A.
It shall be the duty of the Zoning Officer to take
cognizance of violations of this chapter. He shall investigate each
violation which comes to his attention, whether by observation or
communication. If it appears to the Zoning Officer or the Township
that a violation of any zoning ordinance has occurred, the Township
shall initiate enforcement proceedings by sending an enforcement notice
as provided in this section.
(1)
The enforcement notice shall be sent to the owner
of record of the parcel on which the violation has occurred, to any
person who has filed a written request to receive enforcement notices
regarding that parcel, and to any other person requested in writing
by the owner of record.
(2)
An enforcement notice shall state at least the following:
(a)
The name of the owner of record and any other
person against whom the Township intends to take action.
(b)
The location of the property in violation.
(c)
The specific violation with a description of
the requirements which have not been met, citing in each instance
the applicable provisions of this chapter.
(d)
The date before which the steps for compliance
must be commenced and the date before which the steps must be completed.
(e)
That the recipient of the notice has the right
to appeal to the Zoning Hearing Board within 30 days of receipt of
said notice of violation.
(f)
That failure to comply with the notice within
the time specified, unless extended by appeal to the Zoning Hearing
Board, constitutes a violation, with the possible sanctions clearly
described.
B.
Failure to secure a zoning permit or Zoning Hearing
Board certificate, when required, previous to the erection, construction,
extension or addition of a building, shall also be a violation of
this chapter. Failure to secure any permit required by this chapter
shall also be a violation of this chapter. Failure to comply with
any order or decision of the Zoning Hearing Board shall also be a
violation of this chapter.
A.
Any person, partnership or corporation who or which
has violated or permitted the violation of the provisions of any zoning
ordinance or other statute shall, upon being found liable therefor
in a civil enforcement proceeding commenced by the Township, pay a
judgment of not more than $500 plus court costs, including reasonable
attorneys' fees incurred by the Township as a result thereof. No judgment
shall commence or be imposed, levied or payable until the date of
the determination of a violation by the District Justice. District
Justices shall have initial jurisdiction over proceedings brought
under this section. If the defendant neither pays nor timely appeals
the judgment, the Township may enforce the judgment pursuant to the
applicable rules of civil procedure. Each day that a violation continues
shall constitute a separate violation, unless the District Justice,
determining that there has been a violation, further determines that
there was a good faith basis for the person, partnership or corporation
violating the ordinance to have believed that there was no such violation,
in which event there shall be deemed to have been only one such violation
until the fifth day following the date of the determination of a violation
by the District Justice and thereafter each day that a violation continues
shall constitute a separate violation. All judgments, costs and reasonable
attorneys' fees collected for violation of the zoning ordinances shall
be paid over to the Township.
B.
The Court of Common Pleas, upon petition, may grant
an order of stay, upon cause shown, tolling the per diem fine pending
final adjudication of the violation and judgment.
C.
Nothing contained in this section shall be construed
or interpreted to grant to any person or entity other than the Township
the right to commence any action for enforcement pursuant to this
section.
In case any building, structure, landscaping
or land is or is proposed to be erected, constructed, reconstructed,
altered, converted, maintained or used in violation of any ordinance
or other statute, the Board of Supervisors or, with the approval of
the Board of Supervisors, an officer of the Township or any aggrieved
owner or tenant of real property who shows that his property or person
shall be substantially affected by the alleged violation, in addition
to other remedies, may institute any appropriate action or proceeding
to prevent, restrain, correct or abate such building, structure, landscaping
or land, or to prevent, in or about such premises, any act, conduct,
business or use constituting a violation. When any such action is
instituted by a landowner or tenant, notice of that action shall be
served upon the Township at least 30 days prior to the time the action
is begun by serving a copy of the complaint on the Board of Supervisors
of the Township. No such action may be maintained until such notice
has been given.
A.
The Board of Supervisors may appropriate funds to
finance the preparation of zoning ordinances and shall appropriate
funds for administration, for enforcement and for actions to support
or oppose, upon appeal to the courts, decisions of the Zoning Hearing
Board.
B.
The Board of Supervisors shall make provision in the
budget and appropriate funds for the operation of the Zoning Hearing
Board.
