§ 42-59. Vested rights.

(a)

It is not the intent of this division to abrogate, diminish or modify the rights of any persons that have vested rights pursuant to a valid governmental act of the city. An applicant may petition the city commission for a vested rights determination which would exempt the applicant from this division. Such petition shall be evaluated by the city attorney and a recommendation thereon submitted to the city commission based on the following criteria:

(1)

There exists a valid, unexpired governmental act of the city authorizing the building for which a building permit is sought.

(2)

Expenditures or obligations made or incurred in reliance upon the authorizing act are reasonably equivalent to the fee required by section 42-55.

(3)

It would be inequitable to deny the applicant the opportunity to complete a previously approved building under the conditions of the previous approval by requiring the applicant to comply with the requirements of this division. For the purposes of this subsection, the following factors shall be considered in determining whether it would be inequitable to deny the petitioner the opportunity to complete the previously approved development:

a.

Whether the injury suffered by the petitioner outweighs the public cost of allowing the development to go forward without payment of the fee required by this division;

b.

Whether the expenses or obligations were made or incurred subsequent to the effective date of Ordinance No. 89-68, after which date the adoption of this division (Ordinance No. 90-27) was pending; and

c.

Whether the operation of this division would create an onerous burden which would prevent the petitioner from making a reasonable return on his investment.

(b)

If an applicant has previously entered into a development agreement with the city with conditions regarding off-site road system improvements, the applicant or his successor in interest may request a modification of the prior development agreement in order to bring the conditions into consistency with this division. Any request for such modification must be filed with the city manager within one year of the effective date of the ordinance from which this division derives.

(Code 1988, § 11.5-29)