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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2000-033-02/15/2000-ADOPTING A PROCESS AND PROCEDURE FOR AMENDING CITY PLAN AND THE ELEMENTS THEREOF RESOLUTION 2000-33 OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS ADOPTING A PROCESS AND PROCEDURE FOR AMENDING CITY PLAN AND THE ELEMENTS THEREOF WHEREAS,during the preparation of City Plan,the City Plan Advisory Committee and the City staff determined that it would be in the City's best interest to develop a process and procedure for amending City Plan and its various elements, and particularly for amending the City Structure Plan; and WHEREAS, due to the complexity of the issue and the press of time in preparing and presenting to the Council for adoption both City Plan and the Land Use Code, the City Plan amendment issue was deferred; and WHEREAS,the staff has prepared a process and procedure for amending City Plan and the elements thereof,which process and procedure have been recommended by the Planning and Zoning Board to the City Council for adoption; and WHEREAS, the Council has determined that it is in the best interest that said process and procedures be adopted. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS as follows: Section 1. That policy GM-9.4 (Amending the Plan) of "City Plan Principles and Policies" be and hereby is amended to read as follows: Policy GM-9.4 Biennial Report. A biennial report shall be produced,beginning in 1998,to provide a mechanism for monitoring and evaluating the impacts of City Plan and to assess whether specific policies and strategies are leading to the intended results. Recommendations for improving the plan's success, based on these reports, may lead to amendments to the plan. Section 2. That the section of City Plan entitled "City Plan Principles and Policies" be amended by the addition of a new Principle GM-10,which shall read as follows,and all subsequent sections shall be renumbered accordingly: PRINCIPLE GM-10:The City will amend its City Plan and elements thereof as necessary to respond to new and/or changing conditions, notable events, significant trends, and periodic review, as described in Appendix "C" of City Plan. Policy GM-10.1 Frequency. City Plan and the elements thereof, may be amended, in whole or in part, no more than twice each year for citizen-initiated amendments, and in addition to the foregoing,may be amended concurrently with the adoption of Plan elements as needed. A comprehensive update of City Plan shall take place at least every five (5) years, beginning in 2002. Policy GM-10.2 Scope. The specific scope of amendments shall be determined by guidance from subarea plans, other strategic plans,departmental functional plans,regional plans and other sources within and external to City government. Policy GM-10.3. Types of Plan Amendments. Plan amendments may be either minor or major. Minor plan revisions are housekeeping in nature such as correcting a text or map error. Major plan amendments are more substantial in nature such as changes or additions to policy language, land use, zone districts, boundary line adjustments and street alignments. Policy GM-10.4 Consistency. All plan amendments shall promote the public welfare and be consistent with the vision, goals, principles and policies of City Plan and the elements thereof. Policy GM — 10.5. Decision-making. Plan amendments shall be accomplished by an action of the Director or Community Planning and Environmental Services for minor plan revisions and by the City Council, upon receipt of a recommendation from the Planning and Zoning Board, for major plan amendments. Section 3. That the section of City Plan entitiled "Appendices" be amended by the addition of a new Appendix"C",which Appendix"C" is attached hereto and incorporated herein as Exhibit "A". Passed and adopted at a regular meeting of the City Council held this 15th day of February, A.D. 2000. Mayor ATTEST: City Clerk , , EXHIBIT "A" APPENDIX C Process and Procedures for Amending City Plan And Comprehensive Plan Elements Thereof City Plan, and the adopted plan elements which comprise the City's comprehensive plan,are policy documents used to guide decision-making within Fort Collins and the surrounding area. For the City's comprehensive plan to function over time, it must be able to be reviewed, revised, and updated on an as needed basis in order to respond to significant trends or changes in the economic, physical, social, or political conditions of the City. Amendments to City Plan and related elements may be performed on a yearly basis as needed. A separate process for amending City Plan will be conducted as part of a comprehensive update occurring every five (5) years. The purpose of this section is to outline a process and procedures for amending City Plan,on a more frequent basis,as well as describe the process for amending the adopted related comprehensive plan elements thereof(See Appendix A- Comprehensive Plan Elements). For purposes of this section, there are two forms of plan amendments. Minor Plan Revisions are housekeeping in nature such as correcting a text or map error. Major Plan Amendments are more substantial in nature such as changes or additions to policy language, land use, zoning,boundary line adjustments and street alignments. The process and procedure for making these amendments are described below: Amendment Process and Procedures 1. Minor Plan Revisions Minor plan revisions include and are limited to: 1. Correcting a text or map error within the plan document such as outdated information, grammatical errors, incorrect symbols and graphics. 