In accordance with the law, the Township Supervisors shall appoint and organize a Zoning Hearing Board, which Board may adopt rules to govern its procedure. The Board shall hold meetings, keep minutes and, pursuant to public notice, shall conduct hearings, compel the attendance of witnesses, take testimony under oath and render decisions in writing within 45 days after the hearing or continued hearing, in accordance with the requirements of Article IX of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code.[1] A fee shall be charged in accordance with a schedule affixed
by resolution for any appeal or proceeding filed with the Board.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 10901 et seq.
The membership of the Zoning Hearing Board shall consist of
three residents of the Township appointed by the Township Supervisors.
Their terms of office shall be three years and shall be so fixed that
the term of office of one member shall expire each year. The Board
shall promptly notify the Township Supervisors when vacancies occur.
Appointments to fill vacancies shall be only for the unexpired portion
of the term. Members of the Board shall hold no other office in the
Township.
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 curative amendments brought before the Township Supervisors.
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 the ordinance.
C.
Appeals from the determination of the Zoning Officer, including,
but not limited to, the grant or denial of any permit or failure to
act on the application therefor, the issuance of a 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 flood hazard ordinance or such provisions within a land use ordinance pursuant to § 250-148.
H.
Appeals from the determination of the Zoning Officer or Township
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
subdivision and land development or planned residential development.
A.
The Board, upon appeal, shall have the power to authorize variances
from the requirements of this chapter and to attach such conditions
to the variance as it deems necessary to assure compliance with the
purposes of this chapter. A variance may be granted if all of the
following findings are made where relevant in a given case:
(1)
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 particular
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.
(2)
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 therefore necessary to enable the reasonable use of
the property.
(3)
That such unnecessary hardship has not been created by the appellant.
(4)
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.
(5)
That the variance, if authorized, will represent the minimum
variance necessary to afford relief and will represent the least modification
possible of the regulation in use.
B.
In granting any variance, the Board may attach such reasonable conditions
and safeguards as it may deem necessary to implement the purposes
of this chapter and protect the public health, safety and welfare.
The Board shall have the power to hear and decide on applications for uses by special exception as authorized by this chapter, in harmony with its general purpose and intent and in accordance with the standards set forth in Article XIV. The Board shall approve a use by special exception only if it meets all applicable requirements of this chapter and the express standards and criteria set forth in Article XIV. In granting a use by special exception, the Board may attach reasonable safeguards, in addition to those expressed in this chapter, as it may deem necessary to properly implement this chapter and protect the public health, safety and welfare.
A public hearing shall be held on any appeal filed under § 250-147 of this chapter within 60 days of filing of a complete application and shall be scheduled subject to payment of the fees required by § 250-153. The public hearing shall be held pursuant to public notice, as defined by this chapter. In addition to the public notice, at least one week prior to the hearing, the Board shall post at least one copy of the notice on the affected property and shall mail a copy of the notice by certified mail to each property owner within 200 feet of the affected property, including those located across a street right-of-way. The Board shall comply with all requirements of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code (Act 247, as amended)[1] regarding conduct of the public hearing and rendering
a decision.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. 10101 et seq.
A.
Where the Board fails to render a decision within the required forty-five-day
period or fails to hold the required hearing within 60 days 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 in time.
B.
When a decision has been rendered in favor of the applicant because
of failure of the Board to meet or render a decision, the Board shall
give public notice of the decision within 10 days from the last day
it could have met to render a decision. If the Board shall fail to
provide such notice, the applicant may do so. Nothing in this section
shall prejudice the right of any party opposing the application to
appeal the decision to the Court of Common Pleas.
A.
Parties to proceedings authorized in this article may utilize mediation
as an aid in completing such proceedings. In proceedings before the
Zoning Hearing Board, in no case shall the Zoning Hearing Board initiate
the mediation or participate as a mediating party. Mediation shall
supplement, not replace, those procedures in this article once they
have been formally initiated. Nothing in this section shall be interpreted
as expanding or limiting municipal police powers or as modifying any
principles of substantive law.
B.
Participation in mediation shall be wholly voluntary. The appropriateness
of mediation shall be determined by the particulars of each case and
the willingness of the parties to negotiate. Any municipality offering
the mediation option shall assure that, in each case, the mediating
parties, assisted by the mediator as appropriate, develop terms and
conditions for:
(1)
Funding mediation;
(2)
Selecting a mediator who, at a minimum, shall have working knowledge
of municipal zoning and subdivision procedures and demonstrated skills
in mediation;
(3)
Completing meditation, including time limits for such completion;
(4)
Suspending time limits otherwise authorized in this chapter
or in the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code (Act 247, as amended),
provided that there is written consent by the mediating parties and
by an applicant or Township decision-making body, if either is not
a party to the mediation;
(5)
Identifying all parties and affording them the opportunity to
participate;
(6)
Subject to legal restraints, determining whether some or all
of the mediation sessions shall be open or closed to the public; and
(7)
Assuring that mediated solutions are in writing and signed by
the parties and become subject to review and approval by the appropriate
decision-making body pursuant to the authorized procedures set forth
in this chapter.
C.
No offers or statements made in the mediation session, excluding
the final written mediated agreement, shall be admissible as evidence
in any subsequent judicial or administrative proceedings.
A.
Fees. 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.
B.
Stenographer's appearance fee and transcripts. 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.
C.
Expenditures. Members of the Board may receive compensation for the
performance of their duties as may be fixed by the Board of Supervisors,
but, in no case, shall it exceed the rate of compensation authorized
to be paid to the members of the Board of Supervisors. Within the
limits of the funds appropriated by the Board of Supervisors, the
Board may employ or contract for secretaries, clerks, legal counsel,
consultants and other technical and clerical services.
A.
No person shall file any proceeding before the Zoning Hearing Board
later than 30 days after a preliminary or final application for development
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.
B.
The failure of anyone other than the landowner to appeal from an
adverse decision of an application for tentative approval of a planned
residential development or from an adverse decision by a Zoning Officer
on a challenge to the validity of an ordinance or map filed pursuant
to Section 916.2 of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code[1] shall preclude an appeal from a final approval except
in the case where the final submission substantially deviates from
the approved tentative approval.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. 10916.2.
C.
All appeals from determinations adverse to the landowner shall be
filed by the landowner within 30 days after notice of the determination
is issued.
A.
Upon filing of any proceeding 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 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. When an application for development, preliminary or final, has
been duly approved and proceedings designed to reverse or limit the
approval are filed with the Board by persons other than the applicant,
the applicant may petition the court having jurisdiction of zoning
appeals to order such persons to post bond as a condition to continuing
the proceedings before the Board. The question of whether or not such
petition should be granted and the amount of the bond shall be within
the sound discretion of the court.
B.
All appeals from decisions rendered by the Zoning Hearing Board shall
be taken to the Westmoreland County Court of Common Please and shall
be filed within 30 days after the entry of the decision or, in the
case of a deemed decision, within 30 days after the date upon which
notice of said deemed decision is given, as required by Section 909.9
of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code (Act 247, as amended).[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Section 909 of the Pennsylvania Municipalities
Planning Code was repealed 1988, Dec. 21, P.L. 1329, No. 170, § 86.
For current provisions, see 53 P.S. § 10909.1.
