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Popular Government Spring 1993 Zoning Hearings: Knowing Which Rules to Apply David W. Owens http:1/ ncinfo .iog.unc.edu /planning/pgsp93.htm This material is copyrighted by the Institute of Government Any form of copying for other than the individual user's personal reference without express permission of the Institute of Government is prohibited Further distribution of this material is strictly forbidden, including but not limited to, posting, e- mailing, fazing, archiving in a public database, redistributing via a computer network or in a printed form. ._._ .............__._. Armed with petitions, lapel pins, and lawyers, 200 agitated citizens crowd into the courthouse to voice their objection to a proposed rezoning. They have been writing and calling the county commissioners ever since the notice of the hearing appeared in the local paper a few weeks ago. How should this hearing be conducted? Must everyone be allowed to speak for as long as he or she wants? May the board consider the strong personal opinions it is about to hear? What about the petitions and the calls the commissioners got last week? If the board decides on a compromise that gives petitioners only part of what they want, is another hearing required? When it comes time to make a decision, does the board have to justify its conclusion? Consider another situation. On the same night, a few miles away, a city council is holding a hearing on a special -use permit application for a controversial project. This hearing room is also packed with angry neighbors, and the council members have to struggle with most of the same questions, plus a few more. Does everyone who speaks need to be under oath? Does there have to be a transcript of the hearing? Since the city's zoning ordinance calls for this decision to be made by the city council instead of a board of adjustment, can informal procedures be used? The answers are different in these two situations. They illustrate the two different types of zoning hearings, which have different purposes and rules of conduct. Because both types are commonly called "public hearings," the difference is confusing to those attending as well as those conducting the hearings. Zoning decisions can profoundly affect landowners, neighbors, and the entire community - -often with a significant impact on property values, the character of neighborhoods, and even the future quality of community life - -so the law imposes special requirements to assure the opportunity for full and open discussion of proposed zoning decisions. These requirements go well beyond what is required for most other city and county ordinances. This article distinguishes the two main types of zoning hearings and lays out the ground rules for how each should be conducted.M Types of Zoning Decisions Local governments are called upon to make myriad zoning decisions, ranging from a planning board's decision to recommend adoption of an initial zoning ordinance to a zoning enforcement officer's decision to issue a notice of violation when the terms of the ordinance have not been followed. Two types of zoning decisions - -legislative and quasi judicialM -- require formal public hearings. Legislative zoning decisions affect the entire community by setting general policies applicable through the zoning ordinance. They include decisions to adopt, amend, or repeal the zoning ordinance (including the zoning map). Quasi-judicial decisions involve the application of zoning policies already established in the ordinance to individual situations- -for example, variances, special- and conditional -use permits (even if issued by the governing board), appeals, and interpretations. Quasijudicial decisions