A.
Membership of Board.
(1)
The membership of the Board shall, upon the determination of
the Board of Supervisors, consist of either three or five residents
of the Township appointed by resolution of the Board of Supervisors.
The terms of office of a three-member board shall be three years and
shall be so fixed that the term of office of one member shall expire
each year. The terms of office of a five-member board shall be five
years and shall be so fixed that the term of office of one member
shall expire each year. If a three-member board is changed to a five-member
board, the members of the existing three-member board shall continue
in office until their term of office would expire under prior law.
The Board of Supervisors shall appoint two additional members to the
Board with terms scheduled to expire in accordance with the provisions
of this subsection. The Board shall promptly notify the Board of Supervisors
of any vacancies which occur. Appointments to fill vacancies shall
be only for the unexpired portion of the term. Members of the Board
shall hold no other office in the Township.
(2)
The Board of Supervisors may appoint by resolution at least
one but no more than three residents of the Township to serve as alternate
members of the Board. The term of office of an alternate member shall
be three years. When seated pursuant to the provision of Section 906(b)
of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code[1]an alternate shall be entitled to participate in all proceedings
and discussions of the Board to the same and full extent as provided
by law for board members, including specifically the right to cast
a vote as a voting member during the proceedings, and shall have all
the powers and duties set forth in this section and as otherwise provided
by law. Alternates shall hold no other office in the Township. Any
alternate may participate in any proceeding or discussion of the Board
but shall not be entitled to vote as a member of the Board nor be
compensated pursuant to Section 907 of the Pennsylvania Municipalities
Planning Code,[2] as amended, unless designated as a voting alternate member
pursuant to Section 906(b) .
(3)
The Board of Supervisors may remove any member of the Zoning
Hearing Board for malfeasance, misfeasance or nonfeasance in office
or for other just cause, by a majority vote. The Zoning Hearing Board
member shall receive 15 days' advance notice prior to the meeting
of the intent to take such a vote. The hearing shall be held in connection
with the vote if the Zoning Hearing Board member shall make written
request for the hearing.
B.
Organization of board:
(1)
The 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 the 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 Board as provided in § 470-149.
(2)
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 Subsection shall be made on a case-by-case
basis in rotation according to declining seniority among all alternates.
(3)
The Board may make, alter and rescind rules and forms for its
procedure, consistent with ordinances of the Township and laws of
the Commonwealth. The Board shall keep full public records of its
business, which records shall be the property of the Township and
shall submit a report of its activities to the Board of Supervisors,
once a year.
C.
Powers. The Zoning Hearing Board shall have exclusive jurisdiction
to hear and render final decisions in the following matters:
(3)
Appeals 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.
(4)
(5)
Applications for variances from the terms of the Zoning Ordinance and flood hazard ordinance or such provisions within a land use ordinance, pursuant to § 470-150.
(6)
Applications for special exceptions under the Zoning Ordinance or floodplain or flood hazard ordinance or such provision within a land use ordinance, pursuant to § 470-151.
(7)
Appeals from the determination of any officer or agency charged
with the administration of any transfers of development rights or
performance density provision of the Zoning Ordinance.
(9)
Appeals 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 related to development not involving
subdivision and land development or planned residential development
applications.
D.
Board calendar. Each application or appeal filed in the proper form
with the required data must be numbered serially and be placed upon
the calendar of the Board by the Secretary. Applications and appeals
must be assigned for hearing in the order in which they appear on
the calendar. However, for good reason, the Board may order the advance
of the application or appeal. A hearing must 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.
A.
Notice; conduct of meeting.
(1)
Public notice shall be given and written notice shall be given
to the applicant, the Zoning Officer, all adjoining property owners
and to any person who, at least 15 days prior to the scheduled hearing
date, has made timely request for the same. Written notices shall
be given at such time and in such manner as shall be prescribed by
ordinance, or in the absence of ordinance provision, by rules of the
Board. In addition to the written notice provided herein, written
notice of the hearing shall be conspicuously posted on the affected
parcel of land at least one week prior to the hearing.
(2)
The Board of Supervisors may prescribe reasonable fees with
respect to hearings before the Zoning Hearing Board. Fees for said
hearings may include compensation of 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.
(3)
The first hearing shall be commenced within 60 days from the
date of the applicant's request, unless the applicant has agreed in
writing to an extension of time. Each subsequent hearing shall be
held within 45 days of the prior hearing, unless otherwise agreed
to by the applicant. Any party aggrieved by the schedule or progress
of the hearing may apply to the York County Court of Common Pleas
for judicial relief. The hearing shall be completed no later than
100 days after the completion of the applicant's case in chief, unless
extended for good cause upon application to the Court of Common Pleas.
(4)
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 of the hearing officer
as final.
(5)
Formal rules of evidence shall not apply, but irrelevant, immaterial,
or unduly repetitious evidence may be excluded.
(6)
The Board or the hearing officer shall not communicate, directly
or indirectly, with any party or his/her 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
with any party or his representative unless all parties are given
an opportunity to be present.
B.
Representation; statements:
(1)
Parties to the hearings 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 the 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.
(2)
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.
(4)
The applicant or appellant must be given an opportunity for
rebuttal.
C.
Witnesses. 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.
D.
Decision procedure.
