A.
A Zoning
Hearing Board, consisting of five members appointed by resolution
by the Borough Council, is established for the purposes of carrying
out the functions of a Zoning Hearing Board as provided by law. Members
of the Board shall be residents of the Borough and shall hold no other
office in the Borough. The terms of office shall be five years and
shall be so fixed that the term of office of one member shall expire
each year.
[Amended 4-14-2015 by Ord. No. 361]
B.
The Borough
Council may appoint by resolution at least one but no more than three
residents of the Borough to serve as alternate members of the Board.
An alternate shall be entitled to participate in all proceedings and
discussions of the Board to the same and full extent as provided by
law for Board members, including specifically the right to cast a
vote as a voting member during the proceedings when designated as
a voting alternate, and shall have all the powers and duties set forth
in this act and as otherwise provided by law. Alternates shall hold
no other office in the Borough, including membership on the Planning
Commission and Zoning Officer. Any alternate may participate in any
proceeding or discussion of the Board, but shall not be entitled to
vote as a member of the Board nor be compensated unless designated
as a voting alternate member. The term of office of an alternate member
shall be three years.
[Amended 4-14-2015 by Ord. No. 361]
C.
Appointments
to fill vacancies shall be only for the unexpired portion of the term.
D.
Any Board
member may be removed for malfeasance, misfeasance, or nonfeasance
in office or for other just cause by a majority vote of the Borough
Council 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.
A.
The Board shall elect a Chairman from its membership
annually. For the conduct of any hearing and the taking of any action,
the quorum shall be not less than a majority of all members of the
Board, but the Board may appoint a hearing officer from its membership
to conduct any hearing on its behalf, in accordance with the Pennsylvania
Municipalities Planning Code, as amended.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 10101 et seq.
B.
If, by reason of absence or disqualification of a
member, a quorum is not reached, the Chairman of the Board shall designate
from the officially appointed alternate members as many alternate
members of the Board to sit on the Board as may be needed to provide
a quorum. Any alternate member of the Board shall continue to serve
on the Board in all proceedings involving the matter or case for which
the alternate was initially appointed until the Board has made a final
determination of the matter or case. Designation of an alternate pursuant
to this section shall be made on a case-by-case basis in rotation
according to declining seniority among all alternates.
C.
The Board may make, alter and rescind rules and forms
for its procedure, consistent with ordinances of the Borough and laws
of the commonwealth. Within the limits of funds provided by the Borough
Council, the Board may employ or contract for secretaries, clerks,
legal counsel, consultants, and other technical and clerical services.
The Board shall keep full public records of its business, which records
shall be the property of the Borough, and shall submit a report of
its activities to the Borough Council as requested by the Borough
Council.
D.
Members of the Board may receive compensation for
the performance of their duties, as may be fixed by the Borough Council,
but in no case shall it exceed the rate of compensation authorized
to be paid to the members of the Borough Council. Alternate members
of the Board may receive compensation, as may be fixed by the Borough
Council, for the performance of their duties when designated as alternate
members, but in no case shall such compensation exceed the rate of
compensation authorized to be paid to members of the Borough Council.
Appeals under this section may be filed with
the Board in writing by the landowner affected, any officer or agency
of the Borough, or any person aggrieved. Requests for a variance and
for a special exception may be filed with the Board by any landowner
or any tenant with the permission of such landowner. The Zoning Hearing
Board shall have exclusive jurisdiction to hear and render final adjudication
in the following matters:
A.
Substantive challenges to the validity of any land
use ordinance, except those brought before the Borough Council pursuant
to the Municipalities Planning Code.
B.
Challenges to the validity of a land use ordinance
raising procedural questions or alleged defects in the process of
enactment or adoption which challenges shall be raised by an appeal
taken within 30 days after the effective date of said ordinance.
C.
Appeals 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.
D.
Appeals from a determination by a municipal 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.
E.
Applications for variances from the terms of this
chapter.
F.
Applications for special exceptions under this chapter.
H.
Appeals from the determination of the Zoning Officer
or Borough 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 relates to developments
not involving applications for subdivisions or land developments,
as defined by the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, as amended.
All action before the Board shall be initiated
by a written application for hearing which shall be filed with the
Zoning Officer. All applications shall be made on forms specified
by the Board, and no applications shall be accepted unless the same
shall be fully and legibly completed and unless all exhibits and supplemental
material required by the application shall be attached.
Time limitations shall be in accordance with
Section 914.1 of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 10914.1.
The Board shall meet to hear and consider such
matters which shall properly come before it. All such meetings shall
be open to the public.
A.
Notice. Public notice shall be given and written notice
shall be given to the applicant, the Zoning Officer, and to all persons
who shall own property adjoining or across a public street from the
property which shall be the subject of an application before the Board.
In addition to the notice provided herein, notice of said hearing
shall be conspicuously posted on the affected tract of land at least
one week prior to the hearing.
B.
The Borough Council may prescribe reasonable fees
with respect to hearings before the Zoning Hearing Board. Fees for
said hearings may include compensation for the secretary and members
of the Zoning Hearing Board, notice and advertising costs and necessary
administrative overhead connected with the hearing. The costs, however,
shall not include legal expenses of the Zoning Hearing Board, expenses
for engineering, architectural or other technical consultants or expert
witness costs.
