[Amended 8-14-1996 by Ord. No. 96-330]
The Zoning Hearing Board shall consist of three
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 Hearing
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.
Any 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, 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.
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 not be 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 § 425-81. The Board may make, alter and rescind rules and forms for its procedure, consistent with ordinances of the Township and the laws of the commonwealth.
Meetings shall be held at the call of the Chairman
and at such other times as the Board may determine, all of which shall
be open to the public.
The following requirements shall be observed
by the Zoning Hearing Board:
A.
The Board shall
keep minutes of its proceedings, showing the vote of each member upon
the question or indicating absence or failure to vote on the part
of any member.
B.
The Board shall
keep full public records of its business and shall submit a report
of its activities to the Township Supervisors once a year.
[Amended 1-13-1993 by Ord. No. 93-297]
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, such other persons as the governing body shall
designate by ordinance and to any person who 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 said hearing shall be conspicuously
posted on the affected tract of land at least one week prior to the
hearing.
B.
The governing
body may prescribe reasonable fees with respect to hearings before
the Zoning Hearing Board. Fees for said hearings may include compensation
for 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.
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. Procedures
for a subsequent hearing or hearings shall be as set forth in 53 P.S.
§ 10908(1.2).
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
D.
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 municipality,
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.
E.
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 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.
F.
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.
G.
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.
H.
Formal rules
of evidence shall not apply, but irrelevant, immaterial or unduly
repetitious evidence may be excluded.
I.
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.
J.
The Board or
the Hearing Officer shall not communicate, directly or indirectly,
with any party or their 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 their representative unless all parties
are given an opportunity to be present.
K.
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 this act 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 their decision or findings are final, the Board shall make their 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 Subsection A of this section. 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.
L.
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 them 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.
[Amended 1-13-1993 by Ord. No. 93-297]
The Zoning Hearing Board shall have exclusive
jurisdiction to hear and render final adjudications in the following
matters:
A.
Substantive challenges
to the validity of any land use ordinance, except those brought before
the governing body.[1]
B.
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.
C.
Appeals from
a determination by a municipal engineer or the Zoning Officer with
reference to the administration of any floodplain or flood hazard
ordinance or such provisions within a land use ordinance.
D.
Applications
for variances from the terms of this chapter.
E.
Applications
for special exceptions under this chapter.
F.
Appeals from
the determination of any officer or agency charged with the administration
of any transfers of development rights or performance density provisions
of this chapter.
G.
Appeals from
the Zoning Officer's determination pursuant to a request for a preliminary
opinion.
H.
Appeals from
the determination of the Zoning Officer or Municipal 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 relate to development not involving subdivision,
land development or planned residential development.
Appeals under § 425-81 and proceedings to challenge an ordinance under § 425-82B may be filed with the Board, in writing, by an officer or agency of the Township or any person aggrieved. Requests for a variance under § 425-82C may be filed with the Board by any landowner or any tenant with the permission of such landowner.
The time limitations for raising certain issues
and filing certain proceedings with the Board shall be the following:
A.
No person shall
be allowed to file any proceeding with the board later than 30 days
after an application for development, preliminary or final, has been
approved by an appropriate municipal 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 they had
no notice, knowledge, or reason to believe that such approval had
been given. If such person has succeeded to their interest after such
approval, they shall be bound by the knowledge of their predecessor
in interest. The failure of anyone other than the landowner to appeal
from an adverse decision on a tentative plan pursuant to section 709
or from an adverse decision by a zoning officer on a challenge to
the validity of an ordinance or map pursuant to section 916.2 shall
preclude an appeal from a final approval except in the case where
the final submission substantially deviates from the approved tentative
approval.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
B.
Under the same conditions, limitations and exceptions as prescribed in § 425-84A, no person shall be allowed to file any proceeding with the Board later than 30 days after any application for development, preliminary or final, has been approved by an appropriate Township officer, agency or body if such proceeding is designed to limit the approval in any manner.
[Amended 1-13-1993 by Ord. No. 93-297]
A.
Upon filing of
any proceeding referred to in Section 913.3 of the Pennsylvania Municipalities
Planning Code[1] and during its pendency before the Board, all land development
pursuant to any challenged ordinance, order or approval of the Zoning
Officer or of any agency or body, and all official action thereunder,
shall be stayed unless the Zoning Officer or any other appropriate
agency or body certifies to the Board facts indicating that such stay
would cause imminent peril to life or property, in which case the
development or official action shall not be stayed otherwise than
by a restraining order, which may be granted by the Board or by the
court having jurisdiction of zoning appeals, on petition, after notice
to the Zoning Officer or other appropriate agency or body. When an
application for development, preliminary or final, has been duly approved
and proceedings designed to reverse or limit the approval are filed
with the Board by persons other than the applicant, the applicant
may petition the court having jurisdiction of zoning appeals to order
such persons to post bond as a condition to continuing the proceedings
before the board.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 10913.3.
B.
After the petition
is presented, the court shall hold a hearing to determine if the filing
of the appeal is frivolous. At the hearing, evidence may be presented
on the merits of the case. It shall be the burden of the applicant
for a bond to prove the appeal is frivolous. After consideration of
all evidence presented, if the court determines that the appeal is
frivolous, it shall grant the petition for a bond. The right to petition
the court to order the appellants to post bond may be waived by the
appellee, but such waiver may be revoked by them if an appeal is taken
from a final decision of the court.
C.
The question
whether or not such petition should be granted and the amount of the
bond shall be within the sound discretion of the court. An order denying
a petition for bond shall be interlocutory. An order directing the
responding party to post a bond shall be interlocutory.
D.
