficiencies are corrected.
4. The application shall expire and a new application, including fee, shall be submitted to commence review if the deficiencies are not corrected within ninety (90) days of the date of the written notice of deficiencies to the applicant.
F. Application Withdrawal.
1. An applicant may withdraw an application at any time by submitting a request in writing.
2. The applicant shall not be entitled to a refund of fees.
3. Staff Review And Action.
A. Application Review.
1. The complete application shall be distributed to appropriate staff for review.
2. Recommendations and comments shall be submitted to the applicant in a form established by the Community Development Director or Public Works Director, as applicable.
3. The application shall expire and a new application, including fee, shall be submitted to commence review if no correspondence, documentation or revised plans are received from the applicant for a period of time that exceeds ninety (90) days from the date of the written notice of recommendations and comments to the applicant.
B. Technical Studies.
1. The Community Development Director or Public Works Director, as applicable, on behalf of any public official, department, agency, or decision-making body, may require applicants to submit technical studies as may be necessary to evaluate the application.
a. Technical review by outside entities with expertise or jurisdiction over some aspects of the application may be required in place of, in addition to, or in association with any studies.
b. Examples of technical studies that may be required include traffic studies, engineering studies, geologic or hydrologic studies, environmental impact assessments, noise studies, market studies or economic impact studies.
c. The costs of all studies and technical review by outside entities shall be borne by the applicant. Any application that is determined to require technical studies or review from entities outside of the City may require special schedules based on the reasonable time frames to conduct those studies or additional reviews.
C. Applications Subject To Staff Recommendation.
1. The Community Development Director shall schedule complete applications for action by the appropriate review and/or decision-making body as indicated in
Section 405.010: Summary Table Of Application Procedures.
2. The Community Development Director shall prepare a staff report and provide a copy of the report to the review and/or decision-making body and to the applicant before the scheduled meeting.
D. Applications Subject To Staff Decision.
1. If an application is subject to staff review and final decision as indicated in
Section 405.010: Summary Table Of Application Procedures, the appropriate staff shall make a decision based on the review standards applicable to the application type. The decision shall be in writing and shall clearly state reasons for a denial or conditions of approval.
2. For all application types, the staff decision is immediately final.
3. Any conditions of approval shall be limited to conditions necessary to ensure compliance with the requirements of this Code and shall relate to the anticipated impacts of the proposed development.
4. Notice And Public Hearings.
A. Public Meeting Notice.
B. Public Hearing Notice.
1. Applicability.
2. Content.
a. The notice shall provide the general nature of the application and the time, place and location of the public hearing.
3. Published Notice.
a. At least fifteen (15) days prior to the public hearing, notice shall be published in a newspaper in general circulation in the City.
b. An affidavit of publication shall be kept as part of the City record.
4. Mailed Notice.
a. The applicant shall provide a certified list from the St. Charles County Assessor of names and addresses of all owners of record within five hundred (500) feet of the boundaries of the property.
b. At the expense of the applicant, the Community Development Director shall mail notice to all property owners referenced in Subsection (B)(4)(a) at least fifteen (15) days prior to the public hearing date.
c. When mailed notices have been properly addressed and deposited in the mail, failure of a party to receive such notice shall not invalidate any subsequent action.
C. Public Hearing Procedures.
1. The public hearing shall be conducted, and a record of the proceedings shall be preserved, as the specific review and/or decision-making body may prescribe by rule.
2. Any interested person or party may appear and be heard in person, by agent, or by attorney.
3. The review and/or decision-making body may request a report on the application from any government official or agency, or any other person, firm or corporation with information pertinent to the application. A copy of any requested report shall be made available to the applicant and interested parties and shall be available for review in the office of the Community Development Director.
4. A public hearing for which proper notice was given may be continued to a later date without again complying with the notice requirements of this Code, provided that the continuance is set for a specific date, time and location announced at the original public hearing.
5. Review And Decision-Making Bodies.
A. Public Hearing.
1. The application shall be subject to review, hearings, recommendations, and decisions as indicated in
Section 405.010: Summary Table Of Application Procedures.
2. If the application is subject to a public hearing, the review and/or decision-making body shall hold a public hearing on the application in accordance with Section 405.060, Notice and Public Hearings.
