The Zoning Hearing Board shall conduct hearings
and made decisions in accordance with the following requirements:
A. Notice of all Zoning Hearing Board hearings shall
be provided as follows:
[Amended 3-2-2009 by Ord. No. 2009-01]
(1) Public notice: Public notice, as defined herein, shall be given and
written notice shall be given to the applicant, the Zoning Officer,
Borough Council and to any person who has made timely request for
the same.
(2) Delivery of notice: Notice should be given by personal delivery or
by regular first-class mail, not less than seven days prior to the
scheduled hearing, to the last known owners of record of property
within a two-hundred-foot radius of the lot lines of the subject property.
(3) Posting: In addition to the written notice provided herein, written
notice of said hearing shall be posted on the affected tract of land
in a conspicuous place, as determined by the Zoning Enforcement Officer,
at least seven days prior to the hearing.
B. The hearing shall be held within 60 days from the
date of the applicant's request, unless the applicant has agreed in
writing to an extension of time.
C. The hearings shall be conducted by the Board or the
Board may appoint any member as a hearing officer. The decision, or,
where no decision is called for, the findings shall be made by the
Board, however, the appellant or the applicant, as the case may be,
in addition to the Borough, may, prior to the decision of the hearing,
waive decision or findings by the Board and accept the decision or
findings of the hearing officer as final.
D. The parties to the hearing shall be the Borough, any
person affected by the application who has made timely appearance
of record before the Board, and any other person including civic or
community organizations permitted to appear by the Board. The Board
shall have power to require that all persons who wish to be considered
parties enter appearances in writing on forms provided by the Board
for that purpose.
E. The Chairman or Acting Chairman of the Board or the
hearing officer presiding shall have power to administer oaths and
issue subpoenas to compel the attendance of witnesses and the production
of relevant documents and papers, including witnesses and documents
requested by the parties.
F. The parties shall have the right to be represented
by counsel and shall be afforded the opportunity to respond and present
evidence and argument and cross-examine adverse witnesses on all relevant
issues.
G. Formal rules of evidence shall not apply, but irrelevant,
immaterial, or unduly repetitious evidence may be excluded.
H. The Board or the hearing officer, as the case may
be, shall keep a stenographic record of the proceedings. The appearance
fee for a stenographer shall be shared equally by the applicant and
the Board. The cost of the original transcript shall be paid by the
Board if the transcript is ordered by the Board or hearing officer
or shall be paid by the person appealing from the decision of the
Board if such appeal is made, and in either event the cost of additional
copies shall be paid by the person requesting such copy or copies.
In other cases the party requesting the original transcript shall
bear the cost thereof.
I. The Board or the hearing officer shall not communicate,
directly or indirectly, with any party or his representatives in connection
with any issue involved except upon notice and opportunity for all
parties to participate, shall not take notice of any communication,
reports, staff memoranda, or other materials, except advice from their
solicitor, unless the parties are afforded an opportunity to contest
the material so noticed and shall not inspect the site or its surroundings
after the commencement of hearings with any party or his representative
unless all parties are given an opportunity to be present.
J. The Board or the hearing officer, as the case may be, shall render a written decision or, when no decision is called for, make written findings on the application within 45 days after the last hearing before the Board or hearing officer. Where the application is contested or denied, each decision shall be accompanied by findings of fact and conclusions based thereon together with the reasons therefor. Conclusions based on any provisions of this chapter or of any law, ordinance, rule or regulation shall contain a reference to the provision relied on and the reasons why the conclusion is deemed appropriate in the light of the facts found. If the hearing is conducted by a hearing officer, and there has been no stipulation that his decision or findings are final, the Board shall make his report and recommendations available to the parties within 45 days and the parties shall be entitled to make written representations thereon to the Board prior to final decision or entry of findings, and the Board's decision shall be entered no later than 30 days after the report of the hearing officer. Where the Board fails to render the decision within the period required by this subsection, or fails to hold the required hearing within 60 days from the date of the applicant's request for a hearing, the decision shall be deemed to have been rendered in favor of the applicant unless the applicant has agreed in writing or on the record to an extension of time. When a decision has been rendered in favor of the applicant because of the failure of the Board to meet or render a decision as hereinabove provided, the Board shall give public notice of the said decision within 10 days from the last day it could have met to render a decision in the same manner as provided in Subsection
A of this section. If the Board shall fail to provide such notice, the applicant may do so. Nothing in this subsection shall prejudice the right of any party opposing the application to appeal the decision to a court of competent jurisdiction.
K. A copy of the final decision or, where no decision
is called for, of the findings shall be delivered to the applicant
personally or mailed to him not later than the day following its date.
To all other person who have filed their name and address with the
Board not later than the last day of the hearing, the Board shall
provide, by mail or otherwise, brief notice of the decision or findings
and a statement of the place at which the full decision or findings
may be examined.
L. The Borough Council shall establish, by resolution,
fees with respect to hearings before the Zoning Hearing Board.
Appeals raising the substantive validity of
any land use ordinance (except those to be brought before the Borough
Council pursuant to the Pennsylvania Municipalities Code), procedural
questions or alleged defects in the process of enactment or adoption
of a land use ordinance; or from the determination of the Zoning Officer,
including, but not limited to, the granting or denial of any permit,
or failure to act on the application therefor, the issuance of any
cease-and-desist order or the registration or refusal to register
any nonconforming use, structure or lot; from a determination by the
Borough Engineer or the Zoning Officer with reference to the administration
of any floodplain or flood hazard ordinance or such provisions within
a land use ordinance; from the determination of any officer or agency
charged with the administration of any transfers of development rights
or performance density provisions of this chapter; from the determination
of the Zoning Officer or Borough Engineer in the administration of
any land use ordinance or provision thereof with reference to sedimentation
and erosion control and stormwater management insofar as the same
relate to development not involving subdivision and land development
or planned residential development, may be filed with the Zoning Hearing
Board in writing by the landowner affected, any officer or agency
of the Borough, or any person aggrieved. Requests for a variance and
for special exception may be filed with the Board by any landowner
or any tenant with the permission of such landowner.