| A Public
Hearing is a special type of meeting, held by governing bodies
when required either by State Law or County Ordinance, in order
to both inform the public about pending actions and to solicit
comment from the public about the action.
Public Hearings are
required to be held by the Planning and Zoning Commission
for all Zoning Map, Text Amendment and Planned Unit Development applications.
Major Subdivisions need a Public Hearing before the Planning and
Zoning Commission only when the Preliminary Plat is being
considered. The Board of Adjustment holds Public Hearings
for Variance and Special Exception applications.
When a Public Hearing
is required for an application, notice needs to be
published at least 15 days before the hearing date in an
official newspaper of the County. Official newspapers for
Clinton County are the Clinton Herald and the DeWitt
Observer. For applications which involve a specific
property, all property owners within 500 feet of the property
for which the application is filed are also notified by mail by
the Zoning Office.
At the Public Hearing, the applicant makes a presentation
explaining the application and answers questions from the Board
or Commission members. After the applicant has made their
presentation, the Chair of the meeting will ask for comment from
the public, first for comments of support for the application,
then for comments opposed to the application. The
applicant has the
opportunity to present rebuttals to statements made at the
Hearing. When the public has had the opportunity to
speak, the Public Hearing will be closed, and the Board
or Commission will then discuss the application. This
discussion may happen immediately following the Hearing or at a
later date. Following discussion, a vote will be taken to
either approve or disapprove the application.
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