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Attachment 3 <br />0 <br />Basis for Staff s Recommendations <br />The following narrative is intended to provide some of the rationale behind.staff's <br />recommendations and the issues staff is attempting to address, and avoid, <br />through the proposed amendments. <br />Clarity vs. Confusion: <br />Currently, the processes for Comprehensive Plan amendments are <br />vague, leaving the processes open for interpretation. The proposed <br />amendments to Article 2 of the Zoning Ordinance will provide clear and <br />concise instructions for the application for and processing of <br />Comprehensive Plan amendments, not currently included in the <br />ordinance. <br />As proposed, the simultaneous processing of Comprehensive Plan <br />(text & map) and Zoning Ordinance (text & map) amendments of the <br />same property, if in compliance with approved small area plans, will <br />prove less confusing to those property owners and citizens affected by <br />the proposed changes because they will not receive multiple notices <br />about actions that appear, to a layperson,- to be very similar. <br />Additionally, it should be easier for a property owner to understand the <br />final outcome of all amendments if they are presented together rather <br />than as a "Land Use" action (that is essentially non-regulatory) with an <br />undefined "Zoning" action (the regulatory mechanism) to occur at a <br />future, undetermined date. <br />Time: <br />With the significant public involvement associated with the adoption of <br />small area plans, the citizens involved often have invested <br />considerable time and effort into the plans' development and are <br />familiar with its contents. The Comprehensive Plan (text & map) and <br />Zoning Ordinance (text & map) amendments necessary to aid in <br />implementation of the plans, if processed separately, can add an <br />additional 1 to 2 years to the process. For example - If a small area <br />plan is adopted in June 2009, the associated Comprehensive Plan <br />(text & map) amendments could not be presented at public hearing <br />until February 2010, at the earliest, since it would be considered a <br />`Principal' amendment, with possible adoption by June 2010. This <br />phase would occur too late to budget the zoning amendment costs in <br />the 2010-11 fiscal year. The funding would need to be scheduled for <br />the following 2011-12 fiscal year. Therefore, scheduling and legal <br />advertising requirements for rezonings would delay the Zoning <br />Ordinance (text & map) amendments until November 2011, at the <br />earliest. <br />