Article 3 — Petitions for Amendments to the General Plan

Any interested party may file a petition with the Community Development Director requesting the initiation of an amendment to the General Plan, except that no person shall file, and the Community Development Director shall not accept, a petition which is substantially the same as a petition upon which final action has been taken within one year prior thereto. No petition shall be accepted for filing or shall be processed unless it complies with the requirements set forth in this article.

The Community Development Director shall prescribe the form and scope of petitions for amendments to the General Plan, which form shall include the type of information, data, and papers to be filed and the number of copies thereof.

(§ 1, Ord. 436-NS, eff. April 25, 1974)

A petition requesting the initiation of an amendment to the General Plan shall contain at least the following information:

(a) The name and address of the petitioner;

(b) The general location and description of the area proposed for review, including a statement of the total area involved, or, where applicable, a statement of the specific goal(s), policy(ies), or objective(s) of the General Plan proposed for review;

(c) The proposed amendment suggested, including the circumstances, conditions, and other justifications which would warrant such action; and

(d) A statement of the environmental, social, physical, economic, and other factors affecting the area or policy suggested for review which support and/or justify the consideration of the proposed amendment.

The Community Development Director may require the filing of additional information, dependent upon the nature and complexity of the General Plan element and the proposed amendment. (§ 1, Ord. 436-NS, eff. April 25, 1974)

For the purpose of defraying the expense involved in connection with processing a petition for an amendment to the General Plan as provided in this article, a fee prescribed by Council resolution shall accompany each such petition. (§ 1, Ord. 436-NS, eff. April 25, 1974, as amended by § IV, Ord. 581-NS, eff. August 12, 1976, and § IV, Ord. 776NS, eff. April 16, 1981)

Upon the receipt of a verified petition, the Community Development Director shall prepare a recommendation relative to the initiation of the proposed amendment and shall transmit such petition and recommendation to the City Clerk, who shall schedule the matter for Council consideration.

A petition requesting the consideration of an amendment to the General Plan shall be construed as a suggestion only. The Council shall not be required to initiate such action where the Council deems no legitimate basis has been presented making it in the public interests to do so. The Council shall announce its decision on a petition to initiate an amendment to the General Plan by resolution. The petitioner shall be notified of the action of the Council by the City Clerk.

(§ 1, Ord. 436-NS, eff. April 25, 1974)