3. The review and/or decision-making body shall consider the application, relevant support materials, staff report, and any evidence and public comments from the public hearing, if required.
B. Review Body Action.
1. The review body shall recommend to the decision-making body approval, approval with conditions, or denial of the application based on the applicable review criteria listed in the application-specific procedures.
2. The review body may also continue the public hearing in accordance with
Section 405.060: Notice And Public Hearings, to allow further analysis.
3. The application shall not be continued more than sixty (60) days from the original meeting date without consent of the applicant. No application shall be continued more than once without consent of the applicant.
C. Decision-Making Body Action.
1. The decision-making body shall approve, approve with conditions, or deny the application based on the applicable review criteria listed in the application-specific procedures.
2. The decision-making body may also continue the public hearing in accordance with Section 405.060, Notice and Public Hearings, to allow further analysis, and may remand the application to the appropriate review body for further consideration.
3. The application shall not be continued more than sixty (60) days from the original meeting date without consent of the applicant. No application shall be continued more than once without consent of the applicant.
D. Conditions Of Approval.
1. A review or decision-making body may approve an application with conditions necessary to bring the proposed development into compliance with this Code or other regulations, or to mitigate the impacts of the development.
2. The Planning and Zoning Commission and Board of Adjustment may remove, modify or maintain conditions recommended by City staff.
3. The Board of Aldermen may remove, modify or maintain conditions recommended by City staff or the Planning and Zoning Commission.
4. Unless expressed in this Code or specifically modified during a public meeting, any representations of the applicant in submittal materials or during public hearings shall be binding as conditions of approval.
5. Conditions placed on an approved application shall be resolved to the satisfaction of the Community Development Director after appropriate consultation with the Chief Building Official and Public Works Director, if applicable.
E. Effect Of Approval.
1. The issuance of any approval, certificate, or permit under this Code shall authorize only the particular development, alteration, construction, or use approved in the subject application.
2. Approval of an application shall become effective immediately upon approval by the decision-making body indicated in
Section 405.010: Summary Table Of Application Procedures. In the event that additional approval is required by another governmental authority or agency, the approval shall not become effective until that approval is received.
3. Unless otherwise stated for a specific type of permit, approval, or decision under this Code, or unless otherwise stated on the permit or approval document, permits and approvals issued under this Code run with the land and are not affected by changes in ownership or the form of ownership of the property.
6. Post-Decision Actions And Limitations.
A. Notice Of Decision.
1. Within ten (10) days after a final decision on an application, the Community Development Director or Public Works Director, as applicable, shall provide notice via mail or electronic mail to the applicant stating the decision and the appropriate next steps.
B. Appeals.
C. Expiration Of Approvals.
1. Period Of Validity.
2. Extensions.
a. Prior to the expiration date of a permit or approval, the Community Development Director or Public Works Director, as applicable, may extend the period of validity one (1) time, for up to one (1) year.
b. An extension shall be granted only after a written request from the applicant which explains reasonable cause for such extension has been received and it is determined that a reasonable cause exists for such an extension.
D. Amendments To Approved Applications.
1. After the City has issued a permit or granted approval pursuant to this Chapter, the permit or approval may only be amended as described in this Subsection.
2. Minor Amendments.
a. Minor amendments to a permit or approval issued under this Chapter may be approved by the Community Development Director or Public Works Director, as applicable, provided that the Director determines that the following criteria have been met:
(1) The amendment is insignificant;
(2) The amendment has minimal impact on the overall design of the development or subdivision;
(3) The amendment does not vary the requirements of this Code; and
(4) The amendment does not change any conditions of approval.
3. Major Amendments.
a. All amendments to permits or approvals that do not qualify as minor amendments under Subsection (D)(2) may only be approved by the review or decision-making body that issued the permit or approval, and shall be processed as a new application following the same procedure for the original application.
E. Successive Applications.
1. In the event that the decision-making body takes final action to deny an application, the same or a similar application shall not be refiled for one (1) year from the advertised meeting date.
2. The Community Development Director or Public Works Director, as applicable, upon petition by the applicant, may permit a refiling of the application no sooner than one hundred eighty (180) days after the scheduled meeting date when it is determined that significant physical, economic or land use changes have taken place within the immediate vicinity or a significant text amendment has been adopted.
3. There shall be no time limitation on the submittal of a substantially different application.
