[Ord. 1989-5, 11/8/1989; as amended by Ord. 2004-5, 7/15/2004,
§ 1]
1. There is hereby created for the Township a Zoning Hearing Board in
accordance with the provisions of Article IX of the Pennsylvania Municipalities
Planning Code, 53 P.S. § 10901 et seq.
2. The membership of the Board shall consist of five residents of the
Township appointed by resolution by the Board of Supervisors. The
terms of office of the Kingston Township Zoning Hearing Board, which
is composed of five members, shall be for five years and shall be
so fixed that the term of office of one member of the Zoning Hearing
Board shall expire each year. The Board shall notify promptly the
Board of Supervisors of any vacancy(ies) that may occur in the membership
of the Board. Appointments to fill vacancy shall be only for the unexpired
portion of the term. Members of the Board shall hold no other office
in the Township.
[Amended by Ord. 2010-3, 4/14/2010]
3. Any Board member may be removed for malfeasance, misfeasance or nonfeasance
in office or for other just cause by a majority vote of the Board
of Supervisors which appointed the member, taken after the member
has received 15 days' advance notice of the intent to take such
a vote. A hearing shall be held in connection with the vote if the
member shall request it in writing.
4. The Board shall elect from its own membership its officers, who shall
serve annual terms as such and may succeed themselves. For the conduct
of any hearing and the taking of any action a quorum shall be not
less than a majority of all the members of the Board, but the Board
may appoint a hearing officer from its own membership to conduct any
hearing on its behalf and the parties may waive further action by
the Board as provided in this chapter.
5. The Board may make, alter and rescind rules and forms for its procedure,
consistent with ordinances of the Township and laws of the Commonwealth.
The Board shall keep full public records of its business, which records
shall be the property of the Township and shall submit a report of
its activities to the Board of Supervisors as requested by the Board
of Supervisors.
6. Within the limits of funds appropriated by the Board of Supervisors,
the Board may employ or contract for secretaries, clerks, legal counsel,
consultants and other technical and clerical services. Members of
the Board may receive compensation for the performance of their duties,
as may be fixed by the Board of Supervisors, but in no case shall
it exceed the rate of compensation authorized to be paid to the members
of the Board of Supervisors.
[Ord. 1989-5, 11/8/1989]
Appeals raising the substantive validity of any land use ordinance
(except those to be brought before the Board of Supervisors pursuant
to the Pennsylvania Municipalities Code, procedural questions or alleged
defects in the process of enactment or adoption of a land use ordinance;
or from the determination of the zoning officer, including, but not
limited to, the granting or denial of any permit, or failure to act
on the application therefor, the issuance of any cease and desist
order or the registration or refusal to register any nonconforming
use, structure or lot; from a determination by the Township engineer
or the zoning officer with reference to the administration of any
floodplain or flood hazard ordinance or such provisions within a land
use ordinance; from the determination of any officer or agency charged
with the administration of any transfers of development rights or
performance density provisions of this chapter; from the determination
of the zoning officer or Township engineer in the administration of
any land use ordinance or provision thereof with reference to sedimentation
and erosion control and stormwater management insofar as the same
relate to development not involving subdivision and land development
or planned residential development may be filed with the Zoning Hearing
Board in writing by the landowner affected, any officer or agency
of the Township, or any person aggrieved. Requests for a variance
and for special exception may be filed with the Board by any landowner
or any tenant with the permission of such landowner.
[Ord. 1989-5, 11/8/1989]
The Zoning Hearing Board shall conduct hearings and made decisions
in accordance with the following requirements:
1. Public notice shall be given and written notice shall be given to
the applicant, the zoning officer and to any person who has made timely
request for the same. Written notices shall be given at such time
and in such manner as shall be prescribed by rules of the Board. In
addition to the written notice provided herein, written notice of
said hearing shall be conspicuously posted on the affected tract of
land at least one week prior to the hearings.
2. The hearing shall be held within 60 days from the date of the applicant's
request, unless the applicant has agreed in writing to an extension
of time.
3. The hearings shall be conducted by the Board or the Board may appoint
any member as a hearing officer. The decision, or, where no decision
is called for, the findings shall be made by the Board, however, the
appellant or the applicant, as the case may be, in addition to the
Township, may, prior to the decision of the hearing, waive decision
or findings by the Board and accept the decision or findings of the
hearing officer as final.
