The Township Supervisors may introduce and consider
amendments to this chapter and to the Zoning Map as proposed by a
Supervisor, by the Planning Commission or by a petition of a landowner
within the Township.
Petitions for amendment shall be filed with
the Planning Commission, and the petitioner, upon such filing, shall
pay an advertising deposit and a filing fee in accordance with a schedule
affixed from time to time by resolution of the Township Supervisors.
The Planning Commission shall review the proposed amendment and report
its findings and recommendations in writing to the Township Supervisors
and to the petitioner.
A.
Referral to Township Planning Commission. Any proposed
amendment introduced by a Township Supervisor without written findings
and recommendations from the Planning Commission shall be referred
to the Planning Commission for review at least 30 days prior to public
hearing by the Township. The Planning Commission shall report its
findings and recommendations in writing to the Township Supervisors
within such reasonable time prior to the public hearing as the Township
Supervisors may specify in the referring action.
B.
Referral to County Planning Commission. The proposed
amendment shall be submitted to the Butler County Planning Commission
for recommendations at least 30 days prior to the public hearing on
the amendment by the Township Supervisors.
In the case where a proposed amendment involves
the rezoning of property, notice of said public hearing shall be conspicuously
posted by the Township at points deemed sufficient by the Township
along the perimeter of the tract to notify potentially interested
citizens. The affected tract or area shall be posted at least one
week prior to the date of the public hearing.
A.
Before acting upon a proposed amendment, the Township
Supervisors shall hold a public hearing thereon. Notice of such public
hearing, containing a brief summary of the proposed amendment and
a reference to the place where copies of the same may be examined,
shall be published once each week for two successive weeks in a newspaper
of general circulation in the Township. The first publication shall
be no more than 30 days and the second notice shall be not less than
seven days prior to the date of hearing.
B.
If, after any public hearing held upon an amendment,
the proposed amendment is changed substantially, or is revised to
include land previously not affected by it, the Township Supervisors
shall hold another public hearing, pursuant to public notice, before
proceeding to vote on the amendment.
The Township may offer a mediation option as an aid in completing proceedings authorized by this article. In excercising such an option, the Township and the mediating parties shall meet the stipulations and follow the procedures set forth in § 175-179 of this chapter.
Within 30 days after enactment, a copy of the
amendment to this chapter shall be forwarded to the Butler County
Planning Commission.
If any petition for amendment is denied, another
identical application shall not be filed within a period of one year
from the date of denial, except upon acceptance of the Township Supervisors
after the petitioner demonstrates a change of circumstances which
would warrant a rehearing.
Any landowner who wishes to challenge, on substantive
grounds, the validity of this chapter or Map or any provision thereof
which prohibits or restricts the use or development of land in which
he has an interest may prepare and submit a curative amendment to
the Township Supervisors, in the form he proposes it be adopted, together
with a written request that his challenge and proposed amendment be
heard. The Township Supervisors shall hold a public hearing, pursuant
to public notice, on the matter within 60 days of receiving the request
at a regular monthly meeting.
A.
Referral to Planning Commission. The curative amendment
and challenge shall be referred to the Township Planning Commission
and County Planning Commission at least 30 days prior to the public
hearing for review and comment.
C.
Evaluation of merits of curative amendment. If the
Township Supervisors determine that a validity challenge has merit,
the Township Supervisors may accept a landowner's curative amendment,
with or without revision, or may adopt an alternative amendment which
will cure the challenged defects. The Township Supervisors shall consider
the curative amendments, plans and explanatory material submitted
by the landowner and shall also consider:
(1)
The impact of the proposal upon roads, sewer
facilities, water supplies, schools and other public service facilities;
(2)
If the proposal is for a residential use, the
impact of the proposal upon regional housing needs and the effectiveness
of the proposal in providing housing units of a type actually available
to and affordable by classes of persons otherwise unlawfully excluded
by the challenged provisions of this chapter or Map;
(3)
The suitability of the site for the intensity
of use proposed by the site's soils, slopes, woodlands, wetlands,
floodplains, aquifers, natural resources and other natural features;
(4)
The impact of the proposed use on the site's
soils, slopes, woodlands, wetlands, floodplains, natural resources
and natural features, the degree to which these are protected or destroyed,
the tolerance of the resources to development and any adverse environmental
impacts; and
(5)
The impact of the proposal on the preservation
of agriculture and other land uses which are essential to public health
and welfare.
D.
Declaration of invalidity by the court. If the Township
does not accept a landowner's curative amendment brought in accordance
with this section and a court subsequently rules that the challenge
has merit, the court's decision shall not result in a declaration
of invalidity for this entire Ordinance, but only for those provisions
which specifically relate to the landowner's curative amendment and
challenge.
