Borough of Ben Avon, PA Article XIII Building and Occupancy Permits

§ 2000-1300 Administration and Enforcement.

[Ord. 738, 8/18/2009]

A. Appointment and Powers of Applicable Zoning Officer.

(1) For the administration of this Ordinance, an applicable Zoning Officer, who shall not hold any elective office in any local government, shall be appointed by the Borough for which it serves.

(2) The applicable Zoning Officer shall meet the qualifications established by the Joint Planning Commission and shall be able to demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Joint Planning Commission a working knowledge of municipal zoning.

(3) The applicable Zoning Officer shall administer this Ordinance 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 Ordinance.

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

B. If the applicable Zoning Officer shall find that any provisions of this Ordinance are being violated he shall forward an enforcement notice to the owner of the lot upon which such violation is occurring. See § 2000-1500.

C. Enforcement notices regarding violations shall indicate the nature of the violation by specific paragraph relied on and shall order the action necessary to correct it.

D. Enforcement notices shall order the discontinuance of illegal uses of land or structures, or the removal or moving of illegal structures or additions or alterations thereto, as well as any other action necessary to assure compliance with or prevent violation of this Ordinance and shall indicate the owner's alternative actions under the terms of this Ordinance. See § 2000-1500.

E. The Applicable Zoning Officer shall allow the owner of a lot upon which a violation of the Ordinance has been noted a period of up to 30 days, at the option of the Applicable Zoning Officer, to carry out the required action. At the conclusion of the period within which the owner is obliged to correct the violation he shall be subject to penalty as required by Section XV, Paragraph B., of this Ordinance, with each day that the violation remains uncorrected being a separate penalty. Provided that the zoning officer may require action to come into compliance to be taken within a period shorter than 30 days if the zoning officer finds that the ongoing activity that results in the violation presents an immediate danger to the public health, safety and welfare. The Applicable Zoning Officer's notice shall indicate specifically the date on which the owner shall first be subject to penalty.

[Amended by Ord. No. 780, 8/31/2017]

F. All questions of interpretation of this Ordinance shall be first presented to the applicable Zoning Officer, and such questions shall be considered by the applicable Zoning Hearing Board only on appeal from the decision of the applicable Zoning Officer.

G. The applicable Zoning Officer shall keep records of all applications either approved or disapproved, including one copy of each permit issued, shall maintain a journal of his/her activities, and shall submit a report annually to each Borough Council.

H. The Applicable Zoning Officer shall receive and process all requests for reasonable accommodation under the Fair Housing Amendments Act or the Americans with Disabilities Act as applicable. Criteria and procedures for the handling of such requests shall be in accordance with this Ordinance.

[Amended by Ord. No. 780, 8/31/2017]

§ 2000-1301 Building Permits.

[Ord. 738, 8/18/2009]

A. No building or structure shall be erected, moved, expanded or structurally altered without a permit for such action having been issued by the applicable Zoning Officer. Building permits shall be required for construction of fences, exterior walls and patios, but not for the installation or paving of walkways or residential driveways when no earth moving is involved or for erection of small auxiliary structures less than 100 square feet in floor area and not on a permanent foundation. Building permits shall be required for the installation or paving of walkways or residential driveways when earth moving is involved or for those surfaces that cross public sidewalks. All surfaces shall be subject to inspection for compliance with applicable Borough concrete standards.

B. Applications for building permits shall be made to the applicable Zoning Officer for the project to be covered by the permit, using forms supplied by the applicable Zoning Officer. The permit shall bear the signatures of both the general contractor and the owner of the project.

(1) No building permit shall be issued until all other required permits have been obtained from any other office or agency (local, regional, State, County, and Federal).

(2) No building permit shall be issued until the applicable Zoning Officer determines whether a stormwater management plan is necessary for the project to be covered by the permit, and if so, finds that an approved plan meeting the requirements of the applicable Borough's Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance, or its equivalent, has been submitted.

C. Building permit applications shall include the following, in triplicate:

(1) A site plan of the lot upon which the proposed construction is to occur, drawn to scale and dimensioned, showing the following where applicable:

(a) The boundaries of the lot, indicating dimensions and total area and names of record of owners of adjoining properties.

(b) Public streets adjoining the lot indicating right-of-way and pavement width.

