Erie City Zoning Code
ARTICLE 4
Administration and Enforcement
§ 401 Zoning Officer.
[Ord. No. 80-2005, passed 12-28-2005, as amended through Ord. No. 15-2023, passed 4-19-2023]
The Zoning Officer, who shall be appointed by the Mayor and approved by City Council, shall:
§ 402 Zoning certificates.
[Ord. No. 80-2005, passed 12-28-2005, as amended through Ord. No. 15-2023, passed 4-19-2023]
402.2.
Applications for a zoning certificate shall be accompanied by a plot plan showing clearly and completely the location, dimensions and use of any structures involved and such other information as the Zoning Officer may require for administration of this Ordinance, together with a filing fee.
402.3.
All permits and certificates which are granted by the Zoning Officer, or those granted as special exceptions, on appeal to the Board or as conditional uses shall be exercised promptly. If the use and/or the work so authorized is not initiated within one year from the date of permit or certificate, then such certificate or permit shall be null and void.
§ 403 Violations and penalties.
[Ord. No. 80-2005, passed 12-28-2005, as amended through Ord. No. 15-2023, passed 4-19-2023]
403.1.
Enforcement notice. When it appears to the City and/or the Zoning Officer that a violation has occurred, the Zoning Officer shall send an enforcement notice. 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 the parcel, and to any other person requested in writing by the owner of record. The enforcement notice shall state the following:
(a)
The name of the owner of record and any other person against whom the City intends to take action.
(b)
The location of the property in violation.
(c)
The specific violation with a description of the requirements which have not been met, citing in each instance the applicable provisions of the Ordinance.
(d)
The date before which the steps for compliance must be commenced and the date before which the steps must be completed.
(e)
That the recipient of the notice has the right to appeal to the Zoning Hearing Board within a prescribed period of time in accordance with procedures set forth in this Ordinance.
(f)
That failure to comply with the notice within the time specified, unless extended by appeal to the Zoning Hearing Board, constitutes a violation, with possible sanctions clearly described.
403.2.
Causes of action. In case any building, structure, landscaping or land is, or is proposed to be, erected, constructed, reconstructed, altered, converted, maintained or used in violation of this Ordinance, the City, the Zoning Officer of the City, or any aggrieved owner or tenant of real property who shows that his property or person will be substantially affected by the alleged violation, in addition to other remedies, may institute any appropriate action or proceeding to prevent, restrain, correct or abate such building, structure, landscaping or land, or to prevent, in or about such premises, any act, conduct, commercial or use constituting a violation. When any such action is instituted by a landowner or tenant, notice of that action shall be served upon the City at least 30 days prior to the time the action is begun by serving a copy of the complaint on the City Council of the City of Erie. No such action may be maintained until such notice has been given.
403.3.
Enforcement remedies. Any person, partnership or corporation who or which has violated or permitted the violation of the provisions of this Zoning Ordinance shall, upon being found liable therefor in a civil enforcement proceeding commenced by the City, pay a judgment of not more than $500 per day plus all court costs, including reasonable attorney fees incurred by the City 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 City 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 Ordinance 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 continues shall constitute a separate 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 zoning ordinances shall be paid over to the City. Nothing contained in this section shall be construed or interpreted to grant any person or entity other than the City and its Zoning Officer the right to commence any action for enforcement pursuant to this section.
(a)
Right of entry. In order to carry out the purpose and provisions of this Ordinance, the Zoning Officer or his designated agent, upon showing proper identification of office, may enter, examine, survey and inspect any premises during normal hours of operation of the use of the property or at a time in which a violation has been reported to occur. The owner, operator or occupant of every premises shall give the Zoning Officer or his agent free access for the purpose of such inspection, examination and survey.
§ 404 Method of appeal.
[Ord. No. 80-2005, passed 12-28-2005, as amended through Ord. No. 15-2023, passed 4-19-2023]
Any person or City official aggrieved or affected by any decision of the Zoning Officer may appeal to the Board within a reasonable time, as provided by the rules of the Board, by filing a notice of appeal specifying the ground thereof. Upon denial of the appeal, no person shall re-appeal to the Board unless significant changes have been made to the request for appeal for a period of one year from the date of the Board's denial.
§ 405 Amendments.
[Ord. No. 80-2005, passed 12-28-2005, as amended through Ord. No. 15-2023, passed 4-19-2023]
405.1.
Initiative. The City Council may introduce and/or consider amendments to this Ordinance and to the Zoning Map, as proposed by a member of the City Council, the Planning Commission, or by a petition of a person or persons residing or owning property within the City.
405.2.
Petitions. The preferred method to request a zoning text or map change is the petition. Petitions for amendments shall be filed with the Zoning Officer; and the petitioners, upon such filing, shall pay an advertising deposit and a filing fee, in accordance with a fee schedule affixed by City Council resolution.
405.3.
Referral. Any proposed amendment presented to the City Council without written findings and recommendations from the City of Erie Planning Commission and the Erie County Planning Commission shall be referred to these agencies for their review and recommendations prior to the public hearing by the City Council. The City Council shall not hold a public hearing upon such amendments until required reviews and recommendations are received or the expiration of 30 days from the date that such proposed amendments were submitted to the City and County Planning Commissions.
405.4.
Action. Before acting upon a proposed amendment, the City Council shall, as required by law, hold a public hearing thereon. Public notice of such hearing is required and shall contain a brief summary of the proposed amendment and reference to the place where copies of the same be examined, shall be published in accordance with the provisions of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code. If the proposed amendment involves a change to the Zoning Map, notice of the public hearing shall be posted at the affected tract in accordance with Section 609 of the Planning Code[1] at least one week prior to the date of the hearing.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 10609.
