[Ord. 281, 1/5/1976, Art. XIV, Introductory Section]
A Zoning Hearing Board is hereby established, which shall consist
of three members of the municipality to be appointed by the Township
Commissioners for a term of three years and shall be so established
that one term of office shall expire each year. Members of the Zoning
Hearing Board may be removed from office by the Township Commissioners
for cause upon written charges and after public hearing. Vacancies
shall be filled by resolution of the Township Commissioners for the
unexpired term of the member affected. Members of the Zoning Hearing
Board shall hold no other office in the Township except that no more
than one member of the Board may also be a member of the Planning
Commission.
[Ord. 281, 1/5/1976; as added by Ord. 454, 9/2/2008]
1. The Zoning Hearing Board shall conduct hearings and make decisions
in accordance with the following requirements:
A. Public notice shall be given and written notice shall be given to
the applicant, the Zoning Officer and to any person who has made timely
request for the same. Written notices shall be given at such time
and in such manner as shall be prescribed by rules of the Board. In
addition to the written notice provided herein, written notice of
said hearing shall be conspicuously posted on the affected tract of
land at least one week prior to the hearing.
B. 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.
C. 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
Township may, prior to the decision of the hearing, waive decision
or findings by the Board and accept the decision or findings of the
hearing officer as final.
D. The parties to the hearing shall be the Township, 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 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.
E. The chairman or acting chairman of the Board or the hearing officer
presiding shall have 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.
F. 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.
G. Formal rules of evidence shall not apply, but irrelevant, immaterial
or unduly repetitious evidence may be excluded.
H. The Board or the hearing officer, as the case may be, 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.
I. 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.
J. The Board or the 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 this chapter or of any law,
ordinance, rule or regulation shall contain a reference to the provision
relied on and the reasons why the conclusion is deemed appropriate
in the light of the facts found. If the hearing is conducted by a
hearing officer, and there has been no stipulation that his decision
or findings are final, the Board shall make his report and recommendations
available to the parties within 45 days and the parties shall be entitled
to make written representations thereon to the Board prior to final
decision or entry of findings, and the Board's decision shall
be entered no later than 30 days after the report of the hearing officer.
Where the Board fails to render the decision within the period required
by this subsection, or fails to hold the required hearing within 60
days from the date of the applicant's request for a hearing,
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 hereinabove provided, the Board shall give public notice
of the 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
1A of this section. If the Board shall fail to provide such notice,
the applicant may do so. Nothing in this subsection shall prejudice
the right of any party opposing the application to appeal the decision
to a court of competent jurisdiction.
K. A copy of the final decision or, where no decision is called for,
of the findings shall be delivered to the applicant personally or
mailed to him not later than the day following its date. 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.
L. The Board of Commissioners shall establish, by resolution, fees with
respect to hearings before the Zoning Hearing Board.
[Ord. 281, 1/5/1976; as added by Ord. 454, 9/2/2008]
Appeals raising the substantive validity of any land use ordinance
(except those to be brought before the Board of Commissioners pursuant
to the Pennsylvania Municipalities Code), procedural questions or
alleged defects in the process of enactment or adoption of a land
use ordinance; or 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; from a determination by the Township 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; from the determination of any officer or agency charged
with the administration of any transfer of development rights or performance
density provisions of this chapter; from the determination of the
Zoning Officer or Township 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
or planned residential development may be filed with the Zoning Hearing
Board in writing by the landowner affected, any officer or agency
of the Township or any person aggrieved. Requests for a variance and
for special exception may be filed with the Board by any landowner
or any tenant with the permission of such landowner.
[Ord. 281, 1/5/1976; as added by Ord. 454, 9/2/2008]
1. No person shall be allowed to file any proceeding with the Zoning
Hearing Board later than 30 days after an application for development,
preliminary or final, has been approved by the Township 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. The failure of anyone
other than the landowner to appeal from an adverse decision on a tentative
plan or from an adverse decision by the Zoning Officer on a challenge
to the validity of this chapter or an amendment hereto or map or an
amendment thereto shall preclude an appeal from a final approval except
in the case where the final submission substantially deviates from
the approved tentative approval.
2. All appeals from determinations adverse to the landowner shall be
filed by the landowner within 30 days after notice of the determination
is issued.
[Ord. 281, 1/5/1976; as added by Ord. 454, 9/2/2008]
1. Upon filing of any appeal proceeding before the Zoning Hearing Board
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.
2. After the petition is presented, the court shall hold a hearing to
determine if the filing of the appeal is frivolous. At the hearing,
evidence may be presented on the merits of the case. It shall be the
burden of the applicant for a bond to prove the appeal is frivolous.
After consideration of all evidence presented, if the court determines
that the appeal is frivolous, it shall grant the petition for a bond.
The right to petition the court to order the appellants to post bond
may be waived by the appellee, but such waiver may be revoked by him
if an appeal is taken from a final decision of the court.
3. 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.
An order denying a petition for bond shall be interlocutory. An order
directing the responding party to post a bond shall be interlocutory.
4. If an appeal is taken by a respondent to the petition for a bond
from an order of the court dismissing a zoning appeal for refusal
to post a bond and the appellate court sustains the order of the court
below to post a bond, the respondent to the petition for a bond, upon
motion of the petitioner and after hearing in the court having jurisdiction
of zoning appeals, shall be liable for all reasonable costs, expenses
and attorney fees incurred by the petitioner.