Sec. 650.407. - Notice requirements for proposed amendments to FLUMs.
(a) Public hearing advertisement requirement. The public hearings conducted by the Planning Commission, the Council committee of reference and the City Council shall be in a form prescribed by the Council and shall at a minimum state the date, time, place and the subject of the meeting, and the place(s) in the City where the proposed comprehensive plan amendment(s) and the report(s) may be inspected by the public. The advertisement shall also advise that interested parties may appear and be heard at the meeting regarding the transmittal of the proposed comprehensive plan amendment(s) to the State Land Planning Agency.
(b) Public hearing advertisement form. The public hearing advertisement shall be substantially in the following form:
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARINGS ON PROPOSED AMENDMENT(S) TO THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN
The Planning Department has received application(s) to amend the comprehensive plan as follows: (list proposed amendments). Further information and preliminary recommendations concerning these proposed comprehensive plan amendments are available for inspection and review at (place) during regular business hours and online at (website).
A public hearing on proposed amendments to the comprehensive plan will be held by the Planning Commission, Land Use and Zoning Committee of the City Council and the City Council on (dates and times) at (places). Persons interested in commenting on the proposed amendments may appear and shall be given an opportunity to speak at the hearings.
(c) Public hearing notice for changes to the actual list of permitted, conditional or prohibited uses within a future land use category or changes in the actual future land use map designation of a parcel or parcels of land. Proposed comprehensive plan amendment changes to the actual list of permitted, conditional or prohibited uses within a future land use category or changes in the actual future land use map designation of a parcel or parcels of land, shall be adopted in compliance with the notice and hearing requirements of F.S. § 163.3184(11) and 163.3187(2) and shall, for changes to the actual future land use map designation of a parcel or parcels of land also comply with the following requirements:
(1) Notice of a time and place of the public hearing which are required to be held by the City with respect to the comprehensive plan amendment shall be prepared by the Department to include the information listed below and shall be copied and mailed by the Department at least 14 days in advance of the Planning Commission public hearing to all owners of real property within 350 feet of the boundaries of the land upon which the amendment is requested and to the applicable CPAC and to all registered neighborhood organizations qualified to receive notices of rezonings under Section 656.124(f) of the Zoning Code; provided, that, where the applicant is the owner of land not included in the application and the unincluded land is part of or adjoins the parcel upon which the request is made, the Director may, in his discretion, require mailed notice to be given to the owners of adjacent property. For the purpose of notice requirements to adjacent owners, the names and addresses of the owners shall be deemed to be those on the current tax records in the office of the Property Appraiser at the time the application is filed, provided, however, that where such notice is determined by the Director to be insufficient to ensure actual notice to a majority of adjacent owners, he may require mailed notice to be given to the actual owners, as indicated by a current title search of the public records. Mailed notices received by adjacent owners and qualified registered neighborhood organizations as specified hereinabove should contain the following information:
(a) Application number and date of filing;
(b) Location and total area of property;
(c) Current and proposed land use classifications;
(d) A statement in substantial compliance with the following form:
(i) Copies of the application and Department reports are maintained by the Department and the City Council Division of Legislative Services and are open to public inspection; and
(ii) All interested persons wishing to submit testimony, written comments or other evidence in this matter should submit same to the City Council Division of Legislative Services and/or appear at the public hearing;
(e) Instructions for obtaining further information concerning the application, including the Department phone number and website address;
(f) Name, address and telephone number of applicant or applicant's agent;
(g) The date upon which the staff report and recommendation on the application is expected or scheduled to be issued, together with a statement that such date is preliminary and subject to change due to the Department's need for additional information necessary to finalize the report, deferrals by the Council or for other reasons beyond the Department's control;
(h) A statement advising that citizen input may be submitted to the Department prior to the formulation of the staff report and recommendation and the time and place of the citizen informational meeting to be held to allow for same, and that additional opportunities for citizen input are available at the public hearings and such input is encouraged by the City;
(i) A statement advising that large signs are required to be posted and maintained at intervals of approximately 200 feet along all street sides of land in full view of the public or, if there is no frontage on a public street, on the nearest street right-of-way with a notation indicating the direction and distance to the land upon which an application has been filed, within 15 working days after an application has been determined complete by the Department and further advising that, if such signs are not posted, citizens are requested to notify the Department concerning the lack of signs.
