Borough of Lewisburg, PA Article VIII Amendments

§ 360-51 Statutory authority.

A. The provisions of this chapter and the boundaries of the zoning districts, as set forth on the Zoning Map, may from time to time be amended or changed by the Borough Council, in accordance with the provisions contained in this article and the provisions of Section 609 of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, Act of 1968, P.L. 805, No. 247,[1] as from time to time reenacted and amended.

[1] Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 10101 et seq.

B. The provisions of this Article are based on Sections 609 and 610 of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code Act of 1968, P.L. 805, No. 247,[2] as from time to time reenacted and amended. In any conflict or discrepancy between the provisions herein and those of the aforementioned act, the provisions of the act shall prevail.

[2] Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 10101 et seq.

§ 360-52 Procedure for enactment of any and all amendments.

A. Prior to voting on the enactment of any amendment the Borough Council shall hold at least one public hearing.

(1) Public notice of this hearing shall be given, as delineated in § 360-46C(2) of this chapter.

(2) For rezoning, excluding that associated with the comprehensive review and updating of the zoning ordinance, the following notifications shall also occur:

(a) Notice of said public hearing shall be conspicuously posted by the Zoning Officer along the perimeter of the tract(s) to be affected at least seven days prior to the date of the hearing;

(b) Written notice shall be provided at least 30 days prior to the date of the hearing by first class mail to the addresses to which real estate tax bills are sent for real property located within the area being rezoned, as evidenced by real estate tax records within the possession of the Borough. The notice shall include the location, date and time of the public hearing.

B. In the case of an amendment, other than that prepared by the Borough Planning Commission, the Borough Council shall submit such amendment to the Planning Commission at least 30 days prior to the hearing on such proposed amendment to provide the planning commission an opportunity to submit recommendations.

C. All proposed amendments shall be submitted by the Borough Council to the Union County Planning Commission for review and recommendation at least 30 days prior to the public hearing.

D. If, after any public hearing held upon an amendment the proposed amendment is changed substantially or is revised to include any land not previously affected by it, the Borough Council shall submit said amendment back to the Union County Planning Commission for review and recommendation and hold another public hearing before proceeding to vote on the amendment.

E. Proposed amendments shall not be enacted unless public notice of proposed enactment is given and the proposed amendment is also made available for public view.

(1) Content of notice. The notice of proposed enactment of an amendment shall include:

(a) The time and place of the meeting at which enactment will be considered;

(b) A reference to where copies of the proposed amendment may be examined without charge or obtained for a charge not greater than the cost of preparing the copies.

(2) Public notice shall be given in a newspaper of general circulation not more than 30 nor less than seven days prior to the date of proposed enactment. Such notice shall be printed a minimum of once a week for two consecutive weeks.

(3) Notice shall be conspicuously posted in the Borough building at least two weeks prior to the proposed enactment.

(4) In addition to the notice of the enactment, the full text of the proposed amendment, or a summary thereof prepared by the Borough Solicitor, shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation not more than 60 nor less than seven days prior to passage pursuant to Section 610 of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code Act of 1968, P.L. 805, No. 247,[1] as from time to time reenacted and amended.

[1] Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 10101 et seq.

(5) In the event that amendments being made to this chapter are substantial ("substantial" being defined as amending more than one article of this chapter), before voting upon any enactment the Borough Council shall, at least 10 days prior to scheduled enactment, readvertise in one newspaper of general circulation a brief summary of the amendment setting forth all the provisions in reasonable detail.

F. Within 30 days after enactment, a copy of the amendment shall be forwarded to the Union County Planning Commission.

G. Zoning amendments shall be incorporated into official ordinance books by reference with the same force and effect as if duly recorded therein.

§ 360-53 Procedure for landowner curative amendments.

A. A landowner who desires to challenge on substantive ground the validity of this chapter or of the Official Map or any provision thereof that prohibits or restricts the use or development of land in which he/she has an interest may choose to submit along with his/her challenge a proposed amendment(s) to cure the alleged defects therein. A written request that such a challenge and proposed curative amendment(s) be heard and decided upon shall be submitted to the Borough Council, pursuant to the provisions of Section 609.1 of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code Act of 1968, P.L. 805, No. 247,[1] as amended. In addition, the landowner shall submit plans and explanatory material describing the use or development he/she proposes to cure the alleged defects of the challenged ordinance or map in order to provide sufficient basis for the Borough Council to evaluate the challenged ordinance or map.

