The membership of the Board shall, upon the determination of the Board of Supervisors, consist of either three or five residents of the Township appointed by resolution of the Board of Supervisors. The terms of office of a three-member board shall be three years and shall be so fixed that the term of office of one member shall expire each year. The terms of office of a five-member board shall be five years and shall be so fixed that the term of office of one member shall expire each year. If a three-member board is changed to a five-member board, the members of the existing three-member board shall continue in office until their term of office expires under prior law. The Board of Supervisors shall appoint two additional members to the Zoning Hearing Board with terms scheduled to expire in accordance with the provisions of this subsection. The Zoning Hearing Board shall promptly notify the Board of Supervisors of any vacancies that occur. Appointments to fill vacancies shall be only for the unexpired portion of the term. Members of the Board shall hold no other office in the Township.

The Board of Supervisors may appoint by resolution at least one but no more than three residents of the Township to serve as alternate members of the Zoning Hearing Board. The term of office of an alternate member shall be three years. When seated pursuant to the provisions of Subsection B, an alternate shall be entitled to participate in all proceedings and discussions of the Board to the same and full extent as provided by law for Board members, including specifically the right to cast a vote as a voting member during the proceedings, and shall have all the powers and duties set forth in this section and as otherwise provided by law. Alternates shall hold no other office in the Township. Any alternate may participate in any proceeding or discussion of the Board but shall not be entitled to vote as a member of the Board or be compensated pursuant to Section 907 of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, Act 247, as amended,[1] unless designated as a voting alternate member pursuant to Subsection B.

The Board shall elect from its own membership its officers, who shall serve annual terms as such and may succeed themselves. For the conduct of any hearing and the taking of any action, a quorum shall be not less than a majority of all the members of the Board, but the Board may appoint a hearing officer from its own membership to conduct any hearing on its behalf, and the parties may waive further action by the Board as provided in § 133-52.

If, by reason of absence or disqualification of a member, a quorum is not reached, the Chairman of the Board shall designate as many alternate members of the Board to sit on the Board as may be needed to provide a quorum. Any alternate member of the Board shall continue to serve on the Board in all proceedings involving the matter or case for which the alternate was initially appointed until the Board has made a final determination of the matter or case. Designation of an alternate pursuant to this subsection shall be made on a case-by-case basis in rotation according to declining seniority among all alternates.

The Board may make, alter, and rescind rules and forms for its procedure, consistent with ordinances of Jackson Township and laws of the commonwealth. The Board shall keep full public records of its business, which records shall be the property of the Township, and shall submit a report of its activities to the Board of Supervisors once a year.

Substantive challenges to the validity of any land use ordinance, except those brought before the Board of Supervisors pursuant to Sections 609.1 and 916.1(a)(2) of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, Act 247, as amended.[2]

Challenges to the validity of a land use ordinance raising procedural questions or alleged defects in the process of enactment or adoption, which challenges shall be raised by an appeal taken within 30 days after the effective date of said chapter.

Appeals from the determination of the Zoning Officer, including but not limited to the granting or denial of any permit or failure to act on the application therefor, the issuance of any cease-and-desist order, or the registration or refusal to register any nonconforming use, structure, or lot.

Appeals from a determination by the Township Engineer or the Zoning Officer with reference to the administration of any floodplain or flood hazard ordinance or such provision within a land use ordinance.

Applications for variances from the terms of this chapter and the flood hazard ordinance[3] or such provisions within a land use ordinance, pursuant to § 133-53.

Applications for special exceptions under this chapter or the floodplain or flood hazard ordinance[4] or such provision within a land use ordinance, pursuant to § 133-54.

Appeals from the determination of any officer or agency charged with the administration of any transfers of development rights or performance density provision of this chapter.

Appeals from the Zoning Officer's determination under Section 916.2, Procedure to Obtain Preliminary Opinion, of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, Act 247, as reenacted and amended.[5]

Appeals from the determination of the Zoning Officer or Township Engineer in the administration of any land use ordinance, or provision thereof, with reference to sedimentation and erosion control and stormwater management, insofar as the same is related to development not involving subdivision and land development or planned residential development applications.

Public written notice shall be given to the applicant, the Zoning Officer, to each property owner within 200 feet of the property involved, and to any person who, at least two weeks prior to the scheduled hearing, has made request for the same. Written notices shall be given at such time and in such manner as shall be prescribed by ordinance or, in the absence of ordinance provisions, by rules of the Board. In addition to the written notice provided herein, written notice of the hearing shall be conspicuously posted on the affected tract of land at least one week prior to the hearing.