405.5.
Curative amendments. A landowner who desires to challenge on substantive grounds the validity of this Zoning Ordinance or 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 City 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. The City Council shall commence a hearing thereon within 60 days. As with other proposed amendments, the curative amendment shall be referred to the City of Erie Planning Commission and the Erie County Planning Commission at least 30 days before the hearing is conducted by the City Council. Public notice shall be given in accordance with applicable provision of the Planning Code. The hearings shall be conducted in accordance with instructions as set forth by Section 916.1 of the Planning Code. The findings, actions and considerations of the City Council shall be in accordance with Section 609.1 of the Planning Code. The City may institute a municipal curative amendment in accordance with Section 609.2 of the Planning Code.[2]
(a)
City Council may, from time to time, on its own initiative or on petition signed by a majority of the property owners according to frontage in any district or portion thereof as large as one City block between two intersecting streets, amend, supplement or change the regulations, restrictions or district boundaries herein established or subsequently established.
(1)
All requests on the initiative of City Council for rezoning matters shall be accompanied by a letter by the person and/or persons requesting said rezoning, which letter shall state the purpose and intent of said person and/or persons for requesting the rezoning and include the desire of the request for the rezoning within the content of said letter. (82-1975)
(2)
The petitioner for an amendment to said ordinance shall be required to affix to said petition, prior to the execution thereof by the owner's property affected by said amendment, a written statement as to the specific use to which said property will be put if the rezoning is granted. (75-1970)
(3)
The City Planning Commission shall forward by mail, to all owners within a 500-foot radius of the area in which an amendment is proposed, a notice informing them of the time, place and date of any scheduled public hearing relative to new zoning changes and/or classifications being requested in their area; the term "owners of property affected by said amendment" being defined in Section 405.10 of Official Ordinance No. 64-2000.
(b)
After the introduction of any petition or ordinance proposing amendment, supplement or change in the Zoning Ordinance, City Council shall refer such petition or ordinance within 15 days to the City Planning Commission for review. A report on said review, together with any recommendations, shall be given to City Council in writing, within 30 days from the date of said referral. If the Planning Commission shall fail to file such report, within the specific time and manner, it shall be conclusively presumed that the Planning Commission has approved the proposed amendment, supplement or change. Thereupon, Council shall fix a time for a public hearing and notice shall be given not more than 30 days and not less than 14 days in advance of any public hearing required by this Act. Such notice shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the municipality. Such notice shall state the time and place of the hearing and the particular nature of the matter to be considered at the hearing, including either the full text thereof, or a brief summary setting forth the principal provisions in reasonable detail and a reference place within the municipality where copies of the proposed ordinance or amendment may be examined. The public hearing may not be held until at least 30 days after it is submitted to the Planning Commission. (1-1970) No individual shall be permitted to remove or add his or her name to a rezoning petition after it is formally submitted to City Council. (11-1977)
(c)
Petitions by the property owner for an amendment shall be filed with the City Clerk and the petitioner, upon such filing, shall pay a fee of as set by resolution of City Council which shall be deposited in the General Fund. Proposed amendments upon initiative of the Council of the City of Erie at the request of the property owner shall also be accompanied by a filing fee as set by resolution of City Council to be paid by said owner, which shall be deposited in the General Fund. Each parcel shall be considered as a separate request unless there is a common ownership of each parcel requested to be rezoned and the parcels abut. For the purposes of this section, ownership may be by fee simple interest or pursuant to duly executed Articles of Agreement. (88-1977) (6-1979) (25-1985) (97-1989) If after public hearing City Council rejects a petition for changing zone district boundaries for any lot, combination of lot, or portion of a lot, no person shall file a petition for changing the zone district boundaries for any lot, combination of lots, or portion of lots, including any lot, or portion of lots or any parts thereof which was rejected by Council for at least one year from the date of Council's rejection.
(d)
If after public hearing City Council rejects a request, either on Council's own initiative or by petition, to rezone a parcel of land, an affirmative vote of seven members of City Council shall be required to consider a request on Council's own initiative to rezone that same parcel of land or any part thereof, if said request on Council's own initiative comes within one year from the date of said request. (9-1978)
[2]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. §§ 10916.1, 10609.1 and 10609.2, respectively.
§ 406 Procedure to obtain preliminary opinion.
[Ord. No. 80-2005, passed 12-28-2005, as amended through Ord. No. 15-2023, passed 4-19-2023]
In order not to unreasonably delay the time when a landowner may secure assurance that the ordinance or map under which he proposed to build is free from challenge, and recognizing that the procedure for preliminary approval of development may be too cumbersome or may be unavailable, the landowner may advance the date from which time for any challenge to the ordinance or map will run as stated above, by the following procedure:
406.1.
The landowner may submit plans and other materials describing his proposed use or development to the Zoning Officer for a preliminary opinion as to their compliance with the applicable ordinances and maps. Such plans and other materials shall not be required to meet the standards prescribed for preliminary, tentative or final approval or for the issuance of a building permit so long as they provide reasonable notice of the proposed use or development and a sufficient basis for a preliminary opinion as to its compliance.
406.2.
If the Zoning Officer's preliminary opinion is that the use or development complies with the zoning ordinance and map, notice thereof shall be published, at the expense of the developer, once a week for two successive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the municipality. Such notice shall include a general description of the proposed use or development and its location, by some readily identifiable directive, and the place and times where the plans and other materials may be examined by the public. The favorable preliminary approval, as stated above, and the time therein specified for commencing a proceeding with the Board shall run from the time when the second notice thereof has been published. The Zoning Officer shall also forward a copy of the preliminary approval to all adjoining property owners of the approved project.