The Borough Council by ordinance may, upon recommendation of
the Planning Commission, or upon petition and subject to procedures
provided by law, amend, supplement, change, or repeal the regulations,
district boundaries or classifications of property established by
this chapter.
A.
Requests for changes in this chapter may be made by owners of land
in the Borough or by their authorized agents and shall be filed with
the Codes Enforcement Officer on forms prescribed by him. Applications
shall contain all information necessary to assure a full and accurate
presentation of facts, including the following:
(1)
Applicant's name and address and that of his representative,
and the interest of every person represented in the application;
(2)
Verification by at least one of the owners attesting to the
truth and correctness of facts and information presented;
(3)
A plan showing the extent of the area to be rezoned, if this
be the nature of the request, and showing the streets bounding the
area, the use and district classification of abutting districts, and
the names and addresses of property owners of land within 200 feet
of the area;
(4)
A statement of the circumstances in the proposed and abutting
districts and any other factors on which the applicant relies as reasons
for supporting the proposed rezoning.
B.
The Codes Enforcement Officer shall review the application to determine whether it conforms with the requirements listed above. If satisfactory, the Codes Enforcement Officer shall immediately submit the application to the Planning Commission for review and approval. Upon approval, it shall be submitted to the Borough Council, who shall follow the procedures enumerated in § 475-139.
The Borough Council shall adhere to the following procedures
when amending this chapter:
A.
Preparation of amendments. The Borough Council may request the Planning
Commission to prepare amendments to this chapter using the same procedure
set forth in the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code.
B.
Referral to the County and Borough Planning Commission. The Borough
Council shall submit such amendment to both the County and Borough
Planning Commission at least 30 days prior to the public hearing.
C.
Public hearing. After receiving requests for amending this chapter
and after receiving the recommendations of the Planning Commissions,
the Borough Council shall hold a public hearing pursuant to public
notice.
D.
Revision of amendment. If, after the public hearing, amendment is
revised to include land previously not affected by it, the Borough
Council shall hold another public hearing.
E.
Voting on amendment. The Borough Council shall consider the recommendations
of the Planning Commissions and testimony presented at the public
hearing and vote on the proposed amendment.
F.
Notice of decision. The applicant and others so requesting shall
receive notice of the decision of the Borough Council through the
Codes Enforcement Officer.
The Borough Planning Commission shall follow the procedures
set forth below for amending this chapter:
A.
Preparation of amendments. At the request of the Borough Council,
or on its own initiative, the Borough Planning Commission:
B.
Review of amendments. In the case of an amendment other than that
prepared by the Borough Planning Commission, the Commission shall
review each such amendment submitted to it by the Borough Council.
It shall consider whether or not such proposed amendment would be
consistent with and desirable in the furtherance of the community
development objectives upon which this chapter is based. The Commission
shall submit its recommendations 30 days prior to the public hearing
scheduled by the Borough Council.
C.
Referral to the Borough Planning Commission. The Borough Planning
Commission shall also be responsible for submitting the proposed amendment
to the Montgomery Borough Planning Commission for its review and recommendations
30 days prior to the public hearing by the Borough Council.
A.
A landowner who desires to challenge this chapter or Zoning Map which prohibits or restricts the use or development of his land may submit a curative amendment to the Borough Council with a written request that his challenge and proposed amendment be heard and decided as provided for in § 475-137.
B.
The Borough Council shall commence a public hearing within 60 days of the request as provided in § 475-137.
C.
The curative amendment shall be referred to the Planning Commission
and notice of the public hearing shall be given. The public hearing
shall be conducted similarly as those conducted by the Zoning Hearing
Board, except that all references to the Zoning Hearing Board shall
be references to the Borough Council.
A.
The Borough Council, by formal action, may declare this chapter or
portions thereof substantially invalid and propose to prepare a curative
amendment to overcome such invalidity. Within 30 days following such
declaration, the Borough Council shall by resolution make specific
findings setting forth the declared invalidity which may include:
B.
A curative amendment shall be prepared according to the following
procedure:
(1)
Within 180 days from the date of the declaration, the Borough
Council shall enact a curative amendment.
(2)
Upon the initiation of the procedures, the Borough Council shall not be required to entertain or consider any landowner's curative amendment filed under § 475-137 nor shall the Zoning Hearing Board be required to give a report, subsequent to the declaration and proposal based upon grounds which are identical to or substantially similar to those specified in the resolution.
(3)
No rights to a cure pursuant to the provisions of § 475-137 shall, from the date of the declaration accrue to any landowner on the basis of the substantive invalidity of the unamended Zoning Ordinance for which there has been a curative amendment pursuant to this section.
(4)
The Borough Council having utilized the procedures as set forth
above, may not again utilize the procedure for a thirty-six-month
period following the date of the enactment of a curative amendment,
or reaffirmation of the validity of this chapter. However, if after
the date of declaration there is a substantially new duty or obligation
imposed upon the Borough by virtue of a change in statute or by virtue
of a Pennsylvania Appellate Court decision, the Borough Council may
utilize the provisions of this section to prepare a curative amendment
to this chapter to fulfill its duty.
Prior to enactment of an amendment, the Borough Council shall
hold a public hearing pursuant to public notice as follows:
A.
Public notices of proposed zoning ordinances and amendments shall
include either the full text or a brief summary setting forth the
principal provisions in reasonable detail, and a reference to a place
within the Borough where copies of the proposed ordinance or amendment
may be examined and the time and place of hearing;
B.
A public notice of a proposed zoning ordinance or amendment shall
be published once each week for two successive weeks, the first notice
to appear not less than 14 days nor more than 30 days before the date
fixed for the hearing, in a newspaper of general circulation in the
Borough.
C.
If the proposed amendment involves a Zoning Map change, notice of
the public hearing shall be conspicuously posted at points along the
perimeter of the affected tract at least seven days prior to the date
of the hearing.
Within 30 days after enactment, a copy of the zoning ordinance
or amendment shall be forwarded to the County Planning Commission.