[1] Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 10101 et seq.

B. The Borough Council shall commence a hearing thereon within 60 days of the request, pursuant to public notice in accordance with § 360-46C(2) of this chapter, unless the landowner requests or consents to an extension of time. The public notice shall include notice that the validity of this chapter or map is in question and the place and time when a copy of the request, including any plans, explanatory material or proposed amendments, may be examined by the public.

C. The landowner curative amendment shall be referred by the Borough Council to the Lewisburg Borough and Union County Planning Commissions for review and recommendation.

D. The hearing shall be conducted by the Borough Council, in accordance with § 360-46E, F and G of this chapter and Section 908 of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code Act of 1968, P.L. 805, No. 247,[2] as amended. All references therein to the Zoning Hearing Board shall, for the purposes of this section, be references to the Borough Council. However, the provisions of Section 908 (1.2) and (9) of the Act shall not apply and the provisions of Section 916.1 of the Act shall control.

[2] Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 10101 et seq.

E. Borough Council shall consider the curative amendment, the plans and explanatory material submitted by landowner and shall also consider:

(1) The impact of the proposal upon 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 to classes of persons otherwise unlawfully excluded by the challenged provisions of this chapter or map.

(3) The suitability of the site's soils, slopes, woodlands, wetlands, floodplains, aquifers, natural resources and other natural features for the intensity of the proposed use.

(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.

(5) The impact of the proposal on the preservation of agricultural and other uses that are essential to public health and welfare.

F. The Borough Council shall render its decision within 45 days after the conclusion of the last hearing. If the Borough Council fails to act on the landowner's request within this time period, a denial of the request is deemed to have occurred on the 46th day after the close of the last hearing.

G. The landowner curative amendment shall be deemed denied when:

(1) The Borough Council fails to commence the public hearing within 60 days of the request;

(2) The Borough Council notifies the landowner that it will not adopt the curative amendment;

(3) The Borough Council adopts another curative amendment, which is unacceptable to the landowner; or

(4) The Borough Council fails to act on the landowner's request within 45 days after the close of the last hearing, unless the time is extended by mutual consent by the landowner and the Borough.

H. In the event that Borough Council does not accept a landowner's curative amendment brought in accordance with this subsection, and a court subsequently rules that the challenge has merit, the court's decision shall not result in a declaration of invalidity for the entire Zoning Ordinance and map but only for those provisions which specifically relate to the landowner's curative amendment and challenge.

§ 360-54 Procedure for municipal curative amendments.

Should the Borough Council determine that this chapter or any portion thereof is substantially invalid, it shall take the following actions:

A. The Borough Council shall declare, by formal action, this chapter or portions thereof substantially invalid and propose to prepare a curative amendment to overcome such invalidity. Within 30 days following such declaration and proposal the Borough Council shall:

(1) By resolution make specific findings setting forth the invalidity of this chapter or any of its provisions. Such findings may include:

(a) References to those specific uses that are either not permitted or not permitted in sufficient quantity;

(b) Reference to a class of use or uses that require revision;

(c) Reference to the entire chapter that requires revision.

(2) Begin to prepare and consider a curative amendment to this chapter to correct the declared invalidity.

B. Within 180 days from the date of the declaration and proposal, the Borough Council shall enact a curative amendment to cure the declared invalidity.

C. Upon initiation of the procedures set forth above, the Borough Council shall not be required to consider or entertain any landowner's curative amendment filed under § 360-53, nor shall the Zoning Hearing Board be required to provide a written decision. Upon completion of the procedures set forth above no rights to a cure pursuant to the provisions of § 360-43G or 360-53 shall, from the date of declaration and proposal, accrue to any landowner on the basis of the substantive invalidity of the unamended chapter.

D. The procedures for a municipal curative amendment may not be utilized for a period of 36 months following the date of enactment of a municipal curative amendment. However, if after the date of declaration and proposal there is a substantially new duty or obligation imposed upon the Borough by virtue of a change in statute or by virtue of an Appellate Court decision, the Borough may utilize the provisions of this section to prepare a curative amendment to fulfill said duty or obligation.