Jackson Township Lebanon County
City Zoning Code

This Part is adopted pursuant to the authority conferred by 1984, P.L. 164, codified at 74 Pa.C.S.A. § 5912 et seq.

It is hereby found that certain airport hazards, as defined herein, have the potential for endangering the lives and property of users of the Deck Airport, and property or occupants of land in its vicinity, and that an airport hazard may reduce the size of areas available for the landing, takeoff and maneuvering of aircraft, thus tending to destroy or impair the utility of the Deck Airport and the public investment therein. Accordingly, it is declared:

It is further declared that the prevention of the creation or establishment of airport hazards to air navigation, as defined herein, and the elimination, removal, alteration, mitigation or marking and lighting of existing airport hazards, as defined herein, are public purposes for which a political subdivision may raise and expend public funds and acquire land or interests in land.

Approach Surface Zone.

Conical Surface Zone.

Horizontal Surface Zone.

Primary Surface Zone.

Transitional Surface Zone.

Reasonableness. All airport zoning regulations adopted under this Part shall be reasonable; none shall impose any requirement or restriction unless it is reasonably necessary to effectuate the purpose of this Part. In determining what regulations it may adopt, each municipality and joint airport zoning board shall consider, among other factors, the character of the flying operations expected to be conducted at the airport, the nature of the terrain within the airport hazard area, the character of the neighborhood and the uses to which the property to be zoned is put and adaptable.

Use Restrictions. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Part, no use may be made of land or water within any zone established by this Part in such a manner as to create electrical interference with navigational signals or radio communications between the airport and aircraft, make it difficult for pilots to distinguish between airport lights and others, result in glare in the eyes of pilots using the airport, impair visibility in the vicinity of the airport, create bird strike hazards or otherwise in any way endanger or interfere with the landing, takeoff or maneuvering of aircraft intending to use the airport.

Nonconforming Uses.

Future and Existing Uses. As regulated by Act 164 and defined by 14 CFR Part 77.13(a) (as amended or replaced), any person who plans to erect a new structure, to add to an existing structure, or to erect and maintain any object (natural or man-made), in the vicinity of the airport, shall first notify the Department's Bureau of Aviation (BOA) by submitting PennDOT Form AV-57 to obtain an obstruction review of the proposal at least 30 days prior to commencement thereof. The Department's BOA response must be included with the permit application for it to be considered complete. If the Department's BOA returns a determination of no penetration of airspace, the permit request should be considered in compliance with the intent of this Part. If the Department's BOA returns a determination of a penetration of airspace, the permit shall be denied, and the project sponsor may seek a variance from such regulations, as outlined in § 27-2808. No permit is required to make maintenance repairs to or to replace parts of existing structures which do not enlarge or increase the height of an existing structure.

Nonconforming Uses Abandoned or Destroyed. Whenever the Jackson Township Zoning Officer determines that a nonconforming tree or structure has been abandoned or more than 80% torn down, physically deteriorated or decayed, no permit shall be granted that would allow such structure or tree to exceed the applicable height limit or otherwise deviate from this Part.

Any person desiring to erect any structure or increase the height of any structure or permit the growth of any object of natural growth or otherwise use his property in violation of airport zoning regulations may apply to the Board of Adjustment for a variance from the zoning regulations in question. A variance shall only be granted after the requirements of § 27-2809 are satisfied. A variance shall be granted where a literal application or enforcement of the regulations would result in practical difficulty or unnecessary hardship and the relief granted would not be contrary to the public interest, would not create a hazard to air navigation, but would do substantial justice and would be in accordance with the spirit of the regulations of this Part. Any variance granted shall be subject to any reasonable conditions that the Board of Adjustment may deem necessary to effectuate the purpose of this Part.

The application for variance shall include documentation in compliance with 14 CFR Part 77, Subpart B (FAA Form 7460-1, as amended or replaced). Determination of whether to grant a variance will depend on the determinations made by the Federal Aviation Administration and the Department's BOA as to the effect of the proposal on the operation of air navigation facilities and the safe, efficient use of navigable airspace.

Obstruction Marking and Lighting. In granting any permit or variance under this section, the Board shall, if it deems the action advisable to effectuate the purpose of this Part and reasonable under the circumstances, so condition the permit or variance as to require the owner of the structure or object of natural growth in question to permit the municipality, at the landowner's expense, or require the person or persons requesting the permit or variance, to install, operate and maintain thereon such markings or lightings as deemed necessary to assure both ground and air safety.

Local Enforcement. It shall be the duty of the Zoning Officer to administer and enforce the regulations prescribed herein. Applications for permits and variances shall be made to the Zoning Officer upon a form published for that purpose. Applications required by this Part to be submitted to the Zoning Officer shall be promptly considered and granted or denied. Application for action by the Board of Adjustment shall be forthwith transmitted by the Zoning Officer.

Notice to Department. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a municipality or board which decides to grant a permit or variance under this Part shall notify the Department of Transportation of its decision. This notice shall be in writing and shall be sent so as to reach the Department at least 10 days before the date upon which the decision is to issue.

