Edgeworth City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XIII
Conditional Uses
§ 130-94 Conditional uses designated.
§ 130-95 Authority of Council and Planning Commission.
In the approval process for conditional uses, the Planning Commission shall have the power to recommend and the Council shall have the power to impose such reasonable conditions as are deemed necessary to protect, preserve and promote the health, safety and welfare of the community.
§ 130-96 Application and approval procedure.
[Amended 8-20-2024 by Ord. No. 559]
A.
Applications. A written application for conditional use approval shall be filed with the Borough. Such application shall contain or be accompanied by a project narrative and site plan and such other pertinent data and information necessary to assure the fullest practicable presentation of all the relevant facts concerning the application and a notarized statement by at least one of the owners of the subject property attesting to the truth and correctness of all facts and information presented with the application. A fee shall be paid upon the filing of each such application, which fee to be fixed by the Council.
B.
Planning Commission actions. The Planning Commission shall review each such conditional use application pursuant to such notice as the Commission from time to time deems appropriate. Subsequent to the Borough Council hearing, the Planning Commission shall submit its recommendation, in writing, to the Council. A copy of the Planning Commission's recommendation shall be provided to any individual who submits a request in writing and pays a fee to be established by the Council to defray costs of processing such request.
C.
Borough Council's functions; conditional uses.
(1)
Hearing and decision.
(a)
Where Borough Council, in the zoning ordinances, has stated conditional uses to be granted or denied by Borough Council pursuant to express standards and criteria, Borough Council shall hold hearings on and decide requests for such conditional uses in accordance with such standards and criteria. The hearing shall be conducted by the Board or the Board may appoint any member or an independent attorney as a hearing officer.
(b)
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. In granting a conditional use, Borough Council may attach such reasonable conditions and safeguards, in addition to those expressed in the ordinance, as it may deem necessary to implement the purposes of this article in the Zoning Ordinance.
(2)
Borough Council shall render a written decision or, when no decision is called for, make written findings on the conditional use application within 45 days after the last hearing before Borough Council. Where the application is contested or denied, each decision shall be accompanied by findings of fact or conclusions based thereon, together with any reasons therefor. Conclusions based on any provisions of this act or of any 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.
(a)
Where Borough Council fails to render the decision within the period required by this subsection or fails to commence, conduct or complete the required hearing as provided in Section 908 (1.2),[1] 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 Borough Council to meet or render a decision as hereinabove provided, Borough Council shall give public notice of the decision within 10 days from the last day it could have met to render a decision in the same manner as required by the public notice requirements of this act. If Borough Council shall fail to provide such notice, the applicant may do so.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 10908(1.2).
(b)
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/her no later than the day following its date.
D.
Council action. Following receipt of the Planning Commission's recommendation, Borough Council shall conduct a public hearing on the conditional use application, subject to public notice. Council shall either approve the conditional use as proposed, approve it subject to stated contingencies or reject it outright.
E.
Specific criteria. For any conditional use proceeding, the burden shall be placed on the applicant to demonstrate that the proposed use or development complies with the specific supplemental criteria applicable to such use contained in § 130-28 of this chapter.
F.
General criteria. For any conditional use proceeding, in addition to demonstrating compliance with the supplemental criteria for each use contained in § 130-28 of this chapter, the burden shall be placed on the applicant to demonstrate that the following general criteria are met.
(2)
That the development will not create detrimental visual impacts, such that the size and visual bulk of the proposed development is determined to create an incompatible relationship with the surrounding built environment, public streets and open spaces and land use patterns;
(3)
That the development will not create detrimental transportation impacts, such that the proposed development is determined to adversely affect the safety and convenience of residential neighborhoods or of vehicular and pedestrian circulation in the vicinity of the subject tract;
(4)
That the development will not create detrimental transportation impacts, such that the proposed development will result in traffic volumes or circulation patterns that substantially exceed the capacity of streets and intersections likely to be used by traffic to and from the proposed development;
(5)
That the development will not create detrimental operational impacts, including potential impacts of hours of operation, management of traffic, servicing and loading operations, and any on-site operations associated with the ongoing functions of the use on the site, in consideration of adjacent and surrounding land uses which may have differing sensitivities to such operational impacts;
(6)
That the development will not create detrimental health and safety impacts, including but not limited to potential impacts of noise, emissions, or vibrations from the proposed development, or functions within the proposed site which would otherwise affect the health or safety of others as a direct result of the operation of the proposed use;
(7)
That the development will not create detrimental impacts on the future and potential development of parcels in the vicinity of the proposed site of the development; and
(8)
That the development will not create detrimental impacts on property values.
G.
YARD, FRONT — A yard between a structure and a street line and extending the entire length of the street line. In the case of a corner lot, the yards extending all streets are "front yards." In the case of a lot other than a corner lot that fronts on more than one street, the yards extending along all streets are "front yards," except that for lots extending from Oliver Road or Nicholas Place to Beaver Road, the yard on the Oliver Road or Nicholas Place side of each property shall be considered the "front yard" and the yard on the Beaver Road side of each property shall be considered the "rear yard."
§ 130-97 Additional requirements.
The Planning Commission and the Council shall, in recommending or granting a conditional use, also follow the express standards and criteria applicable to special exceptions. Such standards and criteria are set forth in § 130-28 herein. The Council may also require that a traffic impact study be prepared by a professional engineer with traffic design experience and submitted for review, with the costs thereof to be borne by the developer. The Council may also require that a landscape plan be prepared by a landscape architect to comply with the provisions of § 130-41 herein, with the costs thereof to be borne by the developer.