(1)
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 the Pennsylvania Municipalities
Planning Code,[1] as amended, or of any 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 commence or complete as required of § 470-149A, 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 herein-above provided, the Board shall give public notice of 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 A of this section. Nothing in this subsection shall prejudice the right of any party opposing the application to appeal the decision to a court of competent jurisdiction.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 10101 et seq.
(2)
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.
(3)
Whenever the Board imposes a condition or conditions with respect
to the granting of an application or appeal, this condition must be
stated in the order of the Board and in the permit issued pursuant
to the order by the Zoning Officer.
(4)
This permit remains valid only as long as the conditions or
conditions upon which it was granted or the conditions imposed by
this chapter are adhered to.
E.
Records. 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.
A.
Filing of variance.
(1)
An application may be made to the Zoning Hearing Board for a
variance where it is alleged that the provisions of the Zoning Ordinance
inflict unnecessary hardship upon the applicant. The application must
be on a form provided for that purpose by the Zoning Officer. It must
be filed with the Board and copies given to the Zoning Officer and
Township Planning Commission. The applicant must provide all the information
requested on the form, together with any other information and data
that may be required to advise the Board of the variance, whether
such information is called for by the official form or not.
(2)
Unless otherwise specified or extended by the Board, a variance
authorized by it expires if the applicant fails to obtain a zoning/building
permit or use certificate within six months from the date of the authorization
of the variance.
B.
Referral to Planning Commission. All applications for a variance
shall be referred to the Township Planning Commission for a report.
The Township Planning Commission shall have 30 days from the date
of receipt of the application to review the variance request and submit
an advisory report to the Zoning Hearing Board. The Planning Commission
may have representation at the public hearing held by the Zoning Hearing
Board on such application.
C.
Standards for variance. Where there is unnecessary hardship, the
Board may grant a variance in the application of the provisions of
this chapter provided that the following findings are made where relevant
in a given case:
(1)
There are unique physical circumstances or conditions, including
a) irregularity, narrowness, or shallowness of lot size or shape,
or b) exceptional topographical or other physical conditions peculiar
to the particular property, and that the unnecessary hardship is due
to such conditions and not the circumstances or conditions generally
created by the provisions of the Zoning Ordinance in the neighborhood
or district in which the property is located.
(2)
Because of such physical circumstances or conditions, there
is no possibility that the property can be developed in strict conformity
with the provisions of the Zoning Ordinance and that the authorization
of a variance is therefore necessary to enable the reasonable use
of the property.
(3)
The unnecessary hardship has not been created by the appellant.
(4)
The variance, if authorized, will not alter the essential character
of the neighborhood or district in which the property is located,
nor substantially or permanently impair the appropriate use or development
of adjacent property, nor be detrimental to the public welfare.
(5)
The variance, if authorized, will represent the minimum variance
that will afford relief and will represent the least modification
possible of the regulation in issue.
D.
Conditions. In granting any variance, the Board may attach such reasonable
conditions and safeguards as it may deem necessary to implement the
purposes of this Zoning Ordinance.
A.
Filing of special exceptions.
(1)
For any use or activity permitted by special exception, a special
exception must be obtained from the Zoning Hearing Board. In addition
to the information required on the zoning/building permit application,
the special exception application must show:
(2)
Unless otherwise specified or extended by the Zoning Hearing
Board a special exception authorized by the Board expires if the applicant
fails to obtain, where required to do so, a zoning/building permit
or use certificate within six months of the date of the authorization
of the special exception.
B.
Temporary special exceptions. A temporary special exception may be
granted for the following uses:
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
C.
Referral to Planning Commission. All applications for a special exception
shall be referred to the Township Planning Commission for a report.
The Township Planning Commission shall have 30 days from the date
of receipt of the application to review the special exception request
and submit an advisory report to the Zoning Hearing Board. The Planning
Commission may have representation at the public hearing held by the
Zoning Hearing Board on such application.
D.
Conditions. The Zoning Hearing Board, in passing upon special exception
applications, may attach conditions considered necessary to protect
the public welfare and the Comprehensive Plan, including conditions
which are more restrictive than those established for other uses in
the same district.
E.
Application of extent of use regulations. The extent-of-use regulations
as set forth in this chapter must be followed by the Zoning Hearing
Board. Where no extent-of-use regulations are set forth for the particular
use, the Board must impose extent-of-use requirements as necessary
to protect the public welfare and the Comprehensive Plan.
F.
General standards.
(1)
A special exception may be granted when the Zoning Hearing Board
finds from a preponderance of the evidence produced at the hearing
that:
(a)
The proposed use, including its nature, intensity and location,
is in harmony with the orderly and appropriate development of the
district; and
(b)
That adequate water supply, sewage disposal, storm drainage
and fire and police protection are or can be provided for the use;
and
(c)
That the use of adjacent land and buildings will not be discouraged
and the value of adjacent land and buildings will not be impaired
by the location, nature and height of buildings, walls and fences;
and
(d)
That the use will have proper location with respect to existing
or future streets giving access to it, and will not create traffic
congestion or cause industrial or commercial traffic to use residential
streets; and
(e)
That the specific standards set forth for each particular use
for which a special exception may be granted have been met.
(2)
The applicant for a special exception shall have the burden
of proof, which shall include the burden of going forward with the
evidence and the burden of persuasion on all questions of fact, which
are to be determined by the Zoning Hearing Board.
