In the approval process for conditional uses,
the Planning Commission shall have the power to recommend and the
Council shall have the power to impose such reasonable conditions
as are deemed necessary to protect, preserve and promote the health,
safety and welfare of the community.
A.
Applications. A written application for conditional
use approval shall be filed with the Borough. Such application shall
contain or be accompanied by a project narrative and site plan and
such other pertinent data and information necessary to assure the
fullest practicable presentation of all the relevant facts concerning
the application and a notarized statement by at least one of the owners
of the subject property attesting to the truth and correctness of
all facts and information presented with the application. A fee shall
be paid upon the filing of each such application, which fee to be
fixed by the Council.
B.
Planning Commission actions. The Planning Commission
shall review each such conditional use application pursuant to such
notice as the Commission from time to time deems appropriate. Subsequent
to the Borough Council hearing, the Planning Commission shall submit
its recommendation, in writing, to the Council. A copy of the Planning
Commission's recommendation shall be provided to any individual who
submits a request in writing and pays a fee to be established by the
Council to defray costs of processing such request.
C.
Borough Council's functions; conditional uses.
(1)
Hearing and decision.
(a)
Where Borough Council, in the zoning ordinances,
has stated conditional uses to be granted or denied by Borough Council
pursuant to express standards and criteria, Borough Council shall
hold hearings on and decide requests for such conditional uses in
accordance with such standards and criteria. The hearing shall be
conducted by the Board or the Board may appoint any member or an independent
attorney as a hearing officer.
(b)
The decision, or, where no decision is called
for, the findings, shall be made by the Board. However, the appellant
or the applicant, as the case may be, in addition to the Borough,
may, prior to the decision of the hearing, waive decision or findings
by the Board and accept the decision or findings of the hearing officer
as final. In granting a conditional use, Borough Council may attach
such reasonable conditions and safeguards, in addition to those expressed
in the ordinance, as it may deem necessary to implement the purposes
of this article in the Zoning Ordinance.
(2)
Borough Council shall render a written decision or,
when no decision is called for, make written findings on the conditional
use application within 45 days after the last hearing before Borough
Council. Where the application is contested or denied, each decision
shall be accompanied by findings of fact or conclusions based thereon,
together with any reasons therefor. Conclusions based on any provisions
of this act or of any ordinance, rule or regulation shall contain
a reference to the provision relied on and the reasons why the conclusion
is deemed appropriate in the light of the facts found.
(a)
Where Borough Council fails to render the decision
within the period required by this subsection or fails to commence,
conduct or complete the required hearing as provided in Section 908
(1.2),[1] 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 of time. When a decision has been
rendered in favor of the applicant because of the failure of Borough
Council to meet or render a decision as hereinabove provided, Borough
Council shall give public notice of the decision within 10 days from
the last day it could have met to render a decision in the same manner
as required by the public notice requirements of this act. If Borough
Council shall fail to provide such notice, the applicant may do so.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 10908(1.2).
(b)
Nothing in this subsection shall prejudice the
right of any party opposing the application to appeal the decision
to a court of competent jurisdiction. A copy of the final decision
or, where no decision is called for, of the findings shall be delivered
to the applicant personally or mailed to him/her no later than the
day following its date.
D.
Council action. Following receipt of the Planning
Commission's recommendation, Borough Council shall conduct a public
hearing on the conditional use application, subject to public notice.
Council shall either approve the conditional use as proposed, approve
it subject to stated contingencies or reject it outright.
The Planning Commission and the Council shall, in recommending or granting a conditional use, also follow the express standards and criteria applicable to special exceptions. Such standards and criteria are set forth in § 130-28 herein. The Council may also require that a traffic impact study be prepared by a professional engineer with traffic design experience and submitted for review, with the costs thereof to be borne by the developer. The Council may also require that a landscape plan be prepared by a landscape architect to comply with the provisions of § 130-41 herein, with the costs thereof to be borne by the developer.
