A.
The provision of this chapter will be administered and enforced by
the Zoning Officer. The Zoning Officer shall be appointed by the Borough
Council. It shall be the duty of the Zoning Officer, who is hereby
given the power, to:
(1)
Administer and enforce the provisions of this chapter.
(2)
Review zoning permit applications for compliance with the provisions
of this chapter, all other applicable ordinances and with all federal,
state, county and local laws and regulations which are relevant to
the subject property.
(3)
Collect fees and fines as provided herein to be deposited into
the Borough's general fund.
(4)
Issue and revoke zoning and occupancy permits according to the
provisions stated herein.
(5)
Maintain permanent files of all zoning and occupancy permits
and applications for such permits as public records.
(6)
Attend meetings of Borough Council and the Zoning Hearing Board,
as needed, and provide the Council and the Board with information
concerning applications and site plans.
(7)
Examine the progress of the work as stated in specific permit
applications to ensure that it is proceeding according to the stated
information in that application.
(8)
Prepare and maintain a list of nonconforming uses and structures.
(9)
Process requests for hearings before the Zoning Hearing Board.
(10)
Issue notices of violations of this chapter.
B.
The Assistant Zoning Officer, if appointed by the Borough Council,
shall exercise the same powers as the Zoning Officer when he is acting
on behalf of the Zoning Officer.
A.
It shall be unlawful for any person to erect, alter, relocate, enlarge
or structurally change a sign or other advertising structure, unless
specifically exempted by these regulations, without first obtaining
a permit in accordance with the provisions set forth herein.
B.
Zoning permits are required to control physical changes to land,
buildings, structures and signs and to assure that such activities
are conducted in conformance with all applicable Borough ordinances.
C.
A zoning permit shall be required to construct, reconstruct, erect,
alter, enlarge, raze or move a building, a structure, an accessory
building, an accessory structure, any lighted or flashing sign, or
any sign larger than 6 1/2 square feet in area.
D.
No activity described in Subsection C shall be undertaken by any person unless that person shall first have obtained a zoning permit.
E.
No zoning permit shall be issued unless the proposed activity conforms
to the requirements of this and other applicable Borough ordinances,
to all Borough codes and other applicable Borough ordinances, to all
Borough codes and to any appropriate State or Federal requirements
affecting the activity.
A.
Occupancy permits are required for residential, business, commercial
or industrial establishments or buildings in order to control changes
in the use of the land, buildings and structure; to be certain that
such uses are allowed by this chapter; and to assure safety of buildings
and activities before occupancy is allowed. An occupancy permit shall
be required in the following instances:
[Amended 5-9-2018 by Ord.
No. 966]
(1)
Occupancy of buildings, structures or land previously vacant.
(2)
Reuse or reoccupancy of buildings, structures or land previously
used or occupied.
(3)
To occupy or use a new building or structure.
(4)
To occupy or use a building or structure or part thereof that
has been altered, moved or enlarged so that a zoning permit was required.
(5)
To occupy or use a lot or zoning lot newly created by way of
subdivision or rezoning.
(6)
Change in the use or character of any building, structure or
lot.
(7)
Change of a nonconforming use.
(8)
The transfer of ownership or title of the building or structure,
or units located therein.
B.
No activity, as specified in Subsection A of this section, shall be undertaken by any person until said person shall have first obtained an occupancy permit.
C.
No occupancy permit shall be issued unless the proposed activity
conforms to the requirements of this and other applicable Borough
ordinances and to any appropriate State or Federal requirement affecting
the activity.
A.
Zoning and occupancy permits may only be obtained after the filing
of an application with the Zoning Officer and approval by him or her
of the application following a review of all application materials
and an inspection of the premises, where the application is for an
occupancy permit or where the Zoning Officer otherwise deems the same
appropriate.
[Amended 5-9-2018 by Ord.
No. 966]
(1)
The application for such permits shall be a standard form to
be provided by the Borough.
(2)
The completed application shall be accompanied by such information
as the Zoning Officer may require for administration of this chapter.
(3)
An applicant for a permit of either kind shall pay a fee, to
be set by Council by way of resolution, with the application.
[Amended 7-14-2021 by Ord. No. 995]
(4)
Before granting approval for such permits, the Zoning Officer
may require such changes in the plans as may be necessary to assure
compliance with this chapter and other ordinances of the Borough of
Irwin.
(5)
The application shall include the name and address of the applicant
and contractor and the site location on which construction is proposed.
