The municipality may on its own motion or by petition amend,
supplement, change, modify or repeal this chapter, including the Zoning
Map, by proceeding in the following manner. (See Appendix C of this
chapter[1] for an illustration of the amendment procedure.) For curative amendments, see Section 609.1, Procedure for landowner curative amendments, under Article VI of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, Act 247 of 1968, as amended.[2]
A.
Public hearing and notice requirements.
(1)
The Township Supervisors shall, at a public meeting, establish a
date, time and place for a public hearing on the proposed amendment.
Notice of such hearing shall be published once each week for two successive
weeks in a newspaper of general, local circulation. The first notice
shall be published not more than 30 days and the second publication
should appear no less than seven days prior to the hearing date. The
notice shall state the time and place of the hearing and the general
nature of the proposed amendment in such reasonable detail as will
give adequate notice of its contents and shall name the place(s) where
copies of the proposed amendment may be examined.
(2)
In addition, if the proposed amendment involves a Zoning Map change,
notice of said 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.
B.
Review by Planning Commissions. Every such proposed amendment or
change, whether initiated by the Township Supervisors or by petition,
shall be referred to the Township Planning Commission and the County
Planning Commission at least 30 days before the public hearing for
report thereon. If the Planning Commission(s) shall fail to file such
a report before the public hearing, it shall be presumed that the
Planning Commission(s) has no comments or concerns regarding the proposed
amendment, supplement or change.
C.
Opportunity to be heard. At the public hearing, full opportunity
to be heard shall be given to any citizen and all parties in interest.
D.
Notice of enactment. Prior to taking action on the amendment, the
Township Supervisors shall give notice of proposed enactment by publishing
the entire amendment or the title and a brief summary in a newspaper
of general, local circulation. Such notice shall be published one
time, not more than 60 days nor less than seven days prior to passage.
E.
Enactment of amendment.
(1)
The adoption of an amendment shall be by simple majority vote of
the Township Supervisors. The vote of the Supervisors shall be within
90 days after the last public hearing on the amendment. If the Supervisors
fail to take action within 90 days, the proposed amendment shall be
deemed to have been denied.
(2)
Within 30 days after enactment, a copy of the amendment shall be
forwarded to the County Planning Commission.
