A. Before the adoption of a project plan or subsequent amendments thereto, the governing body must hold two public hearings. The primary purpose of the first hearing will be to provide information and to answer questions; provided, such information shall include, but not be limited to, an analysis of potential positive or negative impacts which may result from the adoption of a project plan. A representative of the city, town or county shall present the city, town or county's proposed plan or amendment thereto. The date of the second public hearing shall be announced in the presence of the persons in attendance at the hearing, but such date shall be more than seven (7) days after the date of the first public hearing. The purpose of the second public hearing shall be to give any interested persons the opportunity to express their views on the proposed plan or amendment thereto.

B. Notice of the first public hearing shall be given once by publication in a newspaper with circulation in the city, town or county and published on any Internet website maintained by the political subdivision. Any person, entity, or organization that has registered with the city, town or county clerk of the political subdivision shall also receive notice of such public hearing and a copy of the analysis upon request of the proposed project plan required in subsection A of this section. Such notices must be published or mailed no later than fourteen (14) days before the date of the public hearing. The notice shall include the following:

1. The time and place of the public hearing;

2. The boundaries of the proposed districts and proposed project areas by legal description and by street location, if possible, accompanied by a sketch clearly delineating the area in detail as may be necessary to advise the reader of the particular land proposed to be included;

3. A statement that the first public hearing shall be for information and questions purposes only with persons being given the opportunity to be heard at the second public hearing before any votes are taken;

4. A description of the project plan or amendment thereto and a location and time where the entire plan may be reviewed by any interested party; and

5. Such other matters as the city, town or county may deem appropriate.

C. Notice of the second public hearing may be included in the notices provided for in subsection B of this section. Notice of the second public hearing shall be published and mailed in the same manner as the notices provided for in subsection B of this section if:

1. Notice for both public hearings is not included in the notice of the first public hearing;

2. The location, date or time of the second public hearing is changed after the notices of the first hearing have been published and mailed; or

3. The second public hearing is held more than fourteen (14) days after the first public hearing.

D. The provisions of this section shall not apply to the adoption of minor amendments as provided for in Section 858 of this title.

E. The city, town or county clerk shall send the notices or copies of the analysis required to be sent to registered persons, entities, or organizations pursuant to subsection B of this section by electronic mail or if no electronic mail address has been provided by the registrant, by first-class mail. The city, town or county clerk shall provide an affidavit declaring that all registrants have been mailed the requisite notices or analyses. Any technical irregularities in the form of the published or mailed notices required by this section shall not result in the invalidation of any ordinance enacted or amended subsequent thereto, so long as the notices, as published and mailed, reasonably apprise interested parties as to the subject matter of the hearings and correctly describes the date, time and place of such hearings and affidavits of publication and mailing shall constitute compliance with the notice requirement of this section.

Added by Laws 1992, c. 342, § 10. Amended by Laws 2002, c. 476, § 2, emerg. eff. June 6, 2002; Laws 2003, c. 255, § 6, eff. Nov. 1, 2003; Laws 2015, c. 381, § 2, eff. Nov. 1, 2015.