[Ord. 8-1994, 12/12/1994, § 1100; as amended by
Ord. 6-2007, 10/8/2007]
The Borough may, on its own motion or by petition, amend, supplement,
change, modify or repeal this chapter, including the Zoning Map, by
proceeding in the following manner. (See Appendix C of this chapter
for an illustration of the amendment procedure.) For curative amendments
see 53 P.S., § 10609.1, "Procedure For Landowner Curative
Amendments," and § 10609.2, "Procedure for Municipal Curative
Amendments," under Article VI of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning
Code, P.L. 1329, Act 170, as reenacted December 21, 1988.
A. Public Hearing and Notice Requirements.
(1) The Borough Council shall, at a public meeting, establish a date,
time and place for a public hearing on the proposed amendment. Notice
of such hearing shall be published once each week for two successive
weeks in a newspaper of general, local circulation. The first notice
shall be published not more than 30 days and the second publication
should appear no less than seven days prior to the hearing date. The
notice shall state the time and place of the hearing and the general
nature of the proposed amendment in such reasonable detail as will
give adequate notice of its contents and shall name the place(s) where
copies of the proposed amendment may be examined. In addition, if
the proposed amendment involves a Zoning Map change, notice of said
public hearing shall be conspicuously posted by the Borough at points
deemed sufficient by the Borough along the affected tract at least
seven days prior to the date of the hearing. Further, where a proposed
amendment involves a map change, other than a comprehensive municipal
rezoning, the Borough shall notify all property owners within the
area proposed for rezoning (by first class mail) of the date, time
and location of the hearing at least 30 days prior to the hearing.
(2) If after said public hearing, the proposed amendment is changed substantially
or is revised to include land not previously affected by it, the Council
shall hold another public hearing and give notice thereof as set forth
above, before proceeding to vote on the amendment.
(3) If, after said public hearing, the proposed amendment is changed
substantially or is revised to include land not previously affected
by it, the Borough Council shall hold another public hearing, and
give notice thereof as set forth above, before proceeding to vote
on the amendment.
B. Review by Planning Commissions. Every such proposed amendment or
change, whether initiated by the Borough Council or by petition, shall
be referred to the Borough Planning Commission and the County Planning
Commission at least 30 days before the public hearing for report thereon.
If the Planning Commission(s) shall fail to file such a report before
the public hearing it shall be presumed that the Planning Commission(s)
have no comments or concerns regarding the proposed amendment, supplement
or change.
C. Opportunity to be Heard. At the public hearing, full opportunity
to be heard shall be given to any citizen and all parties in interest.
D. Notice of Enactment. Prior to taking action on the amendment, the
Borough Council shall give notice of proposed enactment by publishing
the entire amendment or the title and a brief summary in a newspaper
of general, local circulation. Such notice shall include the time
and place of the meeting at which passage will be considered and shall
name the place where copies of the proposed amendment can be examined.
The notice shall be published one time, not more than 60 days nor
less than seven days prior to passage. If the full text is not published,
a copy of the amendment shall be supplied to the newspaper at the
time of publication of the notice, and an attested copy of the proposed
amendment shall be filed in the County law library or other County
office designated by the County Commissioners.
E. Enactment of Amendment.
(1) The adoption of an amendment shall be by simple majority vote of
the Borough Council. The vote of the Council shall be within 90 days
after the last public hearing on the amendment. If the Council fails
to take action within 90 days, the proposed amendment shall be deemed
to have been denied.
(2) Within 30 days after enactment, a copy of the amendment shall be
forwarded to the County Planning Commission.
[Ord. 8-1994, 12/12/1994, § 1101; as amended by
Ord. 6-2007, 10/8/2007]
The Borough Council may grant conditional use approval for only those uses set forth in Part
3 of this chapter, District Regulations, pursuant to the express standards and criteria outlined in Part
4, Supplementary Use Regulations. In addition, the Council may attach such reasonable conditions and safeguards as it deems appropriate to protect the public welfare and implement the purposes of this chapter. (See Appendix D of this chapter for a chart illustrating the conditional use procedure.)
A. Application Procedure. Applications for any conditional use permitted
by this chapter shall be made to the Zoning Officer, who shall refer
such applications to the Secretary or the Borough Manager. Upon receipt
of a conditional use application, the Manager shall forward a copy
of the application to the Borough Planning Commission for its review
and recommendation. The Planning Commission shall conduct its review
and make its recommendations within 45 days of receipt of such request.
B. Written Statement. All applications for conditional uses shall include
a written statement describing the tract of land and its intended
use. Such statement shall include the following information:
(1) The location of the tract of land;
(2) The present use of the tract for which the conditional use is requested;
(3) The present use of adjoining tracts;
(4) The type of conditional use for which the application is made;
(5) A brief description of the type and extent of the proposed activities;
(6) An estimate of the total development cost of the conditional use;
and
(7) The names of the applicant, the owner of the tract, the developer
of the conditional use and the person or organization who will operate
the conditional use.
