For the administration of this Chapter, a Zoning Officer, who shall not hold any elective office in the Borough, shall be appointed.

The Zoning Officer shall meet the qualifications established by the Borough and shall be able to demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Borough a working knowledge of municipal zoning.

The Zoning Officer shall administer this Chapter in accordance with its literal terms, and shall not have the power to permit any construction or any use or change of use which does not conform to this Chapter.

The Zoning Officer is hereby authorized to institute civil enforcement proceedings as a means of enforcement when acting within the scope of his employment.

Receive applications, process the same, and issue permits for the erection, construction, alteration, repair extension, replacement, and/or use of any building, structure, sign, and/or land in the Borough.

At his discretion, examine or cause to be examined, all buildings, structures, signs, and/or land or portions thereof, for which an application has been filed for the erection, construction, alteration, repair, extension, replacement, and/or use before issuing any permit. Thereafter, he may make such inspections during the completion of work for which a permit has been issued. Upon completion of the building, structure, sign, and/or change, a final inspection shall be made and all violations of approved plans or permits shall be noted and the holder of the permit shall be notified of the discrepancies.

Keep a record of all applications received, all permits and certificates issued, reports of inspections, notices, and orders issued, and the complete recording of all pertinent factors involved. He shall file and safely keep copies of all plans permitted, and the same shall form a part of the records of his office and shall be available for the use of the Borough Council and other officials of the Borough Council. At least annually, he shall submit to the Borough Council a written statement of all permits and certificates of use and occupancy issued, and violations and stop work orders recommended or promulgated.

If any proposed construction or development is located within or partially within any designated floodplain district, applicants for building permits shall also profile the following specific information:

A copy of all applications and plans for construction or development in any designated floodplain district to be considered for approval shall be submitted by the Borough Zoning Officer to the County Conservation District for review and comment prior to the issuance of a building permit. The recommendations of the conservation district shall be considered by the Borough Zoning Officer for possible incorporation into the proposed plan.

Prior to the issuance of any building permit the Borough Zoning Officer shall review the application for permit to determine if all other necessary governmental permits such as those required by State and Federal laws have been obtained including those required by Act 537, the Pennsylvania Sewage Facilities Act, the Pennsylvania Dam Safety and Encroachments Act, and the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972, Section 404, 33 U.S.C. § 1334. No permit shall be issued until this determination has been made.

For purposes of implementation of these provisions, construction shall be considered to have started with the first placement of permanent construction of the site, such as the pouring of slabs or footings or any work beyond the stage of excavation. For a structure without a basement or poured footings, the start of construction includes the first permanent framing or assembly of the structure or any part thereof on its pilings or foundation, or the affixing of any prefabricated structure or mobile home to its permanent site. Permanent construction does not include land preparation, land clearing, grading, filling, excavation for basement, footings, piers, or foundations, erection of temporary forms, the installation of piling under proposed subsurface footings, or the installation of sewer, gas and water pipes, or electric or other service lines from the street.

The provisions of this Section shall be applicable, in addition to any other applicable provisions of this Chapter, or any other ordinance, code, or regulations and the provisions hereof shall supersede any other provisions of this Chapter inconsistent herewith.

Identification of Activities Requiring a Special Permit. In accordance with the Pennsylvania Floodplain Management Act, Act of October 4, 1978, P.L. 851, No. 166, § 101 et seq., 32 P.S. § 679.101 et seq., as amended, and regulations adopted by the Department of Community Affairs as required by the said Act, 38 Pa. Code § 38.1 et seq., as amended, the following obstructions and activities are permitted only by special permit, if located partially or entirely within any floodplain district:

Application Requirements. Applicants for special permits shall provide five copies of the following items:

Application Review Procedures. Upon receipt of an application for a special permit by the Borough, the following procedures shall apply in addition to all other applicable permit procedures which are already established.

Technical Requirements for Development Requiring a Special Permit. In addition to any other applicable requirements, the following provisions shall also apply to the activities requiring a special permit. If there is any conflict between any of the following requirements and any otherwise applicable provisions, the more restrictive provision shall apply.

Except for possible modification of the freeboard requirements involved, no variance shall be granted for any of the other requirements of this Section.

Freeboard requirements may only be modified pursuant to the provisions of § 506.6F of this Chapter.

If it appears to the Borough that a violation of this Chapter has occurred, the Borough shall initiate enforcement proceedings by sending an enforcement notice as provided in this Section.

