A. Power of amendment. The Board of Supervisors may, from time to time, amend, supplement, change or repeal this chapter, including the Official Zoning Map. Any amendment, supplement, change or repeal may be initiated by the Township Planning Commission, the Board of Supervisors or by a petition to the Board of Supervisors by an interested party.
B. Hearing and enactment procedures for zoning amendments.
(1) Public hearing: Before hearing and enacting Zoning Ordinance and/or Zoning Map amendments, the Board of Supervisors shall conduct a public hearing to inform the general public of the nature of the amendment and to obtain public comment. Such public hearing shall be conducted after public notice (as defined herein and listed below) has been given.
(2) Public notice: Before conducting a public hearing, the Board of Supervisors shall provide public notice as follows:
(a) Notice shall be published once each week for two successive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the Township. Such notice shall state the time and place of the hearing and the particular nature of the matter to be considered at the hearing. The first publication shall not be more than 30 days and the second publication shall not be less than seven days from the date of the hearing. Publication of the proposed amendment shall include either the full text thereof or the title and brief summary, prepared by the Township Solicitor and setting forth all the provisions in reasonable detail. If the full text is not included, a copy of the full text shall be supplied to a newspaper of general circulation in the Township at the time the public notice is published.
(b) For Zoning Map amendments, public notice shall also include the posting of a sign at conspicuous locations along the perimeter of the subject property; these sign(s) shall be posted at least one week prior to the hearing and will exhibit the nature, date, time and location of the hearing.
(c) For curative amendments, public notice shall also indicate that the validity of this chapter and/or Map is in question and shall give the place where and the times when a copy of the request, including any plans, explanatory material or proposed amendments, may be examined by the public.
(d) If after any public hearing held upon an amendment the proposed amendment is changed substantially or is revised to include land previously not affected by it, the Board of Supervisors shall hold another public hearing, pursuant to public notice, before proceeding to vote on the amendment.
(3) Enactment notice: In addition to the public notice requirements defined herein, the Board of Supervisors must publish a reference to the time and place of the meeting at which passage of the ordinance or amendment will be considered and a reference to a place within the Township where copies of the proposed ordinance or amendment may be examined without charge or obtained for a charge not greater than the cost thereof. Enactment notice shall be published at least once in a newspaper of general circulation in the Township not more than 60 days nor less than seven days prior to passage. The published content of the enactment notice shall be the same as that required for public notice described in the preceding Subsection B(2).
(4) Township Planning Commission referrals:
(a) For amendments proposed by parties other than the Township Planning Commission, the Board of Supervisors shall submit each amendment to the Township Planning Commission at least 30 days prior to the public hearing on such amendment.
(b) A report of the review by the Township Planning Commission, together with any recommendations, may be given to the Board of Supervisors within 30 days from the date of said referral. The recommendation of the Township Planning Commission may include a specific statement as to whether or not the proposed action is in accordance with the intent of this chapter and any officially adopted comprehensive plan of the Township.
(5) Lancaster County Planning Commission referrals: All proposed amendments shall be submitted to the Lancaster County Planning Commission at least 45 days prior to the public hearing on such amendments. The Commission may submit recommendations to the Board of Supervisors; however, if the Lancaster County Planning Commission fails to act within 45 days, the Board of Supervisors may proceed without its recommendations.
(6) Adjournment of public hearing: If during the public hearing process the Board of Supervisors needs additional time to understand the proposal, inform the public, receive public comment and/or render a decision, it may adjourn the public hearing to a time and place certain.
(7) Within 30 days after enactment, a copy of the amendment to this chapter shall be forwarded to the Lancaster County Planning Commission.
C. Amendments initiated by the Township Planning Commission.
(1) When an amendment, supplement, change or repeal is initiated by the Township Planning Commission, the proposal shall be presented to the Board of Supervisors, which shall then proceed in the same manner as with a petition to the Board of Supervisors which has already been reviewed by the Township Planning Commission.
(2) Amendment initiated by the Board of Supervisors. When an amendment, supplement, change or repeal is initiated by the Board of Supervisors, such amendment, supplement, change or repeal shall follow the procedure prescribed for a petition under Subsection B, above.
D. Amendment initiated by a petition from an interested party. A petition for amendment, supplement, change or repeal for a portion of this chapter shall include an accurate legal description and surveyed plan of any land to be rezoned and all of the reasons supporting the petition to be considered. The petition shall also be signed by at least one record owner of the property in question, whose signature shall be notarized attesting to the truth and correctness of all the facts and information presented in the petition. A fee, to be established by the Board of Supervisors, shall be paid upon the filing of such petition for change and for the purpose of defraying the costs of the proceedings prescribed herein. The Board of Supervisors may require duplicate sets of petition materials.
E. Curative amendment by a landowner. A landowner who desires to challenge on substantive grounds the validity of this chapter or the Official Zoning Map or any provision thereof which prohibits or restricts the use or development of land in which he has an interest may submit a curative amendment to the Board of Supervisors in accordance with Sections 609(2) and 916(1) of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, as amended.
F. Curative amendment by the Board of Supervisors.
(1) The Board of Supervisors, by formal action, may declare this chapter or portions thereof substantively invalid and propose to prepare a curative amendment to overcome such invalidity. Within 30 days following such declaration and proposal, the Board of Supervisors shall:
(a) By resolution, make specific findings setting forth the declared invalidity of this chapter or portions thereof, which may include:
[1] Reference to specific uses which are either not permitted or not permitted in sufficient quantity.
[2] Reference to a class of use or uses which require revision.
[3] Reference to the entire chapter which requires revisions.
(b) Begin to prepare and consider a curative amendment to this chapter to correct the declared invalidity.
(2) Within 180 days from the date of the declaration and proposal, the Board of Supervisors shall enact a curative amendment to validate or reaffirm the validity of this chapter pursuant to the provisions required by Section 609 of the Act in order to cure the declared invalidity of this chapter.
(3) Upon the date of the declaration and proposal, the Board of Supervisors shall not be required to entertain or consider any curative amendment filed by a landowner. Nor shall the ZHB be required to give a report, upon request, for a challenge to the validity of this chapter under
§ 270-9.1E subsequent to the declaration and proposal, based upon the grounds identical to or substantially similar to those specified in the resolution required by this section. Upon the enactment of a curative amendment to or the reaffirmation of the validity of this chapter, no rights to a cure by amendment or challenge shall, from the date of the declaration and proposal, accrue to any landowner on the basis of the substantive invalidity of the unamended zoning ordinance for which the Board of Supervisors propose to prepare a curative amendment.
(4) The Board of Supervisors, having utilized the procedures as set forth in this section, may not again utilize said procedures for a thirty-six-month period following the date of the enactment of a curative amendment or reaffirmation of the validity of this chapter; provided, however, that, if after the date of declaration and proposal there is a substantially new duty or obligation imposed upon the Township by virtue of a decision by any court of competent jurisdiction, the Board of Supervisors may utilize the provisions of this section to prepare a curative amendment to this chapter to fulfill this duty or obligation.
G. Authentication of official zoning map. Whenever there has been a change in the boundary of a zone or a reclassification of the zone adopted in accordance with the above, the change on the Official Zoning Map shall be made and shall be duly certified by the Township Secretary and shall thereafter be refiled as part of the permanent records of the Township.