C. Site Plan.
(1) All applications for a conditional use shall include a site plan
of the proposed development as set forth below. Such site plan shall
be drawn to a scale sufficient to clearly show the features of the
tract and shall include the following information:
(a)
A title block containing the name of the developer or landowner,
date, scale, North arrow and the name and profession of the preparer
of the plan;
(b)
Tract boundaries, showing bearings and distances;
(c)
Existing significant natural or man-made features of the site;
(d)
Existing and proposed streets, rights-of-way, easements, means
of access and setback lines;
(e)
Existing buildings, sewers, water mains, culverts, transmission
lines, and fire hydrants on or adjacent to the site;
(f)
Existing contours at vertical intervals of five feet or less
and the datum to which the elevations refer;
(g)
A proposed grading and drainage plan;
(h)
A proposed plan of any landscaping of the tract, showing all
paved and planted areas, screens or fences and erosion-control measures;
(i)
Plans of any proposed sanitary sewer or storm sewer systems
and water supply systems; and
(j)
The location, size and floor plan of all proposed buildings
or structures and proposed use of all buildings or structures and
open or unenclosed areas of the tract.
(2) In cases where little site improvement or development is required
or proposed for a conditional use, the Borough Council, upon recommendation
of the Borough Planning Commission, may waive the requirement for
submittal of certain information that it deems unnecessary for its
review of the application. In all cases, however, the information
submitted shall be adequate for review of the conditional use request.
D. Hearing Requirements. Within 60 days of the date of receipt of an applicant's application for a conditional use, the Borough Council shall select a date, advertise (pursuant to the definition of "public notice"), and hold the first public hearing on the proposal. Hearings shall be conducted in accordance with the procedures set forth in §
1003, Subsection 6, of this chapter for Zoning Hearing Board hearings. The burden of presentation of the conditional use request at the hearing shall rest with the applicant.
E. Criteria for Review of Conditional Uses. The Council shall, in making
decisions on each application for a conditional use, consider the
following general criteria, in addition to the special criteria established
elsewhere in this chapter:
(1) The purpose of the zone in which the requested conditional use is
to be located and the compatibility of the requested conditional use
with existing and potential land uses on adjacent tracts of ground;
(2) Whether the specific site is an appropriate location for the use,
structure or condition;
(3) Whether the use developed will adversely affect the neighborhood;
(4) Whether the use will create undue nuisance or serious hazard to vehicles
or pedestrians;
(5) Whether adequate and appropriate facilities and services will be
provided to ensure the proper operation of the proposed use;
(6) The economic, noise, glare or odor effects of the conditional use
on adjoining properties and properties generally in the district;
and
(7) Whether satisfactory provision and arrangement has been made concerning
the following:
(a)
Ingress and egress to the property and structure thereon, with
particular reference to automotive and pedestrian safety and convenience,
traffic flow, control and access in case of fire or other emergency;
(b)
Off-street parking and loading areas;
(c)
Waste collection, storage and disposal;
(d)
Utilities, with reference to location, availability and compatibility;
(e)
Screening and buffering, with reference to type, dimensions
and character;
(f)
Signs, if any, and proposed exterior lighting, with reference
to glare, traffic safety, economic effect and compatibility and harmony
with properties in the district; and
(g)
Required yards and open spaces.
F. Decisions.
(1) The Borough Council shall render a decision or, when no decision
is called for, make written findings on the conditional use application
within 45 days after its last hearing on the proposal. Where the application
is contested or denied, each decision shall be accompanied by findings
of fact or conclusions based thereon, together with any reasons therefor.
Conclusions based on any provisions of the Pennsylvania Municipalities
Planning Code, this chapter, or other ordinance, rule or regulation
shall contain a reference to the provision relied upon and the reasons
why the conclusion is deemed appropriate in light of the facts found.
(2) A copy of the final decision or, where no decision is called for,
the findings shall be delivered to the applicant personally or mailed
to him no later than the day following its date.
G. Failure to Hold Required Hearing or Render Decision. Where the Council
fails to commence, conduct, or complete the required hearing or fails
to render a decision within the prescribed time periods (except for
challenges filed under Section 916.1 of the Pennsylvania Municipalities
Planning Code), 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 a violation of the prescribed
time periods, the Borough Council shall give public notice (in the
same manner as is done for the public hearing) of the decision within
10 days from the last day it could have met to render a timely decision.
If the Council fails to provide such notice, the applicant may do
so.
H. Expiration of Decision. Unless otherwise specified by the Borough
Council at the time of its action, a conditional use authorization
shall expire if the applicant fails to obtain any necessary zoning
and/or building permit(s), or fails to comply with the conditions
of said authorization, within six months from the date of said authorization.
I. Appeals. Nothing in this section shall prejudice the right of any
party opposing the application to appeal the decision to a court of
competent jurisdiction.