A.
For the administration of this chapter, a Zoning Officer,
who shall not hold any elective office in the Township, shall be appointed.
B.
The Zoning Officer shall meet the qualifications established
by the Township and shall be able to demonstrate to the satisfaction of the
Township a working knowledge of municipal zoning.
C.
The Zoning Officer shall administer this chapter in accordance
with its literal terms and shall not have the power to permit any construction
or any use or change of use which does not conform to this chapter.
D.
The Zoning Officer is hereby authorized to institute
civil enforcement proceedings as a means of enforcement when acting within
the scope of his or her employment.
E.
The Zoning Officer or his or her duly authorized assistant(s)
shall have the right to enter any building or enter upon any land at any reasonable
hour as necessary in the execution of his or her duties, provided that:
(1)
The Zoning Officer shall notify the landowner and tenant
before conducting any inspections.
(2)
The Zoning Officer or his or her duly authorized assistant(s)
shall display identification signed by the Township Supervisors upon commencing
an inspection.
(3)
Inspections shall be commenced in the presence of the
landowner or his or her representative or tenant.
F.
The Zoning Officer shall maintain files, open to the
public, of all applications for certificates of occupancy and building permits
along with plans submitted therewith as well as final certificates and permits.
G.
The Zoning Officer shall also maintain records, open
to the public, of every complaint of a violation of the provisions of this
chapter as well as action taken as a result of such complaint.
H.
The Zoning Officer shall submit to the Township Supervisors
for insertion in the Supervisors' minutes, a written report summarizing for
the month all building permits issued by him or her as well as complaints
of violations and action taken as a result of such complaints.
A.
No building or structure in excess of 100 square feet,
in any district, shall be placed, erected or structurally altered without
a building permit duly issued upon application to the Township. No building
permit shall be issued unless the proposed construction or use is in full
conformity with all provisions of this chapter and all other Township ordinances.
Any building permit issued in violation of the provisions of this chapter
shall be null and void and of no effect, and any work undertaken or use established
pursuant to any such permit shall be unlawful. Any person placing a mobile
home on a lot of record (not a mobile home park) must also obtain a building
permit.
[Amended 10-24-1995 by Ord. No. 238]
B.
No building permits shall be issued for the construction
or alteration of any building upon a lot without legal access to a street
or highway.
C.
No building permit shall be issued for a building to
be used for any variance or for any special exception in any district where
such use is allowed only by approval of the Zoning Hearing Board unless and
until such approval has been duly granted by the Zoning Hearing Board.
D.
The Township shall, within 15 days after the filing of
a complete and properly prepared application, either issue or deny a building
permit. If a building permit is denied, the Township shall state in writing
to the applicant the reasons for such denial.
E.
Every building permit shall expire if the work authorized
has not commenced within three months after the date of issuance, or has not
been completed within 18 months from such date, for construction costing less
than $1,000,000, and has not been completed within 36 months from such date
for construction costing in excess of such amount. If no zoning amendments
or other codes or regulations affecting the subject property have been enacted
in the interim, the Township may authorize in writing the extension of either
of the above periods of an additional six months, following which no further
work is to be undertaken without a new building permit.
F.
As soon as the foundation of a building or of any addition
to an existing building is laid off, and before first-story framing or wall
construction is begun, there shall be filed with the Township an accurate
survey signed by the person responsible for said survey, showing the exact
location of such foundation with respect to the street and property lines
of the lot.
G.
Site plans.
(1)
Any developer of a single tract of land for any of the
following reasons shall be required to present a site plan for review and
approval by Antrim Township:
(a)
Multifamily residential purposes.
(b)
Commercial.
(c)
Industrial.
(d)
Agricultural buildings of 10,000 square feet or more.
(e)
Changing, altering or modifying a dwelling, single-family
detached (house), into a dwelling, multifamily or dwelling, single-family
semidetached (double) or dwelling, single-family attached (row) or dwelling,
two-family detached (duplex) or dwelling, two-family semidetached (garden
apartment) or dwelling, group.
(3)
When a site plan is required, the review time for the
developer's fully completed building permit application will be extended to
30 days or 90 days in those instances when DEP planning approval is required.
(4)
Site plans will be reviewed by the Township Zoning Officer
and recommended for disapproval or approval to the Board of Supervisors. Any
required erosion and sedimentation controls will be reviewed by the County
Conservation District. Depending on the complexity of development, the Zoning
Officer may solicit comments from the Planning Commission before recommending
approval or disapproval.
(5)
Stormwater management plans prepared for any site plan
will be reviewed and approved by the Township Engineer. No site plan will
be recommended for approval without the Engineer's approval of the stormwater
management plan. Any fees for the Engineer's review of the stormwater management
plan will be paid by the developer according to a scale set by the Board of
Supervisors by resolution.
(6)
The review process of the site plan will normally be
handled internally by the Zoning Officer, Engineer and Board of Supervisors.
(7)
The developer, at the time of his or her application
for a building permit, will be advised of the review timetable.
[Amended 11-26-2002 by Ord. No. 279]
A.
Any individual or other entity requesting a zoning change
shall be required to pay any and all Township fees involved with the zoning
change request, including, but not limited to, advertising, attorney, engineer,
stenographer, copying, time spent by Township staff, etc.
B.
The Board of Supervisors shall have the right to establish
other fees in addition to the fees described above to offset the costs of
enforcing or administering this chapter.
A.
If it appears to the Township that a violation of this
chapter has occurred, the Township shall initiate enforcement proceedings
by sending an enforcement notice as provided in this section.
B.
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.
C.
An enforcement notice shall state at least the following:
(1)
The name of the owner of record and any other person
against whom the Township intends to take action.
(2)
The location of the property in violation.
(3)
The specific violation with a description of the requirements
which have not been met, citing in each instance the applicable provisions
of this chapter.
(4)
The date before which the steps for compliance must be
commenced and the date before which the steps must be completed.
(5)
That the recipient of the notice has the right to appeal
to the Zoning Hearing Board within a period of 10 days.
(6)
That failure to comply with the notice within the time
specified, unless extended by appeal to the Zoning Hearing Board, constitutes
a violation, with possible sanctions clearly described.
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 this chapter, 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 or her property or person
will 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. No such action may be maintained until such notice has
been given.
A.
Any person, partnership or corporation who or which has
violated or permitted the violation of the provisions of this chapter shall,
upon being found liable therefor in a civil enforcement proceeding commenced
by the Township, pay a judgment of not more than $500 plus all 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. 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 this chapter 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.
B.
The Court of Common Pleas, upon petition, may grant an
order of stay, upon cause shown, tolling the per diem fine pending a 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.
D.
District Justices shall have initial jurisdiction over
proceedings brought under this section.
