[Ord. 273, 2/16/1982; as amended by Ord. 348, 9/3/1991]
Article IX of the Pennsylvania Planning Code, 53 P.S. §10901 et seq., as amended, governs the establishment and operation of the Zoning Hearing Board. A Zoning Hearing Board is hereby established in Yardley Borough to operate in accordance with the provisions of Article IX.
[Ord. 273, 2/16/1982; as amended by Ord. 348, 9/3/1991]
1. 
Members. The Zoning Hearing Board shall consist of five members appointed by Borough Council for overlapping five-year terms. These terms shall be arranged so that the term of one member expires each year. Members of the Board shall hold no other public office.
2. 
Alternate Members. The Borough Council may appoint by resolution one to three alternate Zoning Hearing Board members. The terms of office for alternate members shall be three years. Alternate members shall hold no other public office.
[Ord. 273, 2/16/1982]
Any Board member may be removed for malfeasance, misfeasance or nonfeasance in office or for other just cause, by a majority vote of the Borough Council 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. Vacancies shall be filled for the unexpired term in the same manner as in the case of original appointments.
[Ord. 273, 2/16/1982; as amended by Ord. 348, 9/3/1991]
1. 
Officers. The Board shall elect from its own membership its officers, who shall serve annual terms as such and may succeed themselves.
2. 
Quorum. 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. However, the Board may appoint a hearing officer from its own membership to conduct any hearing on its behalf and the parties involved may waive further action by the Board.
3. 
Alternates. If, by reason of absence or disqualification of a member, a quorum is not reached, the Chairperson 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 on 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. Alternate members seated pursuant to this Section shall have all the duties and powers of regular Board members.
4. 
Records and Decisions. The Board shall keep minutes of its proceedings, showing the vote of each member upon each question, or, if absent or falling to vote, indicating such fact, and shall keep records of its examinations and other Official actions, all of which shall be filed immediately in the office of the Borough and with the Borough Council and shall be a public record.
5. 
Hearings, Decisions and Fees. The Board shall conduct hearings and make decisions in accordance with the following requirements:
A. 
Borough Council 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.
B. 
The hearing shall be held within 60 days from the date of the applicant’s submission of a complete application, unless the applicant has agreed, in writing, to an extension of time.
C. 
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 applicant 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.
D. 
The parties to the hearing shall be the Borough, 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 requests in writing on forms provided by the Board for that purpose.
E. 
The Chairperson or acting Chairperson 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.
F. 
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.
G. 
Formal rules of evidence shall not apply, but irrelevant, immaterial or unduly repetitious evidence may be excluded.
H. 
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.
I. 
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 after the commencement of hearings with any party or his/her representative unless all parties are given an opportunity to be present.
J. 
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 ordnance, 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/her decision or findings are final, the Board shall make his/her 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 submission of a complete application, 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.
K. 
When a decision has been tendered 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 5.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 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.
[Ord. 273, 2/16/1982; as amended by Ord. 348, 9/3/1991; and by Ord. 435, 9/2/2008]
1. 
Jurisdiction. The Zoning Hearing Board shall have exclusive jurisdiction for hearing and rendering a decision on the following matters in accordance with Article IX of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, 53 P.S. §10901, as amended.]
A. 
Substantive challenges to the validity of any land use ordinance except curative amendments brought under §609.1 of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Code, 53 P.S. §10609.1, as amended.
(1) 
Challenges to the validity of this Chapter that involve a curative amendment must be brought before the Borough Council, as permitted under Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, §909.1(b)(4), 53 P.S. §10909.1(b)(4).
B. 
Procedural challenges to the validity of any land use ordinance, including challenges raising questions of defective enactment or adoption with challenges shall be raised by an appeal taken with 30 days after the effective date of said ordinance.
C. 
Appeals from any determination or action of a Zoning Officer, including but not limited to, the granting or denial of any permit, or failure to act on the application; therefore, the issuance of any cease and desist order or the registration or refusal to register any nonconforming use, structure or lot.
D. 
Appeals from determinations by a Borough Engineer or Zoning Officer in matters relating to the administration of floodplain or flood hazard ordinances.
E. 
Applications for a variance from a zoning, floodplain or flood hazard ordinance.
F. 
Applications for special exceptions pursuant to a zoning, floodplain or flood hazard ordinance.
G. 
Appeals from a Zoning Officer’s preliminary opinion about compliance with applicable ordinance and map requirements.
H. 
Appeals of determinations by the Borough Engineer or Zoning Officer concerning sedimentation, erosion control and stormwater management.
[Ord. 273, 2/16/1982; as amended by Ord. 348, 9/3/1991]
1. 