(c) Public utilities in the streets adjoining the lot and/or in easements running across the lot identified by type and line size.

(d) Existing buildings on the lot and approximate location of walls of buildings or structures within 25 feet of the lot boundaries on adjacent properties.

(e) The proposed building or structure, indicating height, and dimensions between building or structure and all lot boundaries.

(f) The location of proposed parking and loading areas and drives, indicating the number of parking spaces.

(g) The location of proposed signs.

(h) Topographical information for the area to be developed at no greater than five-foot contour intervals, showing proposed grade changes and means of collecting and disposing of stormwater.

(i) The seal of approval of the State Department of Labor and Industry, if applicable, or in lieu of such seal, the M.A. number and file number of the project as carried by the Department.

(2) A narrative statement indicating:

(a) The proposed use of the structure to which the permit applies and the use of other buildings or structures on the lot, if any.

(b) The number of dwelling units, whether for sale or rent, or commercial retail or service units if applicable, that the building is designed to accommodate.

(c) If the building or structure is part of a larger complex of buildings or structures to be erected over time on the same lot, an indication of location and scheduling of future construction.

(d) If the building or structure is for commercial, industrial or multi-family residential use, the area of the lot to be occupied on the ground by the building or structure.

(e) A statement giving the developer permission to build if the developer and owner of the land are not the same person or corporation.

(3) The applicable Zoning Officer may waive portions of these requirements where interior work or construction not affecting the outside dimensions of an existing building is involved or no site work is included.

(4) The applicable Zoning Officer may, to satisfy requirements of other development ordinances adopted by any of the Tri-Borough Communities, expand the application form to secure additional information necessary to assure conformance with such other development ordinances.

(5) Building plans and specifications as required by the applicable Borough's Building Code.

D. If the application is satisfactory, the applicable Zoning Officer shall inspect the premises where the construction is proposed to occur and shall be satisfied that the structure will be located as specified on the application and that construction can take place on the site without violating this Ordinance or any other Borough or Tri-Borough ordinance. Upon completing his inspection and finding the application and premises conforming to this Ordinance, the Zoning Officer shall approve the application and return one copy of the documents together with a signed building permit authorizing the applicant to proceed.

E. If the application is not satisfactory, the applicable Zoning Officer shall return all but one set of the application documents together with a letter indicating the specific reasons why the application cannot be approved and the changes needed to make it acceptable.

F. The applicable Zoning Officer shall visit the lot whereon the approved construction is taking place in order to ensure that the work is proceeding in accordance with the application documents. If new construction is proposed to occupy a previously open area, the applicable Zoning Officer may order the owner to have stakes positioned by a registered surveyor to indicate the lot line and outline of the new construction. Subsequently the applicable Zoning Officer, depending on the type of construction proposed, shall visit the site after pouring of foundation footers, at the conclusion of erection of structural members and rough-in carpentry, and upon completion of the structure. The applicable Zoning Officer shall not be denied access to the lot in order to inspect the construction in progress and may order the work halted pending appeal to the applicable Zoning Hearing Board or corrected to conform to the approved application documents.

G. If an applicant wishes to amend the use, arrangement or construction of the structure from that shown on the application documents after such documents are approved, he shall file with the applicable Zoning Officer an application for a building permit to cover the proposed amendment. All work shall conform to the approved application documents for which the permit has been issued and any approved amendments thereto.

H. A building permit shall become void, if after six months from the date of issue, construction for which the permit was issued has not commenced and been vigorously pursued. The life of a building permit shall be one year from the date of issue. Permits may be extended for not more than one additional year on large projects for which the value of the permit is in excess of $100,000, upon request of the permit holder when the permit is originally issued. To continue uncompleted construction after the expiration of a building permit, the permit holder shall apply for a new permit, for which a fee representing the value of the work to be completed shall be collected. Failure to renew a permit after expiration shall be a violation of this Ordinance and subject to penalty under Article XVII of this Ordinance.

§ 2000-1302 Occupancy Permits.

[Ord. 738, 8/18/2009]

A. For new use or expansion of existing uses:

(1) Upon completion of the entire building or structure for which a building permit has been issued, the contractor or builder for such building or structure shall apply to the applicable Zoning Officer for an occupancy permit.

(2) The applicable Zoning Officer shall inspect the premises and, if satisfied that all conditions of the building permit have been met, shall issue an occupancy permit certifying that the premises comply with the provisions of this Ordinance and may be used for the purposes set forth on the building permit.

