Borough of Greencastle, PA Article VII Enforcement

§ 205-34 Appointment and powers of Zoning Officer.

[Amended 1-3-1995 by Ord. No. 1995-2]

A. For the administration of this chapter, a Zoning Officer, who shall not hold any elective office in the Borough, shall be appointed.

B. The Zoning Officer shall meet the qualifications established by the Borough and shall be able to demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Borough a working knowledge of municipal zoning.

C. The Zoning Officer shall administer this chapter in accordance with its literal terms, and shall not have the power to permit any construction or any use or change of use which does not conform to this chapter.

D. The Zoning Officer is hereby authorized to institute civil enforcement proceedings as a means of enforcement when acting within the scope of his employment.

E. The Zoning Officer or his duly authorized assistant(s) shall have the right to enter any building or enter upon any land at any reasonable hour as necessary in the execution of their duties, provided that:

(1) The Zoning Officer shall notify the owner and tenant before conducting any inspection.

(2) The Zoning Officer or his duly authorized assistant(s) shall display identification signed by the Borough Council upon commencing an inspection.

(3) Inspections shall be commenced in the presence of the owner or his representative or tenant.

F. The Zoning Officer shall maintain files, open to the public, of all applications for certificates of occupancy and building permits along with plans submitted therewith as well as final certificates and permits.

G. The Zoning Officer shall also maintain records, open to the public, of every complaint of a violation of the provisions of this chapter as well as action taken as a result of such complaints.

H. The Zoning Officer shall submit to the Borough Council, for insertion in the Council's minutes, a written report summarizing for the month all building permits and certificates of occupancy issued by him as well as complaints of violations and action taken as a result of such complaints.

§ 205-35 Building permits.

[Amended 1-3-1995 by Ord. No. 1995-2]

No building in any district shall be erected, reconstructed or restored, or structurally altered, without a building permit duly issued upon application to the Borough. No building permit shall be issued unless the proposed construction or use is in full conformity with all the provisions of this chapter. Any building permit issued in violation of the provisions of this chapter shall be null and void and of no effect, without the necessity for any proceedings or revocations or nullification thereof; and any work undertaken or use established pursuant to any such permit shall be unlawful.

A. No building permit shall be issued for the construction or alteration of any building upon a lot without the required minimum lot width on an ordained public street or highway.

B. No building permit shall be issued for a building to be used for any variance or for any special exception in any district where such use is allowed only by approval of the applicable Borough agency unless and until such approval has been duly granted.

C. The Borough shall, within 10 days after the filing of a complete and properly prepared application, either issue or deny a building permit. If a building permit is denied, the Borough shall state in writing to the applicant the reasons for such denial.

D. Every building permit shall expire if the work authorized has not commenced within three months after the date of issuance, or has not been completed within 18 months from such date for construction costing less than $1,000,000 and has not been completed within 36 months from such date for construction costing in excess of such amount. If no zoning amendments or other codes or regulations affecting subject property have been enacted in the interim, the Borough may authorize in writing the extension of either above periods of an additional six months, following which no further work is to be undertaken without a new building permit.

E. As soon as the foundation of a building or of any addition to an existing building is laid off, and before first story framing or wall construction is begun, there shall be filed with the Borough an accurate survey signed by the person responsible for said survey, showing the exact location of such foundation with respect to the street and property lines of the lot.

§ 205-36 Certificate of occupancy.

A. The following shall be unlawful until a certificate of occupancy shall have been applied for and issued by the Borough:

(1) Occupancy and use of a building erected, reconstructed, restored, structurally altered, moved, or any change in use of an existing building.

(2) Occupancy, use or any change in the use of any land.

(3) Any change in the use of nonconforming uses.

B. No certificate of occupancy shall be issued for any special exception of a building or of land requiring special exception approval by the Zoning Hearing Board or for any land or use requiring site development plan approval by the Commission unless and until such special exception or site development plan approval has been duly granted. Every certificate of occupancy for which special exception or site development plan approval has been granted or in connection with which a variance has been granted by the Zoning Hearing Board shall contain a detailed statement of any condition to which the same is subject.

C. On a form furnished by the Borough, application for a certificate of occupancy for a new building, or for an existing building which has been altered, shall be made after the erection of such building or part thereof has been completed in conformity with the provisions of this chapter and in the case of a new building shall be accompanied by an accurate plot plan or, if not available, by a survey prepared by a licensed land surveyor or, engineer showing the location of all buildings as built.

