The purpose of this article shall be to allow for amendments, from time to time, of either this chapter text and/or map as deemed necessary to accommodate unforeseen change, benefit the public welfare or reflect a different direction of Borough planning and development goals.
[Amended 9-28-2010 by Ord. No. 918]
A. 
Initiation. Borough Council may introduce and/or consider amendments to this chapter and to the Zoning District Map. In addition, Borough Council may consider amendments to this chapter and to the Zoning District Map that are proposed by the Planning Commission or by petition of any landowner(s) of property in the Borough.
B. 
Petitions. Petitions for amendments by landowners shall be filed with the Planning Commission at least 20 days prior to the Planning Commission meeting at which the petition is to be heard. In the case of a petition for reclassification of property, the petitioners, upon such filing, shall submit a legal description of the property proposed to be rezoned. All petitions shall include a statement justifying the request and documenting consistence with the Borough's Comprehensive Plan. The petition shall include the filing fee established from time to time by resolution of Borough Council.
C. 
Referral. Any proposed amendment presented to Borough Council without written findings and recommendations from the Borough Planning Commission and the Beaver County Planning Commission shall be referred to those agencies at least 30 days prior to Borough Council's public hearing. Borough Council shall not hold a public hearing on such amendments until the required reviews are received or the expiration of 30 days from the date of referral, whichever comes first.
D. 
Mailing of notices. If the proposed amendment involves a change to the Zoning District Map, notice of the public hearing shall be mailed by the Borough at least 30 days prior to the date of the hearing by first class mail to the addresses to which real estate tax bills are sent for all real property located within the area being rezoned, as evidenced by tax records within the possession of the Borough. The notice shall include the location, date and time of the public hearing. A good faith effort and substantial compliance shall satisfy the requirements of this subsection. This subsection shall not apply when the rezoning constitutes a comprehensive rezoning.
E. 
Posting of property. If the proposed amendment involves a change to the Zoning District Map, notice of the public hearing shall be conspicuously posted by the Borough at points deemed sufficient by the Borough along the tract to notify potentially interested citizens at least seven days prior to the date of the public hearing.
F. 
Public notice and public hearing. Before voting on enactment of an amendment, Borough Council shall hold a public hearing thereon, pursuant to public notice, as defined herein. The public notice shall include a brief summary of the proposed amendment and reference to the place where copies of the same may be examined.
G. 
Readvertisement. If, after any public hearing is held upon a proposed amendment, the amendment is substantially changed or revised to include land not previously affected by the amendment, Borough Council shall hold another public hearing, pursuant to public notice, as defined herein, before proceeding to vote on the amendment.
H. 
Notice of enactment. Proposed amendments shall not be enacted unless Borough Council gives notice of the proposed enactment, including the time and place of the meeting at which passage will be considered and a reference to the place in the Borough where copies of the proposed amendment may be examined without charge or obtained for a charge not greater than the cost thereof. Borough Council shall publish the proposed amendment once in a newspaper of general circulation in the Borough not more than 60 days nor less than seven days prior to passage. Publication of the proposed amendment shall include either the full text thereof or the title and brief summary prepared by the Borough Solicitor setting forth the provisions in reasonable detail. If the full text is not included:
(1) 
A copy thereof shall be provided to the newspaper at the time the public notice is published; and
(2) 
An attested copy of the proposed ordinance shall be filed in the County Law Library.
I. 
Mediation option. Borough Council may offer the mediation option as an aid in completing the proceedings authorized by this § 245-99. The Borough and the mediating parties shall meet the stipulations and follow the procedures set forth in § 245-93L of this chapter.
J. 
Within 30 days after enactment, a copy of the amendment to this chapter shall be forwarded to the Beaver County Planning Commission.
A. 
A landowner who desires to challenge on substantive grounds the validity of this chapter or the Zoning Map or any provision thereof, which prohibits or restricts the use or development of land in which he has an interest, may submit a curative amendment to the Borough Council with a written request that his challenge and proposed amendment be heard and decided as provided below:
(1) 
Where the landowner desires to challenge the validity of this chapter, his application to the Borough Council, in addition to the requirements of the written request hereof, shall include the plans and explanatory materials describing the use or development proposed by the landowner in lieu of the use or development permitted by the challenged ordinance or map. Such plans or other materials shall not be required to meet the standards prescribed for preliminary, tentative or final approval or for the issuance of a permit, so long as they provide reasonable notice of the proposed use or development and a sufficient basis for evaluating the challenged ordinance or map in light thereof. Also, an application fee, if prescribed by the Borough Council, shall be submitted with the application. Nothing herein contained shall preclude the landowner from first seeking a final approval before submitting his challenge.
