Hearings.
(1) The Zoning Hearing Board (ZHB) shall conduct hearings and make decisions in accordance with the following requirements:
(a) Public notice (as defined herein) shall be provided. In addition, the ZHB shall notify by mail the Zoning Officer, Township Secretary, each member of the Board of Supervisors, Township Planning Commission and every other person or organization who shall have registered with the ZHB for the purposes of receiving such notices. Such mailed notices shall state the location of the site and the nature of the request. It shall also state the time, date and location of the proposed hearing. In addition to the written notice provided herein, written notice of said hearing shall be conspicuously posted on the affected lot or tract of land at least one week prior to the hearing.
(b) The Board of Supervisors may prescribe reasonable fees with respect to hearings before the ZHB. Fees for said hearings may include compensation for the Secretary and members of the ZHB, notice and advertising costs and necessary administrative overhead connected with the hearing. The costs, however, shall not include legal expenses of the ZHB, expenses for engineering, architectural or other technical consultants or expert witness costs.
(c) The hearing shall be held within 60 days from the date of the applicant's request, unless the applicant has agreed in writing to an extension of time.
(2) The hearings shall be conducted by the ZHB, or the ZHB may appoint any member as a hearing officer. The decision or, where no decision is called for, the findings shall be made by the ZHB; however, the appellant or the applicant, as the case may be, in addition to the Township, may, prior to the decision of the hearing, waive decision or findings by the ZHB and accept the decision or findings of the hearing officer as final.
(3) The parties to the hearing shall be the Township, any person affected by the application who has made timely appearance of record before the ZHB and any other person, including civic or community organizations, permitted to appear by the ZHB. The ZHB shall have power to require that all persons who wish to be considered parties enter appearances in writing on forms provided by the ZHB for that purpose.
(4) The Chairman or Acting Chairman of the ZHB or the hearing officer presiding shall have power to administer oaths and issue subpoenas to compel the attendance of witnesses and the production of relevant documents and papers, including witnesses and documents requested by the parties.
(5) 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.
(6) Formal rules of evidence shall not apply, but irrelevant, immaterial or unduly repetitious evidence may be excluded.
(7) The ZHB or the hearing officer, as the case may be, shall keep a stenographic record of the proceedings. The appearance fee for a stenographer shall be shared equally by the applicant and the ZHB. The cost of the original transcript shall be paid by the ZHB if the transcript is ordered by the ZHB or hearing officer; or shall be paid by the person appealing the decision of the ZHB if such appeal is made and, in either event, the cost of additional copies shall be paid by the person requesting such copy or copies. In other cases, the party requesting the original transcript shall bear the cost thereof.
(8) The ZHB 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 materials, except advice from the Solicitor, unless the parties are afforded an opportunity to contest the 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.
(9) The ZHB 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 ZHB or hearing officer. Where the application is contested or denied, each decision shall be accompanied by findings of fact and conclusions based thereon, together with the reasons therefor. Conclusions based on any provisions of the act or of this chapter, 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 ZHB shall make his report and recommendations available to the parties within 45 days, and the parties shall be entitled to make written representations thereon to the ZHB prior to final decision or entry of findings, and the ZHB's decision shall be entered no later than 30 days after the report of the hearing officer. Where the ZHB fails to render the decision within the period required by this subsection or fails to hold the required hearing within 60 days from the date of the applicant's request for hearing, the decision shall be deemed to have been rendered in favor of the applicant, unless the applicant has agreed in writing or on the record to an extension of time. When a decision has been rendered in favor of the applicant because of the failure of the ZHB to meet or render a decision as hereinabove provided, the ZHB shall give public notice of said decision within 10 days from the last day it could have met to render a decision in the same manner as provided in this section of this chapter. If the ZHB shall fail to provide such notice, the applicant may do so. Nothing in this subsection shall prejudice the right of any party opposing the application to appeal the decision to a court of competent jurisdiction.
(10) A copy of the final decision or, where no decision is called for, of the findings shall be delivered to the applicant personally or mailed to him not later than the day following its date. To all other persons who have filed their name and address with the ZHB not later than the last day of the hearing, the ZHB 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.
(11) The ZHB, in approving special exception or variance applications, may attach conditions necessary to protect and promote the public health, safety and welfare and the purposes of this chapter, including conditions which are more restrictive than those established for other uses in the same zone. The Zoning Officer shall have the power and duty to enforce the conditions. Failure to comply with any condition constitutes a violation of this chapter and shall be subject to the penalties and remedies described in
Article 9: Administration and Enforcement.
(12) Any site plan presented in support of an application for a special exception or variance shall become an official part of the record for the special exception or variance and approval of the application will also bind the use in accordance with the submitted site plan. Any subsequent change to the use of the property not reflected on the site plan shall require the applicant to obtain another special exception or variance approval.
(13) Effect of ZHB's decision.
If the variance or special exception is granted or the issuance of a permit is approved or other action by the appellant is authorized, the necessary permit shall be secured and the authorized action begun within one year after the date when the variance or special exception is finally granted or the issuance of a permit is finally approved or the other action by the appellant is authorized, and the building or alteration, as the case may be, shall be completed within one year of beginning the authorized action. For good cause, the ZHB may, upon application in writing stating the reasons therefor received by the Township's Zoning Officer prior to the expiration of such time period, extend either one-year period.
Should the appellant or applicant fail to obtain the necessary permits within said one-year period or, having obtained the permit, should he fail to commence work thereunder within such one-year period, it shall be conclusively presumed that the appellant or applicant has waived, withdrawn or abandoned his appeal or his application, and all provisions, variances and permits granted to him shall be deemed automatically rescinded by the ZHB.
Should the appellant or applicant commence construction or alteration within said one-year period but should he fail to complete such construction or alteration within said one-year period, the ZHB may, upon 10 days' notice in writing, rescind or revoke the granted variance or special exception or the issuance of the permit or permits or the other action authorized to the appellant or applicant, if the ZHB finds that a good cause appears for the failure to complete within such said one-year period, and if the ZHB further finds that conditions have so altered or changed in the interval since the granting of the variance, permit or action, that revocation or rescission of the action is justified.
For Zoning Hearing Board approvals which are required as part of the subdivision and land development process, the above-stated time restrictions do not apply so long as a subdivision or land development plan is filed with the Township within one year from the date of authorization thereof by the ZHB or by the Court, if such special exception or variance has been granted after an appeal, and the final approval and recording of a subdivision or land development plan occurs within one year from the date of authorization thereof by the ZHB or by the Court, if such special exception or variance has been granted after an appeal. In such cases, the ZHB approval shall be valid for as long as the approved final subdivision or land development plan is valid, in accordance with the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code.
For good cause, the ZHB may, upon application in writing stating the reasons therefor received by the Township's Zoning Officer prior to the expiration of such time period, extend the time restrictions of this section.
