The Township Board of Commissioners may, from time to time,
on their own motion or on petition, amend, supplement, change, modify,
or repeal by ordinance the boundaries of zoning districts, regulations
or restrictions established by this chapter or provisions contained
herein. Any proposed amendment, supplement, change, modification,
or repeal shall be submitted to the County Planning Agency 45 days
prior to the date of the scheduled hearing and to the Township Planning
Commission for its recommendations and report. Upon the filing of
the recommendations and report by the Township Planning Commission
and comments from the County Planning Agency with respect to any proposed
amendment, supplement, change, modification, or repeal, the Township
Board of Commissioners shall proceed to hold a public hearing in relation
thereto pursuant to public notice. If no recommendation is received
from the Planning Commission or County Planning Agency within the
forty-five-day review period, the Township Board of Commissioners
may make its decision. If, after any public hearing held upon an amendment,
the proposed amendment is revised, or further revised, to include
land previously not affected by it, the Township Board of Commissioners
shall hold another public hearing, pursuant to public notice, before
proceeding to vote on the amendment. See also Sections 303(b), 304(b),
and 609(b)(1) and (2) of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning
Code.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. §§ 10303(b), 10304(b),
and 10609(b)(1) and (2).
Mediation shall be made in accordance with the Pennsylvania
Municipalities Planning Code.
A landowner who desires to challenge on substantive grounds
the validity of this chapter, the Zoning Map attached and made a part
hereof,[1] or any provision hereof which prohibits or restricts the use or development of land in which he has an interest may submit a curative amendment to the Township Board of Commissioners with a written request that his challenge and proposed amendment or amendments be heard and decided in the manner prescribed by Act 247, the "Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code," Article VI, and all amendments thereto and further defined as follows:
A.
Procedure for filing for curative amendment.
(1)
If the submission is made by the landowner to the governing
body, the request also shall be accompanied by an amendment or amendments
to this chapter proposed by the landowner to cure the alleged defects
therein.
(2)
The governing body of a municipality which has determined that
a validity challenge has merit may accept a landowner's curative
amendment, with or without revision, or may adopt an alternative amendment
which will cure the challenged defects. The governing body shall consider
the curative amendments, plans and explanatory material submitted
by the landowner and shall also consider:
(a)
The impact of the proposal upon roads, sewer facilities, water
supplies, schools and other public service facilities;
(b)
If the proposal is for a residential use, the impact of the
proposal upon regional housing needs and the effectiveness of the
proposal in providing housing units of a type actually available to
and affordable by classes of persons otherwise unlawfully excluded
by the challenged provisions of this chapter or map;
(c)
The suitability of the site for the intensity of use proposed
by the site's soils, slopes, woodlands, wetlands, floodplains,
aquifers, natural resources and other natural features;
(d)
The impact of the proposed use on the site's soils, slopes,
woodlands, wetlands, floodplains, natural resources and natural features,
the degree to which these are protected or destroyed, the tolerance
of the resources to development and any adverse environmental impacts;
and
(e)
The impact of the proposal on the preservation of agriculture
and other land uses which are essential to public health and welfare.
(3)
The request shall be accompanied by plans and other materials
describing the use or development proposed by the landowner. Such
plans and other material may be general in nature, but should provide
a sufficient base for evaluating the challenge.
(4)
If the Township of Aleppo does not accept a landowner's
curative amendment brought in accordance with this subsection and
a court subsequently rules that the challenge has merit, the court's
decision shall not result in a declaration of invalidity for the entire
chapter and map, but only those provisions relating to the landowner's
challenge.
B.
Public hearing.
(1)
Upon petition, the Township Board of Commissioners shall hold
a hearing thereon within 60 days of the filing of the request.
(2)
At least 30 days prior to the hearing, the Township Board of
Commissioners shall refer the proposed amendment to the Township Planning
Commission and County Planning Agency for recommendation.
(3)
The public notices of the hearing shall, in addition to the
requirements for advertisement for any amendment, indicate that the
validity of this chapter or Zoning Map is in question and shall indicate
the place and times when a copy of the landowner's request, including
all plans submitted and the proposed amendment(s), may be examined
by the public.
