A.
The Zoning Officer, who shall be appointed by the Board of Supervisors,
shall:
(2)
Issue zoning permits.
(3)
Maintain a permanent file on all zoning permits and applications
as public records.
(4)
Take in and review applications and issue such other permits,
do inspections and have such other duties as assigned.
(5)
Receive all applications for appeals, special exceptions, and
conditional uses and refer same to the proper bodies.
B.
In addition, the Zoning Officer shall review all applications for
completeness and reject, in writing, with cause given, any incomplete
or incorrect application.
A zoning permit application shall be at least 30 days prior
to the start of the project.
B.
Applications for a zoning permit shall be accompanied by an application
provided by the Township and such other information as the Zoning
Officer may require for administration of this chapter, together with
a filing fee as periodically established by the Township.
C.
All permits and certificates which are granted by the Zoning Officer
or those granted as special exceptions, on appeal to the Board or
as a conditional use shall be exercised promptly. If the use and/or
the work so authorized are not initiated within one year from the
date of the permit or certificate, then such certificate or permit
shall be null and void.
A.
Enforcement notice. When it appears to the Zoning Officer that a
violation has occurred, the Zoning Officer shall send an enforcement
notice. The enforcement notice shall be sent to the owner of record
of the parcel on which the violation has occurred, to any person who
has filed a written request to receive enforcement notices regarding
the parcel, and to any other person requested in writing by the owner
of record. The enforcement notice shall state the following:
(1)
The name of the owner of record and any other person against
whom the Township intends to take action.
(2)
The location of the property in violation by address and tax
parcel number(s).
(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)
That the recipient of the notice has the right to appeal to
the Zoning Hearing Board within 30 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. These sanctions shall include a filing for additional fines (see Subsection C, Enforcement remedies, below), issuance of a cease-and-desist order and a refusal to issue any other permits on this subject property.
B.
Causes of action. In case any building, structure, landscaping or
land is, or is proposed to be, erected, constructed, reconstructed,
altered, converted, maintained or used in violation of this chapter,
the Township, the Zoning Officer of the Township, or any aggrieved
owner or tenant of real property who shows that his property or person
will be substantially affected by the alleged violation, in addition
to other remedies, may institute any appropriate action or proceeding
to prevent, restrain, correct or abate such building, structure, landscaping
or land, or to prevent, in or about such premises, any act, conduct,
business or use constituting a violation. When any such action is
instituted by a landowner or tenant, notice of that action shall be
served upon the Township at least 30 days prior to the time the action
is begun by serving a copy of the complaint on the Board of Supervisors
of the Township of Potter. No such action may be maintained until
such notice has been given.
C.
Enforcement remedies. Any person, partnership or corporation who
or which has violated or permitted the violation of the provisions
of this chapter shall, upon being found liable therefor in a civil
enforcement proceeding commenced by the Township, pay a judgment of
not more than $500 plus all court costs, including reasonable attorneys'
fees incurred by the Township 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 District Justice. If the defendant neither pays
nor timely appeals the judgment, the Township may enforce the judgment
pursuant to the applicable rules of civil procedure. Each day that
a violation continues shall constitute a separate violation, unless
the District Justice 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, and thereafter each day that
a violation continues shall constitute a separate violation. All judgments,
costs and reasonable attorneys' fees collected for the violation of
this chapter shall be paid over to the Township. Nothing contained
in this section shall be construed or interpreted to grant any person
or entity other than the Township and its Zoning Officer the right
to commence any action for enforcement pursuant to this section.
Any person or Township official aggrieved or affected by any decision of the Zoning Officer may appeal to the Zoning Hearing Board within 30 days, as provided by the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code and by the rules of the Board, by filing a notice of appeal specifying the grounds thereof. (See also § 210-113.)