4. The parties to the hearing shall be the Township, any person affected
by the application who has made timely appearance of record before
the Board, and any other person including civic or community organizations
permitted to appear by the Board. The Board shall have power to require
that all persons who wish to be considered parties enter appearances
in writing on forms provided by the Board for that purpose.
5. The chairman or acting chairman of the Board or the hearing officer
presiding shall have 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.
6. 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.
7. Formal rules of evidence shall not apply, but irrelevant, immaterial,
or unduly repetitious evidence may be excluded.
8. The Board or the hearing officer, as the case may be, shall keep
a stenographic record of the proceedings. The appearance fee for a
stenographer shall be shared equally by the applicant and the Board.
The cost of the original transcript shall be paid by the Board if
the transcript is ordered by the Board or hearing officer or shall
be paid by the person appealing from the decision of the Board if
such appeal is made, and in either event the cost of 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.
9. The Board or the hearing officer 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 their
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 representative
unless all parties are given an opportunity to be present.
10. The Board or the hearing officer, as the case may be, shall render a written decision or, when no decision is called for, make written findings on the application within 45 days after the last hearing before the Board or hearing officer. Where the application is contested or denied, each decision shall be accompanied by findings of fact and conclusions based thereon together with the reasons therefor. Conclusions based on any provisions of this chapter or of any law, 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. If the hearing is conducted by a hearing officer, and there has been no stipulation that his decision or findings are final, the Board shall make his report and recommendations available to the parties within 45 days and the parties shall be entitled to make written representations thereon to the Board prior to final decision or entry of findings, and the Board's decision shall be entered no later than 30 days after the report of the hearing officer. Where the Board fails to render the decision within the period required by this subsection, or fails to hold the required hearing within 60 days from the date of the applicant's request for a hearing, the decision shall be deemed to have been rendered in favor of the applicant unless the applicant has agreed in writing or on the record to an extension of time. When a decision has been rendered in favor of the applicant because of the failure of the Board to meet or render a decision as hereinabove provided, the Board shall give public notice of the said decision within 10 days from the last day it could have met to render a decision in the same manner as provided in Subsection
1 of this section. If the Board shall fail to provide such notice, the applicant may do so. Nothing in this subsection shall prejudice the right of any party opposing the application to appeal the decision to a court of competent jurisdiction.
11. A copy of the final decision or, where no decision is called for,
of the findings shall be delivered to the applicant personally or
mailed to him not later than the day following its date. To all other
persons who have filed their name and address with the Board not later
than the last day of the hearing, the Board 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.
12. The Board of Supervisors shall establish, by resolution, fees with
respect to hearings before the Zoning Hearing Board.
[Ord. 6/11/1975A, Art. VII, § 5; as amended by
Ord. 86-5, 1/14/1987]
Any party aggrieved by any decision of the Zoning Hearing Board
may appeal to the Court of Common Pleas of Luzerne County, by petition
duly verified, setting forth that such decision is arbitrary, capricious,
an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with law, and
specifying the grounds on which he relies.
[Ord. 1989-5, 11/8/1989]
Where the Board of Supervisors, in this chapter, has stated
special exceptions to be granted or denied by the Zoning Hearing Board
pursuant to express standards and criteria, the Board shall hear and
decide requests for such special exceptions in accordance with such
standards and criteria. In granting a special exception, the Board
may attach such reasonable conditions and safeguards, in addition
to those expressed in this chapter, as it may deem necessary to implement
the purposes of this chapter and the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning
Code, 53 P.S. § 10101 et seq.
[Ord. 1989-5, 11/8/1989]
Where the Board of Supervisors, in this chapter, has stated
conditional uses to be granted or denied by the Board of Supervisors
pursuant to express standards and criteria, the Board of Supervisors
shall hold hearings on and decide requests for such conditional uses
in accordance with such standards and criteria. In granting a conditional
use, the Board of Supervisors may attach such reasonable conditions
and safeguards, in addition to those expressed in this chapter, as
it may deem necessary to implement the purposes of this chapter and
the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, 53 P.S. § 10101
et seq.