Borough of Fox Chapel, PA Article VII Administration

§ 400-35 Duties of Zoning Officer.

[Amended 3-20-1978 by Ord. No. 389; 8-20-2012 by Ord. No. 686]

A Zoning Officer shall be appointed to enforce the provisions of this Chapter 400. It shall be the duty of the Zoning Officer to examine all applications for zoning certificates, issue zoning certificates for uses which are in accordance with the requirements of this Chapter 400 and other applicable ordinances, record and file all applications for zoning certificates with accompanying plans and documents, and make such reports as Council may desire. The Zoning Officer shall administer this Chapter 400 in accordance with its literal terms and shall not have the power to permit any use or any change of use or occupancy which does not conform to this Chapter 400. Zoning certificates for uses and occupancy which are a special exception or a variance to requirements of this Chapter 400 shall be issued only when authorized by the Zoning Hearing Board. Zoning certificates for conditional uses shall be issued only when authorized by Borough Council. The Zoning Officer shall establish, maintain and at all times keep current a record identifying and registering all nonconforming uses and nonconforming structures in the Borough.

§ 400-36 Zoning certificates.

[Amended 12-19-1983 by Ord. No. 443; 2-16-1987 by Ord. No. 468; 9-19-1989 by Ord. No. 500 8-20-2012 by Ord. No. 686]

A. No landowner (as defined in Section 107 of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code[1]) shall hereafter change ownership of, occupy or use a structure or parcel of land without first obtaining a zoning certificate in accordance with this section.

[1] Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 10107.

B. The landowner shall apply for the zoning certificate and provide the information required by a form provided by the Zoning Officer.

C. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, a zoning certificate shall be required prior to:

(1) Occupancy and use of a building hereafter constructed, moved or altered so as to require a building permit;

(2) Change in the use or occupancy of a building;

(3) Change in the use or occupancy of land; and

(4) Any change in the scope or extent of nonconformity of a nonconforming use.

D. A landowner who desires to change the ownership, use or occupancy of said land or structure shall apply for a zoning certificate on such forms as the Borough may provide, setting forth the existing and proposed uses and occupancy of said land or structure. The zoning certificate shall be granted or denied within 10 days of receipt of the application. In case of denial, the applicant shall be informed of his right of appeal to the Zoning Hearing Board.

§ 400-37 Application for special exception.

Any applicant for a building permit or occupancy certificate for a structure or use which may be permitted in the district concerned only as a special exception shall be informed by the Zoning Officer of the rules and procedures of the Zoning Hearing Board relating to such applications.

§ 400-38 Application for conditional use.

[Amended 9-19-1989 by Ord. No. 500 6-17-1991 by Ord. No. 521; 8-19-1991; by Ord. No. 525; 4-21-1997 by Ord. No. 587; 7-16-2018 by Ord. No. 706; 4-15-2019 by Ord. No. 709]

A. The Borough Manager or designee is authorized to develop an application and guidelines and establish a review and submission process with at least the following elements: presubmission meeting, application review for completeness, referrals, report writing, notifications, expert review, public hearing and action timelines consistent with the FCC SWF Order and other applicable regulatory and judicial actions.

B. All applications for a building permit or occupancy permit for a use which is a conditional use shall begin with a presubmission meeting with the Zoning Officer for application submission guidance prior to acceptance of the application submission for review.

C. Any application for a building permit or occupancy certificate for a use which is a conditional use in the district concerned shall be reviewed by the Zoning Officer and, if incomplete, returned promptly to the applicant and not considered to have been submitted. If complete, or when revised so as to be complete, it shall be marked as submitted to the Zoning Officer and referred by the Zoning Officer to the Fox Chapel Planning Commission.

D. The application must be accompanied by permit fees as set forth by resolution by Borough Council.

E. The Fox Chapel Planning Commission will examine the proposed conditional use in the light of the standards and criteria set forth in § 400-14 of this Part 1, state the degree to which the application conforms to or departs from the said standards and criteria, set forth any additional conditions or safeguards which appear reasonably necessary to implement the purpose of this part or the Planning Code, and recommend acceptance or rejection of the application, with or without conditions.

F. At the option of the Planning Commission, the Planning Commission may defer the making of the recommendation to the Borough Council until after a public hearing has been conducted by Borough Council on the proposed conditional use as hereinafter set forth. If the Planning Commission has deferred making a recommendation, then after a public hearing has been conducted on the proposed conditional use by Borough Council, the Planning Commission shall recommend acceptance or rejection of the application, with or without conditions, to the Borough Council.

G. Borough Council shall conduct a public hearing on the proposed conditional use within 60 days (30 days for application for conditional use of a co-located small wireless facility) from the date of submittal of the conditional use application. Said public hearing shall be advertised in the manner prescribed by § 400-51 of this Part 1. Council shall then vote to authorize or deny the conditional use, with or without safeguards or conditions proposed by the Planning Commission or otherwise.

H. The applicant shall be notified of the decision of Council by certified or registered mail within 45 days (30 days for application for conditional use of a co-located small wireless facility) of the last hearing before Borough Council. The written decision shall contain all findings and conclusions if the application is contested or denied, said written decision to be mailed within one day of its date. Conclusions shall contain a reference to the provision relied on and the reasons why the conclusion is deemed appropriate in light of the facts found.

I. Approval of a conditional use application shall be in force for a period of one year from the date Council's written decision is delivered to the applicant and shall lapse at the end of that year if the work contemplated by the application has not been completed. If work is incomplete, applicant must reapply.

§ 400-39 Fees.

[Amended 9-19-1989 by Ord. No. 500]

A. Each applicant for an appeal, special exception, variance or conditional use shall, at the time of making application, pay a fee to the Borough of Fox Chapel for the cost of advertising and mailing notices. The amount of said fee shall be fixed by resolution of Borough Council.

B. Council may by resolution prescribe reasonable fees with respect to the administration of the Zoning Ordinance and with respect to hearings before the Zoning Hearing Board. Fees for these 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.