2. Adding text or graphics,which have the effect of clarifying a principle or policy of the plan. 3. Minor changes of location and alignment of streets and transit routes based on actual development design(corrections to"as-built"conditions),resulting inrevisions to the Master Street Plan and Transit Master Plan. 4. Map legend revisions. 5. Minor land use designation adjustments such as size or boundary changes based on Zoning amendments. The decision-maker for minor plan revisions, is the Community Planning and Environmental Services Director(the"Director"). The Director is responsible for reviewing and making decisions on minor plan revisions. However, prior to making a determination that a revision is minor, the Director will seek the advice of the Council Growth Management Committee to determine whether the change is a minor plan revision or is a major plan amendment. The intent of minor plan revisions is to keep City Plan current and up-to-date. Minor plan revisions may be proposed by anyone. The Director will also determine the appropriate schedule for processing minor plan revisions. Minor plan revisions initiated by citizens shall be considered no more frequently than twice per calendar year(October/April). Revisions initiated by city staff, city boards and commissions, and City Council may be processed at any time. The Director shall conduct a public hearing prior to making a decision on any minor plan revision. The decision of the Director shall require notification in the newspaper of the public hearing at least 14 days prior to the hearing date. At the public hearing, any member of the public may comment upon a proposed minor plan revision. In making his/her decision, the Director shall also seek the advice of any boards and commissions that the Director determines may have a legitimate interest in the proposed revision,provided that such a board or commission is duly authorized pursuant to Chapter 2 of the City Code, to function in such advisory capacity. At any time prior to a decision, the Director can determine that the proposed minor plan revision be changed to a major plan amendment. If approved by the Director,the minor plan revision shall become a part of City Plan,and City Plan shall be revised to include the changes resulting from the revision. A letter of notification will be forwarded to the appropriate boards and commissions when such revision has been finalized. II. Major Plan Amendments Major plan amendments are characterized by requiring a longer review process, greater public interest, and higher level of review involving the Planning and Zoning Board, other boards and commissions, and City Council hearings. Major plan amendments include: 1. Text revisions that include a change of land use,zone district,boundary line adjustment, or street classification. 2. Map changes to land use size or configuration,except those that are defined as a Minor Plan Revision. 3. Street classification revisions or significant re-alignments. 4. Additions, deletions or revisions to goals, principles and policies. 5. Any amendment that is determined by the Director to require a neighborhood meeting. Prior to initiation of the amendment process, the appropriate neighborhood meetings and other outreach meetings will have been conducted before public hearings are scheduled for the Planning and Zoning Board. 6. Any amendment that is not considered a minor plan revision. Major plan amendments shall be considered by the City Council, after recommendation by the Planning and Zoning Board, Council Growth Management Committee, City staff, and any boards and commissions that may have a legitimate interest in the proposed amendment,provided that such board or commission is duly authorized pursuant to Chapter 2 of the City Code to function in such advisory capacity. Notice of such Council action shall be given as required for resolutions pursuant to the City Charter. The City Council shall then approve, approve with conditions, or deny the amendment based on its consideration of the recommendations from the Planning and Zoning Board,Council Growth Management Committee,city staff,boards and commissions,and evidence from the public hearings. Citizen requests for Major Plan Amendment shall be considered by the City Council no more frequently than twice per calendar year(October/April),unless the Director determines the proposed amendment warrants expedited consideration by City Council. Major plan amendment requests based on proposed development projects that involve rezonings may also be processed concurrently with rezoning applications (November/June). Major plan amendments initiated by City Council, City staff, and boards and commissions, may be processed at any time. Requests shall be submitted to the City's Advance Planning Department at least 60 days prior to the hearing date for the Planning and Zoning Board. The 60-day submittal requirement is necessary in order to permit adequate public notice to be given and to allow adequate time to complete the background work for considering a major plan amendment. A major plan amendment shall be approved if the City Council makes specific findings that: 1. The existing City Plan and/or any related element thereof is in need of the proposed amendment; and 2. The proposed major plan amendment will promote the public welfare and will be consistent with the vision, goals, principles and policies of City Plan and the elements thereof. If adopted by the City Council, City Plan shall be revised to include the changes resulting from the amendment. A letter of notification will be forwarded to the appropriate boards and commissions when the revision(s) have been finalized.