If an appeal
is taken by a respondent to the petition for a bond from an order
of the court dismissing a zoning appeal for refusal to post a bond
and the appellate court sustains the order of the court below to post
a bond, the respondent to the petition for a bond, upon motion of
the petitioner and after hearing in the court having jurisdiction
of zoning appeals shall be liable for all reasonable costs, expenses
and attorney fees incurred by the petitioner.
[Amended 9-12-1978 by Ord. No. 154]
A.
Application requirements.
(1)
A plan which
accurately delineates the area which is subject to flooding, the location
of the proposed construction, the location of any other flood-prone
development or structures and the location of any existing or proposed
stream improvements or protective works. Included shall be all plans
for proposed subdivision and land development in order to assure that:
(a)
All such
proposals are consistent with the need to minimize flood damage.
(b)
All utilities
and facilities, such as sewer, gas, electrical and water systems are
located, elevated and constructed to minimize or eliminate flood damage.
(c)
Adequate
drainage is provided so as to reduce exposure to flood hazards.
(2)
A plan which
details existing and proposed contours and elevations of the ground
(in relation to National Geodetic Vertical Datum) and the lowest floor
(including basement) of the proposed construction, base flood elevations
(highest flood elevation of record) and other associated factors such
as pressures and impact forces, etc., storage elevations, size of
the structure streets, water supply, sanitary facilities, soil types
and floodproofing measures, including the specific reference to the
level of the floodproofing in relation to the base flood elevation.
(3)
A document,
certified by a registered professional engineer or architect, which
states that the proposed construction has been adequately designed
to withstand the flood depths, pressures, velocities, impact and uplift
forces and other hydrostatic and hydrodynamic and buoyancy factors
associated with the base flood. Such statement shall include a description
of the type and extent of floodproofing measures which have been incorporated
into the design of the structure.
B.
Criteria.
(1)
All new structures
and structures which are modified, improved, altered or reconstructed
to an extent which equals or exceeds 50% of the structure shall meet
the following criteria.
(a)
They shall
be firmly anchored in accordance with engineering practices to prevent
flotation, collapse or lateral movement. Manufactured homes shall
be anchored as follows:
[Amended 10-25-2000 by Ord. No. 2000-379]
[1]
Over-the-top
ties shall be provided at each of the four corners of the manufactured
home with two additional ties per side at intermediate locations for
units 50 feet or more in length and one additional tie per side for
units less than 50 feet in length.
[2]
Frame
ties shall be provided at each corner of the manufactured home, with
five additional ties per side at intermediate locations for units
50 feet or more in length and four additional ties per side for units
less than 50 feet in length.
[3]
All
components of the anchoring system shall be capable of carrying a
force of 4,800 pounds.
(b)
They shall
be constructed so as to prevent the entrance of floodwaters into the
water supply and waste treatment systems as well as other utility
and facility systems. In addition, waste treatment systems shall be
designed to minimize or eliminate discharges from the systems into
floodwaters.
(c)
All residential
structures shall have the lowest floor (including basement) elevated
to or above the base flood level. All manufactured homes and any additions
thereto shall also be elevated in accordance with the following requirements:
[Amended 10-25-2000 by Ord. No. 2000-379]
[1]
The
stands or lots shall be elevated on compacted fill or on pilings so
that the lowest floor of the manufactured home will be at or above
the base flood elevation.
[2]
Adequate
surface drainage is provided.
[3]
Adequate
access for a hauler is provided.
[4]
Where
pilings are used for elevation, the lots shall be large enough to
permit steps, piling foundations shall be placed in stable soil no
more than 10 feet apart and reinforcement shall be provided for pilings
that will extend for six feet or more above the ground level.
(d)
All nonresidential
structures shall have the lowest floor level (including basement)
elevated to or above the base flood level or together with attendant
utility and sanitary facilities and be designed so that below the
base flood level the structure is watertight with walls substantially
impermeable to the passage of water and with structural components
having the compatibility of resisting hydrostatic and hydrodynamic
loads and effects of buoyancy.
(2)
Any modification,
alteration, reconstruction, repair or improvement of any kind to an
existing structure, to an extent or amount of less than 50% of its
market value, shall require that the structure be elevated and/or
floodproofed as specified above to the greatest extent possible.
[Amended 7-10-1985 by Ord. No. 85-204]
A.
In reviewing
any request for a variance, the Zoning Hearing Board shall consider,
at a minimum, that the granting of a variance will not:
B.
C.
Notwithstanding
the provisions of this section, no variance shall be granted for:
(2)
The commencement
of, or any construction of, a new manufactured home park or substantial
improvement to an existing manufactured home park.
[Amended 10-25-2000 by Ord. No. 2000-379]
(3)
Any new or
substantially improved structure which will be used for the production
or storage of any of the following dangerous materials or substances
or which will be used for any activity requiring the maintenance of
a supply (more than 550 gallons or other comparable volume or any
amount of radioactive substances) of any of the following dangerous
materials or substances on the premises:
(a)
Acetone.
(b)
Ammonia.
(c)
Benzene.
(d)
Calcium
carbide.
(e)
Carbon
disulfide.
(f)
Celluloid.
(g)
Chlorine.
(h)
Hydrochloric
acid.
(i)
Hydrocyanic
acid.
(j)
Magnesium.
(k)
Nitric
acid and oxides of nitrogen.
(l)
Petroleum
products (gasoline, fuel oil, etc.)
(m)
Phosphorus.
(n)
Potassium.
(o)
Sodium.
(p)
Sulfur
and sulfur products.
(q)
Pesticides
(including insecticides, fungicides, and rodenticides).
(r)
Radioactive
substances, insofar as such substances are not otherwise regulated.