The enforcement notice shall be sent to the owner of record of the parcel on which the violation has occurred, to any person who has filed a written request to receive enforcement notices regarding that parcel, and to any other person requested in writing by the owner of record.

An enforcement notice shall state at least the following:

Any person, partnership or corporation who or which has violated or permitted the violation of the provisions of this Chapter shall, upon being found liable therefor in a civil enforcement proceeding commenced by the Borough, pay a judgment of not more than $500 plus all court costs, including reasonable attorney fees incurred by the Borough as a result thereof. No judgment shall commence or be imposed, levied or payable until the date of the determination of a violation by the district justice. If the defendant neither pays nor timely appeals the judgment, the Borough may enforce the judgment pursuant to the applicable rules of civil procedure. Each day that a violation continues shall constitute a separate violation, unless the district justice determining that there has been a violation further determines that there was a good faith basis for the person, partnership or corporation violating this Chapter to have believed that there was no such violation, in which event there shall be deemed to have been only one such violation until the fifth day following the date of the determination of a violation by the district justice and thereafter each day that a violation continues shall constitute a separate violation.

The court of common pleas, upon petition, may grant an order of stay, upon cause shown, tolling the per diem fine pending a final adjudication of the violation and judgment.

Nothing contained in this Section shall be construed or interpreted to grant to any person or entity other than the Borough the right to commence any action for enforcement pursuant to this Section.

District justices shall have initial jurisdiction over proceedings brought under this Section.

There is hereby created for the Borough a Zoning Hearing Board in accordance with the provisions of Article IX of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, 53 P.S. § 10901 et seq.

The membership of the Board shall consist of three residents of the Borough appointed by resolution by the Borough Council. The terms of office shall be for three years and shall be so fixed that the term of office of one member shall expire each year. The Board shall promptly notify the Borough Council of any vacancies which occur. Appointments to fill vacancies shall be only for the unexpired portion of the term. Members of the Board shall hold no other office in the Borough.

Any Board member may be removed for malfeasance, misfeasance or nonfeasance in office or for other just cause by a majority vote of the Borough Council which appointed the member, taken after the member has received 15 days' advance notice of the intent to take such a vote. A hearing shall be held in connection with the vote if the member shall request it in writing.

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 this Chapter.

The Board may make, alter and rescind rules and forms for its procedure, consistent with ordinances of the Borough and laws of the Commonwealth. The Board shall keep full public records of its business, which records shall be the property of the Borough and shall submit a report of its activities to the Borough Council as requested by the Borough Council.

Within the limits of funds appropriated by the Borough Council, the Board may employ or contract for secretaries, clerks, legal counsel, consultants and other technical and clerical services. Members of the Board may receive compensation for the performance of their duties, as may be fixed by the Borough Council, but in no case shall it exceed the rate of compensation authorized to be paid to the members of the Borough Council.

Public notice shall be given and written notice shall be given to the applicant, the Zoning Officer and to any person who has made timely request for the same. Written notices shall be given at such time and in such manner as shall be prescribed by rules of the Board. In addition to the written notice 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 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 or the Board may appoint any member as a hearing officer. The decision, or, where no decision is called for, the findings shall be made by the Board, however, the appellant or the applicant, as the case may be, in addition to the Borough, may, prior to the decision of the hearing, waive decision or findings by the Board and accept the decision or findings of the hearing officer as final.

The parties to the hearing shall be the Borough, 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 appearances in writing on forms provided by the Board for that purpose.

The chairman or acting chairman of the Board 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.

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 or the hearing officer, as the case may be, shall keep a stenographic record of the proceedings. The appearance fee, including mileage, 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 hearing officer 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 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 their 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.

The Board 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 Board 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 this Chapter or of any law, ordinance, 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 Board 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 Board prior to final decision or entry of findings, and the Board's decision shall be entered no later than 30 days after the report of the hearing officer. Where the Board 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 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 the failure of the Board to meet or render a decision as hereinabove provided, the Board shall give public notice of the 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.

The Borough Council shall establish, by resolution, fees with respect to hearings before the Zoning Hearing Board.

The Zoning Hearing Board shall have exclusive jurisdiction to hear and render final adjudications in the following matters:

The Borough Council, shall have exclusive jurisdiction to hear and render final adjudications in the following matters:

The Borough Council may from time to time amend, supplement, or repeal any of the regulations and provisions of this Chapter. The procedure for the preparation of a proposed zoning ordinance as set forth in § 607 of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, 53 P.S. § 10607, is hereby declared optional.

