A Zoning Officer shall administer, enforce, and interpret this chapter in accordance with its literal terms. He/she shall be appointed by and be responsible to the Board of Supervisors, shall demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Board a working knowledge of municipal zoning, and shall hold no elective office in the Township. The Zoning Officer need not be a resident of Harmer Township, and compensation for the position shall be at the discretion of the Board.

The Zoning Officer shall receive and process applications for building permits and permission to occupy in accordance with this chapter, and shall not permit any construction or any use or change of use which does not conform to this chapter.

The Zoning Officer shall investigate alleged violations and take action in accordance with § 27-1204 of this chapter. He shall also testify before the Zoning Hearing Board on contested decisions he has made or when otherwise called to testify.

All questions of interpretation of this chapter shall be first presented to the Zoning Officer, who shall make a decision thereon based on literal interpretation. The decision may be appealed to the Zoning Hearing Board. In addition, the Zoning Officer may represent the Township at hearings before the magisterial district judge (see § 27-1204, Subsection 4), maintain public files of all permits issued and applications processed, may examine permitted work in progress (see § 27-1202, Subsection 5), shall attend meetings of the Board at its request to provide reports of his/her activities (see § 27-1202, Subsection 9), and may perform other activities requested by the Board of Supervisors.

No person, agency or business shall erect, move, structurally alter, remove, extend or convert any structure or building or any part thereof, nor change the use of any land until a building permit has been issued by the Zoning Officer. Failure to acquire a permit prior to commencing construction shall result in the permit fee being doubled.

An application for a building permit shall be made in duplicate on forms provided by the Zoning Officer. Permits shall be required for the erection or removal of any building or structure and any additions to a building or structure that increases its volume or includes structural alterations. A permit shall also be required for any concrete or asphalt paving on private property, for any fence or wall, for the placement or removal of a mobile home, and for most signage. Permits shall not be required for painting, residing, masonry maintenance, interior renovations not involving structural changes, or for the installation of awnings or similar weather control devices.

It shall be the responsibility of the property owner to locate proposed edges of construction and adjacent property lines, but the Zoning Officer may recommend that the owner have a registered surveyor stake the property line and edge of a proposed building if the Zoning Officer believes that the building might violate minimum setback requirements.

If the application is not satisfactory, the Zoning Officer shall return one copy of the application indicating the specific reasons why the application cannot be approved, citing relevant sections of this chapter, or of other Township regulations.

The Zoning Officer shall from time to time visit the property whereon the approved construction is taking place in order to assure himself that the work is proceeding in accordance with the building permit. The Zoning Officer shall not be denied access to the property during normal working hours in order to inspect the construction in progress, and may order the work corrected to conform to the permit or halted pending appeal to the Zoning Hearing Board.

If an applicant wishes to amend the use, arrangement or construction of his building from that shown on the permit after the permit is approved, he shall file with the Zoning Officer an application for an amended building permit.

A building permit shall become void if after six months from the date of issue construction has not commenced. The life of a building permit shall be one year from the date of issue. Permits may be extended for not more than one additional year on large projects or where the applicant can prove to the Zoning Officer a hardship exists making it impossible to complete the project in one year. Once a permit has become void, a replacement permit may be obtained in the same manner as for the original permit. The replacement permit shall be for the uncompleted part of the project. No work shall be done after a permit has become void and before a replacement permit has been issued.

A permit shall be required for the removal of any building or structure or part thereof on a permanent foundation, except for sheds and minor accessory buildings set at grade. The applicant shall be responsible for back-filling any excavation created by the razing and for the removal from the lot of all debris within 60 days after the issuance of the permit.

The Zoning Officer shall keep records of all applications either approved or disapproved, including one copy of each permit issued, shall maintain a journal of his activities, and shall submit an annual summation report to the Board of Supervisors detailing building activity in the Township during the preceding year.

For New Construction.

For Change of Existing Use.

For Change of Ownership or Tenant.

If the Zoning Officer finds any provisions of this chapter are being violated, such as the operation of an illegal use or the locating of a structure illegally on a lot, he shall notify the owner of record of the property upon which the alleged violation is occurring by mail or hand-delivered notice, with a copy to the Township Secretary and to others requested by the property owner.

