There is hereby created a Zoning Hearing Board,
herein referred to as the "Board," consisting of three residents of
the Township appointed by the Board of Supervisors pursuant to the
Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, as amended. Said Board
shall perform all the duties, and exercise all powers prescribed by
said Code and as herein further provided. It is the intention of this
chapter that the currently constituted Zoning Hearing Board of Lawrence
Township shall be continued and the same members are hereby appointed
to the Zoning Hearing Board created by the chapter with the same terms
as were provided under the previous ordinance.
Any Board member may be removed for malfeasance,
misfeasance or nonfeasance in office, or for other just cause, by
a majority vote of the Board of Supervisors, 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 elect from its own membership
its officers, who shall serve annual terms as such and may succeed
themselves. For the conduct of any hearing or the taking of any action,
a quorum shall be not less than the majority of all the members of
the Board, but where two members are disqualified to act in a particular
matter, the alternate member shall be seated. The Board may appoint
a hearing officer from its own membership to conduct any hearing on
its behalf, and the parties may waive further action by the Board
as provided in Section 908 of the Planning Code. The Board may make,
alter and rescind rules and forms for its procedure, consistent with
Township ordinances and laws of the commonwealth. The Board shall
keep full public records of its business and shall submit a report
of its activities to the Board of Supervisors as requested by the
Board of Supervisors.
Where legal counsel is desired, an attorney,
other than the Township Solicitor, shall be used.
The Board shall conduct hearings and make decisions
in accordance with the following requirements.
A. Notice shall be given to the public by notice published once each week for two successive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the Township. Such notice shall state the time and place of the hearing and the particular nature of the matter to be considered at the hearing. The first publication shall be not more than 30 days or less than seven days from the date of the hearing. Written notice shall be given to the applicant, the Zoning Officer, and to any person who has made timely request for the same. Written notices shall be prescribed by rules of the Board. In addition to the 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. In hearings related to Article
VIII of this chapter, special notice requirements are noted. Refer to §
125-56B of Article
VIII.
B. The Board of Supervisors 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.
C. 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.
D. 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, but the parties may 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 Township,
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 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.
J. 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, except that advice from the Board's Solicitor
is exempt from this restriction; shall not take notice of any communication,
reports, staff memoranda, or other materials 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.
K. 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 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 Planning
Code, or any 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 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 chapter or the Planning Code, 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 in the same manner as
provided in the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code. Nothing
in this subsection shall prejudice the right of any party 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, a brief notice of the decision or findings
and a statement of the place at which the full decision or findings
may be examined.
The Board's functions shall be:
A. Substantive challenges to the validity of any land
use ordinance, except those brought before the governing body pursuant
to Sections 609.1 and 916.1(a) (2) of the Planning Code.
B. Challenges to the validity of a land use ordinance
raising procedural questions or alleged defects in the process of
enactment or adoption which challenges shall be raised by an appeal
taken within 30 days after the effective date of said ordinance. Where
the ordinance appealed from is the initial Zoning Ordinance of the
Township and a Zoning Hearing Board has not been previously established,
the appeal raising procedural questions shall be taken directly to
court.
C. Appeals from the determination of the Zoning Officer,
including, but not limited to, the granting or denial of any permit,
or failure to act on the application therefor, the issuance of any
cease-and-desist order or the registration or refusal to register
any nonconforming use, structure or lot.
D. Appeals from a determination by the Township engineer
or the Zoning Officer with reference to the administration of any
floodplain or flood hazard ordinance or such provisions within a land
use ordinance.
E. Applications for variances from the terms of this chapter and the Flood Hazard Ordinance or such provisions within a land use ordinance, pursuant to Section 910.2 of the Planning Code and Subsection
H of this section.
F. Appeals from the Zoning Officer's determination under
Section 916.2 of the Planning Code.
G. Appeals from the determination of the Zoning Officer or Municipal Engineer in the administration of any land use ordinance or provision thereof with reference to sedimentation and erosion control and stormwater management insofar as the same relate to development not involving Article
V or
VII applications of the Planning Code.
H. Variances.
(1) 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 therefor 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 not 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; and
(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.
(2) 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.
I. Appeals under the provision of Article 8, the Lawrence
Township Airport Zoning Ordinance.
Appeals under §
125-40 and proceedings to challenge the chapter under §
125-40 may be filed with the Board in writing by the landowner affected, any officer or agency of the Township, or any person aggrieved. Requests for a variance under §
125-40 may be filed with the Board by any landowner or any tenant with the permission of such landowner.
No person shall be allowed to file any proceeding
with the Board later than 30 days after an application for development,
preliminary or final, has been approved by an appropriate Township
officer, agency or body if such proceeding is designed to secure reversal
or to limit the approval in any manner unless such person alleges
and proves that he had no notice, knowledge, or reason to believe
that such approval had been given. If such person has succeeded to
his interest after such approval, he shall be bound by the knowledge
of his predecessor in interest. See also Section 914.1 of the Planning
Code.
Upon filing of any proceeding referred to in
Section 913.3 of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code and
during its pendency before the Board, all land development pursuant
to any challenged ordinance, order or approval of the Zoning Officer
or of any agency or body, and all official action thereunder shall
be stayed unless the Zoning Officer or any other appropriate agency
or body certifies to the Board facts indicating that such stay would
cause imminent peril to life or property, in which case the development
or official action shall not be stayed otherwise than by a restraining
order, which may be granted by the Board or by the court having jurisdiction
of zoning appeals on petition after notice to the Zoning Officer or
other appropriate agency or body. See also Section 915.1 of the Planning
Code.