14-420. Request for change in zoning; notice; requirements; failure to give; effect.

(1) A city of the metropolitan class shall provide written notice of any properly filed request for a change in the zoning classification of a subject property to the owners of adjacent property in the manner set out in this section.

(2) Initial notice of the proposed zoning change on the subject property shall be sent to the owners of adjacent property by regular United States mail, postage prepaid, to the owner's address as it appears in the records of the office of the register of deeds, postmarked at least ten working days prior to the planning board public hearing on the proposed change. The initial notice shall also be provided at least ten working days prior to the hearing to any registered neighborhood association when the subject property is located within the boundary of the area of representation of such association in the manner requested by the association. Each neighborhood association desiring to receive such notice shall register with the city the area of representation of such association and provide the name of and contact information for the individual designated to receive notice on behalf of such association and the requested manner of service, whether by email or first-class or certified mail. The registration shall be in accordance with any rules and regulations adopted and promulgated by the city. Such notice shall describe the subject property or give its address, describe the nature of the zoning change requested, and contain the date, time, and location of the planning board hearing.

(3) A second notice of the proposed zoning change on the subject property shall be sent to the same owners of adjacent property who were provided with notice under subsection (2) of this section. Such notice shall be sent by regular United States mail, postage prepaid, to the owner's address as it appears in the records of the office of the register of deeds, postmarked at least ten working days prior to the city council public hearing on the proposed change. Such notice shall describe the subject property or give its address, describe the nature of the zoning change requested, and contain the date, time, and location of the city council public hearing.

(4) No additional or further notice beyond that required by subsections (2) and (3) of this section shall be necessary in the event that the scheduled planning board or city council public hearing on the proposed zoning change is adjourned, continued, or postponed until a later date.

(5) The requirements of this section shall not apply to proposed changes in the text of the zoning code itself or any proposed changes in the zoning code affecting whole classes or classifications of property throughout the jurisdiction of the city.

(6) Except for a willful or deliberate failure to cause notice to be given, no zoning decision made by a city of the metropolitan class either to accept or reject a proposed zoning change with regard to a subject property shall be void, invalidated, or affected in any way because of any irregularity, defect, error, or failure on the part of the city or its employees to cause notice to be given as required by this section if a reasonable attempt to comply with this section was made. No action to challenge the validity of the acceptance or rejection of a proposed zoning change on the basis of this section shall be filed more than one year following the date of the formal acceptance or rejection of the zoning change by the city council.

(7) Except for a willful or deliberate failure to cause notice to be given, the city and its employees shall not be liable for any damage to any person resulting from any failure to cause notice to be given as required by this section when a reasonable attempt was made to provide such notice. No action for damages resulting from the failure to cause notice to be provided as required by this section shall be filed more than one year following the date of the formal acceptance or rejection of the proposed zoning change by the city council.

(8) For purposes of this section:

(a) Adjacent property shall mean any piece of real property any portion of which is located within three hundred feet of the nearest boundary line of the subject property or within one thousand feet of the nearest boundary line of the subject property if the proposed zoning change involves a heavy industrial district classification;

(b) Owner shall mean the owner of a piece of adjacent property as indicated on the records of the office of the register of deeds as provided to or made available to the city no earlier than the last business day before the twenty-fifth day preceding the planning board public hearing on the zoning change proposed for the subject property; and

(c) Subject property shall mean any tract of real property located within the boundaries of a city of the metropolitan class or within the zoning jurisdiction of a city of the metropolitan class which is the subject of a properly filed request for a change of its zoning classification.

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