The Zoning Officer shall be appointed by the Board of Supervisors
and shall meet qualifications established by the municipality and
shall be able to demonstrate, to the satisfaction of the municipality,
a working knowledge of municipal zoning regulations. The Zoning Officer
shall serve for such period as the governing body shall direct and
shall receive such compensation as the governing body shall fix. The
Board of Supervisors may designate other Township staffpersons to
serve as Assistant Zoning Officer(s) who shall also meet qualifications
established by the municipality and shall be able to demonstrate,
to the satisfaction of the municipality, a working knowledge of municipal
zoning. The Assistant Zoning Officer(s) shall serve for such period
as the governing body shall direct and shall receive such compensation
as the governing body shall fix. The Assistant Zoning Officer(s) may
serve with the same authority and duties as a Zoning Officer. Neither
a Zoning Officer nor any Assistant Zoning Officer shall hold any elected
office within the Township, but may hold other appointed offices.
The duties and powers of the Zoning Officer shall include the
following:
A.
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 this chapter;
B.
To receive and examine all applications for zoning permits and
shall issue or deny a zoning permit in accordance with the provisions
of this chapter.
C.
To receive applications for conditional use, use by special
exception or requests for a variance and forward these applications
to the Township Planning Commission, the Board of Supervisors and/or
the Zoning Hearing Board for action thereon in accordance with all
applicable provisions of this chapter.
D.
Shall have the right at any reasonable hour and after giving
appropriate notice to make an inspection of buildings or land necessary
for the proper execution of his/her duties and shall issue a written
notice of violation to any person, firm or corporation violating any
provision of this chapter;
E.
Maintain records, whether issued or denied, of all applications,
including permits, certificates of compliance and nonconformity, written
decisions, variances, enforcement orders, reports and inspections;
F.
Maintain map(s) showing current zoning classifications of all
land within the Township;
G.
At the request of the governing body, Planning Commission or
Zoning Hearing Board, shall review subdivision and land development
applications for compliance with this chapter;
H.
Receive and act upon any written complaint alleging a zoning
violation:
(1)
A record of all written complaints and action taken shall be
kept and maintained by the Zoning Officer;
(2)
A Zoning Officer shall not act upon any oral or unsigned complaint
unless he/she deems it advisable or necessary to maintain the health,
safety and/or welfare of the citizens of the Township;
(3)
Complaints involving intrusion into required yard setbacks shall
be accompanied by verifiable proof of the alleged violation;
(4)
Complaints not involving a violation of a Township ordinance
or the Code shall not be acted upon by a Zoning Officer but shall
be deemed a private matter. The determination of the course of action
on any complaint shall be made by the Zoning Officer after proper
investigation.
I.
At the request of the governing body, the Planning Commission
or the Zoning Hearing Board, present facts, records, reports and/or
testimony;
J.
Shall issue certificates of compliance, after a personal on-site
inspection, to verify that the work is in conformity with all provisions
of the zoning permit;
K.
Issue written stop and cease-and-desist orders, and issue written
directive(s) for the correction of violations found;
L.
Institute, in the name of the Township, any appropriate action
and/or enforcement proceedings to insure full compliance with this
chapter, as amended from time to time;
M.
Following refusal to issue a zoning permit, the Zoning Officer
shall receive applications for interpretations, appeals and variances
and forward these applications to the Zoning Hearing Board for action
thereon;
N.
Revoke any order or permit issued under a mistake of fact, contrary
to the law or a Township ordinance or as a result of false and/or
fraudulent information upon which the Zoning Officer or Zoning Hearing
Board relied upon in issuing said order or permit; and
O.
Serve such other functions as provided in this chapter.
If the Zoning Officer mistakenly issues a permit under this
chapter, the Township shall not be liable for any later lawful withdrawal
of such permit.
The Zoning Officer shall issue a notice of violation to any
landowner, person or entity that shall commit or who shall permit
any of the following actions to be committed in violation of this
chapter:
A.
Failure to secure a zoning permit prior to a change in use of
land or structure;
B.
Failure to secure a zoning permit prior to the erection, construction,
demolition and/or modification of any structure or portion thereof;
C.
Failure to secure a zoning permit prior to the excavation of
land to prepare for the erection, modification, construction and/or
alteration of any structure or portion thereof;
D.