D. If the proposed use is in conformity with the provisions of this chapter and of all other applicable codes and ordinances, a certificate of occupancy for the use of vacant land or for a change of use by a nonconforming use, shall be issued by the Borough within 15 days after receipt of a properly completed application. If a certificate of occupancy is denied, the Borough shall state the reasons in writing to the applicant.

E. A certificate of occupancy shall be deemed to authorize, and is required for both initial occupancy and the continuance of occupancy and use of the building or land to which it applies.

F. Upon written request by the owner, and upon fee payment, the Borough shall, after inspection, issue a certificate of occupancy for any building or use thereof or of land existing at the time of the adoption of this chapter, certifying such use and whether or not the same and the building conforms to the provisions of this chapter.

G. A record of all certificates of occupancy shall be kept by the Borough and copies shall be furnished, on request, to any agency of the Borough or to any persons having a proprietary or tenancy interest in the building or land affected.

§ 205-37 Fees.

[Amended 5-7-1984; 1-3-1995 by Ord. No. 1995-2]

A. The Borough Council shall establish by resolution a schedule of fees, charges and expenses and collection procedures for zoning permits, occupancy permits, special exceptions, variances and appeals, and other matters pertaining to this chapter. The schedule of fees shall be posted in the office of the Zoning Officer and may be altered or amended only by the Borough Council.

B. No action shall be taken on any application or appeal until all application fees, charges and expenses have been paid in full.

§ 205-38 Causes of action.

[Amended 1-3-1995 by Ord. No. 1995-2]

In case any building, structure, landscaping or land is, or is proposed to be, erected, constructed, reconstructed, altered, converted, maintained or used in violation of this chapter, the Borough Council or, with the approval of the Borough Council, an officer of the Borough, or any aggrieved owner or tenant of real property who shows that his property or person will be substantially affected by the alleged violation, in addition to other remedies, may institute any appropriate action or proceeding to prevent, restrain, correct or abate such building, structure, landscaping or land, or to prevent, in or about such premises, any act, conduct, business or use constituting a violation. When any such action is instituted by a landowner or tenant, notice of that action shall be served upon the Borough at least 30 days prior to the time the action is begun by serving a copy of the complaint on the Borough Council. No such action may be maintained until such notice has been given.

§ 205-39 Enforcement notice.

[Amended 1-3-1995 by Ord. No. 1995-2]

A. If it appears to the Borough that a violation of this chapter has occurred, the Borough shall initiate enforcement proceedings by sending an enforcement notice as provided in this section.

B. The enforcement notice shall be sent to the owner of record of the parcel on which the violation has occurred, to any person who has filed a written request to receive enforcement notices regarding that parcel, and to any other person requested in writing by the owner of record.

C. An enforcement notice shall state at least the following:

(1) The name of the owner of record and any other person against whom the Borough intends to take action.

(2) The location of the property in violation.

(3) The specific violation with a description of the requirements which have not been met, citing in each instance the applicable provisions of this chapter.

(4) The date before which the steps for compliance must be commenced and the date before which the steps must be completed.

(5) That the recipient of the notice has the right to appeal to the Zoning Hearing Board within a period of 10 days.

(6) That failure to comply with the notice within the time specified, unless extended by appeal to the Zoning Hearing Board, constitutes a violation, with possible sanctions clearly described.

§ 205-40 Violations and penalties.

[Amended 1-3-1995 by Ord. No. 1995-2]

A. Any person, partnership or corporation who or which has violated or permitted the violation of the provisions of this chapter shall, upon being found liable therefor in a civil enforcement proceeding commenced by the Borough, pay a judgment of not more than $500 plus all court costs, including reasonable attorney fees incurred by the Borough as a result thereof. No judgment shall commence or be imposed, levied or payable until the date of the determination of a violation by the District Justice. If the defendant neither pays nor timely appeals the judgment, the Borough may enforce the judgment pursuant to the applicable rules of civil procedure. Each day that a violation continues shall constitute a separate violation, unless the District Justice determining that there has been a violation further determines that there was a good-faith basis for the person, partnership or corporation violating this chapter to have believed that there was no such violation, in which event there shall be deemed to have been only one such violation until the fifth day following the date of the determination of a violation by the District Justice and thereafter each day that a violation continues shall constitute a separate violation.

B. The Court of Common Pleas, upon petition, may grant an order of stay, upon cause shown, tolling the per diem fine pending a final adjudication of the violation and judgment.

C. Nothing contained in this section shall be construed or interpreted to grant to any person or entity other than the Borough the right to commence any action for enforcement pursuant to this section.

D. District Justices shall have initial jurisdiction over proceedings brought under this section.