Comprehensive Plan Amendment Process, Application and Forms

All plan amendments require three public hearings. The first public hearing is conducted before the Local Planning Agency, which provides a recommendation to the Board of County Commissioners.

At the second hearing, the Board of County Commissioners determines whether or not to transmit the amendment to the state and regional reviewing agencies. The state and regional reviewing agencies are required to review the amendment to ascertain if there are any impacts to important state resources and facilities and to provide their comments, if any, directly to the local government within 30 days of the agency receipt of the amendments.

The third public hearing, called an adoption hearing, must be held within 180 days after the receipt of the reviewing agencies comments. If adopted, the County has ten days to send the amendment adoption package to the State Land Planning Agency.  The State Land Planning Agency has five days to find the amendment adoption package complete. The effective date of a plan amendment, if the amendment is not timely challenged, is 31 days after the state land planning agency notifies the local government that the final plan amendment package is complete.