(2) 
The request by the landowner shall be accompanied by an amendment or amendments to this chapter to cure the alleged defects therein. Such amendment or amendments shall be proposed by the landowner.
(3) 
The curative amendment and challenge shall be referred to the Borough Planning Commission and the Beaver County Planning Commission at least 30 days prior to the public hearing on the proposed curative amendment to provide both planning agencies an opportunity to submit their recommendations.
B. 
Public hearing procedures.
(1) 
The Borough Council shall commence its hearing within 60 days after the request is filed, unless the landowner requests or consents to an extension of time.
(2) 
Public notice of the hearing shall include notice that the validity of this chapter or the Zoning Map is in question and shall give the place where and the times when a copy of the request, including any plans, explanatory material or proposed amendments, may be examined without charge or obtained for a charge not greater than the cost thereof. The Borough Council shall publish the proposed curative amendment once in one newspaper of general circulation in the Borough not more than 60 days nor less than seven days prior to the hearing. Publication of the proposed curative amendment shall include either the full text thereof or the title and a brief summary, prepared by the Borough Solicitor and setting forth all the provisions in reasonable detail. If the full text is not included:
(a) 
A copy thereof shall be supplied to a newspaper of general circulation in the Borough at the time the public notice is published.
(b) 
An attested copy of the proposed curative amendment shall be filed in the County Law Library or other county office designated by the County Commissioners.
(3) 
In the event that substantial changes are made to the curative amendment, before voting upon enactment, the Borough Council shall, at least 10 days prior to the enactment, readvertise, in one newspaper of general circulation in the Borough, a brief summary setting forth all the provisions in reasonable detail together with a summary of the changes.
(4) 
The Borough Solicitor shall represent and advise the Borough Council at the hearing or hearings.
(5) 
The Borough Council may retain an independent attorney to present the defense of the challenged chapter or map on its behalf and to present their witnesses on its behalf.
(6) 
In addition to the public notice requirements described in Subsection B(2) above, written notice shall be given to the applicant, the Zoning Officer and to any person who has made timely written request for the same. Written notices shall be delivered by the Borough through certified United States mail. In addition, written notice of said hearing shall be conspicuously posted on the affected tract of land at least one week prior to the hearing.
(7) 
The Borough Council may prescribe reasonable fees through resolution with respect to the curative amendment hearing. Fees for said hearings may include notice and advertising costs and necessary administrative overhead connected with the hearing. The costs, however, shall not include legal expenses of the Borough Council, expenses for engineering, architectural or other technical consultants or expert witness costs.
(8) 
The hearing or hearings shall be conducted by the Borough Council.
(9) 
The parties to the hearing shall be the Borough, any person affected by the application who has made timely appearance of record before the Borough Council, and any other person, including civic or community organizations permitted to appear by the Borough Council. The Borough Council shall have the power to require that all persons who wish to be considered parties enter appearances, in writing, on forms provided by the Borough Council for that purpose.
(10) 
The President or acting President of the Borough Council presiding shall have the 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.
(11) 
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.
(12) 
Formal rules of evidence shall not apply, but irrelevant, immaterial or unduly repetitious evidence may be excluded.
(13) 
The Borough Council shall keep a stenographic record of the proceedings. The appearance fee for the stenographer shall be shared equally by the applicant and Borough Council. The cost of the original transcript shall be paid by the Borough Council or shall be paid by the person applying for the curative amendment if requested by such a person, and, in either event, the cost of the 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.
(14) 
The Borough Council 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 the Borough 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 representatives unless all parties are given an opportunity to be present.
C. 
Based upon the testimony presented at the hearing or hearings, the Borough Council shall determine whether the challenged chapter or map is defective, as alleged by the landowner. The Borough Council shall render a written decision. When the application is contested or denied, each decision shall be accompanied by findings of fact and conclusions based thereon, together with the reasons thereof. Conclusions based on any 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.
D. 
If the Borough Council has determined that a validity challenge has merit, it may accept a landowner's curative amendment, with or without revision, or may adopt an alternative amendment which will cure the challenged defects. The Borough Council 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 the ordinance 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.
(5) 
The impact of the proposal on the preservation of agriculture and other land uses which are essential to public health and welfare.
E. 
