The Zoning Officer shall be appointed by the Board of Supervisors
and shall hold no elective office in the Township. 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. The duties of the Zoning Officer shall
include the following:
A.
Administer and enforce the provisions of this chapter.
B.
Institute civil enforcement proceedings as a means of enforcement
when acting within the scope of his employment.
C.
Issue zoning certificates, building permits, certificates of occupancy
and sign permits.
D.
Maintain a permanent file of all zoning certificates, occupancy permits,
sign permits, building permits and applications as public records.
E.
Register and record nonconforming uses.
F.
Inspect all land and structures for which a zoning certificate, building
permit, occupancy permit or sign permit has been applied for or issued
to determine compliance with this chapter and make all the inspections
necessary to enforce the provisions of this chapter.
A.
Enforcement notice. The enforcement notice shall contain the following
information:
(1)
The name of the owner of record and any other person against
whom the municipality 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 prescribed period of time in accordance
with procedures set forth in this chapter. If the recipient of the
notice of violation appeals sends notice to the Allegheny Township
Zoning Hearing Board, he/she shall be required to pay an appeal fee,
the amount of which will be set by a resolution of the Allegheny Township
Board of Supervisors; and
(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.
B.
Enforcement remedies.
(1)
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 attorney 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. All judgments, costs
and reasonable attorney fees collected for the violation of this chapter
shall be paid over to the Township.
(2)
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.
(3)
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 subsection.
C.
Other remedies. 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 Township
Supervisors or, with the approval of the Township Supervisors, an
officer of the Township, in addition to other remedies, may institute
any appropriate action or proceeding to prevent, restrain, correct
or abate such building, structure, landscaping or land to prevent,
in or about such premises, any act, conduct, business or use constituting
a violation.
A.
Where a building permit is not required, a zoning certificate shall
be obtained to verify compliance with this chapter for:
(1)
The establishment of a principal use on any vacant lot or parcel,
except for agricultural purposes.
(2)
A change in the principal use of a structure, lot or parcel
to a different use, except for agricultural purposes.
(3)
Any change in nonconforming use.
(4)
Construction of an accessory structure that does not exceed
500 square feet in the R1 Zoning District or 500 square feet in the
R2 Zoning District.
(5)
The commencement of oil and gas drilling activities in any zoning
district.
B.
Any proposed use or expansion or change of an existing use which is authorized in a zoning district as a conditional use or use by special exception shall require approval of the conditional use or use by special exception in accordance with the procedures specified in § 250-108 of this chapter as a prerequisite to issuance of a zoning certificate by the Zoning Officer.
A.
No person or corporation shall be permitted to occupy any new or
renovated vacant structure for which a building permit has been issued
under the Code of the Township without securing an occupancy permit
from the Township Zoning Officer.
B.
Applications for said occupancy permit shall be made at the Township
building and, upon the payment of the required fee established from
time to time by resolution of the Board of Supervisors and inspection
of the premises by the Zoning Officer, said permit shall be issued
if said premises meet all applicable requirements of this chapter.
The Board of Supervisors shall establish and revise, from time
to time, a schedule of fees by resolution, as well as a collection
procedure for all applications submitted under the provisions of this
chapter. The schedule of fees shall be available to the public from
the Zoning Officer or the Township Manager.
Any person or Township official aggrieved or affected by any provision of this chapter, or by any decision of the Zoning Officer, may appeal to the Zoning Hearing Board by filing a notice of appeal specifying the grounds thereof in accordance with the provisions of § 250-150 of this chapter.
In the event that Allegheny Township is required to retain the
services of a professional consultant or engineer to review and report
to the Township regarding land development plans, inspections or other
work relating to such plans, the landowner will be required to pay
a deposit that will be held in escrow by the Township for paying such
services. Such review and inspection fees shall be reasonable in accordance
with the ordinary and customary charges by the professional consultant
or engineer for similar service in the community, and the amount of
the deposit shall be set by resolution. Review and inspection fees
shall be imposed in accordance with Sections 503 and 510(g) of the
Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code.[1] Any balance of the aforementioned deposit will be returned
to the landowner upon full payment by the landowner of the invoices
submitted by the professional consultants.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. §§ 10503 and
10501(g).