C.
The Zoning Hearing Board may employ or contract for
and fix the compensation of legal counsel, as the need arises. The
legal counsel shall be an attorney other than the Township Solicitor.
The Board may also employ or contract for and fix the compensation
of experts and other staff and may contract for services as it shall
deem necessary. The compensation of legal counsel, experts and staff
and the sums expended for services shall not exceed the amount appropriated
by the Board of Supervisors for this use.
D.
For the same purposes, the Board of Supervisors may
accept gifts and grants of money and services from private sources
and from the county, state and federal governments.
E.
The Board of Supervisors may prescribe reasonable
fees with respect to the administration of the Zoning Ordinance and
with respect to hearings before the Zoning Hearing Board. Fees for
these 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 cost, however,
shall not include legal expenses of the Zoning Hearing Board, expenses
for engineering, architectural or other technical consultants or expert
witness costs.
[Amended 12-23-2008 by Ord. No. 512]
The Board of Supervisors shall establish a fee schedule in which
shall be listed the various fees for applications, permits and hearings.
Said fee schedule shall be based, as nearly as possible, upon actual
costs to the Township for said applications, permits and hearings.
The fee schedule may be amended from time to time by resolution.[1]
[1]
Editor’s Note: The fee schedule is on file in the Township
offices.
A.
The Board of Supervisors, from time to time, may amend,
supplement, change, modify or repeal this chapter, including the Zoning
Map, by proceeding in the following manner, and as otherwise required
by law.
B.
Amendment procedures.
(1)
Before voting on the enactment of an amendment, the
Board of Supervisors shall hold a public hearing thereon, pursuant
to public notice. In addition, if the proposed amendment involves
a Zoning Map change, notice of said public hearing shall be conspicuously
posted by the Township at points deemed sufficient by the Township
along the perimeter of the tract to notify potentially interested
citizens. The affected tract or area shall be posted at least one
week prior to the date of the hearing.
(2)
In the case of an amendment, other than that prepared
by the Planning Commission, the Board of Supervisors shall submit
each such amendment to the Planning Commission at least 30 days prior
to the hearing on such proposed amendment to provide the Planning
Commission an opportunity to submit recommendations.
(3)
If, after any public hearing held upon an amendment,
the proposed amendment is changed substantially or is revised to include
land previously not affected by it, the Board of Supervisors shall
hold another public hearing, pursuant to public notice, before proceeding
to vote on the amendment.
(4)
At least 30 days prior to the public hearing on the
amendment by the Board of Supervisors, the Township shall submit the
proposed amendment to the County Planning Commission for recommendations.
(5)
Within 30 days after enactment, a copy of the amendment
to the Zoning Ordinance shall be forwarded to the County Planning
Commission.
C.
Publication, advertisement and availability of ordinances.
(1)
Proposed zoning ordinances and amendments shall not
be enacted unless notice of proposed enactment is given in the manner
set forth in this section, and shall include the time and place of
the meeting at which passage will be considered, a reference to the
place within the Township where copies of the proposed ordinance or
amendments may be examined without charge or obtained for a charge
not greater than the cost thereof. The Board of Supervisors shall
publish the proposed ordinance or amendment once in one newspaper
of general circulation in the Township not more than 60 days nor less
than seven days prior to passage. Publication of the proposed ordinance
or amendment shall include either the full text thereof or the title
and a brief summary prepared by the Township Solicitor and setting
forth all of the provisions in reasonable detail. If the full text
is not included:
(2)
In the event that substantial amendments are made
in the proposed ordinance or amendment, before voting upon enactment,
the Board of Supervisors shall, at least 10 days prior to enactment,
readvertise in one newspaper of general circulation in the Township
a brief summary setting forth all the provisions in reasonable detail,
together with a summary of the amendments.
(3)
Zoning ordinances and amendments may be incorporated
into the official ordinance books by reference with the same force
and effect as if duly recorded therein.
The Board of Supervisors shall submit each such
amendment to the County Planning Commission and the Township Planning
Commission at least 30 days prior to the hearing on such proposed
amendment to provide the Township Planning Commission an opportunity
to submit recommendations.
