§ 106.62.050. Use Permit and Minor Use Permit

A.

Purpose. A Use Permit or Minor Use Permit provides a process for reviewing uses and activities that may be appropriate in the applicable zoning district, but whose effects on site and surroundings cannot be determined before being proposed for a specific site.

B.

Applicability. A Use Permit or Minor Use Permit is required to authorize proposed land uses identified by Article 2 (Zoning Districts and Allowable Land Uses) as being allowable in the applicable zoning district subject to the approval of a Use Permit or Minor Use Permit.

C.

Review authority. Use Permits shall be approved or disapproved by the Commission; Minor Use Permits shall be approved or disapproved by the Director, provided that the Director may choose to refer any Minor Use Permit application to the Commission for hearing and decision.

D.

Application filing and processing. An application for a Use Permit or Minor Use Permit shall be completed, filed and processed in compliance with Chapter 106.60 (Permit Application Filing and Processing). It is the responsibility of the applicant to provide evidence in support of the findings required by Subsection F below.

E.

Project review, notice and hearing. Each application shall be reviewed by the Director to ensure that the proposal complies with all applicable requirements of this Zoning Code.

1.

Use Permit. The Commission shall conduct a public hearing on an application for a Use Permit prior to a decision on the application. Notice of the public hearing shall be provided, and the hearing shall be conducted in compliance with Chapter 106.76 (Public Hearings).

2.

Minor Use Permit. Prior to a decision on a Minor Use Permit, the City shall provide notice in compliance with Chapter 106.76 (Public Hearings), and as follows:

a.

Public notice. The notice shall state that the Director will decide whether to approve or disapprove the Minor Use Permit application on a date specified in the notice, and that a public hearing will be held only if requested in writing by any interested person prior to the specified date for the decision.

b.

Hearing. When a hearing is requested, notice of the hearing shall be provided in compliance with Chapter 106.76, and the Director shall conduct the public hearing prior to a decision on the application in compliance with Chapter 106.76, or shall refer the matter to the Commission for hearing and decision.

F.

Findings and decision. The review authority may approve or disapprove an application for Use Permit or Minor Use Permit approval. The review authority shall record the decision and the findings on which the decision is based. The review authority may approve the permit only after first finding all of the following:

1.

The proposed use is allowed within the applicable zoning district and complies with all other applicable provisions of this Zoning Code and the Municipal Code;

2.

The proposed use is consistent with the General Plan and any applicable specific plan;

3.

The design, location, size, and operating characteristics of the proposed activity are compatible with the existing and future land uses in the vicinity;

4.

The site is physically suitable for the type, density and intensity of use being proposed, including access, utilities, and the absence of physical constraints; and

5.

Granting the permit would not be detrimental to the public interest, health, safety, convenience, or welfare, or materially injurious to persons, property, or improvements in the vicinity and zoning district in which the property is located.

G.

Conditions of approval. In approving a Use Permit or Minor Use Permit, the review authority may impose any reasonable conditions (e.g., the placement, height, nature and extent of the use; buffers, landscaping and maintenance, off-site improvements, performance guarantees, screening, surfacing, time limits, etc.), including conditions which establish standards for development that are more restrictive than the applicable requirements of this Zoning Code, to ensure that the approval will comply with the findings required by Subsection F above.

H.

Post approval procedures. The procedures and requirements in Chapter 106.64 (Permit Implementation, Time Limits, and Extensions), and those related to appeals and revocation in Article 7 (Zoning Code Administration), shall apply following the decision on an application for Use Permit or Minor Use Permit approval.