The Zoning Hearing Board (Board) shall consist of either three
or five residents of the Municipality, who shall be appointed by Council
in a manner prescribed by the Municipality's Home Rule Charter.
The term of office for 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
of a five-member Board shall expire each year. Members of the Board
shall hold no other elective or appointed office of the Municipality
or be an employee of the Municipality.
All provisions of the Municipalities Planning Code (MPC) (Act
of 1968, P.L. 805, No. 247 as reenacted and amended), as now or hereafter amended, reenacted or applied, including,
but not limited to, the conduct of hearings and the making of decisions,
shall be applicable to the Zoning Hearing Board. When there are conflicts
or inconsistencies between this chapter and the Municipalities Planning
Code (MPC), the more stringent regulations shall apply.
Any Board member may be removed for malfeasance, misfeasance
or nonfeasance in office or for other just cause, by a majority vote
of Council, 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.
Within the limits of funds appropriated by Council, the Board
may employ or contract for secretaries, clerks, legal counsel, consultants
and other technical and clerical services. Members of the Board may
receive compensation for the performance of their duties, as may be
fixed by Council, but in no case shall it exceed the rate of compensation
authorized to be paid to the members of Council.
The Zoning Hearing 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 Council 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. Council may prescribe reasonable fees with respect to hearings before
the Board. Fees for said hearings may include compensation for the
secretary and members of the Board, notice and advertising costs and
necessary administrative overhead connected with the hearing. The
costs, however, shall not include legal expenses of the Board, expenses
for engineering, architectural or other technical consultants or expert
witness costs;
C. The first hearing before the Board or hearing officer shall be commenced
within 60 days from the date of receipt of the applicant's administratively
complete application, unless the applicant has agreed in writing to
an extension of time. Each subsequent hearing before the Board or
hearing officer shall be held within 45 days of the prior hearing,
unless otherwise agreed to by the applicant in writing or on the record.
An applicant shall complete the presentation of his case-in-chief
within 100 days of the first hearing. Upon the request of the applicant,
the Board or hearing officer shall assure that the applicant receives
at least seven hours of hearings within the 100 days, including the
first hearing. Persons opposed to the application shall complete the
presentation of their opposition to the application within 100 days
of the first hearing held after the completion of the applicant's
case-in-chief. An applicant may, upon request, be granted additional
hearings to complete his case-in-chief, provided the persons opposed
to the application are granted an equal number of additional hearings.
Persons opposed to the application may, upon the written consent or
consent on the record by the applicant and Municipality, be granted
additional hearings to complete their opposition to the application,
provided the applicant is granted an equal number of additional hearings
for rebuttal;
D. The hearings shall be conducted by the Board, or the Board may appoint
any member or an independent attorney 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 Zoning Hearing Board or the hearing officer 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; and
J. The Zoning Hearing 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 representative
unless all parties are given an opportunity to be present.
The Zoning Hearing Board shall have exclusive jurisdiction to
hear and render final adjudication in the following matters:
A. Substantive challenges to the validity of any land use ordinance,
except those challenges brought before Council pursuant to Sections
609.1 and 916.1(a)(2) of the MPC;
B. Appeals from the determination by the 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, enforcement notice or the registration or refusal to register
any nonconforming use, structure or lot;
C. Appeals from a determination by the Municipal Engineer or Zoning Officer, with reference to the administration of Article
IV, Overlay Districts;
D. Applications for variances from the terms of this chapter, pursuant
to § 139-140;
E. Appeals from the Zoning Officer's preliminary opinion determination
as authorized by Section 916.2 of the MPC;
F. Applications for special exceptions under this chapter, pursuant
to § 139-142; and
G. Applications for the enlargement or expansion of a legally existing
nonconforming structure or use.
Appeals arising from the Zoning Officer's determination
on a specific provision of this chapter shall be handled in the same
manner as a variance request.
Appeals under §
359-139A,
B,
C,
D,
E and
G may be filed with the Board, in writing, by the landowner affected, by any officer or agency of the Municipality or any person aggrieved. Requests for a variance under § 139-140 may be filed with the Board only by any landowner or any tenant with the permission of such landowner.