(4)
The public hearing shall be conducted within the following guidelines:
(a)
The President of the Township Board of Commissioners presiding
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 the parties.
(b)
The parties 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.
(c)
Formal rules of evidence shall not apply, but irrelevant, immaterial
or unduly repetitious evidence may be excluded.
(d)
The Township Board of Commissioners shall keep a stenographic
record of the proceedings, and a transcript of the proceedings, as
well as copies of graphic or written material received in evidence,
shall be made available to any party at cost.
(e)
The Township Board of Commissioners shall not communicate, directly
or indirectly, with any party of 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 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 representatives unless all parties
are given an opportunity to be present.
(5)
The hearing may be postponed or continued at the request of
the landowner or by mutual consent of the parties.
C.
Procedure for rendering formal action. Upon completion of the hearing,
the Township Board of Commissioners shall render a decision and communicate
said decision to all parties within 45 days.
(1)
Approval of the amendment shall be granted by formal affirmative
vote at a regular or special meeting of the Township Board of Commissioners.
(2)
The landowner's request shall be considered denied when:
(a)
The Zoning Hearing Board or governing body, as the case may be, fails to commence the hearing within the time limits set forth in Subsection B(1);
(b)
The governing body notifies the landowner that it will not adopt
the curative amendment;
(c)
The governing body adopts another curative amendment which is
unacceptable to the landowner; or
(d)
The Zoning Hearing Board or governing body, as the case may
be, fails to act on the request 45 days after the close of the last
hearing on the request, unless the time is extended by mutual consent
by the landowner and municipality.
D.
Per the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, where the municipality
has adopted a multimunicipal Comprehensive Plan and all municipalities
participating in the multimunicipal Comprehensive Plan have adopted
and are administering zoning ordinances generally consistent with
the provisions of the multimunicipal Comprehensive Plan, and a challenge
is brought to the validity of a zoning ordinance of a participating
municipality involving a proposed use, then the Zoning Hearing Board
or governing body, as the case may be, shall consider the availability
of uses under zoning ordinances within the municipalities participating
in the multimunicipal Comprehensive Plan within a reasonable geographic
area and shall not limit its consideration to the application of the
zoning ordinance on the municipality whose zoning ordinance is being
challenged.
[1]
Editor's Note: The Zoning Map is included as an attachment
to this chapter.
If the Township of Aleppo determines that this chapter or any
portion thereof is substantially invalid, it shall take the following
action:
A.
The Township shall declare, by formal action, this chapter or portions
thereof substantively invalid and propose a curative amendment to
overcome such invalidity. Within 30 days of such declaration, the
Township Board of Commissioners shall:
B.
Within 180 days from the date of the declaration and proposal, the Township of Aleppo shall enact a curative amendment to validate or reaffirm the validity of this chapter pursuant to the provisions of Act 247, the "Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code," Article VI, and all amendments thereto.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 10101 et seq.
C.
Upon declaration of invalidity, the Township Board of Commissioners
shall not be required to consider a landowner's curative amendment,
nor shall the Zoning Hearing Board be required to give a report subsequent
to the declaration and proposal to remedy said invalidity.
D.
The Township of Aleppo may not again utilize said procedure for a
thirty-six-month period following the date of enactment of a curative
amendment, unless a change in statute or a court decision requires
such curative amendment.
Proposed zoning ordinance text or map amendments shall not be
enacted unless notice of proposed enactment is given, including the
time and place of the meeting at which passage will be considered,
a reference to the availability of the text for review, without charge,
or a copy thereof for the cost of said copy. A summary of the proposed
ordinance or amendment shall appear in a newspaper of general circulation
in the municipality not more than 60 days nor less than seven days
prior to passage. A copy of the full text of the proposed ordinance
or amendment shall be supplied to a newspaper of general circulation
in the Township at the time the public notice is published, and an
attested copy of the proposed ordinance shall be filed in the county
law library.
In the event that substantive revisions or amendments are made
in the proposed ordinance text or map amendments before enactment,
a brief summary of said revisions shall be advertised in a newspaper
of general circulation in the municipality at least 10 days prior
to final enactment.
Following enactment of a zoning amendment or revision to the
Zoning Map, a copy of said amendment shall be forwarded to the County
Planning Agency within 30 days of enactment.