C.
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.
D.
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 municipality, may, prior to the decision of the
hearing, waive decisions or findings by the Board and accept the decision
or findings of the hearing officer as final. The Board shall render
a written decision or written findings on the application within 45
days after the last hearing or, if such hearing is continued, within
45 days after said continued hearing. If the Board does not make a
decision within 45 days after the hearing or continued hearing, it
shall be deemed that such Board has decided in favor of the person
or Borough official aggrieved or affected who is seeking relief, unless
the applicant has agreed in writing or on the record to an extension
of time.
E.
The parties to the hearing may be the Borough, 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 the 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.
F.
The Chairman or Acting Chairman shall have the 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 parties.
G.
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.
H.
Formal rules of evidence shall not apply, but irrelevant,
immaterial, or unduly repetitious evidence may be excluded.
I.
The Board or the hearing officer 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.
J.
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. "Board,"
as used herein, shall include the members of the Board as well as
any secretary, clerk, legal counsel, or consultant.
K.
The Board or 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 the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, this chapter, or other rule or regulation shall contain a reference to the provisions relied on and the reasons why the conclusions are deemed appropriate in the light of the facts found. Where the Board fails to render the decision within the period required 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 hereinafter provided, the Board shall give public notice of 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 A of this section. If the Board shall fail to provide such notice, the appellant may do so. Nothing in this section shall prejudice the right of any party opposing the application to appeal the decision to a court of competent jurisdiction.
L.
A copy of the final decision, or where no decision
is called for, the findings, shall be delivered to the applicant personally
or mailed to him not later than the day following the date of the
decision. 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.
M.
Appeals to the court. Any person aggrieved by any
decisions of the Board may, within 30 days after such decisions of
the Board, file a written appeal to the Court of Common Pleas of Bucks
County. Such appeals shall be made in accordance with the Pennsylvania
Municipalities Planning Code (Act 247, as amended).
A.
The Board shall hear requests for variances where
it is alleged that the provisions of this chapter inflict unnecessary
hardship on the applicant. The Board shall have the power to vary
or adapt the strict application of any of the dimensional requirements
of this chapter where, by reason of the characteristics listed below,
the strict application of any regulation enacted under this chapter
would result in peculiar and exceptional and undue hardship upon the
owner of such property, but in no other case. The Board may by rule
prescribe the form of application and may require preliminary application
to the Zoning Officer. The Board may grant a variance, provided the
following findings are made where relevant in a given case:
(1)
That there are unique physical circumstances or conditions,
including irregularity, narrowness or shallowness of lot size or shape,
or exceptional topographical or other physical conditions peculiar
to the particular property and that the unnecessary hardship is due
to such conditions, and not the circumstances or conditions created
by the provisions of the Zoning Ordinance in the neighborhood or district
in which the property is located;
(2)
That because of such physical circumstances or conditions,
there is no possibility that the property can be developed in strict
conformity with the provisions of this chapter and that the authorization
of a variance is therefore necessary to enable the reasonable use
of the property;
(3)
That such unnecessary hardship has not been created
by the appellant;
(4)
That the variance, if authorized, will not alter the
essential character of the neighborhood or district in which the property
is located, nor substantially or permanently impair the appropriate
use or development of adjacent property, nor be detrimental to the
public welfare; and
(5)
That the variance if authorized, will represent the
minimum variance that will afford relief and will represent the least
modification possible of the regulation in issue.
B.
In granting any variance, the Board may attach such
reasonable conditions and safeguards as it may deem necessary to implement
the purpose of this chapter.
Where this chapter has provided for stated special
exceptions to be granted or denied by the 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.
A.
In passing upon applications for special exceptions and variances, the Board shall consider all relevant factors and procedures specified in other sections of this chapter, including Article IV, Use Regulations.
B.
Special exceptions and/or variances shall only be
issued after the Board has determined that the granting of such will
not result in additional threats to public safety, extraordinary public
expense, create nuisances, cause fraud or victimization of the public,
or conflict with local laws or ordinances.
A.
A landowner who, on substantive grounds, desires to
challenge the validity of an ordinance or map or any provisions thereof
which prohibits or restricts the use or development of land in which
he has an interest shall submit the challenge either to the Zoning
Hearing Board in accordance with this article or to the Borough Council,
together with a request for a curative amendment in accordance with
the provisions of this chapter.
B.
Persons aggrieved by a use or development permitted
on the land of another by an ordinance or map, or any provisions thereof,
who desires to challenge the validity on substantive grounds shall
first submit their challenge to the Zoning Hearing Board for a decision
thereon.
D.
The Zoning Hearing Board shall commence its hearing
within 60 days after the request is filed unless the landowner requests
or consents to an extension of time.
E.
Public notice of the hearing shall include notice
that the validity of the ordinance or map is in question and shall
give the place where and the times when a copy of the request, including
any plans, explanatory material or proposed amendments may be examined
by the public.
G.
Stay of proceedings. Upon filing of any proceeding
and during its pendency before the Board, all land development pursuant
to any challenged ordinance, order or approval of the Zoning Officer
or any agency or body, and all official action thereunder, shall be
stayed in accordance with Section 915.1 of the Pennsylvania Municipalities
Planning Code, as amended.[3]
[3]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 10915.1.