The Borough Council shall render its decision within 45 days after the conclusion of the last hearing. If the Borough Council fails to act on the landowner's request within the forty-five-day period mentioned above, a denial of the request is deemed to have occurred on the 46th day after the close of the last hearing. The challenge shall also be deemed denied when:
(1) 
The Borough Council fails to commence the hearing within the allowed time limits.
(2) 
The Borough Council notifies the landowner that it will not adopt the curative amendment.
(3) 
The Borough Council adopts another curative amendment which is unacceptable to the landowner.
(4) 
The Borough Council fails to act on the request 45 days after the close of the last hearing on the request, unless the time is extended by mutual consent by the landowner and the Borough.
F. 
A copy of the final decision of the findings shall be delivered to the applicant personally or mailed to him no later than the day following its date. To all other persons who have filed their name and address with the Borough Council not later than the last day of the hearing, the Borough Council 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.
G. 
Within 30 days after a curative amendment, whether the landowner's amendment or a revised amendment proposed by the Borough Council, has been enacted, a copy of the amendment to this chapter or Map shall be forwarded to the Beaver County Planning Commission.
H. 
If the Borough 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 the entire chapter or Zoning Map, but only for those provisions which specifically relate to the landowner's curative amendment and challenge.
I. 
Where a curative amendment proposal is approved by the grant of a curative amendment application by the Borough Council or the court acts finally on appeal from a denial of a curative amendment proposal, and the proposal so approved requires a further application for subdivision or land development, the developer shall have two years from the date of such approval to file an application for preliminary or tentative approval subject to the Monaca Borough Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance,[1] as amended. Within the two-year period, no subsequent change or amendment in the zoning, subdivision or other governing ordinance or plan shall be applied in any manner which adversely affects the rights of the applicant as granted in the curative amendment. Upon the filing of the preliminary or tentative plan, the provisions of Section 508(4) of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, Act 247 (as amended), shall apply. Where the proposal appended to the curative amendment application is approved but does not require further application under the Monaca Borough Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance, as amended, the developer shall have one year within which to file for a building permit. Within the one-year period, no subsequent change or amendment in the zoning, subdivision or other governing ordinance or plan shall be applied in any manner which adversely affects the rights of the applicant as granted in the curative amendment. During these protected periods, the court shall retain or assume jurisdiction for the purpose of awarding such supplemental relief as may be necessary.
[1]
Editor's Note: See Ch. 210, Subdivision and Land Development.
If the Borough Council determines that this chapter, the Zoning Map[1] or portion thereof is substantially invalid, it shall take the following action:
A. 
The Borough Council shall declare by formal action this chapter, the Zoning Map or portion thereof substantially invalid and propose to prepare a curative amendment to overcome such invalidity. Within 30 days following such declaration and proposal, the Borough Council shall:
(1) 
By resolution, make specific findings setting forth the declared invalidity of this chapter, Map or portion thereof which may include:
(a) 
References to specific uses which are either not permitted or not permitted in sufficient quantity.
(b) 
Reference to a class or use or uses which requires revision.
(c) 
Reference to the entire ordinance which requires revision.
(2) 
Begin to prepare and consider a curative amendment to this chapter to correct the declared invalidity.
B. 
Within 180 days from the date of the declaration and proposal, the Borough shall enact a curative amendment to validate or reaffirm the validity of its chapter pursuant to the provision required by § 245-99 in order to cure the declared invalidity of this chapter.
C. 
Upon the initiation of the procedures as set forth in this section, the Borough Council shall not be required to entertain or consider any landowner's curative amendment filed under § 245-100, nor shall the Zoning Hearing Board be required to give a report as requested under § 245-95C. Upon completion of the procedures as set forth in Subsections A and B of this section, no right to a cure pursuant to the provisions of § 245-100 or § 245-95C shall, from the date of declaration and proposal, accrue to any landowner on the basis of the substantive invalidity of the unamended chapter for which there has been a curative amendment pursuant to this section.
D. 
The Borough, if it has utilized the procedures as set forth in Subsections A and B of this section, may not utilize said procedure for a thirty-six-month period following the date of the enactment of a curative amendment, or reaffirmation of the validity of this chapter pursuant to Subsection B of this section; provided, however, that if after the date of declaration and proposal there is a substantially new duty or obligation imposed upon the Borough by virtue of a change in the statute or by virtue of a Pennsylvania Appellate Court decision, the Borough may utilize the provisions of this section to prepare a curative amendment to its ordinance to fulfill said duty or obligation.
[1]
Editor's Note: The Zoning Map is on file in the Borough offices.