Hope Township City Zoning Code

A zoning permit shall be required in the following instances:

A zoning permit shall show that every building or premises or part thereof, and the proposed use thereof, are in conformity with the provisions of the Land Development Chapters or in conformity with the provisions of a variance granted according to law.

All zoning permits shall be issued in triplicate and one copy shall be posted conspicuously on the premises affected whenever construction work is being performed thereon. No owner, contractor, workman or other persons shall perform any building operations of any kind unless the zoning permit covering such operation has been previously issued. Furthermore, no building operations of any kind shall be performed after notification of the revocation of said zoning permit.

A record shall be kept of all zoning permits issued and the original applications therefor shall be kept on file in the same manner as applications for building permits. No owner, tenant, or other persons shall use or occupy any building or structure thereafter erected or altered, the use of which shall be changed after passage of this Chapter, without first obtaining a zoning permit.

A zoning permit, unless revoked, shall continue in effect so long as there is no change of use of the premises.

The Zoning Officer shall act upon all such applications within 15 days after receipt of a fully filled-in application, or shall notify the applicant in writing of his refusal to issue such permit and the reasons therefor.

Failure to notify the applicant in case of such refusal within 15 days shall entitle the applicant for a zoning permit to file an appeal to the Zoning Board of Adjustment as in the case of a denial.

The Zoning Officer may waive plans on minor alterations not affecting structural change.

Each application for a zoning permit shall be accompanied by a fee in accordance with the following schedule:

If it shall appear at any time to the Zoning Officer that the application or accompanying plans are in any material respect false or misleading, or that the work being done upon the premises is materially different from that called for in the application previously filed with him or may be in violation of any provision of the Land Development Chapters, or that the conditions imposed by either the Planning Board or Board of Adjustment are not being met within the time or in the manner required by the approving authority, he may forthwith revoke the zoning permit.

Within one year from the effective date of this Chapter, or within one year from the effective date of any subsequent amendment to the Zoning Ordinance of the Township of Hope, the effect of which is to make certain uses or structures nonconforming, the owner of the property upon which any such nonconforming use or structure exists may apply, in writing, to the Zoning Officer for issuance of a certificate certifying that the use or structure existed before the adoption of the ordinance which rendered the use or structure nonconforming. The applicant shall have the burden of proof. The applicant shall also pay such fee as may be authorized by ordinance but not in excess of those permitted by law. A denial by the administrative officer shall be appealable to the Zoning Board of Adjustment taken as in other cases and upon notice to all persons entitled thereto. Nothing herein shall be construed as denying an applicant the right to file an application directly with the Zoning Board of Adjustment.