The Township Supervisors may introduce and consider amendments
to this chapter and to the Zoning Map as proposed by a Supervisor,
by the Planning Commission or by a petition of a landowner within
the Township.
Petitions for amendment shall be filed with the Planning Commission,
and the petitioner, upon such filing, shall pay an advertising deposit
and a filing fee in accordance with a schedule affixed from time to
time by resolution of the Township Supervisors. The Planning Commission
shall review the proposed amendment and report its findings and recommendations
in writing to the Township Supervisors and the petitioner.
A.
Referral to Township Planning Commission. Any proposed amendment
introduced by a Supervisor without written findings and recommendations
from the Planning Commission shall be referred to the Planning Commission
for review at least 30 days prior to public hearing by the Township.
The Planning Commission shall report its findings and recommendations
in writing to the Township Supervisors within such reasonable time
prior to the public hearing as the Township Supervisors may specify
in the referring action.
B.
Referral to County Planning Commission. The proposed amendment shall
be submitted to the Westmoreland County Planning Commission for recommendations
at least 30 days prior to the public hearing on the amendment by the
Township Supervisors. In the event that 30 days pass from the date
that the proposed amendment is submitted to the County Planning Commission
and a response has not been received, the Township Supervisors may
act without the recommendation of the County Planning Commission.
In the case where a proposed amendment involves the rezoning
of property, five public notices shall be posted on and around the
affected property for a minimum of seven days prior to the date of
the public hearing. In addition, at least seven days prior to the
date of the public hearing, a copy of the notice shall be sent to
each property owner within 200 feet of the boundaries of the affected
property, including those located across a street right-of-way.
Before acting upon a proposed amendment, the Township Supervisors
shall hold a public hearing thereon. Notice of such public hearing,
containing a brief summary of the proposed amendment and a reference
to the place where copies of the same may be examined, shall be published
once each week for two consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general
circulation in the Township. The first publication shall be no more
than 30 days and the second notice shall be not less than seven days
prior to the date of the hearing. If, after any public hearing held
upon an amendment, the proposed amendment is changed substantially
or is revised to include land not previously affected by it, the Township
Supervisors shall hold another public hearing, pursuant to public
notice, before proceeding to vote on the amendment.
The Township may offer a mediation option as an aid in completing proceedings authorized by this article. In exercising such an option, the Township and the mediating parties shall meet the stipulations and follow the procedures set forth in § 250-152 of this chapter.
Within 30 days after enactment, a copy of the amendment to this
chapter shall be forwarded to the Westmoreland County Planning Commission.
Any landowner who wishes to challenge, on substantive grounds,
the validity of this chapter or the Zoning Map or any provisions thereof
which prohibit or restrict the use or development of land in which
he has an interest may prepare and submit a curative amendment to
the Township Supervisors, in the form he proposes it to be adopted,
together with a written request that his challenge and proposed amendment
be heard. The Township Supervisors shall hold a public hearing, pursuant
to public notice, on the matter within 60 days of receiving the request
at a regular monthly meeting.
A.
Referral to Planning Commission. The curative amendment and challenge
shall be referred to the Township Planning Commission and County Planning
Commission at least 30 days prior to the public hearing for review
and comment.
C.
Evaluation of merits of curative amendments. If the Township Supervisors
determine that a validity challenge has merit, the Township Supervisors
may accept a landowner's curative amendment, with or without
revision, or may adopt an alternative amendment which will cure the
challenged defects. The Township Supervisors shall consider the curative
amendment, plans and explanatory material submitted by the landowner
and shall also consider:
(1)
The impact of the proposal on roads, sewer facilities, water
supplies, schools and other public service facilities;
(2)
If the proposal is for a residential use, the impact of the
proposal upon regional housing needs and the effectiveness of the
proposal in providing housing units of a type actually available to
and affordable by classes of persons otherwise unlawfully excluded
by the challenged provisions of this chapter or Zoning Map;
(3)
The suitability of the site for the intensity of use proposed
by the site's soils, slopes, woodlands, wetlands, floodplains,
aquifers, natural resources and other natural features;
(4)
The impact of the proposed use on the site's soils, slopes,
woodlands, wetlands, floodplains, natural resources and natural features,
the degree to which these are protected or destroyed, the tolerance
of the resources to development and any adverse environmental impacts;
and
(5)
The impact of the proposal on the preservation of agriculture
and other land uses which are essential to public health and welfare.
D.
Declaration of invalidity by the court. If the Township does not
accept a landowner's curative amendment brought in accordance
with this section and a court substantially rules that the challenge
has merit, the court's decision shall not result in a declaration
of invalidity for this entire chapter, but only for those provisions
which specifically relate to the landowner's curative amendment
and challenge.
