The Zoning Officer shall be appointed by the
Township Supervisors and shall hold no elective office in the Township.
The Zoning Officer shall meet the qualifications established by the
Township and shall be able to demonstrate, to the satisfaction of
the Township, a working knowledge of municipal zoning. The duties
of the Zoning Officer shall include the following:
A.
Administer and enforce the provisions of this chapter.
B.
Institute civil enforcement proceedings as a means
of enforcement when acting within the scope of his/her employment.
C.
Issue building permits and certificates of occupancy.
D.
Maintain a permanent file of all building permits
and certificates of occupancy and applications as public records.
E.
Register and record nonconforming uses.
F.
Inspect all land and structures for which a building
permit or certificate of occupancy has been applied for or issued
to determine compliance with this chapter and make all their inspections
necessary to enforce the provisions of this chapter.
A.
Enforcement notice. The enforcement notice shall contain
the following information:
(1)
The name of the owner of record and any other
person against whom the municipality 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 prescribed period of
time in accordance with procedures set forth in this chapter.
(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.
B.
Enforcement remedies.
(1)
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 Township, pay a judgment of not more than
$500 plus all court costs, including reasonable attorney fees incurred
by the Township as a result thereof. No judgment shall commence or
be imposed, levied or be 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 Township may enforce the judgment
pursuant to the applicable rules of civil procedure.
(2)
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. All judgments, costs and reasonable
attorney fees collected for the violation of this chapter shall be
paid over to the Township.
(3)
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.
(4)
Nothing contained in this section shall be construed
or interpreted to grant to any person or entity other than the Township
the right to commence any action for enforcement pursuant to this
section.
C.
Other remedies. 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 Township Supervisors or, with the approval of the Township Supervisors,
an officer of the Township, 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.
A.
Permits required. A building permit shall be obtained
from the Township Zoning Officer before any person may construct,
reconstruct, move, structurally alter or enlarge any structure or
building.
B.
Application requirements. Applications for building
permits shall be made to the Zoning Officer on forms supplied by the
Township. Applications for a building permit shall include the following
information in duplicate:
(1)
A land development plan of the property upon
which the proposed construction is to occur, drawn to scale and dimensioned,
showing:
(a)
The boundaries of the property, indicating dimensions;
(b)
The public streets abutting the property;
(c)
Public utilities in the streets abutting the
property and/or easements across the property;
(d)
Existing buildings on the property and those
within 50 feet of the property boundaries on adjacent properties;
(e)
The proposed building or structure, indicating
height and dimensions between the building or structure and the property
boundaries;
(f)
The location of proposed parking areas and drives,
if appreciable, indicating the number of parking spaces;
(g)
Landscaping and buffer yards required by this
chapter; and
(h)
Any other information necessary to demonstrate
compliance with the applicable requirements of this chapter.
(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
property;
(b)
The number of dwelling units, whether for sale
or rent, or commercial or retail service units, if applicable, that
the building is designed to accommodate;
(c)
Evidence that the required approvals of agencies
of the commonwealth necessary to permit the development, if applications
have been secured; and
(d)
If the building or structure is part of a larger
complex of buildings or structures to be erected over time on the
same property, an indication of scheduling of future construction.
(3)
An application for a building permit for any
construction which requires approval by the Pennsylvania Department
of Labor and Industry shall be accompanied by evidence of such approval.
(4)
Any other information required by the Zoning
Officer to document compliance with any other applicable ordinances
of the Township.
C.
Action on application.
(1)
If the application is satisfactory, the Zoning
Officer shall approve it and return one copy of the application documents,
together with a signed building permit, authorizing the applicant
to proceed.
(2)
If the application is not satisfactory, the
Zoning Officer shall return the application documents together with
a letter indicating the specific provisions of this chapter or any
other applicable Township ordinance which have not been met.
D.
Amendments after approval. If an applicant wishes to amend the building permit after the application has been approved, a new application for a building permit shall be filed with the Zoning Officer containing all the information required by Subsection C. An additional building permit fee shall be charged only if the amendment results in an increase in the value of construction; however, the Township Supervisors may establish a review fee for amended applications.
E.
Inspection. The Zoning Officer shall, from time to
time, inspect the property where the construction is taking place
to assure himself that the work is proceeding in accordance with the
terms of the approved building permit.
F.
Access to property during construction. The Zoning
Officer shall not be denied access to the property to inspect construction
in progress. The Zoning Officer may issue a stop-work order pending
an appeal to the Zoning Hearing Board or correction of violations
determined during inspection of the construction authorized by the
building permit.
G.
Maintenance of pins and monuments during construction.
The property and building location pins or monuments shall be located
and maintained in place prior to application for a building permit
and during construction to verify compliance with this chapter and
any other applicable ordinance.
A.
Certificate of occupancy required. No person or corporation
shall be permitted to occupy any land or structure without securing
a certificate of occupancy from the Township Zoning Officer. A certificate
of occupancy shall be required before any person shall:
B.
Application for certificate of occupancy. Applications
for certificates of occupancy shall be made at the Township Municipal
Building, and, upon the payment of the required fee established from
time to time by resolution of the Township Supervisors and inspection
of the premises by the Zoning Officer, said permit shall be issued
if said premises meet the requirements of this chapter.
C.
Applications requiring approval of PA Department of
Labor and Industry. An application for a certificate of occupancy
for any proposed use or change of an existing use which requires approval
by the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry shall be accompanied
by evidence of such approval.
The Township Supervisors shall establish and
revise, from time to time, a schedule of fees by resolution, as well
as a collection procedure for all applications submitted under the
provisions of this chapter. The schedule of fees shall be available
to the public from the Zoning Officer or the Township Secretary.
Any person or Township official aggrieved or affected by any provision of this chapter, or by any decision of the Zoning Officer, may appeal to the Zoning Hearing Board by filing a notice of appeal specifying the grounds thereof in accordance with the provisions of § 175-174 of this chapter.
(Reserved)
