Indiana § 36-7-4-604 - Zoning ordinance; notice and hearing before certification of proposed ordinance; prohibited communications

§ 36-7-4-604. Zoning ordinance; notice and hearing before certification of proposed ordinance; prohibited communications

Sec. 604. (a) Before the plan commission certifies a proposal to the legislative body under section 605 of this chapter, the plan commission must hold a public hearing under this section.

(b) The plan commission shall give notice of the hearing by publication under IC 5-3-1. The notice must state:

(1) the time and place of the hearing;

(2) either:

(A) in the case of a proposal under section 606, 606.5, 607, or 607.5 of this chapter, the geographic areas (or zoning districts in a specified geographic area) to which the proposal applies; or

(B) in the case of a proposal under section 608 of this chapter, the geographic area that is the subject of the zone map change;

(This subdivision does not require the identification of any real property by metes and bounds.)

(3) either:

(A) in the case of a proposal under section 606 or 606.5 of this chapter, a summary (which the plan commission shall have prepared) of the subject matter contained in the proposal (not the entire text of the ordinance);

(B) in the case of a proposal under section 607 or 607.5 of this chapter, a summary (which the plan commission shall have prepared) of the subject matter contained in the proposal (not the entire text) that describes any new or changed provisions; or

(C) in the case of a proposal under section 608 of this chapter, a description of the proposed change in the zone maps;

(4) if the proposal contains or would add or amend any penalty or forfeiture provisions, the entire text of those penalty or forfeiture provisions;

(5) the place where a copy of the proposal is on file for examination before the hearing;

(6) that written objections to the proposal that are filed with the secretary of the commission before the hearing will be considered;

(7) that oral comments concerning the proposal will be heard; and

(8) that the hearing may be continued from time to time as may be found necessary.

(c) The plan commission shall also provide for due notice to interested parties at least ten (10) days before the date set for the hearing. The commission shall by rule determine who are interested parties, how notice is to be given to interested parties, and who is required to give that notice. However, if the subject matter of the proposal:

(1) references a specific parcel of real estate;

(2) is unrelated to:

(A) a zone map change to a county ordinance under section 608 of this chapter;

(B) the adoption of an initial county zoning ordinance (or adoption of a replacement county zoning ordinance after repealing the entire county zoning ordinance, including amendments and zone maps) under section 606 or 606.5 of this chapter; or

(C) an amendment or partial repeal of the text (not zone maps) of a county zoning ordinance under section 607 or 607.5 of this chapter; and

(3) abuts or includes a county line (or a county line street or road or county line body of water);

then all owners of real property to a depth of two (2) ownerships or one-eighth (1/8) of a mile into the adjacent county, whichever is less, are interested parties who must receive notice under this subsection.

(d) The hearing must be held by the plan commission at the place stated in the notice. The commission may also give notice and hold hearings at other places within the county where the distribution of population or diversity of interests of the people indicate that the hearings would be desirable. The commission shall adopt rules governing the conduct of hearings under this section.

(e) A zoning ordinance may not be held invalid on the ground that the plan commission failed to comply with the requirements of this section, if the notice and hearing substantially complied with this section.

(f) The files of the plan commission concerning proposals are public records and shall be kept available at the commission's office for inspection by any interested person.

(g) METRO. In the case of a proposal to amend a zone map under section 608 of this chapter or in the case of a proposed approval of a development plan required by a zoning ordinance as a condition of development, a person may not communicate before the hearing with any hearing officer, member of the historic preservation commission, or member of the plan commission with intent to influence the officer's or member's action on the proposal. Before the hearing, the staff may submit a statement of fact concerning the physical characteristics of the area involved in the proposal, along with a recital of surrounding land use and public facilities available to serve the area. The staff may include with the statement an opinion of the proposal. The statement must be made a part of the file concerning the proposal not less than six (6) days before the proposal is scheduled to be heard. The staff shall furnish copies of the statement to persons in accordance with rules adopted by the commission.

(h) METRO. In the case of a proposal to amend a zone map under section 608 or 608.7 of this chapter, this subsection applies if the proposal affects only real property within the corporate boundaries of an excluded city (as described in IC 36-3-1-7). Notwithstanding the other provisions of this section, the legislative body of the excluded city, rather than the plan commission, shall hold the public hearing prescribed by this section. Whenever the plan commission receives a proposal subject to this section, the plan commission shall refer the proposal to the legislative body of the excluded city. Not later than thirty (30) days after receiving the proposal, the legislative body shall hold the hearing, acting for purposes of this section as if the legislative body is the plan commission. The legislative body shall then make the final determination as to the proposal.

(i) Before a proposal involving a structure regulated under IC 8-21-10 may become effective, the plan commission must have received:

(1) a copy of:

(A) the permit for the structure issued by the Indiana department of transportation; or

(B) the Determination of No Hazard to Air Navigation issued by the Federal Aviation Administration; and

(2) evidence that notice was delivered to a public use airport as required in IC 8-21-10-3 not less than sixty (60) days before the proposal is considered.

[Pre-Local Government Recodification Citations: 18-7-4-604; 18-7-5-59.]

As added by Acts 1981, P.L.309, SEC.23. Amended by P.L.335-1985, SEC.18; P.L.220-1986, SEC.18; P.L.344-1987, SEC.1; P.L.190-1988, SEC.1; P.L.321-1995, SEC.3; P.L.54-2002, SEC.5; P.L.192-2016, SEC.2; P.L.253-2017, SEC.2; P.L.161-2021, SEC.3; P.L.223-2025, SEC.10.