The City Council shall appoint, by resolution, a Zoning Hearing
Board consisting of three members and at least one but no more than
three alternate members. The three members and the alternates shall
be residents of the City of Lancaster and shall hold no other elected
or appointed office in the City of Lancaster, nor shall any member
be an employee of the City of Lancaster.
Any Board member may be removed for malfeasance, misfeasance
or nonfeasance in office or for other just cause by a majority vote
of the City 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.
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. 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 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.
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 appellant or the applicant, as the case may be, in addition to
the City of Lancaster, 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 City of Lancaster, 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.
E. 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.
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 all 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 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.
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 chapter or the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, as amended, 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 representation 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. 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 Lancaster County Court of Common Pleas.
K. 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 the date of the decision
or findings. 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.