[Amended 3-2-1992 by Ord. No. 1]
In accordance with law, the Borough Council shall appoint and
organize a Zoning Hearing Board, which Board shall adopt rules to
govern its procedure. The Board shall hold meetings, keep minutes
and, pursuant to notice, shall conduct hearings, compel the attendance
of witnesses, take testimony under oath, and render decisions in writing,
all as required by law. A fee shall be charged in accordance with
a schedule annually affixed by resolution for any appeal or proceeding
filed with the Zoning Hearing Board. The Zoning Hearing Board shall
have the functions, powers and obligations specifically granted by
law.
A.
Appointment of alternate members. 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. The term of office of an alternate member shall be three years. When seated pursuant to the provisions of Subsection B below, 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, and shall have all the power and duties set forth in this chapter and as otherwise provided by law. Alternates shall hold no other elected or appointed office in the Borough, including service as a Zoning Officer, nor shall any alternate be an employee of the Borough. 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 unless designated as a voting alternate member pursuant to Subsection B below.
B.
Participation by alternate members. The Chairman of the Board may
designate alternate members of the Board to replace any absent or
disqualified member, and if, by reason of absence or disqualification
of a member, a quorum is not reached, the Chairman of the Board shall
designate as many alternate members of the Board to sit on the Board
as may be needed to reach 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 decision on the matter or case. Designation
of an alternate pursuant to this subsection shall be made on a case-by-case
basis in rotation according to declining seniority among all alternates.
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 curative amendments brought before Borough Council.[1]
B.
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.
C.
Appeals from a determination by the Borough 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.
D.
Applications for variances from the terms of this chapter and flood
hazard ordinance or such provisions within a land use ordinance.
E.
Applications for special exceptions under this chapter or floodplain
or flood hazard ordinance or such provisions within a land use ordinance.
G.
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 relate to development not involving
subdivision and land development.
A.
No person shall file any proceeding before the Zoning Hearing Board
later than 30 days after a preliminary or final application for development
has been approved by an appropriate Borough officer, agency or body,
if such proceeding is designed to secure reversal or to limit the
approval in any manner, unless such person alleges and proves that
he had no notice, knowledge or reason to believe that such approval
had been given. If such person has succeeded to his interest after
such approval, he shall be bound by the knowledge of his predecessor
in interest.
B.
The failure of anyone, other than the landowner, to appeal from an
adverse decision by the Zoning Officer on a challenge to the validity
of an ordinance or map filed pursuant to Section 916.2 of the Pennsylvania
Municipalities Planning Code[1] shall preclude an appeal from a final approval, except
in the case where the final submission substantially deviates from
the approved tentative approval.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 10916.2.
C.
All appeals from determinations adverse to the landowner shall be
filed by the landowner within 30 days after notice of the determination
is issued.
A.
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 of any agency or body,
and all official action thereunder, shall be stayed unless the Zoning
Officer or any other appropriate agency or body certifies to the Board
facts indicating that such stay would cause imminent peril to life
or property, in which case the development or official action shall
not be stayed otherwise than by a restraining order, which may be
granted by the Board or by the court having jurisdiction of zoning
appeals on petition after notice to the Zoning Officer or other appropriate
agency or body. When an application for development, preliminary or
final, has been duly approved and proceedings designed to reverse
or limit the approval are filed with the Board by persons other than
the applicant, the applicant may petition the court having jurisdiction
of zoning appeals to order such persons to post bond as a condition
to continuing the proceedings before the Board. The question whether
or not such petition should be granted and the amount of the bond
shall be within the sound discretion of the court.
B.
All appeals from decisions rendered by the Zoning Hearing Board shall
be taken to the Washington County Court of Common Pleas and shall
be filed within 30 days after the entry of the decision or, in the
case of a deemed decision, within 30 days after the date upon which
notice of said deemed decision is given.
A.
Parties to proceedings authorized in this article within the jurisdiction
of the Zoning Hearing Board may utilize mediation as an aid in completing
such proceedings. In proceedings before the Zoning Hearing Board,
in no case shall the Zoning Hearing Board initiate mediation or participate
as a mediating party. Mediation shall supplement, not replace, those
procedures in this section once they have been formally initiated.
Nothing in this section shall be interpreted as expanding or limiting
municipal police powers or as modifying any principles of substantive
law.
B.
Participation in mediation shall be wholly voluntary. The appropriateness
of mediation shall be determined by the particulars of each case and
the willingness of the parties to negotiate. The municipality offering
the mediation option shall assure that, in each case, the mediating
parties, assisted by the mediator as appropriate, develop terms and
conditions for:
(1)
Funding mediation.
(2)
Selecting a mediator who, at a minimum, shall have a working knowledge
of municipal zoning and subdivision procedures and demonstrated skills
in mediation.
(3)
Completing mediation, including time limits for such completion.
(4)
Suspending time limits otherwise authorized in this chapter or in
the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code (Act 247, as amended)[1] governing proceedings before the Zoning Hearing Board
or Borough Council, as the case may be, provided there is written
consent by the mediating parties, and by an applicant or Borough decisionmaking
body, if either is not a party to the mediation.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 10101 et seq.
(5)
Identifying all parties and affording them the opportunity to participate.
(6)
Subject to legal restraints, determining whether some or all of the
mediation sessions shall be open or closed to the public.
(7)
Assuring that mediated solutions are in writing and signed by the
parties and become subject to review and approval by the appropriate
decisionmaking body pursuant to the authorized procedures set forth
in this chapter.
C.
No offers or statements made in the mediation sessions, excluding
the final written mediated agreement, shall be admissible as evidence
in any subsequent judicial or administrative proceedings.
A.
Within the limits of funds appropriated by Borough Council, the Board
may employ or contract for secretaries, clerks, legal counsel, consultants
and other technical and clerical services.
B.
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.
The Board or the Hearing Officer, as the case may be, shall
keep a stenographic record of the proceedings, and a transcript of
the proceedings and copies of the graphic or written material received
in evidence shall be made available to any party at cost. The appearance
fee for the 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.