(6)
Each application shall stipulate the proposed use of the land,
building or structure. If more than one use is proposed or existing,
the application shall include tabulation and description of all uses
on the property and a brief description of the proposed work and the
estimated cost.
(7)
The application shall include a site layout plan indicating
the location, dimensions, height and relation to property and street
lines of proposed buildings or structures and all existing buildings
or structures. The site layout plan shall be prepared and certified
by a registered professional engineer, land surveyor or landscape
architect licensed in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
B.
Review of application.
(1)
Planning Commission review. Sign proposals submitted in conjunction
with the proposed construction of a new building or addition to an
existing building that requires review by the Planning Commission
shall be shown on the site plan.
(2)
Building Official review. The Building Inspector shall review
the sign permit application for any proposed sign.
C.
Application fees. All applicants shall pay to the Borough at the
time of application a fee in the amount established in the fee schedule
adopted by resolution of the Borough Council. In the event an application
requires a request to Borough Council for consideration of a conditional
use or to the Zoning Hearing Board for consideration of a variance
or appeal of a decision of the Code Enforcement Officer, each applicant
shall pay to the Borough the appropriate application fee in the amount
established in the Fee Schedule.
No zoning permit shall be issued until the Zoning Officer has
determined that the proposed use of land, the proposed tenant or occupant,
or the existing or proposed building or structure complies with the
provisions of the applicable zoning district and other provisions
of this chapter. The issuance of a zoning permit does not permit construction
or occupancy of building or structure. A certificate of occupancy
is also required pursuant to the Pennsylvania Uniform Construction
Code, as amended. In case of refusal of the Code Enforcement Officer
to issue a permit, the applicant shall be advised in writing of the
reasons for denial and his or her rights of appeal to the Zoning Hearing
Board.
A.
The Zoning Officer shall be empowered to revoke a permit if he has
evidence that the activity for which the permit was granted is not
occurring in accordance with the information provided with application
for that permit.
B.
The revoking of a permit shall require the former permit holder to
cease and desist any activity previously allowed to occur while his
permit was in effect or which was occurring in violation of this chapter
and the terms under which his permit had been granted.
If any activity authorized by a permit shall not have been commenced
within six months after the issuance of such permit, the permit shall
be said to have expired and be invalid. Under such conditions neither
the permit fee nor any part thereof shall be returned to such permit
holder, and if at any further time such permit holder shall make application
for another permit for the same activity, he shall follow the same
procedure and pay the same fee as if no previous permit had been issued.
The Zoning Officer is responsible for tracking permits and maintaining
a list of the permits outstanding.
A.
The Zoning Officer is hereby authorized and directed, in the name
of the Borough, to enforce the provisions of this article and to institute
civil enforcement proceedings as provided in this chapter when acting
within the scope of his or her employment.
B.
If it appears that a violation of this chapter has occurred, the
Zoning Officer shall initiate enforcement proceedings by sending an
enforcement notice as provided herein. The enforcement notice shall
be sent to the owner of record of the parcel on which the violation
has occurred.
C.
The enforcement notice shall state the following:
(1)
The name of the owner of record and any other person against
whom the Borough intends to take action.
(2)
The location of the property 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)
Recipient of the notice has the right to appeal to the Zoning
Hearing Board within a period of 10 days.
(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.
A.
Any person, partnership or corporation who or which has violated
or permitted the violation of provisions of this chapter shall, upon
being found liable therefor in a civil enforcement proceeding commenced
by the Borough, pay a judgment that covers any expenses the Borough
shall incur to rectify the violation, plus court costs, including
reasonable attorneys' fees incurred by the Borough 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 Magisterial District
Judge. If the defendant neither pays nor timely appeals the judgment,
the Borough may enforce the judgment pursuant to the applicable rules
of civil procedure. Each day a violation shall continue shall constitute
a separate violation unless the Magisterial District Judge 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 Magisterial District Judge; thereafter each day that a violation
continues shall constitute a separate violation.
B.
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.
C.
When a property owner, partnership or corporation within the Borough
of Irwin has violated an ordinance or ordinances, the Borough will
send out three notices to notify the property owner, partnership or
corporation of the violation(s), and after the third notice the Borough
has the authority to hire personnel to rectify the violation at the
expense of the property owner, partnership or corporation. Upon being
found liable therefor in a civil enforcement proceeding commenced
by the Borough, the property owner, partnership or corporation shall
pay a judgment that covers any expenses the Borough shall incur plus
any court and attorneys' costs the Borough incurs.
