The Director of the Department of Code Enforcement shall also serve as Zoning Officer for the Township and shall administer this chapter. The Zoning Officer shall meet qualifications established by the Board of Commissioners and shall be able to demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Board of Commissioners a working knowledge of municipal zoning. The Zoning Officer shall administer this chapter in accordance with its literal terms and shall not have the power to permit any construction or any use or change of use which does not conform to the provisions of this chapter. The Zoning Officer is hereby authorized to give the enforcement notices required under § 350-252 and to institute civil enforcement proceedings under § 350-253 in order to enforce the provisions of this chapter.
A.
It shall be unlawful for any person to commence work for the erection,
alteration, addition, repair, roofing, siding, removal or demolition
of any building or structure until a building permit has been duly
issued therefor, certifying that the erection, alteration, addition,
repair, roofing, siding, removal or demolition complies with the provisions
of this chapter.
B.
It shall be unlawful for any person to commence any new or change
in use or occupancy of a property, building or structure, except for
a new occupancy of a single-family dwelling unit in any zoning district
providing for residential uses, until a certificate of occupancy permit
has been duly issued by the Department of Code Enforcement.
C.
It shall be unlawful for any person or other entity to operate, change
the use, commence any new use or occupancy of a property, building
or structure, except for a new occupancy of a single-family dwelling
unit in any zoning district providing for residential uses, until
a zoning use certificate has been duly issued by the Department of
Code Enforcement, certifying that the proposed use is in compliance
with the provisions of this chapter. Furthermore, it shall be unlawful
for any person to operate, use or occupy any property, building or
structure in any zoning district providing for residential uses for
use for a home occupation or provision of day care without obtaining
an annual zoning use certificate.
Applications for permits shall be made in writing to the Zoning
Officer on such forms as may be furnished by the Township. Such application
and accompanying plot plans, prepared by a registered engineer or
land surveyor, shall contain all the information necessary to enable
the Zoning Officer to determine whether the proposed construction,
alteration or use complies with the provisions of this chapter.
Permits shall be granted or refused within 30 days after the
date of application. Failure of the Building Inspector to act within
that period shall be deemed a refusal to approve the permit. No building
permit shall be issued until the Zoning Officer has certified that
the proposed building, alteration or use complies with all of the
provisions of this chapter. Upon completion of the erection or alteration
of any building or portion thereof authorized by any permit, and prior
to occupancy or use, the holder of such permit shall notify the Zoning
Officer of such completion. No permit shall be considered complete
or permanently effective until the Building Inspector has certified
that the work has been inspected and approved as being in conformity
with the permit and the provisions of this chapter and all other applicable
ordinances.
The Zoning Officer shall give notice in writing to the applicant
and the Board of Commissioners of the refusal of any permit and the
reasons therefor, and shall advise the applicant of his right to appeal
to the Zoning Hearing Board. The Zoning Officer shall give notice
in writing of the granting of any permit to the applicant, the Board
of Commissioners and all abutting property owners.
An appeal or an application for a special exception or variance
from the terms of this chapter may be filed with the Secretary of
the Zoning Hearing Board, shall be accompanied by a deposit to cover
the cost of advertising and notification, and shall set forth the
following facts:
A.
Name and address of the applicant.
B.
Name and address of the owner of the real estate to be affected by
the proposed exception or variance, and written authority from the
owner for the variance.
C.
A brief description and location of the real estate to be affected
by such proposed change.
D.
The present zoning classification of the real estate in question,
the improvements thereon, and the present use thereof.
E.
The section of this chapter under which the variance or exception
requested may be allowed, and reasons for which it should be granted.
F.
A reasonably accurate description of the present improvements and
the additions intended to be made under this application, indicating
the size of such proposed improvements, materials and general construction
thereof and, in addition thereto, attach a plot plan of the real estate
to be affected, indicating the location and size of the lot and the
size of improvements now erected and proposed to be erected thereon.
Petition to the Board of Township Commissioners requesting an
amendment, supplement, change, modification or repeal of the regulations
prescribed for or of the Zoning Map, signed by the owners of 50% or
more of the frontage in any district or part thereof, duly acknowledged,
may be filed with the Secretary of the Board of Township Commissioners.
The petition shall set forth the following facts:
It shall be the duty of the Secretary of the Zoning Hearing Board to issue the Zoning Hearing Board certificate after public hearings held in accordance with the provisions of §§ 350-222 to 35-228 of this chapter. The Zoning Hearing Board may cancel or revoke a Zoning Hearing Board certificate for any violation of this chapter or of conditions imposed.
[Amended 9-10-2018 by Ord. No. 1686]
Unless the Zoning Hearing Board stipulates otherwise in its
decisions and orders, all decisions on appeals for variances and special
exceptions under this chapter shall be effective for a period of nine
months from the date of the Zoning Hearing Board's decision. The applicant
must obtain a permit or, if the project involves a land development
and/or subdivision, file a land development and/or subdivision application
within the nine-month time period, or the decision granting the variance
or special exception shall expire. All certificates presently issued
shall expire after nine months from date of this chapter.
A landowner may secure assurance that any provision of this
chapter or the Zoning Map adopted under this chapter under which the
landowner proposes to build is free from challenge, and the landowner
may advance the date from which time for any challenge to the provision
of this chapter or Zoning Map will run under Section 914.1 of the
Municipalities Planning Code[1] by the following procedure:
A.
The landowner may submit plans and other materials describing his
proposed use or development to the Zoning Officer for a preliminary
opinion as to its compliance with the applicable provisions of this
chapter and the Zoning Map. Such plans and other materials shall not
be required to meet the standards prescribed for preliminary, tentative
or final approval under the provisions of the Subdivision and Land
Development Ordinance or for the issuance of a building permit, so
long as such plans provide reasonable notice of the proposed use or
development and a sufficient basis, in the judgment of the Zoning
Officer, for the Zoning Officer to render an opinion as to compliance
with this chapter or the Zoning Map of the proposed building or development.
B.
If the Zoning Officer's preliminary opinion is that the use or development
complies with this chapter and the Zoning Map, the Zoning Officer
shall give written notice of such compliance to the landowner and
to the Board of Commissioners and shall cause such notice to be published
once each week for two successive weeks in a newspaper of general
circulation in the Township. Such notice shall include a general description
of the proposed use or development and its location by street address
or, if inapplicable, by any other readily identifiable manner, and
the place and times where the plans and other materials may be examined
by the public. The thirty-day time limitation for any person aggrieved
by an approval of the proposed building or development, as set forth
in Section 914.1 of the Municipalities Planning Code, to commence
a proceeding before the Zoning Hearing Board shall run from the time
when the second notice thereof has been published.
C.
The landowner shall not be relieved of the obligation to comply with
the requirements of this chapter, the Subdivision and Land Development
Ordinance or the Building Code, or other applicable ordinances by
virtue of the preliminary opinion rendered by the Zoning Officer.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 10914.1.