The Board of Supervisors may prescribe reasonable fees with respect to hearings before the Zoning Hearing Board. Fees for said hearings may include notice and advertising costs and necessary administrative overhead connected with the hearing. The costs, however, shall not include legal expenses of the Zoning Hearing Board, expenses for engineering, architectural, or other technical consultants or expert witness costs.

The first hearing before the Board or hearing officer shall commence within 60 days from the date of receipt of the applicant's application, unless the applicant has agreed, in writing, to an extension of time. Each subsequent hearing before the Board or hearing officer shall be held within 45 days of the prior hearing, unless otherwise agreed to by the applicant in writing or on the record. An applicant shall complete the presentation of his case-in-chief within 100 days of the first hearing. Upon the request of the applicant, the Board or hearing officer shall ensure that the applicant receives at least seven hours of hearings within the 100 days, including the first hearing. Persons opposed to the application shall complete the presentation of their opposition to the application within 100 days of the first hearing held after the completion of the applicant's case-in-chief. An applicant may, upon request, be granted additional hearings to complete the case-in-chief, provided that the persons opposed to the application are granted an equal number of additional hearings. Persons opposed to the application may, upon the written consent or consent on the record by the applicant and Township, be granted additional hearings to complete their opposition to the application, provided that the applicant is granted an equal number of additional hearings for rebuttal.

The hearings shall be conducted by the Board, or the Board may appoint any member as a hearing officer. The decision or, where no decision is called for, the findings shall be made by the Board; however, the appellant or the applicant, as the case may be, in addition to the Township, may, prior to the decision of the hearing, waive decision or findings by the Board and accept the decision of the hearing officer as final. Formal rules of evidence shall not apply, but irrelevant, immaterial, or unduly repetitious evidence may be excluded.

The Board or the hearing officer shall not communicate, directly or indirectly, with any party or his representatives in connection with any issue involved except upon notice and opportunity for all parties to participate; shall not take notice of any communication, reports, staff memoranda, or other materials, except advice from the Board's Solicitor, unless the parties are afforded an opportunity to contest the material so noticed; and shall not inspect the site or its surroundings with any party or his representative unless all parties are given an opportunity to be present.

The parties shall have the right to be represented by counsel and be afforded the opportunity to respond and present evidence and argument and cross-examine adverse witnesses on all relevant issues.

Statements are to be made in the following order or as the Chairman may direct:

The applicant or appellant must be given an opportunity for rebuttal.

The Board or the hearing officer, as the case may be, shall render a written decision or, when no decision is called for, make written findings on the application within 45 days after the last hearing before the Board or hearing officer. Where the application is contested or denied, each decision shall be accompanied by findings of fact and conclusions based thereon, together with the reasons therefor. Conclusions based on any provisions of this chapter or of any ordinance, rule, or regulation shall contain a reference to the provision relied on and the reasons why the conclusion is deemed appropriate in light of the facts found. If the hearing is conducted by a hearing officer, and there has been no stipulation that his decision or findings are final, the Board shall make its report and recommendations available to the parties within 45 days, the parties shall be entitled to make written representations thereon to the Board prior to the final decision or entry of findings, and the Board's decision shall be entered no later than 30 days after the report of the hearing officer. Except for challenges filed under Section 916.1 of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code,[1] where the Board fails to render the decision within the period required by this subsection or fails to commence, conduct, or complete the required hearing as provided in § 133-52A of this chapter, the decision shall be deemed to have been rendered in favor of the applicant, unless the applicant has agreed in writing or on the record to an extension of time

When a decision has been rendered in favor of the applicant because of the failure of the Board to meet or render a decision as hereinabove provided, the Board shall give public notice of said decision within 10 days from the last day it could have met to render a decision in the same manner as provided in Subsection A of this section. Nothing in this subsection shall prejudice the right of any party opposing the application to appeal the decision to a court of competent jurisdiction.

A copy of the final decision of the findings shall be delivered to the applicant personally or mailed to him or her, even if no decision is called for, not later than the day following the date of the decision. A copy of said decision shall also be delivered or mailed to the Township Zoning Officer in the same manner as noted for the applicant. To all other persons who have filed their name and address with the Board not later than the last day of the hearing, the Board shall provide, by mail or otherwise, brief notice of the decision or findings and a statement of the place at which the full decision or findings may be examined.

