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Developed and maintained by the Division of Legislative Automated Systems.
2004 SESSION
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That §§ 2.04:2, 9.12, 9.12.1 and 9.23, as amended, of Chapter 536 of the Acts of Assembly of 1950 are amended and reenacted as follows:
§ 2.04:2. Powers Relating to Housing and Community Development.
In addition to the powers granted by other sections of this charter and any other provision of law, the city shall have the power:
(a) To acquire, by purchase, exchange, gift, lease, condemnation or otherwise, land or buildings in the city for the purpose of providing housing for low or moderate income persons or for elderly or handicapped persons, to rehabilitate and dispose of any such land and buildings by lease or sale to low or moderate income persons or elderly or handicapped persons; or to dispose of such land and buildings by lease or sale to a nonprofit or limited profit organization which has as a principal purpose the provision or development of housing for low or moderate income persons or elderly or handicapped persons; to construct residential buildings in the city for lease or sale to low or moderate income persons or elderly or handicapped persons, or for lease or sale to a nonprofit or limited profit organization which has as its principal purpose the provision or development of housing for low or moderate income persons or elderly or handicapped persons; and to make grants and loans of funds to low or moderate income persons to aid in the purchase of any land or building in the city including, but not limited to, land and buildings which have been rehabilitated by the city or by a nonprofit or limited profit organization which has as its principal purpose the development of housing for low or moderate income persons.
(b) To acquire, by purchase, exchange, gift, lease, condemnation or otherwise, real property in the city which is blighted, deteriorated, deteriorating, a blighting influence on the neighborhood, or in nonconformance with the city's zoning code or master land use plan; to clear, demolish or rehabilitate any such real property; and to dispose of any such real property by lease or sale to any person.
(c) To make grants of funds to owners of dwellings or dwelling units in the city for the purpose of subsidizing, in part, the rental payments due and owing to any such owner by a low or moderate income person; to acquire, by purchase, exchange, gift, lease, condemnation or otherwise, any dwellings or dwelling units in the city for the purpose of providing housing to low or moderate income persons, and to dispose of such dwellings or dwelling units, by sale or lease, to low or moderate income persons or to a nonprofit organization which has as its principal purpose the provision or development of housing for low or moderate income persons; and to make grants and loans of funds to low and moderate income persons to aid in the purchase of dwellings or dwelling units in the city.
(d) To issue tax-exempt bonds for the acquisition, rehabilitation and provision of housing for low or moderate income persons; provided, that prior to any action authorizing the issuance of such bonds, the city council finds affirmatively that such action is necessary to provide an adequate supply of such housing in the city.
(e) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, general or special, the city, in order to ensure competitiveness as an employer, may by ordinance, and subject to such reasonable terms and conditions as set forth in such ordinance, provide for the use of funds, other than state funds, to provide loans or grants to individuals who prior to receiving such funds were employees of the city, local school division, local constitutional officers, and local offices of state government for which employee salaries are supplemented by the city, or any of them, to purchase or rent residences within the city, for use as the employee's principal residence. Individual grants shall not exceed $5,000 per employee, nor shall lifetime cumulative grants exceed $5,000 per employee.
(f) For purposes of this section, the phrase "low or moderate income persons" has the same meaning as the phrase "persons and families of low and moderate income," as in § 36-55.26 of the Code of Virginia, and shall be applied in the city using the income guidelines issued by the Virginia Housing Development Authority for use in its single family mortgage loan program authorized by § 36-55.33:1.
(g) In addition to being able to exercise the above-mentioned powers with city funds, the city is authorized to participate in any state or federal program related thereto and use state, federal or private funds in the exercise of such powers.
(h) The exercise of any of the powers granted in this section is hereby declared to be a public purpose and public use.
§ 9.12. Adoption and Amendment of Regulations and Restrictions and Determination of Zone Boundaries; notice of public hearings.
A. Subject to the other provisions of this chapter, the council shall have
power by ordinance to adopt the regulations and restrictions herein before
described and determine the boundaries of the zones in which they shall apply,
provide for their enforcement, and from time to time amend, supplement or
repeal the same. The council shall also have authority to provide for the
collection of fees to cover costs involved in the consideration of any
application for amendment of any such determination of boundaries, to be paid
to the Director of Finance by the applicant upon filing such request. No
ordinance to adopt the regulations and restrictions herein before described or
to determine the boundaries of zones or to provide for their enforcement, and
no ordinance to amend, supplement or repeal the same shall be enacted until the
application or motion for such change has been considered by the city planning
commission and until after a public hearing in relation thereto has been held
by the commission. The commission may recommend approval or disapproval of the
matter by the city council, or the commission may request that the council
refer the matter back to the commission for further study. The commission
shall vote on the application or motion at the public hearing; provided, that
the commission may defer a vote for a period not to exceed ninety 90 days upon
a recorded vote of a majority of the members of the commission that good cause exists for such
deferral.
B. A public hearing on the application or motion shall be held by the council,
at which time the parties in interest shall have an opportunity to be heard.
Council may, by ordinance, provide for the consideration of applications or
motions or both by the commission or council only at specified intervals of
time, not exceeding ninety 90 days. The council may approve or disapprove
recommendations of the planning commission on the matter, subject to the
provisions of § 9.06 of this charter. It may also refer back the matter to the
commission for further study.
