A.
The Fairview Township Zoning Hearing Board is hereby created. The
membership of the Board shall consist of five residents of the Township
appointed by the Board of Supervisors. Their terms of office shall
be three years and shall be so fixed that the term of office of one
member shall expire each year. The Zoning Hearing Board shall promptly
notify the Board of Supervisors of any vacancies which occur.
B.
Appointments to fill vacancies shall be only for the unexpired portion
of the term. Members of the Zoning Hearing Board shall hold no other
office in the Township.
Any Zoning Hearing Board member may be removed for malfeasance,
misfeasance or nonfeasance in office or for other just cause by a
majority vote of the Board of Supervisors which appointed the member,
taken after the member has received 15 days' advance notice of
the intent to take such a vote. A hearing shall be held in connection
with the vote if the member shall request it in writing.
A.
The Zoning Hearing Board shall elect from its own membership its
officers, who shall serve annual terms as such and may succeed themselves.
For the conduct of any hearing and the taking of any action, a quorum
shall be not less than a majority of all members of the Board; but
the Board may appoint a hearing officer from its own membership to
conduct any hearing on its behalf, and the parties may waive further
action by the Zoning Hearing Board as provided in the Pennsylvania
Municipalities Planning Code.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 10101 et seq.
B.
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 provide 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 determination of the matter or case. Designation of an
alternate pursuant to this section shall be made on a case-by-case
basis in rotation according to declining seniority among all alternates.
C.
The Zoning Hearing Board may make, alter and rescind rules and forms
for its procedure, consistent with ordinances of Fairview Township
and the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The Zoning Hearing
Board shall keep full public records of its business, which records
shall be the property of the municipality. The Board shall submit
a report of its activities to the Board of Supervisors once a year.
A.
The Zoning Hearing Board shall hear and decide appeals from any order,
requirement, decision or determination made by the Zoning Officer
in the administration of this chapter.
B.
The Zoning Hearing Board shall hear and decide all matters referred
to it when these matters fall under the jurisdiction of this chapter.
C.
The Zoning Hearing Board may issue special permits for any of the
uses requiring such permits under the terms of this chapter. In granting
special permits, the Board shall prescribe the basis upon which the
permit was issued and the conditions deemed necessary or desirable
for the protection of the public interest.
(1)
Variances and/or special exceptions granted by the Zoning Hearing
Board shall become invalid if a zoning permit is not issued and improvements
are not started within 90 days from the date the variance and/or special
exception has been granted.
(2)
No special permit shall be granted by the Zoning Hearing Board
unless it finds that the use for which such permit is sought will
not be injurious to the neighborhood or otherwise detrimental to the
public welfare and will be in harmony with the general purpose of
this chapter.
D.
The Zoning Hearing Board may adapt or vary the strict application
of any requirements of this chapter in the case of irregular, narrow,
shallow or steep lots, or other physical conditions whereby such strict
application would result in practical difficulty or unnecessary hardship
that would deprive the owner of the reasonable use of the land or
building involved but in no other case.
(1)
No such variance in the strict application of any provision of this chapter shall be granted by the Zoning Hearing Board unless it finds the conditions stated in Subsection D above are such that the strict application of this chapter would deprive the applicant of the reasonable use of land or buildings.
(2)
The granting of any variance shall be in harmony with the general
purpose and intent of this chapter and the Comprehensive Plan, and
shall not be injurious to the neighborhood or otherwise detrimental
to the public welfare and shall be the minimum necessary to afford
relief.
(3)
The Board must determine that any unnecessary hardship has not
been created by the appellant.
(4)
Requests for variance to the strict application of the Conservation
District shall be granted in accordance with the following:
(a)
No variance shall be granted for any construction, development,
use, or activity within any floodway area that would cause any increase
in the 100-year flood elevation or that would cause any increase in
the rate or amount of erosion occurring within a coastal and bluff
recession hazard area.
(c)
In reviewing any request for a variance, the Zoning Hearing
Board shall consider, but not be limited to, the following:
[1]
That the granting of the variance will not result
in any unacceptable or prohibited increase in flood heights or erosion,
additional threats to public safety, extraordinary public expense,
create nuisances, cause fraud on, or victimization of the public,
or conflict with any other applicable local or state ordinances and
regulations.