Powers. There is hereby created a Board of Adjustment to have and exercise the following powers:

Creation/Members/Removal. Where a zoning board of appeals or adjustment already exists, it may be appointed as the Board of Adjustment. Otherwise, the Board shall consist of five members, each to be appointed for a term of three years by the authority adopting the regulations and to be removable by the appointing authority, for cause, upon written charges and after a public hearing.

Governing Rules. The Board of Adjustment shall adopt rules for its governance in harmony with the provisions of this Part. Meetings of the Board of Adjustment shall be held at the call of the Chairperson and at such other times as the Board of Adjustment may determine. For conduct of any hearing or taking of any action, a quorum shall not be less than a majority of all members. The Chairperson or, in the absence of the Chairperson, the Acting Chairperson may administer oaths and compel the attendance of witnesses. All hearings of the Board of Adjustment shall be public. The Board of Adjustment shall keep minutes of its proceedings showing the vote of each member upon each question or, if absent or failing to vote, indicating such fact and shall keep records of its examinations and other official actions, all of which shall immediately be filed in the office of the Zoning Officer and on due cause shown.

Findings of Fact/Conclusions of Law. The Board of Adjustment shall make written findings of fact and conclusions of law, giving the facts upon which it acted and its legal conclusion from such facts in reversing, affirming or modifying any order, requirement, decision or determination which comes before it under the provisions of this Part.

Voting. The concurring vote of a majority of the members of the Board of Adjustment shall be sufficient to reverse any order, requirement, decision or determination of the Zoning Officer or to decide in favor of the applicant on any matter upon which it is required to pass under this Part or to effect variation to this Part.

Right of Appeal. Any person aggrieved or taxpayer affected by any decision of the municipality or Joint Zoning Hearing Board may appeal to the Board of Adjustment as provided by law.

Reasonable Time Requirements. All appeals hereunder must be taken within 30 days of the official action giving rise to the grievance. The Board shall fix a reasonable time for hearing appeals, give public notice and due notice to the parties in interest and decide the same within a reasonable time. Upon the hearing, any party may appear in person or by agent or by attorney.

Stay of Proceedings. An appeal shall stay all proceedings in furtherance of the action appealed from unless the municipality or Joint Hearing Board certifies to the Board, after the notice of appeal has been filed with it, that, by reason of the facts stated in the certificate, a stay would, in its opinion, cause imminent peril to life or property. In such cases, proceedings shall not be stayed otherwise than by order of the Board or notice to the municipality or Joint Zoning Appeal Board.

Power to Reverse, Affirm or Modify Orders. The Board of Adjustment may, in conformity with the provisions of this Part, reverse or affirm, in whole or in part, or modify the order, requirement, decision or determination as may be appropriate under the circumstances.

Incorporation. In the event that a municipality has adopted or hereafter adopts a comprehensive zoning ordinance regulating, among other things, the height of buildings, any airport zoning regulations applicable to the same area or portion thereof may be incorporated in and made a part of the comprehensive zoning regulations and be administered and enforced in connection therewith.

Conflicts. In the event of conflict between any airport zoning regulations adopted under this Part and any other regulations applicable to the same area, whether the conflicts be with respect to the height of structures or trees, the use of land, or any other matter, and whether the other regulations were adopted by the municipality which adopted the airport zoning regulations or by some other municipality or otherwise, the more-stringent limitation or requirement shall govern and prevail.

Use of Language. Words of any gender used in this Part shall be held and construed to include any other gender, and words in the singular shall be used to include the plural, unless the context otherwise requires.

Use of Captions. The captions or headings of sections in this Part are inserted for convenience only and shall not be considered in construing the provisions herein if any question of intent should arise.

Any person, partnership or corporation who or which has violated or permitted the violation of the provisions of any zoning ordinance enacted under this act or prior enabling laws shall, upon being found liable therefor in a civil enforcement proceeding commenced by a municipality, pay a judgment of not more than $500 plus court costs, including reasonable attorneys' fees incurred by a municipality 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 municipality 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 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 by the District Justice, and thereafter each day that a violation continues shall constitute a separate violation. All judgments, costs and reasonable attorneys' fees collected for violation of zoning ordinances shall be paid over to the municipality whose ordinance has been violated.

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 the municipality the right to commence any action for enforcement pursuant to this section.

Notice and Hearing. No airport zoning regulations shall be adopted, amended or changed except by action of the municipality or the Joint Airport Zoning Board after a public hearing in relation thereto at which parties in interest and citizens shall have an opportunity to be heard. The notice shall be published once each week for two successive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the municipality or municipalities affected. The notice shall state the time and place of the hearing and the particular nature of the matter to be considered at the hearing. The first publication shall not be more than 30 days nor less than 14 days from the date of the hearing.

Effective Date. Whereas the immediate operation of the provisions of this Part is necessary for the preservation of the public health, safety, moral and general welfare, an emergency is hereby declared to exist, and this Part shall be in full force and effect from and after its passage by the municipality and publication and posting as required by Subsection 1.