The Board shall perform all the duties and have all the powers
prescribed by the MPC and as herein provided.
The Board shall conduct hearings and make decisions in accordance
with the following requirements:
A. Public notice shall be given and written notice shall be given to the applicant, the Zoning Officer, those property owners within 200 feet of the property line and to any person who has made timely request for the same. Public notice shall be given at such time and in such manner as prescribed in the §
500-7, Definitions. Written notice shall be mailed two weeks prior to the hearing. In addition to the written notice provided herein, written notice of said hearing shall be conspicuously posted by the record owner on the affected tract of land at least one week prior to the hearing. The Board of Supervisors may by resolution establish reasonable fees, based on cost, to be paid by the applicant and by persons requesting any notice not required by ordinance.
B. 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 Weisenberg
Township may, prior to the decision of the hearing, waive decision
or findings by the Board and accept the decision or findings of the
hearing officer as final.
C. The hearing shall 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.
The parties to the hearing shall be the municipality, 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.
A. 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 parties.
B. 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.
C. Formal rules of evidence shall not apply, but irrelevant, immaterial,
or unduly repetitious evidence may be excluded.
D. 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.
E. The Board or the hearing officer shall not communicate, directly
or indirectly, with any party or his 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
after the commencement of hearings with any party or his representatives
unless all parties are given an opportunity to be present.
F. 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 therefore. Conclusions based on any provisions of this chapter 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 hold the required hearing within 60 days from the date of the applicant's request for a hearing, 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 hereinabove 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 §
500-83A of this article. If the Board shall fail to provide such notice, the applicant may do so. Nothing in this subsection shall prejudice the right of any party opposing the application to appeal the decision to a court of competent jurisdiction.
G. 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.
The Board shall have exclusive jurisdiction to hear and render
final decisions in those matters set out in Section 909.1 of the MPC. Nothing contained herein shall be construed to deny to
the appellant the right to proceed directly in court, where appropriate
pursuant to Pennsylvania RCP, Section 1091 (relating to action in
mandamus).
A landowner who, on substantive grounds, desires to challenge
the validity of this chapter or the Zoning Map in any provision thereof
which prohibits or restricts the use or development of land in which
he has an interest shall submit the challenge in the manner set forth
in Section 916.1 of the MPC.
Appeals under §
500-86 may be filed with the Board in writing by any officer or agency of the municipality or any person aggrieved. Requests for a variance under §
500-92 and for special exception under §
500-91 may be filed with the Board by any landowner or any tenant with the permission of such landowner.
The Board shall hear request for variances where it is alleged
that the provisions of this chapter inflict unnecessary hardship upon
the applicant. The Board may by rule prescribe the form of application
and may require preliminary application to the Zoning Officer. The
Board may grant a variance provided that all of the following findings
are made where relevant in a given case:
A. That there are unique physical circumstances or conditions, including
irregularity, narrowness, or shallowness of lot size or shape, or
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 this chapter in the neighborhood or district
in which the property is located;
B. That because of such physical circumstances or conditions, there
is no possibility that the property can be developed in strict conformity
with the provisions of this chapter and that the authorization of
a variance is therefore necessary to enable the reasonable use of
the property;
C. That such unnecessary hardship has not been created by the appellant;
D. That 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;
E. That 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.
F. In granting any variance, the Board may attach such reasonable conditions
and safeguards as it may deem necessary to implement the purposes
of the MPC and this chapter.