Type 2 Amendments involve changes with less impact to the General Plan and do not represent a substantial alteration of the Town’s land use mixture or balance. Type 2 Amendments are not intended to be Major General Plan Amendments as provided by state law.

As defined by the Zoning Code, Type 2 Amendments involve a review process with ample public outreach, neighborhood meetings, and public hearings related to the amendment.

A Type 2 Amendment shall be required for any of the following changes to the General Plan:

1. Any text changes to a goal, policy, or action that does not alter the intent or purpose of any element, goal, policy, or action of the General Plan.
2. Any amendment that does not meet the criteria for a Type 1 Amendment.
3. Amendments to the Urban Services Boundary.
4. Open Space trades resulting in no net loss of open space, and that meets the Town’s environmental objectives.
5. The Planning and Zoning Administrator may reclassify a Type 2 Amendment to a Type 1 Amendment based on the following findings:
   1. High visibility of the property by a significant portion of the community, beyond visibility by adjacent property owners. Areas of high visibility include, but are not limited to, locations along major thoroughfares, at major gateways into the community, such as Town Limits and properties that are highly visible due to elevation.
   2. The physical characteristics of the site, such as environmental constraints, access, or topography, will likely result in significant environmental or grading impacts to the property.
   3. The proposed density or type of development would create a significant and abrupt transition in land use in comparison with the adjacent area and development context. The change may impact the surrounding development character or signal an overall change to the future of the area.

Exceptions -The following shall not require a formal amendment to the General Plan and may be reviewed administratively:

1. All scriveners’ errors will be subject to administrative approval. Scriveners’ errors are unintentional clerical mistakes made during the drafting, publishing, and copying process.
2. Public schools are not subject to the amendment process.
3. The Planning and Zoning Administrator shall have the authority to administer and interpret the provisions of the General Plan. Requests for interpretations may be filed by an applicant or an aggrieved party owning property within the required notification area for General Plan amendments. Information on interpretations shall be identified in all related staff reports for the Planning and Zoning Commission and Town Council.

Community Engagement Process

Type 2 Amendments involve changes with less impact on the General Plan, but still include a substantial public outreach process as described below. Type 2 Amendments may be approved by the Town Council with a simple majority vote.

The Zoning Code establishes the community engagement process for this type of amendment, as described below:

Neighborhood meetings conducted during the process Enhanced public notice requirements that exceed the state’s legal requirements Public hearings before the Planning and Zoning Commission and Town Council

Amendment Criteria

The amendment evaluation criteria provide a tool for the Town to judge the merits of a specific amendment request. The criteria identify broad themes from the General Plan that an amendment should address, as well as specific development-related issues that will be evaluated by the Town in relation to the amendment request.

The intent of these criteria is to gather information that forms the basis for Town decision-making on amendment requests. The criteria are purposely written using broad language to enable review of applications based on the full breadth of General Plan topics. The ultimate decision regarding compliance with the criteria will be made by the Town Council. Mitigation may be incorporated as needed through special area policies by the Town Council or addressed in subsequent zoning and development processes.

It shall be the responsibility of the applicant to demonstrate that the benefits of the proposed amendment significantly outweigh any potential impacts on the community by meeting all the following criteria:

1. The amendment benefits the community by meeting the direction provided by the vision, guiding principles, goals and policies.

2. The amendment shall not adversely impact:
   1. Existing development character, land use, and traffic patterns without providing adequate and appropriate buffers and graduated transitions in density and land use.
   2. Infrastructure demands on existing uses without implementing improvements to accommodate planned growth.
   3. Public services, including police, fire, parks, and water, without addressing anticipated impacts.
   4. Natural beauty and environmental resources without suitable mitigation
   5. Historical or cultural resources without a suitable treatment plan

3. The applicant has identified long-term economic benefits and costs to Town infrastructure, services and facilities.

4. The applicant has implemented effective public outreach efforts to identify neighborhood concerns and has responded by incorporating measures to avoid or minimize development impacts to the extent reasonably possible, as well as to mitigate unavoidable adverse impacts.