Agenda - Planning Commission - 04/20/2015 - Joint with EPB

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RELEVANT LINKS: Minn. Stat. § 462.357, subd. 3. For information on conducting hearings, see LMC information memo, Public Hearings. Minn. Stat. § 462.357, subd. 3. See LMC information memo Newspaper Publication. Minn. Stat. § 462.357, subds. 2, 5. A.G. Op. 59-A-32 (Jan. 25, 2002). Minn. Stat. § 412.191, subd. 4. Minn. Stat. § 331A.02. Minn. Stat. § 331A.04. See Handbook, Chapter 7 for more information on publishing ordinances in summary form. See LMC information memo, The 60 -Day Rule: Minnesota's Automatic Approval Statute. A. Public hearings and adoption A public hearing must be held by the council or the planning commission (if one exists) before the city adopts or amends a zoning ordinance. 1. Notice and hearing A notice of the time, place and purpose of the hearing must be published in the official newspaper of the municipality at least ten days prior to the day of the hearing. If an amendment to a zoning ordinance involves changes in district boundaries affecting an area of five acres or less, a similar notice must be mailed at least ten days before the day of the hearing to each owner of affected property and property situated completely or partly within 350 feet of the property to which the amendment applies. However, failure to give mailed notice to individual property owners, or defects in the notice shall not invalidate the proceedings, provided that a genuine attempt to comply with this subdivision has been made. 2. Adoption Zoning ordinances must be adopted by a majority vote of all of the members of the council. For example, this would mean three votes on a five member council. One Minnesota attorney general opinion has found that charter cities may not provide for different voting requirements in their city charter, because the Municipal Planning Act supersedes inconsistent charter provisions. 3. Publication After adopting or amending a zoning ordinance, the council must publish or summarize it in the official newspaper. V. Zoning ordinance administration A. The 60 -Day Rule Most importantly in administering a zoning ordinance, cities must remember that they generally have only 60 days to approve or deny a written request relating to zoning, including rezoning requests, conditional use permits, and variances. This requirement is known as the "60 -Day Rule." League of Minnesota Cities Information Memo: 1/20/2015 Zoning Guide for Cities Page 20