A.
Membership. The Zoning Hearing Board shall consist of three members
appointed by the Borough Council as provided by law.
B.
Powers. The powers, rules and regulations of the Zoning Hearing Board, unless stated otherwise, shall be as provided under 53 P.S. § 10101 et seq., the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, Article IX: Zoning Hearing Board and Other Administrative Proceedings.
[Amended 2-4-2021 by Ord. No. 1028]
C.
Notice of public hearings.
(1)
Upon the filing of an appeal or of an application for a special
exception or for a variance from the terms of this chapter, the Zoning
Hearing Board shall fix a reasonable time and place for a public hearing
consistent with the provisions of the Pennsylvania Municipalities
Planning Code. Notification of all hearings in front of the Zoning
Hearing Board shall be sent by the applicant to the owner or owners
of every lot within 500 feet of the subject property. The notices
herein required shall be delivered by first-class mail to the addresses
to which real estate tax bills are sent or by hand delivery at least
10 days prior to the scheduled hearing, shall state the location of
the building or lot, the general nature of the matter involved and
the relief sought, and the date, time and location of the hearing.
The applicant shall provide the Zoning Hearing Board with copies of
the notices provided prior to the hearing.
[Amended 2-4-2021 by Ord. No. 1028]
(2)
In addition to the written notice provided herein, written notice
of the said hearing shall be conspicuously posted on the affected
tract of land for a continuous period of at least seven days prior
to the hearing.
(3)
Written notice shall also be provided to any person who has
made a timely request for same by registering with the Borough office
in advance.
D.
Fees to accompany applications. Each application for an appeal, special
exception, or variance as provided in this chapter shall be accompanied
by a fee payable to the Borough Treasurer according to a schedule
of fees adopted and amended by Council to cover the following costs:
compensation for the Secretary and members of the Zoning Hearing Board,
notice and advertising costs and necessary administrative overhead
connected with the hearing. The costs shall not include legal expenses
of the Zoning Hearing Board, expenses for engineering, architectural
or other technical consultants or expert witness costs.
E.
Expiration of special exceptions and variances. Unless otherwise
specified by the Zoning Hearing Board, a special exception or variance
shall expire if the applicant fails to obtain a building permit within
six months from the date of authorization thereof.
A.
General to all zones.
(1)
In granting a special exception, the Zoning Hearing Board may attach such reasonable conditions and safeguards, in addition to those expressed in the chapter, as it may deem necessary to implement the statement of community development objectives and the intent of this chapter as stated in §§ 500-101 and 500-102 respectively.
(2)
Where this chapter has stated special exceptions to be granted
or denied by the Board pursuant to express standards and criteria,
either in this section or elsewhere in this chapter, the Board shall
hear and decide requests for such special exceptions in accordance
with such standards and criteria.
A.
The Board shall hear requests for variances where it is alleged that
the provisions of this chapter inflict unnecessary hardship upon the
applicant. The Board may grant a variance, provided that all of the
following findings are made where relevant in a given case:
(1)
That there are unique physical circumstances or conditions,
including irregularity, narrowness, or shallowness of lot size or
shape, or exceptional topographical or other physical conditions peculiar
to the particular property and that the unnecessary hardship is due
to such conditions and not the circumstances or conditions generally
created by the provisions of this chapter.
(2)
That because of such physical circumstances or conditions, there
is no possibility that the property can be developed in strict conformity
with the provisions of this chapter and that the authorization of
a variance is therefore necessary to enable the reasonable use of
the property.
(3)
That such unnecessary hardship has not been created by the appellant.
(4)
That the variance, if authorized, will not alter the essential
character of the neighborhood or district in which the property is
located, nor substantially or permanently impair the appropriate use
or development of adjacent property, nor be detrimental to the public
welfare.
(5)
That the variance, if authorized, will represent the minimum
variance that will afford relief and will represent the least modification
possible of the regulation at issue.
