What is a Conditional Use?

Every zoning district in the City specifies three categories of uses:

• Permitted Uses
• Prohibited Uses
• Conditional Use

Those uses listed as "Prohibited" are not allowed to establish within that particular district. A business or other use wanting a location where the zoning lists their use as prohibited would need to rezone the property to a category that allowed their particular use (see Zoning and Rezoning Handbook).

A use that is listed as permitted within a zoning district is considered to be "permitted by right". The establishment of a permitted use within any district is assumed to be in keeping with the spirit and intent of the City's adopted Comprehensive Plan and no further approvals are needed, as long as the building is up to code.

A "Conditional Use" is a use that is generally in keeping with the intent of the particular district, but because of the nature of the use, needs a site-specific review. As an example, a child care facility is a use which is generally appropriate within a commercial district. However, the proposed site must lend itself to the safe pick-up and delivery of small children. The site must also be able to provide adequate outdoor play areas that are at least fifty feet from residential uses. Therefore, this use is Conditionally Permitted within the commercial districts, which allows the City Council to grant the use based on the staff's analysis of the particular site and the recommendation of the Planning and Zoning Commission.

What do I need to submit?

To analyze a Conditional Use application, the staff needs you to submit the information on the following checklist:

Conditional Use Checklist

• Name and address of the property owner
• Property owner's authorization if the owner is not the applicant
• Legal description of the property
• Current zoning of the property
• The specific (conditionally permitted) use intended for the property
• Names and addresses of all property owners within 200 feet
• Intended hours of operation
• A certified survey or detailed site plan, showing:
• All property lines and easements
• The size and location of existing and planned structures and parking areas
• All required landscaping, buffering and screening
• Traffic circulation

What does staff consider in their analysis?

The City staff will look at each Conditional Use Permit application to determine compliance with the following criteria:

• All elements of the Comprehensive Plan
• Traffic circulation (including ingress, egress, parking and loading areas)
• Pedestrian safety
• Service areas (including dumpster location)
• Nuisance factors (including noise, odor, smoke, glare, electrical interference and mechanical vibration)
• Available utilities and their locations
• Screening and buffering
• Signs and exterior lighting
• Required yards and open space
• Neighborhood scale and character

Design Requirements

No Conditional Use Permit shall be approved which fails to meet the following design requirements:

• Screening pursuant to Sec. 35-38
• Signage pursuant to Chapter 39 Article V
• Parking pursuant to Chapter 39 Article III
• Landscaping pursuant to Sec. 35-37
• Zoning District design requirements
• Transitional setbacks (if any)

CAP.pdf (648.4KB)   Conditional Use Permit Application Packet

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