Exemptions. Zoning permits shall not be required for the following activities unless they are proposed to be located within a floodplain district:

Each request for a building/zoning permit shall be made by completing the appropriate application form obtained from the Zoning Officer and submitting it, along with the required fee, to the Borough. Application for a permit shall be made by the owner or lessee of any building or structure, or the agent of either; provided, however, that if the application is made by a person other than the owner, it shall be accompanied by a written authorization from the owner. The full names and addresses of the owner, lessee, applicant or other responsible parties shall be stated in the application. No application shall be considered complete until all necessary documents have been filed and all fees have been paid to the Borough.

The Zoning Officer shall have 15 days after receipt of an application to issue or deny requests for a zoning permit. Any denial shall be in writing and shall state the reason(s) for such action.

All applications for zoning permits shall be accompanied by plans, in duplicate, drawn to scale, showing the actual shape and dimensions of the lot, the exact size and location of any buildings existing on the lot, the lines within which the proposed building or structure shall be erected or altered, the existing and intended use of each building or part of a building, the number of families or dwelling units the building is designed to accommodate and such other information as may be necessary to determine compliance with this chapter and all other pertinent regulations.

One copy of the plans will be returned to the applicant when such plans have been approved by the Zoning Officer. All applications and accompanying plans and documents shall become a matter of public record once a permit has been either issued or denied.

Work on the proposed construction shall be completed within 18 months after the date of issuance of the building/zoning permit or the permit shall expire, unless a time extension is granted in writing by the Zoning Officer. Time extensions may be granted only if a written request is submitted by the applicant which sets forth sufficient and reasonable cause for the Zoning Officer to grant such a request. Where such cause is determined, annual time extensions may be granted for an aggregate period of not more than two years.

For the purposes of this chapter, construction and/or development shall be considered to have started with the preparation of land, including land clearing, grading, filling, excavation for basement, footers, piers or foundations, erection of temporary forms, the installation of pilings under proposed subsurface footers or the installation of sewer, gas and water pipes, or electrical or other service lines from the street.

During the construction period, the Zoning Officer shall inspect the premises to determine that the work is progressing in compliance with the information provided on the permit application and with all other applicable Borough laws. He shall make as many inspections as necessary to determine this compliance.

In the discharge of his duties, the Zoning Officer shall have the authority to enter any building, structure, premises or development in any zoning district, upon presentation of proper credentials, at any reasonable hour, to enforce the provisions of this chapter.

No land shall be occupied or used and no building hereafter erected, altered or extended shall be used in whole or in part or shall be changed in use until a certificate of compliance has been issued by the Borough Zoning Officer. Such requirement shall include proposals to change one use to another use in an existing building (regardless of if structural alterations are proposed or necessary to accommodate the change).

The issuance of a certificate of compliance is not intended to guarantee or warranty, either stated or otherwise, the soundness of any construction nor the habitability of any building or structure. The purpose of this certificate is only to certify that all work authorized by the zoning permit has been satisfactorily completed and that the building or proposed use thereof complies with the provisions of this chapter.

Whenever it appears to the Zoning Officer that there has been a violation of any provision of this chapter, the Zoning Officer, on behalf of the Borough, shall give notice of such alleged violation as hereinafter provided. Such enforcement notice shall:

In any appeal of an enforcement notice to the Borough Zoning Hearing Board, the Borough shall have the responsibility of presenting its evidence first.

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 chapter, the Borough Zoning Officer may institute in the name of the Borough, any appropriate action or proceeding to prevent, restrain, correct, or abate such building, structure, landscaping or land, or to prevent any action, conduct, business or use in or about such premises constituting a violation.

Any aggrieved owner or tenant of real property who shows that his property or person will be substantially affected by the alleged violation may also institute an appropriate corrective action or proceeding. Such action must be preceded however by serving a copy of the complaint on the Borough Council at least 30 days prior to being instituted. No such action may be maintained until such notice has been given.

Any person, partnership or corporation who or which has violated or permitted the violation of the provisions of this chapter, whether enacted under current law or prior law, shall, upon being found liable therefore in a civil enforcement proceeding commenced by Hughesville Borough, pay a judgment of not more than $500 plus all court costs, including reasonable attorney fees incurred by the Borough as a result thereof. No judgment shall commence or be imposed, levied or be payable until the date of the determination of a violation by the district justice. If the defendant neither pays nor timely appeals the judgment, Hughesville Borough 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 the chapter 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 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 this chapter shall be paid over to Hughesville Borough.

The court of common pleas, upon petition, may grant an order of stay, upon cause shown, tolling the per diem fine pending a final adjudication of the violation and judgment.

Nothing contained in this section shall be construed or interpreted to grant to any person or entity other than Hughesville Borough the right to commence any action for enforcement pursuant to this section.