Whenever the Board imposes a condition or conditions with respect to the granting of an application or appeal, this condition must be stated in the order of the Board and in the permit issued pursuant to the order by the Zoning Officer. This permit remains valid only as long as the condition or conditions upon which it was granted or the conditions imposed by this chapter are adhered to.

An application may be made to the Zoning Hearing Board for a variance where it is alleged that the provisions of this chapter inflict unnecessary hardship upon the applicant. The application must be made on a form provided for that purpose by the Zoning Officer. It must be filed with the Board and copies given to the Zoning Officer and Township Planning Commission. The applicant must provide all the information requested on the form, together with any other information and data that may be required to advise the Board of the variance, whether such information is called for by the official form or not.

Unless otherwise specified or extended by the Board, a variance authorized by it expires if the applicant fails to obtain a building permit or use certificate within six months from the date of the decision authorizing the variance.

There are unique physical circumstances or conditions, including irregularity, narrowness, or shallowness of lot size or shape or exceptional topographical or other physical conditions peculiar to the particular property and that the unnecessary hardship is due to such conditions and not the circumstances or conditions generally created by the provisions of this chapter in the neighborhood or zone in which the property is located.

Because of such physical circumstances or conditions, no possibility exists that the property can be developed in strict conformity with the provisions of this chapter and that the authorization of a variance is therefore necessary to enable the reasonable use of the property.

The unnecessary hardship has not been created by the appellant.

The variance, if authorized, will not alter the essential character of the neighborhood or zone in which the property is located or substantially or permanently impair the appropriate use or development of adjacent property or be detrimental to the public welfare.

The variance, if authorized, will represent the minimum variance that will afford relief and represent the least modification possible of the regulation in issue.

For any use permitted by special exception, a special exception must be obtained from the Zoning Hearing Board. In addition to the information required on the building permit application, the special exception application must show:

Unless otherwise specified or extended by the Zoning Hearing Board, a special exception authorized by the Board expires if the applicant fails to obtain, where required to do so, a building permit or use certificate within six months of the date of the authorization of the special exception.

The Zoning Hearing Board may grant a temporary special exception for a nonconforming use or structure, existing or new, that is beneficial to the public health or general welfare or necessary to promote the proper development of the community and is seasonal in nature.

The temporary special exception may be issued for a period not exceeding one year and may be renewed for an aggregate period not exceeding three years. The nonconforming structure or use must be completely removed upon the expiration of the special exception, without cost to the Township.

Such use shall be one that is specifically authorized as a use by special exception in the zoning district wherein the applicant seeks a special exception. The use shall meet all applicable regulations of this chapter.

Such special exception shall only be granted subject to any applicable conditions and safeguards as required by this chapter.

Such use shall not adversely affect the character of the general neighborhood, the conservation of property values, the health and safety of residents or workers on adjacent properties and in the general neighborhood, or the reasonable use of neighboring properties. The use of adjacent properties shall be adequately safeguarded.

Such use shall be of such size and so located and laid out in relation to its access streets that vehicular and pedestrian traffic to and from such use will not create undue congestion or hazards prejudicial to the general neighborhood. The surrounding streets shall be sufficient to accommodate any expected increase in traffic generated by the proposed use.

Services and utilities, such as water supply, sewage disposal, and stormwater drainage, shall be made available to adequately service the proposed use by the applicant.

There shall be control of the development of highway frontage so as to limit the number of points for ingress and egress and consider their location with due regard for safety factors.

Consideration shall be given to the desirability of the proposed location of an industrial or commercial use with respect to probable effects upon street or highway traffic and assurance of adequate access arrangements to protect against undue traffic congestion and hazard.

Consideration shall be given to such other considerations as may be set forth in the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, as amended, from time to time.

The proposed use shall not have an adverse effect upon the logical and economic extension of public services and facilities, such as public water, sewer, police and fire protection, and public schools.

The proposed use does not impair the achievement of any Township Comprehensive Plan. In granting a special exception, the Board may attach such reasonable conditions and safeguards, in addition to those expressed in this chapter, as it may deem necessary to implement the purposes of this chapter and the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, as amended, which conditions may include but are not limited to harmonious design of buildings, planting and maintenance of shrubbery or trees as a sight or sound barrier, and the minimizing of potentially noxious, offensive, or hazardous elements.