Chalfont City Zoning Code

The Zoning Hearing Board shall consist of three residents of the Borough appointed by resolution by the Borough Council. The terms of office shall be three years and shall be so fixed that the term of office of one member shall expire each year. The Zoning Hearing 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 Zoning Hearing Board shall hold no other office in the Borough.

Alternate members. The Borough Council may appoint by resolution at least one but not more than three residents of the Borough to serve as alternate members of the Zoning Hearing Board, subject to the following provisions:

Officers. The Zoning Hearing Board shall elect a chair from its membership and shall appoint a secretary. The Chair or, in his absence, the Acting Chair may administer oaths and compel the attendance of witnesses.

Procedures. The Zoning Hearing Board may make, alter and rescind rules and forms for its procedures, consistent with ordinances of the Borough and laws of the commonwealth.

Meetings. Meetings shall be open to the public and shall be at the call of the chair and at such other times as the Zoning Hearing Board shall specify in its rules of procedure. For the conduct of any hearing and the taking of any action, a quorum shall be not less than a majority of all members of the Zoning Hearing Board.

Records and decisions. The Zoning Hearing Board shall keep minutes of its proceedings, showing the vote of each member upon each question or, if absent or failing to vote, indicating such fact and shall keep records of its examinations and other official actions, all of which shall be the property of the Borough and shall be a public record. The Zoning Hearing Board shall submit a report of its activities to the Borough Council as requested by the Borough Council.

The Borough Council shall fix per-meeting compensation for the members of the Zoning Hearing Board according to a schedule adopted by resolution of the Borough Council upon enactment of this chapter or as such schedule may be amended from time to time. Such compensation shall not exceed the rate of compensation authorized to be paid to members of the Borough Council.

Alternate members may receive compensation for the performance of their duties when designated as voting alternate members pursuant to § 440-141B. Such compensation shall be in accordance with Subsection A hereof.

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:

Applicability. Upon appeal from a determination by the Zoning Officer, the Zoning Hearing Board shall have the power to vary or adapt the strict application of any of the requirements of this chapter where, by reason of exceptional narrowness, shallowness or shape of a specific piece of property at the time of the enactment of this chapter or by reason of exceptional topographic conditions or other extraordinary and exceptional situation or condition on such piece of property, the strict application of any regulation enacted under this chapter would result in peculiar and exceptional and undue hardship upon the owner of such property, but in no other case.

Condition. In general, the power to authorize a variance from the terms of this chapter shall be sparingly exercised and only under peculiar and exceptional circumstances.

Requirements and standards. No variance shall be granted by the Zoning Hearing Board unless the requirements and standards of this chapter are satisfied. The applicant must prove that the variance will not be contrary to the public interest and that practical difficulty and unnecessary hardship will result if it is not granted. In particular, the applicant shall establish and substantiate that the appeal for the variance is in conformance with the requirements and standards listed below:

Administration. The Zoning Hearing Board shall conduct hearings and make decisions in accordance with the procedures and standards as set forth in § 440-150.

Applicability. The Zoning Hearing Board shall have the power to approve special exception when this chapter specifically requires the obtaining of such approval and for no other use or purpose.

Conditions and standards. In granting a special exception, the Zoning Hearing Board shall make findings of fact consistent with the provisions of this chapter. The Zoning Hearing Board shall not approve a special exception except in conformance with the conditions and standards outlined in this chapter.

General requirements and standards applicable to all special exceptions. The Zoning Hearing Board shall grant a special exception only if it finds adequate evidence that any proposed development submitted will meet all of the following general requirements listed herein as well as any specific requirements and standards for the proposed use.

Review by the Planning Commission on application for special exception. The Zoning Hearing Board shall request an advisory opinion from the Planning Commission on any application for a special exception; the Planning Commission is to submit a report of such advisory opinion prior to the date of the public hearing held by the Zoning Hearing Board on an application.

Administration. The Zoning Hearing Board shall conduct hearings and make decisions in accordance with the procedures and standards set forth in § 440-149.

Applicability. The Borough Council shall have the power to approve conditional uses when this chapter specifically requires the obtaining of such approval and for no other use or purpose.

Conditions and standards. In granting a conditional use, the Borough Council shall make findings of fact consistent with the provision of this chapter. The Borough Council shall not approve a conditional use except in conformance with the conditions and standards outlined in this chapter.

General requirements and standards applicable to all conditional uses. The Borough Council shall grant a conditional use only if it finds adequate evidence that any proposed development submitted will meet all of the following general requirements as well as any specific requirements and standards listed in Subsection C(4) for the proposed use and those contained in Articles IV and V of this chapter. The Borough Council shall, among other things, require that any proposed use and location be:

Specific requirements and standards. The Borough Council shall:

The Borough Council may impose whatever conditions and safeguards it deems necessary to ensure that any proposed development or use will secure substantially the objectives of this chapter.