Before voting on the enactment of an amendment, the Borough Council shall hold a public hearing thereon, pursuant to public notice. In addition, if the proposed amendment involves a zoning map change, notice of said public hearing shall be conspicuously posted by the Borough at points deemed sufficient by the Borough along the perimeter of the tract to notify potentially interested citizens. The affected tract or area shall be posted at least one week prior to the date of the hearing.

In the case of an amendment other than that prepared by the Planning Commission the Borough Council shall submit each such amendment to the Planning Commission at least 30 days prior to the hearing on such proposed amendment to provide the Planning Commission an opportunity to submit recommendations.

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 Borough Council shall hold another public hearing, pursuant to public notice, before proceeding to vote on the amendment.

At least 30 days prior to the public hearing on the amendment by the Borough Council, the Borough shall submit the proposed amendment to the county planning agency for recommendations.

Within 30 days after enactment, a copy of the amendment to this Chapter shall be forwarded to the county planning agency.

A landowner who desires to challenge on substantive grounds the validity of this Chapter or the 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 Borough Council with a written request that his challenge and proposed amendment be heard and decided as provided in § 916.1 of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code (hereinafter "MPC"), 53 P.S. § 10916.1. The curative amendment and challenge shall be referred to the Planning Commission and the county planning agency as provided in § 609 and notice of the hearing thereon shall be given as provided in §§ 610 and 916.1 of the MPC, 53 P.S. §§ 10609, 10610, and 10916.1.

The hearing shall be conducted in accordance with § 908 of the MPC, 53 P.S. § 10908, and all references therein to the Zoning Hearing Board shall, for purposes of this Section be references to the Borough Council. If the Borough does not accept a landowner's curative amendment brought in accordance with this subsection and a court subsequently rules that the challenge has merit, the court's decision shall not result in a declaration of invalidity for this entire Chapter and Zoning Map, but only for those provisions which specifically relate to the landowner's curative amendment and challenge.

The Borough Council, if it determines that a validity challenge has merit, may accept a landowner's curative amendment, with or without revision, or may adopt an alternative amendment which will cure the challenged defects. The Borough Council shall consider the curative amendments, plans and explanatory material submitted by the landowner and shall also consider:

If the Borough determines that this Chapter, or any portion hereof, is substantially invalid, it shall take the following actions:

Within 180 days from the date of the declaration and proposal, the Borough shall enact a curative amendment to validate, or reaffirm the validity of, this Chapter pursuant to the provisions of § 609 of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code (hereinafter "MPC"), 53 P.S. § 10609, in order to cure the declared invalidity of this Chapter.

Upon the initiation of the procedures as set forth in subsection (1), the Borough Council shall not be required to entertain or consider any landowner's curative amendment filed under § 609.1 of the MPC, 53 P.S. § 10609.1, nor shall the Zoning Hearing Board be required to give a report requested under §§ 909.1 or 916.1 of the MPC, 53 P.S. §§ 10909.1, 10916.1, subsequent to the declaration and proposal based upon the grounds identical or substantially similar to those specified by the resolution required by subsection (1)(A). Upon completion of the procedures set forth in subsections (1) and (2), no rights to a cure pursuant to the provisions of §§ 609.1 and 916.1 of the MPC, 53 P.S. §§ 10609.1, 10916.1, shall, from the date of the declaration and proposal, accrue to any landowner on the basis of the substantive invalidity of this Chapter for which there has been a curative amendment pursuant to this Section.

The Borough, having utilized the procedures set forth in this Section, may not again utilize said procedure for a period of 36 months following the date of enactment of a curative amendment, or reaffirmation of the validity of this Chapter; provided, however, if after the date of declaration and proposal there is a substantially new duty imposed upon the Borough by virtue of a change in statute or by virtue of a Pennsylvania Appellate Court decision, the Borough may utilize the provisions of this Section to propose a curative amendment to this Chapter to fulfill said duty or obligation.

The name and address of the applicant.

The name and address of the owner of the real estate to be affected by said conditional use.

A brief description of the location of the real estate to be affected by the proposed conditional use including, but not limited to, the street address, Mifflin County Deed Book number and page and the Mifflin County Tax Map Number.

A statement of the present zoning classification of the real estate in question, the improvements thereon and the present use thereof.

A statement of the Section or provision of this Chapter under which the conditional use may be allowed and the reasons why the applicant contends that it should be granted.

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 in the neighborhood or district in which the property is located.

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.

That such unnecessary hardship has not been created by the applicant.

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.

That the variance, if authorized, will represent the minimum variance that will afford relief and will represent the least modification possible of the regulation in issue.