[Ord. 687, 10/6/1986, § 1202]
Whenever the public necessity, convenience, general good or
good zoning practice require, the Town Council by ordinance may, after
receipt of recommendation thereon from the Planning Commission and
subject to procedures provided by law, amend, supplement, change or
repeal the regulations, district boundaries or classifications of
property, now or hereafter established by this Chapter or amendments
thereof.
[Ord. 687, 10/6/1986, § 1202]
Requests for changes in the Zoning Ordinance may be made by
owners of land in the Town or by their authorized agents.
A.
Applications. All applications for amendments shall be made, in writing,
by the owner or authorized agent, and shall be filed with the Zoning
Officer on forms prescribed by him. Applications shall contain all
information necessary to assure the fullest practicable presentation
of facts for the record and shall contain the following:
(1)
The applicant's name and address and that of his representative
and the interest of every person represented in the application.
(2)
The verification by at least one of the owners of property to
be reclassified, if this be the nature of the request, attesting to
the truth and correctness of facts and information presented with
the application.
(3)
A plan showing the extent of the area to be rezoned, if this
be the nature of the request and showing the streets bounding and
intersecting the area, the use and zone classification of abutting
districts and the names and addresses of property owners of land within
200 feet of the area.
(4)
A statement of the circumstances in the proposed district and
the abutting districts and any other factors on which the applicant
relies as reasons for supporting the proposed rezoning.
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The Zoning Officer shall check the application to determine whether it conforms with the requirements listed above, and, if satisfactory, shall immediately submit it to the Planning Commission who shall follow the procedures enumerated in § 27-1205.
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[Ord. 687, 10/6/1986, § 1203]
[Ord. 687, 10/6/1986, § 1204]
The Town Council shall follow the procedures below for amending
this Chapter:
A.
Preparation of Amendments. The Council may request the Planning Commission to prepare amendments to this Chapter using the same procedure as set forth in the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code (Act 247 as amended) for the preparation of the Zoning Chapter itself, as described in § 27-1205, below.
B.
Referral to the Planning Commission. In the case of an amendment
other than that prepared by the Planning Commission, the Town Council
shall submit each such amendment to the Planning Commission at least
30 days prior to the public hearing on such proposed amendment to
provide the Planning Commission an opportunity to submit recommendations.
However, the Council shall not be bound by the recommendations of
the Planning Commission.
C.
Public Hearing. After receiving requests for amending the Zoning Chapter and after receiving the recommendations of the Planning Commission, the Council shall hold a public hearing thereon and cause notice thereof to be given in the manner prescribed in § 27-1208, below.
D.
Revision of Amendment. If, after the public hearing held upon the amendment, the proposed amendment is revised or further revised to include land previously not affected by it, the Town Council shall hold another public hearing in the manner prescribed in § 27-1208, below before proceeding to vote on the amendment.
E.
Voting on Amendment. The Town Council shall consider the recommendations
of the Planning Commission and testimony presented at the public hearing
and then vote on the proposed amendment to the text or map of the
Zoning Chapter.
F.
Notice of Decision. The applicant and others so requesting shall
receive notice of the decision of the Town Council through the Zoning
Officer.
[Ord. 687, 10/6/1986, § 1205]
The Planning Commission shall follow the procedures set forth
below for amending this Chapter:
A.
Preparation of Amendments. At the request of the Council or on its
own initiative the Planning Commission:
(1)
Shall prepare the text and map of the proposed zoning amendments
as well as make all necessary studies and surveys preliminary thereto.
(2)
May hold a public hearing pursuant to public notice and hold
additional public hearings upon such notice as it shall determine
to be advisable.
(3)
Shall present to the Town Council the proposed zoning amendment,
together with recommendations and explanatory materials, upon the
completion of its work.
B.
Review Amendments. In the case of an amendment other than that prepared
by the Planning Commission, the Commission shall review each such
amendment submitted to it by the Town Council. It shall consider whether
or not such proposed amendment would be, in the view of the Commission,
consistent with and desirable in the furtherance of the Comprehensive
Plan upon which the Zoning Chapter is based. The Commission shall
submit its recommendations on the amendment to the Council prior to
the public hearing scheduled by the Town Council.