Review by Planning Commission. The Borough Council shall request an advisory opinion from the Planning Commission on any application for a conditional use. The Planning Commission is to submit a report of such advisory opinion prior to the date of the public hearing held by the Borough Council on an application.

Conditional use applications shall be governed by the following:

Administration. The Borough Council shall conduct hearings and make decisions in accordance with the procedures and standards set forth in § 440-149.

Fees. The applicant for any hearing on a conditional use request before the Borough Council shall, at the time of making application, pay a fee in accordance with a fee schedule adopted by resolution of the Borough Council or as such schedule may be amended, from time to time. In addition, an escrow deposit may be required as established by resolution of the Borough Council.

Public notice shall be given and written notice shall be given to the applicant, the Zoning Officer, such other persons as the Borough Council shall designate by ordinance 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 ordinance or, in the absence of ordinance provision, by rules of the Zoning Hearing 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 Borough Council may prescribe reasonable fees by resolution with respect to hearings. Fees for said hearings may include 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, however, shall not include legal expenses of the Zoning Hearing 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 acceptance of the applicant's completed application, unless the applicant has agreed, in writing, to an extension of time.

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

The Chairperson or Acting Chairperson of the Zoning Hearing 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 Zoning Hearing Board shall keep a stenographic record of the proceedings. The appearance fee for a stenographer shall be shared equally by the applicant and the Zoning Hearing Board. The cost of the original transcript shall be paid by the Zoning Hearing Board if the transcript is ordered by the Zoning Hearing Board or shall be paid by the person appealing the decision of the Zoning Hearing 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 Zoning Hearing Board shall not communicate, directly or indirectly, with any party or his representatives in connection with any issues involved, except upon notice and where all parties have opportunity to participate. The Zoning Hearing Board shall not take notice of any communication, report, staff memoranda or other materials, except advice from its 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 Zoning Hearing 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 Zoning Hearing 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 therefor. 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 Zoning Hearing Board fails to render its decision within 45 days or fails to hold the required hearing with 60 days from the date of the applicant's completed and accepted 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 Zoning Hearing Board to meet or render a decision as hereinabove provided, the Zoning Hearing 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 A of this section. If the Zoning Hearing 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 after its date. To all other persons who have filed their name and address with the Zoning Hearing Board not later than the last day of the hearing, the Zoning Hearing 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.

A landowner who, on substantive grounds, desires to challenge the validity of an ordinance or map or any provision thereof which prohibits or restricts the use or development of land in which he has an interest shall submit the challenge either:

Persons aggrieved by a use or development permitted on the land of another by an ordinance or map or any provision thereof, who desire to challenge its validity on substantive grounds, shall first submit their challenge to the Zoning Hearing Board for a decision.

The submissions referred to in Subsections A and B above shall be governed by the following:

The Zoning Hearing Board or Borough Council, as the case may be, shall commence its hearings within 60 days after the request is filed unless the landowner requests or consents to an extension of time.

Public notice of the hearing shall include notice that the validity of the ordinance 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.

The challenge shall be deemed denied when:

Where, after the effective date of this chapter, a curative amendment proposal is approved by the grant of a curative amended application by the Borough Council pursuant to § 440-145A(1) of this chapter or the court acts finally on appeal from denial of a curative amendment proposal or a validity challenge and the proposal or challenge so approved requires a further application for subdivision or land development, the developer shall have two years from the date of such approval to file an application for preliminary or tentative approval pursuant to Chapter 370, Subdivision and Land Development, or Article VII of the Municipalities Planning Code.[1] Within the two-year period, no subsequent change or amendment in the zoning, subdivision and land development or other governing ordinance or plan shall be applied in any manner which adversely affects the rights of the applicant as granted in the curative amendment or the sustained validity challenge. Where the proposal appended to the curative amendment application or the validity challenge is approved but does not require further application under any subdivision or land development ordinance, the developer shall have one year within which to file for a building permit. Within the one-year period, no subsequent change or amendment in the zoning, subdivision and land development or other governing ordinance or plan shall be applied in any manner which adversely affects the rights of the applicant as granted in the curative amendment or the sustained validity challenge. During these protected periods, the court shall retain or assume jurisdiction for the purpose of awarding such supplemental relief as may be necessary.

If a Borough does not accept a landowner's curative amendment and a court subsequently rules that the challenge has merit, the court's decision shall not result in a declaration of invalidity for the entire zoning ordinance and map, but only for those provisions which specifically relate to the landowner's curative amendment and challenge.