The Board of Supervisors shall appoint a Zoning Officer who serves at the convenience and pleasure of the Board of Supervisors.

The Zoning Officer shall not hold any elective office in the Township.

The Zoning Officer shall meet the qualifications set by the Board of Supervisors and be able to demonstrate, to the satisfaction of the Board, a working knowledge of municipal zoning.

The Zoning Officer shall administer and enforce this chapter in accordance with its literal terms and conditions, and shall have all powers incident thereto, including instituting civil enforcement proceedings as a means of enforcement when acting within the scope of employment.

An owner or authorized agent who intends to construct, enlarge, alter, move, demolish, or change the use of a building or structure in any zoning district shall first apply to the Zoning Officer and obtain the required zoning permit.

All applications for zoning permits shall be accompanied by a copy of a site plan, drawn to scale, showing at a minimum the size and location of the new construction and existing structures on the site and the structure's distance from lot lines. If the construction involves demolition, the site plan shall indicate construction that is to be demolished and the size and location of structures and construction that will remain on the site or plot.

The Zoning Officer may require submission of additional construction documents, plans, and/or specifications in special circumstances. Such information may include but is not limited to existing or proposed uses of building and land; the number of families, housekeeping units or rental units the building is designed to accommodate; and conditions existing on the lot.

A zoning permit will not be issued until all the required fees are collected by the Zoning Officer.

Zoning permits become invalid unless the authorized construction work begins within 180 days after the permit's issuance or if the authorized construction work permit is suspended or abandoned for 180 days after the work has commenced. A permit holder may submit a written request for a reasonable extension of time to commence construction for just cause. The Zoning Officer may grant, in writing, a timely request for an extension of time to commence construction work.

Zoning permits may not be transferred to a third party unless authorized, in advance and in writing, by the Zoning Officer.

Zoning permits issued on the basis of applications and/or plans approved by the Zoning Officer authorize only the use, arrangement, and construction set forth in such approved applications and plans. Uses, arrangements, or construction other than that authorized in the permit shall be deemed a violation of this chapter.

Construction of buildings or structures for which a zoning permit has been issued may not commence until a separate building permit is issued by the Township or a determination has been made by the Township that a building permit is not required.

A new structure or building or addition thereto or alteration thereof may not be used or occupied without a certificate of occupancy issued by the Township.

Prior to the issuance of a certificate of occupancy, the Township shall inspect the building or structure to ensure compliance with the zoning permit, building permit, the Township Building Code,[1] and other applicable ordinances and regulations.

The Board of Supervisors shall make provision in the Township's annual budget and appropriate funds for the preparation, amendment, administration, and enforcement of this chapter, for the operation of the Zoning Hearing Board, and for actions to support or oppose, upon appeal to the courts, decisions of the Zoning Hearing Board.

The Board of Supervisor shall prescribe reasonable fees for the preparation, amendment, administration, and enforcement of this chapter and for hearings before the Zoning Hearing Board. The fee schedule shall be set and may be revised from time to time by resolution of the Board of Supervisors and shall be available for public inspection in the Township office.

No zoning permit shall be issued unless or until all costs, charges, fees, and expenses have been paid in full by the applicant.

No action shall be taken on any proceedings before the Zoning Hearing Board or applications to amend this chapter unless or until all costs, charges, fees, and expenses have been paid in full by the applicant.

A zoning permit may be revoked by the Township if it determines that the permit holder has failed to comply with the requirements of this chapter, any condition(s) attached to the issuance of the permit, or any other applicable ordinance or regulation.

Upon revocation, the permit holder may also be subject to the enforcement remedies specified in § 300-68, below.

Failure to comply with any provision of this chapter shall constitute a violation of this chapter.

Whenever a violation of this chapter occurs or is alleged to have occurred, any person may file a written complaint, stating fully the causes and basis thereof, with the Zoning Officer. The Zoning Officer shall properly record the complaint, and immediately investigate and take action on the complaint.

Enforcement notice.

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 Board of Supervisors, or Zoning Officer, or any aggrieved owner or tenant of real property who shows that his property or person will be substantially affected by the alleged violation, in addition to other remedies, may institute any appropriate action or proceeding to prevent, restrain, correct or abate such building structure, landscaping or land, or to prevent, in or about such premises, any act, conduct, business, or use constituting a violation.

Any person, partnership or corporation who or which has violated or permitted the violation of the provisions of this chapter shall, upon being found liable therefor in a civil enforcement proceeding commenced by the Township, pay a judgment of not more than $500, plus all court costs, including reasonable attorney fees incurred by the Township 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 Magisterial District Judge. If the defendant neither pays nor timely appeals judgment, the Township 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 Magisterial District Judge determining that there has been a violation, further determines that there was a good-faith basis for the person, partnership or corporation violating this 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 Magisterial District Judge, 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 the Township.

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 Township the right to commence any action for enforcement pursuant to this chapter.