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Council approves zoning notice change to certified mailing process; affidavit requirement retained
Summary
After second reading, the Common Council amended zoning procedure to allow post office certification of mailings rather than requiring certified mail return receipts; council retained the affidavit-of-mailing requirement and approved the ordinance 4–3.
The Martinsville Common Council on July 14 approved an amendment to the zoning ordinance that changes how applicants must notify adjoining landowners of public hearings. Under the adopted amendment, applicants will provide a post-office certification that notice was placed in the mail rather than mail notices using certified mail with signature receipts. An affidavit of mailing, signed and notarized by the petitioner, remains required.
City staff and counsel explained the change as a response to rising costs and practical delays when certified mail is returned as unclaimed. “We are getting it back 3 or 4 weeks after we sent it and it says unclaimed,” City Counsel Dale Coffey said. Staff said several neighboring jurisdictions use the post-office certification approach, and the city’s form of affidavit will remain posted on the city website.
The ordinance (2025‑1902) passed after a roll-call vote. The council discussed practical steps for applicants to obtain the post-office certification printout, which the petitioner must submit as evidence of notice. Counsel said the change does not eliminate notice requirements; it replaces the method of proof and is consistent with municipalities that have adopted similar procedures.
No change was made to the underlying notice distances or publication requirements; applicants still must publish a notice in the local newspaper and mail notices to owners within the required radius or parcel count.
