The provisions of this chapter shall be administered and enforced
by the Zoning Officer, who shall be appointed by the Borough Council
and hold no elective office in the municipality. Said officer shall
be able to demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Borough Council
a working knowledge of municipal zoning, and shall meet such other
qualifications as the Council may, from time to time, deem necessary
for the effective implementation of this chapter. The Zoning Officer
may be compensated for his work and shall have the following duties:
A. To receive and process applications for permits, certificates, variances,
conditional uses, special exception uses, appeals and other applications
required under the terms of this chapter;
B. To prescribe the form of all applications, permits and certificates
required under the terms of this chapter;
C. To issue or deny applications for zoning permits in accordance with the procedures set forth in §§
286-73 and
286-94 of this chapter. In cases involving properties located within the Historic Preservation District, zoning permits (where required) shall be issued only after review by the Borough Historic Commission in accordance with the procedure set forth in §
286-73 of this chapter. In cases involving a request for a conditional use, a special exception, or a variance, zoning permits shall be issued only upon written order of the appropriate approving agency. It shall be the responsibility of the Zoning Officer to process requests for such consideration before the Historic Commission, the Borough Council, or the Zoning Hearing Board, as applicable;
D. To issue or deny requests for certificates of compliance in accordance with the procedure set forth in §
286-95 of this chapter;
E. To examine land, buildings and structures to determine their consistency
with the Zoning Ordinance at the time of application filing, during
the work and upon completion of the work;
F. To issue written enforcement notices as specified in §
286-96A where it appears that there has been a violation, and to institute civil enforcement proceedings with the appropriate Magisterial District Judge on behalf of the Borough as a means of enforcing the zoning regulations;
G. To maintain a log of all applications, permits or certificates issued,
variances granted, inspections made, reports rendered and notices
or orders issued;
H. To present facts, records, and other information to the Borough Council
and/or Planning Commission, upon request of such body, as will assist
them in their deliberations of specific applications;
I. To post notice of pending Zoning Hearing Board hearings in accordance with the procedures established in §
286-89E(1)(c) and to post notice of proposed zoning district boundary changes as per the requirements of §
286-90A;
J. To present to the Zoning Hearing Board, in each case before the Board,
all relevant facts and arguments to support the Borough's position,
interpretation, and procedures in application of the provisions of
this chapter;
K. To present facts and forward all appropriate information to the Borough's
Historic Commission, where applicable, as will assist them in their
deliberations of specific applications;
L. To provide record of all administrative approvals for properties in the Historic Preservation District to the Historic Commission on a monthly basis as per the requirements of §
286-73;
M. To issue certificates of nonconformance as requested (see also §§
286-85F and
286-86D);
N. To maintain and update the Official Zoning Map as amendments are
made by the Borough Council; and
O. To perform such other duties as may be provided or made necessary
by the terms of this chapter.
Failure to secure a zoning permit when required hereunder or
failure to secure a certificate of compliance, or failure to carry
out the provisions of this chapter, shall be considered a violation
of this chapter.
A. Enforcement notice.
(1) Whenever it appears to the Zoning Officer or other Council-appointed
individual or entity that there has been a violation of any provision
of this chapter, the Zoning Officer, on behalf of the Council, shall
give written notice of such alleged violation as hereinafter provided.
Such enforcement notice shall:
(a)
Be served upon the property owner or sent to him by certified
mail (return receipt requested), and be sent 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;
(b)
Include the name of the owner of record and any other person
against whom the Borough intends to take action;
(c)
Include the location of the property in violation;
(d)
Identify the specific violation(s) with a description of the
requirements which have not been met, citing in each instance the
applicable provision(s) of the chapter;
(e)
Contain an outline of remedial action which, if taken, will
effect compliance;
(f)
Specify the date before which the steps for compliance must
be commenced and the date before which the steps must be completed;
(g)
Notify the recipient of his right to appeal to the Borough Zoning
Hearing Board prior to the expiration of the time period provided
in the enforcement notice; and
(h)
Indicate that failure to comply with the notice within the time
specified, unless extended by appeal to the Zoning Hearing Board,
shall constitute a violation and will be prosecuted or remedied as
provided in this section.
(2) In any appeal of an enforcement notice to the Zoning Hearing Board,
the Borough shall have the responsibility of presenting its evidence
first.
B. Causes of action.
(1) In case any building, structure, landscaping or land is, or is proposed
to be, erected, constructed, reconstructed, altered, converted, maintained
or used in violation of this chapter, the Borough Zoning Officer may
institute in the name of the Borough, any appropriate action or proceeding
to prevent, restrain, correct, or abate such building, structure,
landscaping or land, or to prevent any action, conduct, business,
or use in or about such premises constituting a violation.
(2) Any aggrieved owner or tenant of real property who shows that his
property or person will be substantially affected by the alleged violation
may also institute an appropriate corrective action or proceeding.
Such action must be preceded, however, by serving a copy of the complaint
upon the Borough at least 30 days prior to being instituted. No such
action may be maintained until such notice has been given.
C. Enforcement remedies.
(1) Any person, partnership or corporation who or which has violated
or permitted the violation of the provisions of this chapter, whether
enacted under current law or prior law, shall, upon being found liable
therefor in a civil enforcement proceeding commenced by Muncy Borough,
pay a judgment of not more than $500 plus all court costs, including
reasonable attorney fees incurred by the Borough as a result thereof.
No judgment shall commence or be imposed, levied or be 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,
Muncy Borough may enforce the judgment pursuant to the applicable
rules of civil procedure. 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 the chapter to have believed that there was no such violation,
in which event, there shall be deemed to have been only one such violation
until the fifth day following the date of the determination of a violation
by the Magisterial District Judge, and thereafter each day that a
violation continues shall constitute a separate violation. All judgments,
costs and reasonable attorney fees collected for the violation of
this Zoning Ordinance shall be paid over to Muncy Borough.
(2) 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.
(3) Nothing contained in this section shall be construed or interpreted
to grant to any person or entity other than the Borough the right
to commence any action for enforcement pursuant to this section.