§ 30-40. Supplementing, amending the zoning districts and zoning resolution.

(a)

Except as provided in this subsection, the board of county commissioners may from time to time amend or supplement the regulations and districts fixed by any zoning ordinance adopted pursuant to this article. Proposed changes may be suggested by the board of county commissioners, by the planning and zoning commission, or by petition of an owner, or his agent who is authorized in writing to request changing the zoning on the property involved in the proposed change. In the latter case the petitioner or petitioners shall be required to assume the cost of public notice and other costs incidental to hearings. The board of county commissioners shall not amend or supplement any zoning ordinance or district if the property which is the subject of the proposed change is subject to a moratorium ordinance.

(b)

In considering any proposals for such amendments and supplements, regardless of the source of the proposed change, the board of county commissioners shall take into consideration the development of the area, the existing and anticipated needs, the existing and proposed improvements in the area, and the relationship between the present and proposed zoning classification district and the adjacent zoning classification districts in the county and the municipalities. Changes shall be made only upon giving consideration to the character of the districts and their special suitability for particular uses, and with the view to conserving the value of the property in the area and encouraging the most appropriate use of land throughout the area.

(c)

(1) The planning and zoning commission shall direct that a public hearing on the application be held. The planning and zoning commission shall thereupon make such investigation as it may determine necessary, including inquiry into the consistency of the request with the comprehensive policy plan, and shall hold a public hearing or hearings, with due public notice, on the application.

(2)

The planning and zoning commission shall use, but not be limited to only using, the following minimum criteria to determine whether the application is consistent with the comprehensive policy plan:

a.

Urbanization should be staged in a contiguous manner in order to minimize additional public expenditures.

b.

Any urban expansion is done in a manner which minimizes conflict with agricultural pursuits and discourages premature scattered development.

c.

The application affords preservation of agricultural land in the rural service area and provides for development at levels consistent with the comprehensive policy plan.

d.

The application establishes a balance between the economic needs of the applicant and the ecological protection of the community, all within the context of the long-range needs of the county citizenry.

e.

The application provides for development which will protect and preserve the county's natural environmental systems, thus avoiding the unnecessary expenditure associated with improper development.

f.

The past trends and present conditions with respect to population, property values, economic base, and land use of the surrounding area shall be weighed in relation to the amount, direction and kind of development proposed by the application.

g.

Using the various goals, objectives, and policies of the comprehensive policy plan as a measure, the application shall be balanced in favor of benefiting rather than burdening the health, safety and welfare interests of the citizens of the county.

(3)

For purposes of this section due public notice shall include each of the following:

a.

Notice by United States mail, postage prepaid, at least ten (10) days prior to the date of the hearing, to the owners of the property within three hundred (300) feet of the subject property, at their last-known addresses.

b.

The applicant shall, at least ten (10) days prior to the date of the public hearing, cause to be placed in a conspicuous and easily visible location on the property subject to the application for change, a sign at least eighteen (18) inches by twenty-four (24) inches in dimension furnished by the planning and zoning commission, setting forth in bold face letter the relevant facts pertaining to the application for review and the date, time and place when the public hearing shall be held by the planning and zoning commission.

c.

An advertisement placed in a daily newspaper generally circulated in the county fifteen (15) days prior to the public hearing setting forth the general location of the subject property, the requested zoning and the date, time and place when the public hearing shall be held by the planning and zoning commission.

(d)

When the public hearing is held after giving notice pursuant to subsection (c) above, the planning and zoning commission shall publicly discuss the application and take testimony and evidence from the applicant and public, as appropriate. After the public hearing the planning and zoning commission shall submit its recommendations on the proposed change to the board of county commissioners for official action. The board of county commissioners shall then at any regular or special meeting review the recommendations of the planning and zoning commission and either adopt, reject or modify the recommendations, or schedule a public hearing on any one (1) or more of them; provided, however, that no recommendation shall be rejected or modified unless the board of county commissioners shall first hold a public hearing thereon. No change or amendment shall become effective until fifteen (15) days after the action of the board of county commissioners is filed with the clerk of the board of county commissioners.

(e)

Any person aggrieved by any decision of the planning and zoning commission may file a notice of appeal to the board of county commissioners in the form and in the manner as hereinafter set out in section 30-45.

(Code 1965, § 37-10; Laws of Fla. ch. 63-1716, § 10; Laws of Fla. ch. 65-1999, § 3; Laws of Fla. ch. 70-837, § 1; Laws of Fla. ch. 71-795, § 3; Laws of Fla. ch. 72-626, §§ 1, 2; Ord. No. 89-09, § 1(2), 7-10-89; Ord. No. 90-11, § 1, 6-4-90; Ord. No. 91-29, § 2(Exh. A), 12-10-91; Ord. No. 92-1, § 2, 1-21-92; Ord. No. 98-02, § 3, 1-27-98)

State law reference

Adoption of land development regulations, F.S. § 163.3194; zoning ordinance amendments, F.S. § 125.66(5).