There shall be a Zoning Hearing Board, which shall consist of
three members who shall be appointed by the Board of Supervisors.
The membership of the Board shall consist of residents of the Township.
Their terms of office shall be three years and shall be so fixed that
the term of office of one member shall expire each year. The Board
shall promptly notify the Board of Supervisors of any vacancies that
occur. Appointments to fill vacancies shall be only for the unexpired
portion of the term. Members of the Board shall hold no other office
in the Township, except that no more than one member of the Board
may also be a citizen member of the Planning Commission. Any member
of the Board may be removed for malfeasance, misfeasance or nonfeasance
in office or for other just cause by a majority vote of the Board
of Supervisors taken after the member has received 15 days' advance
notice of the intent to take such a vote. A hearing shall be held
in connection with the vote if the member shall request it in writing.
The Board shall elect from its own membership its officers, who shall serve annual terms as such and may succeed themselves. For the conduct of any hearing and the taking of any action, a quorum shall be not less than a majority of all members of the Board, but where two members are disqualified to act in a particular matter, the remaining member may act for the Board. The Board may appoint a hearing officer from its own membership to conduct any hearing on its behalf, and the parties may waive further action by the Board as provided in §
450-81. The Board may make, alter and rescind rules and forms for its procedures, consistent with ordinances of the Township and laws of the commonwealth. The Board shall keep full public records of its business and shall submit a report of its activities to the Board of Supervisors once a year.
The Board shall conduct hearings and make decisions in accordance
with the following requirements:
A. The Board shall fix a reasonable time and place for public hearings
and shall give notice thereof as follows:
(1) By publishing a notice thereof once at least 10 days and not more
than 20 days before the date fixed for the hearing in a newspaper
of general circulation in the Township.
(2) By mailing a notice thereof to the parties in interest.
(3) By mailing a notice thereof to the Zoning Officer, the Township Secretary,
each member of the Board of Supervisors, each member of the Planning
Commission, the Secretary of the Chester County Planning Commission,
and to every person or organization who shall have registered with
the Board for the purpose of receiving such notices.
(4) The notice herein required shall state the location of the lot or
building and the general nature of the question involved.
(5) In addition to the above requirements, notice of said hearing shall
be conspicuously posted on the affected tract of land.
B. The hearings shall be conducted by the Board, or the Board may appoint
any member as a hearing officer. The decision or, where no decision
is called for, the findings shall be made by the Board, but the parties
may waive decision or findings by the Board and accept the decision
or findings of the hearing officer as final.
C. The parties to the hearing shall be the Township, any person affected
by the application who has made timely appearance of record before
the Board, and any other person, including civic or community organizations,
permitted to appear by the Board. The Board shall have power to require
that all persons who wish to be considered parties enter appearances
in writing on forms provided by the Board for that purpose.
D. The Chairman or Acting Chairman of the Board or the hearing officer
presiding shall have power to administer oaths and issue subpoenas
to compel the attendance of witnesses and documents requested by the
parties.
E. The parties shall have the right to be represented by counsel and
shall be afforded the opportunity to respond and present evidence
and argument and cross-examine adverse witnesses on all relevant issues.
F. Formal rules of evidence shall not apply, but irrelevant, immaterial
or unduly repetitious evidence may be excluded.
G. The Board or the hearing officer, as the case may be, shall keep
a stenographic record of the proceedings, and a transcript of the
proceedings and copies of graphic or written material received in
evidence shall be made available to any party at cost.
H. The Board or the hearing officer shall not communicate directly or
indirectly with any party or his representatives in connection with
any issue involved except upon notice and opportunity for all parties
to participate; shall not take notice of any communication, reports,
staff memoranda, or other material so noticed and shall not inspect
the site or its surroundings after the commencement of hearings with
any party or his representative unless all parties are given an opportunity
to be present.
I. The Board or the hearing officer, as the case may be, shall render
a written decision or, when no decision is called for, make written
findings on the application within 45 days after the last hearing
before the Board or hearing officer. Each decision shall be accompanied
by findings of fact and conclusions based thereon together with the
reasons therefor. Conclusions based on any provisions of this chapter
or any act, 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. If the hearing is conducted by a
hearing officer and there has been no stipulation that his decision
or findings are final, the Board shall make his report and recommendations
available to the parties, and the parties shall be entitled to make
written representations thereon to the Board prior to final decision
or entry of findings, and the Board's decision shall be rendered no
later than 30 days after the decision of the hearing officer. Where
the Board has power to render a decision and the Board or the hearing
officer, as the case may be, fails to render the same within the period
required by this subsection, the decision shall be deemed to have
been rendered in favor of the applicant, unless the applicant has
agreed in writing to an extension of time. Nothing in this subsection
shall prejudice the right of any party opposing the application to
urge that such decision is erroneous.
J. A copy of the final decision or, where no decision is called for,
the findings shall be delivered to the applicant personally or mailed
to him by certified mail not later than the day following its date.
To all other persons who have filed their name and address with the
Board no later than the last day of the hearing, the Board shall provide
by mail or otherwise brief notice of the decision or findings and
a statement of the place at which the full decision or findings may
be examined.