Building permits. Where required by Chapter 70, Building Permits, for the erection, enlargement, repair, alteration, moving or demolition of any structure, a building permit must be obtained from the Zoning Officer.

Use certificates.

Appointment and powers. For the administration of this chapter, a Zoning Officer, who may not hold any elective office in the Borough, shall be appointed by the Borough Council. 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 which does not conform to this chapter. The Zoning Officer is the enforcement officer for this chapter. He issues all building permits, use certificates and, at direction of the Zoning Hearing Board, special exceptions and variances. The Zoning Officer shall identify and register nonconforming uses and nonconforming structures.

Forms. The Zoning Officer must provide a form or forms prepared by the Borough Solicitor for:

Transmittal of papers. Upon receipt of an application for a special exception, variance or a notice of appeal, the Zoning Officer must transmit to the Secretary of the Zoning Hearing Board and to the Borough Planning Commission, copies of all papers constituting the record upon the special exception, variance or appeal.

Action on building permits. Within 10 days, except for holidays, after receipt of an application for a building permit, the Zoning Officer must grant or refuse the permit. If the application conforms to the applicable requirements of the Building Permit Ordinance[1] and this chapter, the Zoning Officer must grant a permit. If the Zoning Officer does not grant the permit within 10 days, the request shall be deemed refused and the applicant may appeal to the Zoning Hearing Board.

Action on use certificates. Within 10 days, except for holidays, after receipt of an application for a use certificate, the Zoning Officer must grant or refuse the certificate. If the specifications and intended use conform in all respects with the provisions of this chapter, he must issue a certificate to that effect. If the Zoning Officer does not grant the use certificate within 10 days, the request shall be deemed refused and the applicant may appeal to the Zoning Hearing Board.

Enforcement. Upon determination that a violation of any of the provisions of this chapter exists, the Zoning Officer must serve notice, as provided in 53 P.S. § 10616.1, on the person committing or permitting the same that a violation of the Zoning Ordinance exists. Following the notice, he must take the action necessary to terminate the violation, including recourse to a court of record.

Records.

Reports. At intervals of not greater than one month, the Zoning Officer must report to the Borough Council:

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 a 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 the 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. All judgments, costs and reasonable attorney fees collected for the violation of this chapter shall be paid over to the Borough.

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.

The Borough Council may, from time to time, amend, supplement or repeal any of the regulations and provisions of this chapter.

Before voting on the enactment of the amendment, the Borough Council shall hold a public hearing thereon, pursuant to the public notice. 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 revised or further 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 hearing on the amendment by the Borough Council, the Borough Planning Commission shall submit the proposed amendment to the County Planning Commission for recommendations.

Landowner curative amendments. A landowner who desires to challenge on substantive grounds the validity of an ordinance or map or any provision thereof, which prohibits or restricts the use of 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 Section 916.1 of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, Act 247, as amended or revised, 53 P.S. § 10916.1.

Municipal curative amendments. The Borough, by formal action, may declare this Zoning Ordinance or portions thereof substantively invalid and propose to prepare a curative amendment to overcome such invalidity.