[2]
The structure shall be designed and constructed
to be movable. The construction activities shall meet the minimum
erosion and sedimentation control practices established by PADEP Rules
and Regulations, Pa. Code, Chapter 102, and reflect guidance contained
in the Erosion and Sedimentation Control Guide of Erie County and
shall comply with the requirements contained in the Fairview Township
Stormwater Management Ordinance.[1] All construction materials, including foundations, shall
be removed and disposed of in accordance with the Pennsylvania Solid
Waste Management Act,[2] PADEP Rules and Regulations, promulgated thereunder as
a part of the relocating structures. Access to and from the structure
shall be of sufficient width and acceptable grade to allow for moving
the structure.
(d)
A parcel established prior to coastal and bluff recession hazard
area designation does not have adequate depth considering the minimum
bluff setback requirements to provide for any permitted use of the
land.
(e)
A complete record of all variance requests and related actions
shall be maintained by the Zoning Hearing Board. In addition, a report
of all variances granted during the year shall be included in the
annual report to the Federal Insurance Administration.
(f)
A copy of the PADEP permit and requirements from the Bureau
of Dams and Waterway Management shall be filed with the Zoning Hearing
Board.
(5)
Notwithstanding any of the flood hazard requirements, all structures
shall be designed and constructed so as to have the capability of
resisting the hydrostatic and hydrodynamic loads and pressures, and
effects of buoyancy of the 100-year flood, and meet all design and
construction provisions for any flood area.
(6)
When reviewing applications for special exceptions and variances
and development located within floodplain or coastal hazard areas,
the Zoning Hearing Board may refer any application and accompanying
documentation to the Fairview Township Engineer or agency for technical
assistance in evaluating the proposal.
The procedure of the Zoning Hearing Board shall be governed
by the provisions of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code[1] and such rules, not inconsistent therewith, as the Board
may adopt. In general, the procedure for appeal from action of the
Zoning Officer shall be as follows:
A.
Any appeal for exemption from the requirements of this chapter shall
be filed with the Zoning Hearing Board, with a notice of appeal specifying
the grounds for making the appeal. The Zoning Officer shall forthwith
transmit to the Board all of the documentary material constituting
the record upon which the action appealed was taken.
B.
The appellant shall, at the time of filing his appeal, pay the Township
a fee as determined by the Board of Supervisors to defray or help
defray the cost of the required advertising, which fee shall not be
refunded even though the application may be disapproved by the Board.
C.
Each appeal shall be tried on its merits at a public hearing. Notice
of such appeal shall be given to the applicant and Zoning Officer.
The appeal shall be published once each week for two successive weeks
in a newspaper of general circulation in the municipality. Such notice
shall state the time and place of the hearing and particular nature
of the matter to be considered at the hearing. The first publication
shall be not more than 30 days or less than seven days from the date
of the hearing. In addition to the notice provided herein, notice
of said hearing shall be conspicuously posted on the affected tract
of land at least one week prior to the hearing. The Board shall give
any additional notice required by any other ordinance to all parties
of interest and shall adjourn any hearing for the purpose of giving
such further notice.
D.
The Planning Commission shall furnish all pertinent narrative material,
maps, charts and other data available from Township files and relative
to the problem for reference by all concerned. The Board may adjourn
any hearing for the purpose of reviewing such data as may be pertinent
to the problem and may request interpretations of said data by a representative
of the Planning Commission.
E.
The Board shall decide each appeal in the manner provided by the
Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, and notice thereof shall
be given to all interested parties. The Board's decision shall
be immediately filed in its office and be a public record. In the
exercise of its functions upon such appeals or upon exceptions, the
Board may, in conformity with law, reverse or affirm wholly or partly,
or modify the order, requirement, decision or determination as in
its opinion ought to be made.
F.
Time limitations:
(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 an appropriate Fairview
Township 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, then he shall be bound by the
knowledge of his predecessor in interest. The failure of anyone other
than the landowner to appeal an adverse decision on a tentative plan
for a Planned Residential Development as set forth in Section 709
of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code,[2] as reenacted and amended, or an adverse decision by a
Zoning Officer on a challenge to the validity of an ordinance or map
pursuant to Section 916.2 of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning
Code,[3] as reenacted and amended, 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 landowners shall
be filed by the landowner within 30 days after notice of the determination
is issued.
G.
Any person aggrieved by any decision of the Board or any administrative
officer may appeal therefrom within 30 days to the Court of Common
Pleas of Erie County, Pennsylvania, as provided by the Pennsylvania
Municipalities Planning Code.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 10101 et seq.