The enforcement notice shall state:

The Zoning Officer shall allow the owner of a property upon which a violation of this chapter has been noted a reasonable time period to carry out the required remedial action. This reasonable time period for remediation shall commence on the day the notice is mailed.

At the end of the thirty-day period, the Zoning Officer shall inspect the property to determine if the violation has been removed. If the violation has not been corrected and the owner has not appealed to the Zoning Hearing Board to reverse the Zoning Officer's decision, modify it, or grant a time extension, the Zoning Officer shall take the owner before the magisterial district judge, who, if he finds the owner guilty, shall assess penalties and/or order appropriate action in accord with Subsection 5 below.

Continuation of a violation beyond the period within which it is to be corrected without an appeal having been filed, shall constitute a civil offense. While an appeal is in process, development shall not continue on the contested portion of the project. 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 the Township, pay a judgment of not more than $500 plus all court costs, including reasonable attorney fees incurred by the Township as a result thereof. No judgment shall be imposed or payable until the date of the determination of the violation by the magisterial district judge. If the defendant neither pays nor timely appeals the judgment, the Township may enforce the judgment pursuant to applicable rules of civil procedure. Each day that a violation continues shall constitute a separate violation. The magisterial district judge shall determine on which day the violation actually commenced. All judgments, costs and reasonable attorney fees collected for a violation shall be paid over to the Township.

The owner or tenant of any structure, premises, or part thereof, and any architect, engineer, builder, contractor, agent, or other person who commits, participates in, assists in, or maintains a violation may each be found guilty of a separate offense and suffer the penalties herein provided.

Nothing herein contained shall prevent the Township from taking such other lawful action as is necessary to prevent or remedy any violation or to bring action to enjoin any violation of this chapter.

An amendment of this chapter may be initiated by the Planning Commission, by the Board of Supervisors or by petition presented to the Planning Commission by a property owner or owners, or by a person or corporation who or which has an option to purchase a property in the Township. The proposed amendment or petition shall be written as proposed to be adopted. Revisions to the Zoning Map shall be specified in writing citing particular boundaries. Spot zoning shall be prohibited unless backed by a Planning Commission recommendation on the future land use of the neighborhood within which the proposed zoning is located, supporting the amendment.

The Planning Commission shall review an amendment petition or a proposal by the Board of Supervisors and prepare recommendations to the Board not later than the Commission's second regular meeting after receiving the proposal. The Commission may recommend approval of the proposal as presented, approval with specific changes, or rejection. If the proposal is made by the Supervisors, the Board shall allow the Commission at least 30 days to review and comment on the proposal before taking action.

The Board of Supervisors, if it finds the amendment proposal has merit, shall call and hold a public hearing after reviewing the Commission's recommendations. In addition, the Board shall send the proposal to the Allegheny County Planning Commission for review and comment at least 30 days before the hearing.

The Board of Supervisors shall hold the hearing, keeping a written or sound record of the testimony, and shall make a decision by majority vote of all members of the Board to adopt or reject the amendment within 90 days after the vote. The Board, if taking a favorable vote, shall submit a copy of the adopted ordinance to the County Planning Commission, indicating the date of adoption and the numerical vote favoring adoption.

At least seven days but not more than 60 days before adoption of an amendment, the Board shall advertise once in a newspaper of general local circulation a notice of its intention to adopt the amendment. The notice shall include the date, time and place of the meeting at which adoption will be considered, and reference to a place in the Township, and times and dates where and when the amendment may be examined prior to adoption. The notice shall either contain the full text of the amendment or a brief summary prepared by the Township Solicitor. If the full text is not used, a copy of the full text shall be provided to the newspaper running the notice, and an attested copy of the full text shall be filed in the County Law Library.

If an amendment is substantially revised before the vote to adopt, the Board shall, at least 10 days prior to adoption readvertise, noting a brief summary of the amendment and specifying the final changes proposed. Appeal from a decision by the Board on an amendment proposal shall be to the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas.

Landowner Curative Amendments.

Township Curative Amendments.

The Board of Supervisors shall establish by resolution a schedule of fees to cover the cost of permits, special use approvals, petitions to amend the ordinance, or any action brought before the Zoning Hearing Board.

The current fee schedule shall be available at the Township office and may be amended only by official resolution of the Board of Supervisors.

No permit shall be issued nor any action taken on proceedings before Board of Supervisors or the Zoning Hearing Board until the appropriate fees have been paid in full.