The Comprehensive Zoning process provides an opportunity for the County to make changes in zoning in accordance with the policies and recommendations in the General Development Plan or other adopted plans. The County may also use the Comprehensive Zoning process to rezone property in order to address an identified County or community need. Unlike the Administrative Zoning process, which is decided by the County’s Administrative Hearing Officer, the Comprehensive Zoning process involves introducing legislation to the County Council, which must hold public hearings on the proposed zoning changes prior to adoption of the legislation. The County typically initiates the Comprehensive Zoning process after the General Development Plan has been updated, since zoning is one mechanism that can often be used to implement some of the Plan recommendations. Previous Comprehensive Zoning legislation was adopted between 1971 - 1976, in the period from 1985 - 1989, and most recently in 2000 - 2005, during the Small Area Plan program. It is anticipated that the next Comprehensive Zoning will occur after adoption of the 2008 update to the General Development Plan. During the process, property owners and interested parties may request a change in the zoning of their property or the property of others. Any property owner, community association or other interested party, whether a property owner or not, may file an application for a zoning change. Applications are evaluated by the Office of Planning and Zoning, and those zoning requests that are supported by the County will be included in the legislation introduced to the County Council for their approval. Prior to the County Council public hearings, the zoning legislation is also presented to the Planning Advisory Board for their review and comment. |