Placement of false statements on, or omitting relevant information
from, an application for a zoning permit;
E.
Undertaking an action in a manner which does not comply with
a zoning permit; and/or
F.
Violation of any condition imposed by a decision of the Zoning
Hearing Board or the Board of Supervisors.
[Amended 3-10-2016 by Ord. No. 206]
A.
General. Enforcement of this Zoning Ordinance shall be in accordance
with the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code (MPC).[1] If it appears that a violation of the Zoning Ordinance
has occurred, the Zoning Officer shall initiate enforcement proceedings
by sending an enforcement notice as provided for in the MPC and notify,
in writing, the governing body. Prior to sending an official enforcement
notice, the Zoning Officer may, at his/her discretion, informally
request compliance.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 10101 et seq.
B.
Formal notice. An official enforcement notice shall be sent
via certified mail, return receipt requested and postage prepaid,
to the owner of record of the parcel on which the alleged violation
has occurred, to the address the owner of record has provided to the
Township or, if none given, to the most-recent address maintained
with the Monroe County Tax Assessment Office or Tax Claim Bureau for
real estate tax notifications, to any person who has filed a written
request to receive enforcement notices regarding the parcel, and to
any other person requested in writing by the owner of record. Formal
notice may also be served by personal delivery.
C.
Notice requirements. An enforcement notice shall state at least
the following:
(1)
The name of the owner of record and any other person against
whom the municipality intends to take action;
(2)
The location of the property in violation;
(3)
The specific violation with a description of the requirements
which have not been met, citing in each instance the applicable provisions
of the ordinance;
(4)
The date before which the steps for compliance must be commenced
and the date before which the steps must be completed;
(5)
That the recipient of the notice has the right to appeal to
the Zoning Hearing Board within 20 days of receipt of the notice of
violation; and
(6)
That failure to comply with the notice within the time specified,
unless extended by appeal to the Zoning Hearing Board, constitutes
a violation.
D.
Presenting party. In any appeal of an enforcement notice to
the Zoning Hearing Board, the municipality shall have the responsibility
of presenting its evidence first.
E.
Filing fees. Any filing fee paid by a party to appeal an enforcement
notice to the Zoning Hearing Board shall be returned to the appealing
party by the Township if the Zoning Hearing Board, or any court in
a subsequent appeal, rules in the appealing party's favor.
F.
Causes of action. The enforcement provisions of this section
are not in lieu of, and are not intended to limit in any way, the
Township's causes of action under Section 617 of the MPC and authority
to institute any appropriate action or proceeding at law or in equity
to enforce, prevent, restrain, correct or abate zoning violation(s)
or to require the removal or termination of the unlawful use of the
structure, building, sign, landscaping, land or other activity in
violation of the provisions of this chapter. Further, the enforcement
provisions, and the Township's causes of action under Section 617
of the MPC are in addition to, and not exclusive to, any other remedies
available to the Township as a result of violation of the Zoning Ordinance.
A.
Any person, partnership or corporation who or which has violated
or permitted the violation of the provisions of this chapter shall,
upon being found liable therefor in a civil enforcement proceeding
commenced by the Township, pay a judgment of not more than $500, plus
all court costs, including reasonable attorney's fees incurred by
the Township as a result thereof.
B.
Magisterial district judge. No judgment shall commence or be
imposed, levied or payable until the date of the determination of
a violation by the magisterial district judge. If the defendant neither
pays nor timely appeals the judgment, the Township may enforce the
judgment pursuant to the applicable rules of civil procedure.
C.
Separate violations. Each day that a violation continues shall
constitute a separate violation, unless the magisterial district judge
determining that there has been a violation further determines that
there was a good faith basis for the person, partnership or corporation
violating this chapter to have believed that there was no such violation,
in which event there shall be deemed to have been only one violation
until the fifth day following the date of determination of a violation
by the magisterial district judge, and thereafter each day that a
violation continues shall constitute a separate violation.
D.
Fees. All judgments, costs and reasonable attorney's fees collected
for the violation of this chapter, as amended from time to time, shall
be paid over to the Township.
E.
Stay of proceedings. The court of common pleas, upon petition,
may grant an order of stay, upon cause shown, tolling the per diem
fine pending a final adjudication of the violation and judgment.
The provisions for "Appeals to Court," as stated in the MPC,
as amended from time to time, shall apply.