(3) If the applicable Zoning Officer upon inspection finds the premises to have been developed in violation of any of the conditions of the building permit, he shall order the violations corrected to conform to the building permit and shall not issue an occupancy permit until satisfied these corrections have been made. The contractor shall be responsible for requesting a re-inspection after violations have been corrected and the applicable Zoning Officer shall not issue an occupancy permit until all violations have been corrected.

(4) It shall be a violation of this Ordinance for a new structure to be occupied without an occupancy permit first having been issued.

B. For Changing Existing Uses.

(1) To preserve the character of the Borough's single-family neighborhoods, in any R-L or R-M Zoning District, no single-family dwelling unit building shall be converted to a multi-family dwelling unit building after the date of this Ordinance unless evidence of said building is existing as a legally operating multi-family dwelling for 12 consecutive months from the date of the application and said evidence is provided by the landowner and/or developer to the respective Borough in a form acceptable to said Borough. The creation of a multi-family dwelling unit shall only be permitted in a building, new in its entirety, and where said building is identified as the principal building on the lot.

(2) If a lot owner wishes to change the use of any building or structure on the lot (or properties) he owns, or if a new owner seeks to occupy a lot that is used for commercial or industrial purposes, he shall apply to the applicable Zoning Officer for an occupancy permit. The applicable Zoning Officer shall first determine that no building permit is needed to effect the proposed change. Changes for which an occupancy permit shall be required include addition of a dwelling unit or units in the structure, introduction of a home occupation, conversion of a use, or continuation of the use of a commercial or industrial lot by a new owner.

(3) If the applicable Zoning Officer is satisfied that such change is in conformance with all requirements of this Ordinance and of other applicable development ordinances of the Boroughs of Avalon, Bellevue, Ben Avon, and/or the Tri-Borough Communities, he shall issue an occupancy permit.

(4) Applications for occupancy permits for a change of use that are denied by the applicable Zoning Officer may be appealed to the applicable Zoning Hearing Board. It shall be the responsibility of the owner of a lot to determine that any persons leasing or subleasing the premises will use them only for activities permitted by this Ordinance, and if a use is contemplated or undertaken by a lessee or sublessee which is not permitted, or is permitted only as a special exception, it shall be the responsibility of the owner to either secure permission from the applicable Borough for the use or to remove the use from the premises.

§ 2000-1303 Certificate of Zoning Compliance.

[Ord. 738, 8/18/2009]

A. Certificate of Zoning Compliance.

(1) It shall be unlawful to use or occupy or permit the use or occupancy of any building, structure, land or premises, or part thereof, hereafter created, erected, changed, converted or enlarged in its use and structure unless a certificate of zoning compliance has been issued by the applicable Zoning Officer stating that the proposed use of the building structure or land conforms to the requirements of this Ordinance.

(2) Every application for an occupancy permit shall be deemed to be an application for a certificate of zoning compliance.

(3) No certificate of zoning compliance shall be issued until the erection, construction or alteration has been completed, or the use established and inspected and approved by the applicable Zoning Officer providing that the certificate shall be issued or written notice shall be given to the applicant stating why a certificate cannot be issued no later than five days after the applicable Zoning Officer is notified in writing that the building or premises is ready for occupancy.

(4) A temporary certificate of zoning compliance may be issued by the applicable Zoning Officer for a period not to exceed six months during alteration or partial occupancy of a building pending its completion, provided that such temporary certificate may require such conditions and safeguards, such as but not limited to a performance security/guarantee, to protect the safety of the occupant and the public.

(5) It shall be unlawful for any owner to sell any building, structure, land or premises, or part thereof, or interest therein, situated in the Tri-Borough Communities, unless the owner first delivers to the purchaser at or prior to the time for settlement a certificate of zoning compliance indicating the legality of the existing use of the lot to be sold.

(6) A certificate of zoning compliance may be revoked or suspended by the applicable Zoning Officer if he finds that the holder of the certificate has failed to comply with conditions attached to the issuance of the certificate, or if he finds that the building or use does not comply with the requirements of this Ordinance.

(7) In all cases under this Ordinance a fee shall be charged for a certificate of zoning compliance. Such fees shall be established by resolution of the applicable Borough Council.