Whenever the public necessity, convenience or
general welfare indicate, the governing body may, by ordinance in
accordance with applicable laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,
amend, supplement or change the regulations, restrictions, boundaries
or classifications of buildings, structures and land, as the same
are established by this chapter or may hereafter be made a part thereof.
Applications or petitions for any change or
amendments to existing zoning districts shall be made to the office
of the Planning Commission and shall be accompanied with a fee as
determined by the governing body payable to Patterson Township and
shall be deposited in the general fund. This fee is for the purpose
of defraying the costs of preparing the necessary plats, maps, data,
legislation and notices and all official publications required by
the Township and shall not be refundable even though the application
is disapproved by the governing body.
The Board of Township Commissioners may from
time to time on its own motion or petition, after public notice and
hearing, amend the regulations and districts herein established, but
no amendment shall become effective unless the same shall have first
been submitted to the Planning Commission for approval, and said Commission
shall have been allowed a reasonable time for consideration and report,
and no such amendment which has been disapproved by said Commission
shall take effect unless subsequently passed by a two-thirds vote
of the governing body.
A.
A landowner who desires to challenge on substantive
grounds the validity of an ordinance or 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 Township
Commissioners with a written request that his challenge and proposed
amendment be heard and decided as provided in Section 609.1 of Act
247 of 1968.[2] The Township Commissioners shall commence a hearing thereon within 60 days of the request. 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. Public notice of the hearing the curative amendment shall be given as provided in § 190-95. The Township Commissioners shall conduct the public hearing in accordance with § 190-90 of Article XX, and all references therein to the Zoning Hearing Board, for purposes of this section, shall be references to the Township Commissioners.
[2]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 10609.1.
B.
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 chapter but
only for those provisions which specifically relate to the landowner's
curative amendment and challenge.
C.
If the Township Commissioners determines that a validity
challenge has merit, the Township Commissioners 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 Commissioners
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 the Zoning Map;
(3)
The suitability of the site for the intensity of the
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.
