The zoning administrator is hereby designated and authorized to enforce this ordinance.
1. Any person who shall make application for a building permit shall, at the time of making such application, furnish the zoning administrator with a site plan or development plan of the real estate upon which said application for a building permit is made. Said site or development plan shall be drawn to scale showing the following items, both as existing and as proposed:
(a) Legal or site description of the real estate involved.
(b) Location and size of all buildings and structures.
(c) Width and length of all entrances and exits to and from said real estate.
2. Site plans so furnished to the zoning administrator shall be filed by the zoning administrator and shall become a permanent record.
3. An application for a building permit for new construction or a building addition which requires a measurement from a lot line shall be accompanied by a certificate from a registered surveyor of the State of Iowa, unless waived by the building inspector, indicating that the property involved has been surveyed, that stakes or monuments have been placed at all corners of the tract, and the date of the survey. Said survey must have been accomplished during the previous twelve (12) months. The zoning administrator may take ten (10) days in which to study the application, during which time he may consult with appropriate technical consultants. If during or after the ten (10) day period, the zoning administrator has not required any additional information or stated any objections in writing, the zoning administrator shall recommend issuance of the building permit. During the initial inspection of any new construction or building addition which requires a measurement from a lot line, all tract corner stakes or monuments must be visible before continuance can be permitted.
4. The zoning administrator shall issue a building permit for a special use only following receipt of notice from the board that the application therefor has been approved by the board.
5. No land shall be occupied or used and no building hereafter erected, reconstructed or structurally altered, in whole or in part, for any purpose whatsoever, until a certificate of occupancy shall have been issued by the zoning administrator stating that the building and use comply with all of the provisions of this ordinance applicable to the building or premises or the use in the district in which it is to be located.
Upon completion of the improvement covered by the building permit, the zoning administrator shall inspect the premises, and if this inspection shall reveal that the improvement has been completed in substantial conformity with the site plan, and any approved amendments thereto and, in the case of new principal buildings, that all tract-corner stakes or monuments are visible, shall issue a certificate of occupancy.
6. No change shall be made in the use of land (except agricultural) or in the use of any building or part thereof, now or hereafter erected, reconstructed or structurally altered, without a certificate of occupancy having been issued by the zoning administrator, and no such building certificate shall be issued to make such change unless it is in conformity with the provisions of this ordinance.
7. A certificate of occupancy shall be applied for coincidentally with the application for a building permit and shall be issued within ten (10) days after the lawful erection, reconstruction or structural alteration of such building or other improvement of the land shall have been completed.
8. A record of all certificates of occupancy shall be kept on file in the office of the zoning administrator and copies shall be furnished upon request to any person having a proprietary or tenancy interest in the building or land affected. A fee of one dollar ($1.00) shall be charged for each original certificate and fifty cents ($0.50) for each copy thereof.
9. No land shall be occupied or used and no building hereafter erected, reconstructed or structurally altered shall be occupied, or used, in whole or in part, for any purpose whatsoever, until a certificate of occupancy shall have been issued by the building inspector stating that the building and use comply with all of the provisions of this ordinance applicable to the building or premises or the use in the district in which it is to be located.
10. Special use permits.
(a) Purpose. This ordinance is based upon the division of the city into districts, within which the uses of land, and the uses and bulk of buildings and structures, are substantially uniform. It is recognized, however, that there are special uses which, because of their unique characteristics, can only be properly classified in any particular district or districts upon consideration in each case of the impact of those uses upon neighboring land and of the public need for the particular use at the particular location. Such special uses fall into two (2) categories:
(1) Uses publicly operated or traditionally affected with a public interest; and
(2) Uses entirely private in character, but of such an unusual nature that their operation may give rise to unique problems with respect to their impact upon neighboring property, public facilities or the city as a whole.
(b) Authority. Special use permits may be granted by the board of adjustment, but only in accordance with the requirements hereinafter set forth.