C. The commission shall act on any matter referred back from the council for
further study within twenty-five 25 calendar days of the date of the council
referral and shall resubmit its reviewed recommendations to council. Such commission action shall
follow a public hearing on the matter which shall be preceded by at least ten
10 days' notice thereof published in a newspaper of general circulation in
the city. If two-thirds of the entire membership of the commission votes to
recommend disapproval of any matter referred back to the commission by the
council for further study, such recommendation may be overruled only by a
recorded affirmative vote of three-fourths of all the members of the council.
If the commission fails to act on such a referral back within twenty-five 25
days of the date of the council referral or fails to recommend disapproval of the matter referred
back or by a two-thirds vote of its entire membership, the council may adopt said application or
motion for change by a simple majority. An additional public hearing shall be
held by the council, preceded by at least ten 10 days' notice thereof published
in a newspaper of general circulation in the city, on any matter referred by council to the planning
commission for further study forty-five 45 days from the date on which the
matter was referred back to the planning commission by the council; provided, that the council may
extend such forty-five 45-day period for an additional period not to exceed
forty-five 45 days upon a recorded vote of the majority of all the members
of council that good cause exists for such extension.
D. Should the council approve the application or motion, seventy-five 75 days
may be taken to follow the proper procedure for the passage of an ordinance implementing the
approval.
E. The time constraints and limitations listed and described above in this section shall not apply to any motion, or to any ordinance, to adopt, amend, supplement or repeal the regulations and restrictions herein before described, or to provide for their enforcement. In addition, notwithstanding any of the procedural requirements set forth in this chapter or by other law, ordinances adopting or amending zoning regulations and restrictions or determining zone boundaries may be enacted under the emergency ordinance provisions of this charter without compliance with such requirements.
F. The council, in determining the boundaries of zones, may approve an
application or motion for, and may adopt an ordinance for, a zone change to a
more restrictive zone than that originally applied for or moved; provided, in
cases where the zone change procedure is initiated by other than the planning
commission or the council on its own motion: (1) that the planning commission
recommends in favor of such more restrictive zone change at a public hearing
held to consider the application for a zone change amendment; (2) that the
applicant agrees to the more restrictive zone change at or before the said
planning commission hearing; and (3) that at least ten 10 days' notice of the
more restrictive zone change and of the time and place of the public hearing before council required
by this section shall be given by publication thereof in a newspaper of general circulation in the
city. A protest under § 9.13 of this charter against a less restrictive zone
change shall not be effective against a more restrictive change. This shall not,
however, preclude the filing of an effective new protest against a more restrictive
zone change under § 9.13, nor shall it preclude the effectiveness of a protest
filed against both a less restrictive and a more restrictive zone change.
G. Whenever a public hearing is required or provided under the provisions of
this chapter or any related provision of general law, or under any local
ordinance adopted pursuant to this chapter or such general law, at least ten 10
days' notice of the time and place of such hearing, together with a general description of the matter
being heard, shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the
city. The council may, by ordinance, prescribe additional newspaper notice
requirements for particular hearings or classes of hearings. This subsection
shall preempt all other newspaper notice requirements of general or special
law.
H. Any ordinance adopted, or other action taken, under the authority of this
chapter or any related provision of general law prior to April 1, 1995 2004,
shall not be declared to be invalid by reason of a failure to advertise or give notice as required by
general law, so long as advertisement and notice of such adoption or action was
given in compliance with the then applicable local law; however, this
subsection shall not affect any litigation concluded before, or pending on,
April 1, 1995 2004.
I. Whenever written notice of a public hearing is required to be given to an owner of property affected by the adoption or amendment of regulations or restrictions or zone boundaries under the provisions of this chapter or any related provision of general law, such notice shall be given for the public hearing on the application or motion for such adoption or amendment, as provided in subsection A or subsection B of this section, and not for the public hearing on the ordinance implementing the approval, as provided in subsection D of this section.
§ 9.12.1. Parties to Applications and Motions for Amendments, Supplements or Repeal of Regulations and Restrictions and Determination of Boundaries.
Applications or motions for changes in zone boundaries shall be accepted only
from parties having a legal interest in the property, from the duly authorized
representative of any such party or from persons exhibiting the consent of
parties having a legal interest in the property. The planning commission may
initiate on its own motion the adoption, amendment, supplement or repeal of any
regulation, restriction or determination of boundaries of zones. The council may initiate
on its own motion the adoption, amendment, supplement or repeal of any
regulation, restriction or determination of boundaries of zones. All such applications and
motions shall be subject to the procedures set forth in this chapter. This
section shall preempt all provisions of general law applicable to the initiation by
the planning commission or city council of the adoption, amendment, supplement or
repeal of any regulation, restriction or determination of boundaries of zones.
§ 9.23. Penalties for Violation of Zoning Ordinance.
The council may in the zoning ordinance provide that penalties, civil or criminal, as provided in § 2.06 of this charter shall be imposed for violations of the ordinance by owners of land, buildings or structures, their agents having possession or control of such property, lessees, tenants, architects, builders, contractors or any other persons, firms or corporations who take part in or assist in any such violations or who maintain any land, building or structure in which such violations exist. This section shall preempt all provisions of general law authorizing the establishment of penalties for the violation of the zoning ordinance.