Applicability. Upon appeal from a decision by the Zoning Officer, the Zoning Hearing Board shall have the power to vary or adapt the strict application of any of the dimensional requirements of this Chapter where, by reason of exceptional narrowness, shallowness or shape of a specific piece of property at the time of the enactment of this Chapter or by reason of exceptional topographic conditions or other extraordinary and exceptional situation or condition on such piece of property, the strict application of any regulation enacted under this Chapter would result in peculiar and exceptional and undue hardship upon the owner of such property, but in no other case.
2. 
Conditions, Requirements and Standards. The Board shall hear requests 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 applicant.
D. 
That the variance, if authorized, will neither 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.
3. 
In granting any variance, the Board may attach such reasonable conditions and safeguards as it may deem necessary to implement the purpose of this Chapter.
[Ord. 273, 2/16/1982]
1. 
Applicability. The Zoning Hearing Board shall have the power to approve special exceptions when this Chapter specifically requires the obtaining of such approval and for no other use or purpose.
2. 
Conditions and Standards. In granting a special exception, the Zoning Hearing Board shall make findings of fact consistent with the provisions of this Chapter. The Board shall not approve a special exception except in conformance with the conditions and standards outlined in this Chapter.
3. 
General Requirements and Standards Applicable to All Special Exceptions. The Board shall grant a special exception only if it finds adequate evidence presented by the applicant that the proposed special exception is duly authorized under provisions of this Chapter, that the application falls within the terms of the specific provisions allowing for special exceptions and that the proposed use complies with all other requirements of this Chapter. The Zoning Hearing Board shall refuse an application for special exception where opponents to the application establish, by a preponderance of evidence, that the application is contrary to the health, safety and morals or general welfare of the community at large. The Zoning Hearing Board, in granting a special exception, may attach such reasonable conditions and safeguards as it may deem necessary to implement the purpose of this Chapter. The Board shall, among other things, require that any proposed use and location be:
A. 
In accordance with the Yardley Borough Comprehensive Plan and consistent with the spirit, purposes and the intent of this Chapter.
B. 
In the best interests of the Borough, the convenience of the community and the public welfare and be a substantial improvement to the property in the immediate vicinity.
C. 
Suitable for the property in question and designed, constructed, operated and maintained so as to be in harmony with and appropriate in appearance to the existing or intended character of the general vicinity.
D. 
In conformance with all applicable requirements of this Chapter.
E. 
Suitable in terms of effects on highway traffic and safety with adequate access arrangements to protect streets from undue congestion and hazard.
F. 
In accordance with sound standards of subdivision practice where applicable.
4. 
The Zoning Hearing Board may impose whatever conditions regarding layout, circulation and performance it deems necessary to ensure that any proposed development will secure substantially the objectives of this Chapter.
[Ord. 273, 2/16/1982; as amended by Ord. 435, 9/2/2008]
The Board shall hear challenges to the validity of the Zoning Ordinance or Map, except as indicated in Act 247, 53 P.S. §10916.1. In all such challenges, the Board shall take evidence and make a record thereon as provided in §122-211B of this Chapter. At the conclusion of the hearing, the Board shall decide all contested questions and shall make findings based on all relevant issues of fact which shall become part of the record on appeal to the court.
[Ord. 273, 2/16/1982; as amended by Ord. 348, 9/3/1991]
1. 
Any appeal from a determination of the Zoning Officer or any other appeal under the provisions of §27-1325.1 shall be filed with the Zoning Officer within 30 days after the date of such determination or action that is being appealed. In the case of an appeal by an applicant of an adverse decision to him or her, such thirty-day limit shall be from the date notice of such determination or action was delivered to, heard by or sent to the applicant or his/her authorized representative. See also time limitations in §914.1 of the State Municipalities Planning Code, 53 P.S. §10914.1.
2. 
All appeals and applications made to the Board shall be in writing on standard forms prescribed by the Zoning Hearing Board and be accompanied by fees prescribed by resolution of the Borough Council.
3. 
All appeals and applications shall refer to the specific provisions of this Chapter involved.
[Ord. 273, 2/16/1982; as amended by Ord. 348, 9/3/1991]
1. 
Upon the filing with the Zoning Hearing Board of an application for a special exception variance, appeal from the decision of the Zoning Officer or interpretation of this Chapter, the Board shall fix a reasonable time for a public hearing thereon and give notice as follows:
A. 
Public notice, as defined by §27-111, shall be given and written notice shall be given to the applicant, the Zoning Officer and to any person who has made timely written request for the same. Written notices shall be given at such time and in such manner as prescribed by any applicable ordinance or, in the absence of ordinance provision, by any applicable 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. 
Written notice should be mailed or delivered to the principal owner of each property that abuts or is across the street from the subject lot.