(c) Application and notice of hearing. An application for a special use permit shall be filed in duplicate with the city clerk, who shall forward a copy of the application to the board of adjustment without delay. The application shall be in such form, contain such information and be accompanied by such plans as the board of adjustment may by rule require. The board of adjustment shall hold a public hearing on such application in the manner described in section 23.
(d) Report and decision. Within one hundred (100) days after the close of the hearing, unless the applicant shall have consented to a longer period, the board of adjustment shall grant or deny the proposed special use. A written report giving the findings and recommendations for action to be taken on the application shall be prepared by the board of adjustment. The report shall include any recommended conditions or restrictions to be imposed upon the premises benefitted by the special use permit.
(e) Standards. No special use permit may be granted unless:
(1) The proposed use is designated by this ordinance as a special use in the district in which the use is to be located.
(2) The proposed use will comply with all applicable regulations in the district in which the use is to be located.
(3) The location and size of the proposed use, the nature and intensity of the operation involved in or conducted in connection with it, the size of the site in relation to it, and the location of the site with respect to streets giving access to it are such that it will be in harmony with the appropriate and orderly development of the district in which it is located.
(4) The location, nature and height of buildings, walls and fences, and the nature and extent of the landscaping on the site are such that the use will not unreasonably hinder or discourage the appropriate development and use of adjacent land and buildings.
(5) Parking areas will be of adequate size for the particular use, properly located and suitably screened from adjoining uses, and the entrance and exit drives will be laid out so as to prevent traffic hazards and nuisances.
(6) The proposed use will not cause substantial injury to the value of other property in the neighborhood.
(7) Conditions in the area have substantially changed, and at least one year has elapsed since any denial by the board of adjustment of any prior application for a special use permit that would have authorized substantially the same use of all or part of the site.
(8) The board of adjustment shall impose such conditions and restrictions upon the premises benefited by a special use permit as may be necessary to assure compliance with the above standards, to reduce or minimize the effect of such permit upon other properties in the neighborhood, and to better carry out the general intent of this ordinance. Failure to comply with such conditions or restrictions shall constitute a violation of this ordinance.
(9) The proposed use is consistent with the Bettendorf Comprehensive Plan and serves to further the goals of the plan.
(f) Effective Period. No special use permit shall be valid for a period longer than one hundred eighty (180) days from the date it is granted unless a building permit or certificate of occupancy is obtained within such period and the erection or alteration of a building is started or the use is commenced within such period. The board of adjustment may grant one extension of this period, valid for no more than one hundred eighty (180) additional days, upon written application and good cause shown, without notice or hearing. If any special use is abandoned, or is discontinued for a continuous period of one year, the special use permit for such use shall become void, and such use shall not thereafter be reestablished unless a new special use permit is obtained.
11. Temporary Permits.
(a) Authority. The zoning administrator is authorized by this ordinance to issue a "temporary permit" for uses specifically authorized in particular zoning districts as temporary permit uses.
(b) Application. An application for a "temporary permit" shall be made to the zoning administrator in writing on a form provided by the city. The zoning administrator shall issue a permit only after he is satisfied that the use allowed by the "temporary permit" will not adversely affect the public health, safety or general welfare of the city and/or immediate neighborhood.
(c) Hearing. The zoning administrator may, if he so desires, hold a public hearing on the request for a "temporary permit" or may contact the property owners affected by the proposed use regarding their opinion of the use.
(d) Conditions. The zoning administrator may require that certain conditions relating to the public health, safety or general welfare be complied with before the issuance of a "temporary permit".
(e) Written Decision. The zoning administrator shall render a written decision on the application for a "temporary permit" within a reasonable time and promptly forward a copy of the decision to the petitioner. Appeals from the decision of the zoning administrator can be made to the board of adjustment. (Ord. 23-75, 6-3-1975; Ord. 11-81, 2-17-1981; Ord. 41-82, 10-5-1982; Ord. 8-00, 6-6-2000)