A. 
Appointment and qualifications. The provisions of this chapter shall be enforced by a Zoning Officer with the aid of the Police Department and other Municipal agencies. The Zoning Officer shall be appointed at the first meeting of the Municipal Council following the adoption of this chapter. He shall be a full-time Municipal employee and shall receive such compensation as the governing body, by resolution, shall provide.
B. 
Powers and duties.
(1) 
It shall be the duty of the Zoning Officer and he shall have power:
(a) 
To keep a record of all plans and applications for permits and all permits issued, with notations as to special conditions attached thereto. All records shall be open for public inspection.
(b) 
To review applications for zoning permits for erections or alterations of structures or changes of use to determine whether such construction or use is in accordance with the general requirements of this chapter, all other applicable ordinances and the laws and regulations of the commonwealth. The Zoning Officer shall issue no permit unless it conforms to all applicable ordinances, statutes and regulations.
(c) 
To conduct investigations and surveys to determine compliance or noncompliance with the terms of this chapter. In carrying out such surveys, the Zoning Officer or his representative may enter upon any land or buildings.
(d) 
To make written orders requiring compliance with the provisions of this chapter, to be served personally or by registered mail.
(e) 
To institute proceedings in courts of proper jurisdiction for the enforcement of the provisions of this chapter.
(f) 
To maintain a map showing the current zoning classification of all land.
(g) 
To maintain a map and register showing the registration, identity, location and type of all nonconforming uses.
(h) 
To participate in all proceedings before the Zoning Hearing Board, to present facts and information to assist the Board in reaching a decision which shall be compatible with this chapter and to have decisions of the Board reviewed in a court of proper jurisdiction when, in the judgment of the Zoning Officer, such review is desirable or indicated.
(2) 
The Zoning Officer shall issue no permit for the construction or use of any land or building unless it also conforms to the requirements of all other ordinances of Norristown and to the laws of the commonwealth.
No building shall be constructed or altered in the Municipality nor the use of any building changed nor vacant land occupied until a zoning permit is secured from the Zoning Officer. Upon completion of the work authorized by any permit, the applicant or owner shall notify the Zoning Officer of said completion. No permit shall be considered as complete or permanently effective until the Zoning Officer has noted on the permit that the work has been inspected and approved as being in conformity with the provisions of this chapter.
All applications for zoning permits shall be made, in writing, by the owner or tenants or authorized agent and shall be filed with the Zoning Officer on forms prescribed by him. The application shall include a statement as to the proposed use of the building; shall be accompanied by a plan, drawn to scale, showing the location of the building in relation to property and road lines; shall include a statement that the side lines of all roads shown on the plan have been located and staked on the premises by a surveyor or other person competent to give such location; and shall give the name and address of the person who has so located and staked the road lines. If the applicant desires the Zoning Hearing Board to grant a special exception, then, in addition, the application shall set forth the nature of the special exception and shall state briefly the reasons why such special exception should be granted and any other information the Zoning Hearing Board may require.
The applicant for a permit, at the time of making the application, shall pay to the Treasurer of the Municipality a fee in accordance with a fee schedule adopted by resolution of the Municipal Council. A copy of the receipt shall be forwarded to the Zoning Officer by the Treasurer's office.