Lancaster Township Butler County
City Zoning Code
City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XI
Amendments
§ 300-58 Application and review procedures.
A.
The Board of Supervisors may prescribe reasonable fees from time to time with respect to all applications to amend this chapter. For purposes of this chapter, applications to amend this chapter include but are not limited to petitions to rezone a parcel or change a zoning boundary and landowner curative amendments.
B.
All amendment applications shall be filed with the Zoning Officer, on forms prescribed by the Township, at least 20 days prior to the date of the next regular meeting of the Planning Commission. An application shall not be considered to be administratively complete until all required items on the application form, including the application fee and/or deposit, have been received by the Township.
C.
The Zoning Officer shall review the application to determine whether all required materials have been submitted by the applicant. If all such materials have not been submitted, then the Zoning Officer shall reject the application as administratively incomplete and shall notify the applicant, in writing, citing the specific deficiencies and the specific requirements that have not been met.
D.
Within five days of receipt of an administratively complete application, the Zoning Officer shall forward a copy of the application and any materials submitted therewith to the Township Engineer and Township Solicitor.
E.
The Zoning Officer shall submit each such application to the Butler County Planning Commission at least 30 days prior to the public hearing on such proposed amendment to provide the County Planning Commission an opportunity to submit recommendations.
F.
In the case of an amendment other than that prepared by the Planning Commission, the Zoning Officer shall submit each amendment application to the Planning Commission at least 30 days prior to the public hearing on such proposed amendment to provide the Planning Commission an opportunity to submit recommendations.
G.
The Township Planning Commission shall review the application at its next regular meeting and forward its recommendation to the Board of Supervisors that the application be approved with or without revisions or denied.
H.
Before voting on the enactment of any amendment to this chapter, the Board of Supervisors shall hold a public hearing, pursuant to public notice, and pursuant to mailed notice and electronic notice if applicable per 53 P.S. § 10109. The Board of Supervisors shall commence its public hearings within 60 days after the administratively complete application is filed, unless the landowner requests or consents to an extension of time.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
I.
Where the proposed amendment involves a Zoning Map change:
(1)
The Zoning Officer shall conspicuously post notice of the public hearing along the tract or area which is the subject of the application at least one week prior to the date of the hearing, and shall send written notice of the hearing by regular mail to all property owners of record within 200 feet of the exterior boundaries of the property; and
(2)
Except when the amendment constitutes a comprehensive rezoning, notice of the public hearing shall be mailed by the Zoning Officer at least 30 days prior to the date of the hearing, by first class mail to the addresses to which real estate tax bills are sent for all real property located within the area being rezoned, as evidenced by tax records within the possession of the Township. The notice shall include the location, date and time of the public hearing.
J.
If, after any public hearing held upon an amendment, the proposed amendment is changed substantially or is revised to include land not previously affected by it, the Board of Supervisors shall hold another public hearing, pursuant to public notice, and mailed notice and electronic notice, if applicable, before proceeding to vote on the amendment.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
K.
The findings and determination of the Board of Supervisors resulting from the public hearing shall be made, in writing, with copies transmitted to the applicant, the Township Planning Commission, and the Butler County Planning Commission within 15 days after such hearing.
L.
Within 30 days after enactment, a copy of the amendment shall be forwarded to the Butler County Planning Commission and Butler County law Library.
§ 300-59 Submission of landowner curative amendments.
A.
Any landowner who wishes to challenge on substantive grounds the validity of this chapter or Zoning Map or any provision thereof which prohibits or restricts the use or development of land in which he has an interest may submit a curative amendment to the Board of Supervisors, with a written request that his challenge and proposed amendment be heard and decided.
B.
The Board shall consider the curative amendments, plans and explanatory material submitted by the landowner and shall also consider:
(1)
The impact of the proposal upon roads, sewer facilities, water supplies, schools and other public service facilities;
(2)
If the proposal is for a residential use, the impact of the proposal upon regional housing needs and the effectiveness of the proposal in providing housing units of a type actually available to and affordable by classes of persons otherwise unlawfully excluded by the challenged provisions of the ordinance or map;
(3)
The suitability of the site for the intensity of use proposed by the site's soils, slopes, woodlands, wetlands, floodplains, aquifers, and natural resources and other natural features;
(4)
The impact of the proposed use on the site's soils, slopes, woodlands, wetlands, floodplains, natural resources and natural features, the degree to which these are protected or destroyed, the tolerance of the resources to development and any adverse environmental impacts; and
(5)
The impact of the proposal on the preservation of agriculture and other land uses which are essential to public health and welfare.
C.
If, after a public hearing held on the curative amendment, the Board of Supervisors determines that a validity challenge has merit, the Board may accept the amendment, with or without revision, or may adopt an alternative amendment which will cure the challenged defects.
D.
If the Board of Supervisors determines that the challenge does not have merit, the Board may reject the curative amendment. If the Board rejects the curative amendment and a court subsequently rules that the challenge has merit, the court's decision shall not result in a declaration of invalidity for the entire zoning ordinance or map, but only for those provisions which specifically relate to the curative amendment and challenge.
§ 300-60 Procedure for municipal curative amendments.
If the Board of Supervisors determines that this chapter, Zoning Map or any portion thereof is substantially invalid, it shall take the following action:
A.
The Board shall declare, by formal action, that this chapter, Zoning Map or portion therefore is substantively invalid and propose to prepare a curative amendment to overcome such invalidity.
B.
Within 30 days following such declaration and proposal, the Board shall by resolution make specific findings setting forth the declared invalidities and shall commence preparation of the curative amendment to correct the declared invalidity.
C.
Within 180 days from the date of the declaration and proposal, the Board shall enact a curative amendment to validate, or reaffirm the validity of this chapter as it stood prior to the declaration. During the 180-day period, the Board shall not be required to entertain any requests for landowner curative amendments nor shall any landowner claim rights as a result of the declared invalidity resolved by the curative amendment.
D.
Having used the municipal curative amendment procedure, the Board may not again utilize such procedure for a thirty-six-month period following the date of the enactment of a curative amendment or reaffirmation of the validity of this chapter, unless a state statute or court decision imposes a substantially new duty or obligation on the Township to prepare a curative amendment to fulfill the duty or obligation.