Officers. The Board shall elect a Chairman from its membership, and shall appoint a Secretary, and shall prescribe rules in accordance with the provisions of the Municipalities Planning Code and this chapter for the conduct of its affairs. The Chairman, or in his absence the acting Chairman, may administer oaths and compel the attendance of witnesses.

Meetings. The Board shall elect from its own membership its officers, who shall serve annual terms as such and may succeed themselves. For the conduct of any hearing and the taking of any action, a quorum shall be not less than a majority of all the members of the Board, but the Board may appoint a hearing officer from its own membership to conduct any hearing on its behalf and the parties may waive further action by the Board as provided in 53 P.S. § 10908. The Board may make, alter and rescind rules and forms for its procedure, consistent with ordinances of the municipality and laws of the commonwealth. The Board shall keep full public records of its business and shall submit a report of its activities to the Board of Supervisors once a year.

Records and Decisions. The Board shall keep records of its business and other official actions, all of which shall be filed in the office of the Board, and filed with the Board of Supervisors at least one time a year, and shall be available to the public at reasonable times.

Compensation. The Board of Supervisors shall fix per meeting compensation for the members of the Board, according to a schedule adopted by resolution of the Supervisors upon the enactment of this chapter or as such schedule may be amended from time to time. In no event shall the compensation exceed the rate being paid to members of the Board of Supervisors.

Involving the interpretation of any provisions of this chapter, including determination of the exact location of any district boundary if there is uncertainty with respect thereto.

Where it is alleged there is error in any order, requirements, decision, or determination, including any order requiring an alleged violation to stop, cease and desist, made by the Zoning Officer in the enforcement of this chapter.

An appeal of the decision of the Zoning Officer will not act as a stay of a cease and desist order.

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 by rule prescribe the form of application and may require preliminary application to the Zoning Officer. The Board may grant a variance, provided that all of the following findings are made where relevant in a given case:

In granting any variance, the Board may attach such reasonable conditions and safeguards as it may deem necessary to implement the purposes of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code and this chapter.

Any appeal from the ruling of the Zoning Officer concerning the enforcement and interpretation of the provisions of this chapter shall be filed with the Zoning Officer within 30 days after the date of the Zoning Officer's adverse decision is received by the landowner.

All appeals and applications made to the Board shall be in writing on standard forms prescribed by the Zoning Hearing Board and accompanied by fees prescribed by resolution of the Board of Supervisors.

All appeals and applications shall refer to the specific provisions of this chapter involved.

Public notice shall be given and written notice shall be given to the applicant, the Zoning Officer, such other persons as the Board of Supervisors shall designate by ordinance and to any person who has made timely requests for the same. Written notice shall be given to all real estate owners whose property adjoins the property subject to the application. For the purpose of this notice requirement, properties are adjoining or abutting even if separated by a street. In addition to the written notices provided herein, written notice of said hearing shall be conspicuously posted on the affected tract of land at least one-week prior to the hearing.

The Board of Supervisors may prescribe reasonable fees by resolution with respect to hearings before the Zoning Hearing Board. Fees for said hearings may include compensation for the Secretary and members of the Board, notice and advertising costs and necessary administrative overhead connected with the hearing. The costs, however, shall not include legal expenses of the Board, expenses for engineering, architectural or other technical consultants or expert witness costs.

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.

The hearings shall be conducted by the Board. The decision or, where no decision is called for, the findings shall be made by the Board.

The parties to the hearing shall be the Township, any person affected by the application who has made timely appearance of record before the Board, and any other person including civic or community organizations permitted to appear by the Board. The Board shall have power to require that all persons who wish to be considered parties enter appearance in writing on forms provided by the Board for that purpose.

The Chairman or Acting Chairman of the Board 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.

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.

Formal rules of evidence shall not apply, but irrelevant, immaterial or unduly repetitious evidence may be excluded.

The Board shall keep a stenographic record of the proceedings. The appearance fee for a stenographer shall be shared equally by the applicant and the Board. The cost of the original transcript shall be paid by the Board if the transcript is ordered by the Board or shall be paid by the person appealing from the decision of the Board 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.

The Board shall not communicate, directly or indirectly, with any party or his representatives in connection with any issue involved except upon notice and where all parties have the opportunity to participate. The Board shall not take notice of any communication, report, staff memoranda, or other material, except advice from their Solicitor, unless the parties are afforded an opportunity to contest the material so noticed, and shall not inspect the site or its surrounding after the commencement of hearings with any party or his representative unless all parties are given an opportunity to be present.

The Board shall render a written decision or, where no decision is called for, make written findings on the application within 45 days after the last hearing before the Board. Where the application is contested or denied, each decision shall be accompanied by findings of fact and conclusions based thereon, together with the reasons therefore. Conclusions based on the provisions of any act of the commonwealth, or any ordinance, rule, or regulation shall contain a reference to the provision relied upon and the reasons why the conclusion is deemed appropriate in light of the facts found. Where the Board fails to render its decision within 45 days or fails to hold the required hearing within 60 days from the date of the applicant's request for a 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 failure of the Board to meet or render a decision as hereinabove provided, the Board 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 Subsection 1 of this section. If the Board 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.

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 Board not later than the last day of the hearing, the Board 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.