A Zoning Hearing Board, consisting of three members appointed by resolution of the Board of Supervisors for overlapping terms of three years each, is established for the purposes of carrying out the functions of a Zoning Hearing Board as provided by law.

Members of the Board shall be residents of the Township and shall hold no other office in the Township. The Board of Supervisors may appoint, by resolution, at least one but no more than three residents of the Township to serve as an alternate member of the Board. An alternate shall be entitled to participate in all proceedings and discussions of the Board to the same and full extent as provided by law for Board members, including specifically the right to cast a vote if designated as a voting member during the proceedings, and shall have all the powers and duties set forth in this chapter and as otherwise provided by law. Alternates shall hold no other office in the Township, including membership on the Planning Commission and Zoning Officer. Any alternate may participate in any proceeding or discussion of the Board but shall not be entitled to vote as a member of the Board nor be compensated unless designated as a voting alternate member.

Appointments to fill vacancies shall be only for the unexpired portion of the term. Any Board member may be removed for malfeasance, misfeasance or nonfeasance in office or for other just cause by a majority vote of the Board of Supervisors 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 a Chairman from its membership annually. For the conduct of any hearing and the taking of any action, the quorum shall be not less than a majority of all members of the Board, but the Board may appoint a hearing officer from its membership to conduct any hearing on its behalf, in accordance with the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, as amended.[1]

If, by reason of absence or disqualification of a member, a quorum is not reached, the Chairman of the Board shall designate as many alternate members of the Board to sit on the Board as may be needed to provide a quorum. Any alternate member of the Board shall continue to serve on the Board in all proceedings involving the matter or case for which the alternate was initially appointed until the Board has made a final determination of the matter or case. Designation of an alternate pursuant to this article shall be made on a case-by-case basis, in rotation, according to declining seniority among all alternates.

The Board may make, alter and rescind rules and forms for its procedure, consistent with ordinances of the Township and laws of the commonwealth. Within the limits of funds provided by the Township Supervisors, the Board may employ or contract for secretaries, clerks, legal counsel, consultants and other technical and clerical services. The Board shall keep full public records of its business, which records shall be the property of the Township, and shall submit a report of its activities to the Township Board of Supervisors as requested by the Board of Supervisors.

Members of the Board may receive compensation for the performance of their duties, as may be fixed by the Board of Supervisors, but in no case shall it exceed the rate of compensation authorized to be paid to the members of the Board of Supervisors. Alternate members of the Board may receive compensation, as may be fixed by the Board of Supervisors, for the performance of their duties when designated as alternate members, but in no case shall such compensation exceed the rate of compensation authorized to be paid to members of the Board of Supervisors.

Appeals under this article may be filed with the Board, in writing, by the landowner affected, any officer or agency of the Township or any person aggrieved. Requests for a variance and for a special exception may be filed with the Board by any landowner or any tenant with the permission of such landowner.

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

Notice. Public notice shall be given and written notice shall be given to the applicant, the Zoning Officer and to all persons who shall own property within 500 feet of any property which shall be the subject of an application before the Board. In addition to the notice provided herein, 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 with respect to hearings before the Zoning Hearing Board.[1] 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 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 municipality may, prior to the decision of the hearing, waive decisions 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 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 the power to require that all persons who wish to be considered parties enter an appearance, in writing, on forms provided by the Board for that purpose.

The Chairman or Acting Chairman shall have the 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 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 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 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. "Board," as used herein, shall include the members of the Board as well as any Secretary, Clerk, legal counsel or consultant.

The Board or 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 the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, this chapter or other rules or regulations shall contain a reference to the provisions relied on and the reasons why the conclusions are deemed appropriate in the light of the facts found. Where the Board fails to render the decisions within the period required 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 hereinafter 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 L below. If the Board shall fail to provide such notice, the appellant may do so. Nothing in this section 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, the findings shall be delivered to the applicant personally or mailed to him not later than the day following the date of the decision. To all other persons who have filed their names and addresses with the Board not later than the last day of the hearing, the Board shall provide by mail or otherwise brief notice of the decisions or findings and a statement of the place at which the full decision or findings may be examined.

Appeals to the court Any person aggrieved by any decisions of the Board may, within 30 days after such decision of the Board, file an appeal to the Court of Common Pleas of Bucks County. Such appeals shall be made in accordance with the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code (Act 247, as amended).[2]

The Board may grant a variance, provided that 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 this chapter.

The relief granted pursuant to the grant of a variance shall expire five years from the date of the written decision granting the variance by the Zoning Hearing Board, five years from the date of the Board of Supervisors approval at a public meeting of a preliminary subdivision and/or land development plan based, in part, upon the variance, or five years from the date of a final Order of Court arising from an appeal from the granting of the variance, but same shall not be extended if the appeal arises from the grant of a subdivision and/or land development approval where the variance or variances were a part of same.

Where this chapter has provided for stated special exceptions to be granted or denied by the Board pursuant to express standards and criteria, the Board shall hear and decide requests for such special exceptions in accordance with such standards and criteria. In granting a special exception, the Board may attach such reasonable conditions and safeguards, in addition to those expressed in this chapter, as it may deem necessary to implement the purposes of this chapter.

The relief granted pursuant to the grant of a special exception shall expire five years from the date of the written decision granting the special exception by the Zoning Hearing Board, five years from the date of the Board of Supervisors approval at a public meeting of a preliminary subdivision and/or land development plan based, in part, upon the special exception, or five years from the date of a final Order of Court arising from an appeal from the granting of the special exception, but same shall not be extended if the appeal arises from the grant of a subdivision and/or land development approval where the special exception or special exceptions were a part of same.

In passing upon applications for special exceptions and variances, the Board shall consider all relevant factors and procedures specified in other sections of this chapter, including Article IV, Use Regulations, as well as the following.

The Board may refer any application and accompanying documentation pertaining to any request for a special exception or variance to any engineer or other qualified person or agency for technical assistance in evaluating the proposed project in relation to flood heights and velocities and the adequacy of the plans for protection of public health, safety and welfare and other related matters.

Special exceptions and/or variances shall only be issued after the Board has determined that the granting of such will not result in additional threats to public safety or extraordinary public expense, create nuisances, cause fraud on or victimization of the public or conflict with local laws or ordinances.

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 to the Zoning Hearing Board in accordance with this article or to the Board of Supervisors together with a request for a curative amendment in accordance with the provisions of Article XXIV.

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

The submissions referred to in Subsections A and B above shall be governed by the criteria set forth in Section 916.1(c) of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, as amended.[1]

The Zoning Hearing Board shall commence its hearing 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 may be deemed denied under the conditions set forth in Section 916.1(f) of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, as amended.[2]