The intent of these increased notice requirements is to provide adjacent owners, CPACS and registered neighborhood organizations with the basic necessary information to make an informed decision concerning their position on the application and, if additional information is required, to provide guidance on how to obtain that information. Recognizing that mistakes may occur in the process of copying these notices or the additional information to be included in the notice package, it is the specific intent of this Section that the failure of an owner or registered neighborhood organization required by this Section to be notified by mail to receive the notice, or the failure to receive a complete and accurate notice, shall not invalidate or otherwise have any effect upon a public hearing or action taken by the Council on the comprehensive plan amendment.
(2) The Department shall maintain in a readily available format on the Department website the information contained in (1)(a)—(i) above and the following information:
(a) Copies of the plan category descriptions contained in the comprehensive plan for the current and proposed land use classifications;
(b) All zoning districts available under both the current and proposed land use classifications, including a brief explanation of a PUD zoning district;
(c) Information concerning the criteria upon which a FLUM amendment is evaluated and upon which the Council's decision to amend the FLUM is required to be based;
(d) A statement advising that FLUM amendments are legislative decisions and an explanation of the difference between a legislative decision and a quasi-judicial decision;
(e) An explanation concerning the burden of proof and the type of testimony that is allowable, relevant and legally sufficient to support a FLUM amendment decision.
(3) The applicant for a proposed amendment to the FLUMs shall post and maintain signs at intervals of not more than 200 feet along all street sides of land upon which an application for comprehensive plan amendment is made. The signs shall be in the form required by the Council and shall be posted in full view of the public. Where the land does not have frontage on a public street, the signs shall be erected on the nearest street right-of-way with an attached notation indicating generally the direction and distance to the land for which the comprehensive plan amendment is sought, or at such other locations and at such intervals, as determined by the Director, as will ensure that the signs will be seen by as many persons as possible. Within ten working days after the applicant has been notified that the application for comprehensive plan amendment has been determined to be complete by the Department, the applicant shall provide the Department with a picture of each posted sign and a notarized affidavit approved by the Department in which the applicant acknowledges that the signs have been posted in conformance with this Section. The signs shall be maintained by the applicant for the comprehensive plan amendment for the entire duration of the amendment process. The signs shall be inspected by the Department subsequent to posting, at least once, a reasonable period of time prior to the advertised public hearing, but not less than 14 days prior to the public meeting at the Planning Commission. If such inspection reveals that the sign(s) herein required have not been properly maintained, the Department shall inform the applicant and the applicant shall have three working days to repost the signs and provide the Department with a picture of each posted sign and a notarized affidavit approved by the Department in which the applicant acknowledges that the signs have been reposted in conformance with this Section. The failure of the Department to make such inspections or of the sign to remain in place, as required herein, shall not invalidate or otherwise have any effect upon a public hearing or action taken by the Council on an application for comprehensive plan amendment. The sign shall be removed by the applicant within ten days after final action by the Council on the application for comprehensive plan amendment.
(4) If the applicant has not submitted the pictures of the posted or reposted signs, if necessary, and the accompanying notarized affidavit required per Section 650.407(c)(3), the Department shall notify the Council committee of reference, which shall delay the hearing. The Council committee of reference shall not approve or deny any comprehensive plan amendment unless the applicant has submitted the pictures of the posted or reposted signs, if necessary, and the accompanying notarized affidavit in accordance with the requirements set forth in Section 650.407(c)(3).
(5) Proof of publication shall be obtained and made a part of the record of the hearing. In those instances where the applicant is solely responsible for the publication of such an advertisement, proof of publication shall be provided by the applicant prior to the public hearings.
(Ord. 91-1016-425, § 8; Ord. 98-775-E, § 1; Ord. 2000-445-E, § 1; Ord. 2009-548-E, § 1; Ord. 2014-108-E, § 1)