C.
Referral to the County Planning Commission. The Town Planning Commission
shall also be responsible for submitting the proposed amendment to
the Columbia County Planning Commission for its review and recommendations
30 days prior to the public hearing on the amendment by the Town Council.
[Ord. 687, 10/6/1986, § 1206]
1.
A landowner who desires 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 submit a curative amendment to the Town Council with a written request that his challenge and proposed amendment be heard and decided as provided for in § 27-1103.
2.
The Council shall commence a public hearing thereon within 60 days of the request as provided in § 27-1103.
3.
The curative amendment shall be referred to the Planning Commission as provided for in § 27-1204(B), above and notice of the public hearing thereon shall be given as provided for in §§ 27-1204 and 27-1208. The public hearing shall be conducted in accordance with §§ 27-1002(4), (5), (6), (7) and (8) through (8), except that all references therein to the Zoning Hearing Board shall, for the purpose of curative amendments, be referenced to the Council.
[Ord. 687, 10/6/1986, § 1207]
1.
The Town Council, by formal action, may declare this Chapter or portions
thereof substantially invalid and propose to prepare a curative amendment
to overcome such invalidity. Within 30 days following such declaration
and proposal the Council shall:
2.
Within 180 days from the date of the declaration and proposal, the Council shall enact a curative amendment to, or reaffirm the validity of, this Chapter pursuant to the provisions required by § 27-1204, to cure the declared invalidity of this Chapter.
3.
Upon the initiation of the procedures, as set forth in subsection (1), above, the Council shall not be required to entertain or consider any landowner's curative amendment filed under § 27-1206, nor shall the Zoning Hearing Board be required to give a report requested under §§ 27-1003(C) or 27-1004 subsequent to the declaration and proposal based upon the grounds identical to or substantially similar to those specified in the resolution required by subsection (1)(A). Upon completion of the procedures as set forth in subsections (1) and (2), above, no rights to a cure pursuant to the provisions of §§ 27-1206 and 27-1103 shall, from the date of the declaration and proposal, accrue to any landowner on the basis of the substantive invalidity of the unamended Zoning Chapter for which there has been a curative amendment pursuant to this Section.
4.
The Town Council, having utilized the procedures as set forth in subsections (1) and (2), above, may not again utilize said procedure for 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 (2); provided, however, if after the date of declaration and proposal there is a substantially new duty or obligation imposed upon the Town by virtue of a change in statute or by virtue of a Pennsylvania Appellate Court decision, the Council may utilize the provisions of this Section to prepare a curative amendment to this Chapter to fulfill said duty or obligation.
[Ord. 687, 10/6/1986, § 1208; as amended by Ord.
713, 7/10/1989, § 2]
Before voting on the enactment of an amendment the Town Council
shall hold a public hearing thereon pursuant to public notice as follows:
A.
Public notices of proposed zoning ordinances and amendments shall
include either the full text thereof or a brief summary setting forth
the principal provisions in reasonable detail and a reference to a
place within the Town where copies of the proposed ordinance or amendment
may be examined, in addition to the time and place of hearing.
B.
A public notice of a proposed zoning ordinance or amendment shall
be published once each week for two successive weeks, the first notice
to appear not more than 30 days and the second notice not less than
seven days before the date fixed for the hearing, in a newspaper of
general circulation in the Town. In addition, if the proposed amendment
involves a zoning map change, notice of said public hearing shall
be conspicuously posted along the perimeter of the tract to be rezoned
by an authorized employee of the Town at sufficient points numbering
at least one per block frontage along the perimeter of said tract,
at least one week prior to the date fixed for the hearing.
[Ord. 687, 10/6/1986, § 1209]
After enactment, if the advertisement of a zoning ordinance
or amendment is required by other laws respecting the advertisement
of ordinances, such advertisement shall consist solely of a reference
to the place or places within the Town where copies of such ordinance
or amendment shall be obtainable for a charge not greater than the
cost thereof and available for examination without charge. This Chapter
and amendments may be incorporated into official ordinance books by
reference with the same force and effect as if duly recorded therein.
