Montgomery Lycoming County
City Zoning Code
City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XIX
Amendments
§ 475-136 Purpose.
The Borough Council by ordinance may, upon recommendation of the Planning Commission, or upon petition and subject to procedures provided by law, amend, supplement, change, or repeal the regulations, district boundaries or classifications of property established by this chapter.
§ 475-137 Citizen request for amendment to text or map.
A.
Requests for changes in this chapter may be made by owners of land in the Borough or by their authorized agents and shall be filed with the Codes Enforcement Officer on forms prescribed by him. Applications shall contain all information necessary to assure a full and accurate presentation of facts, including the following:
(1)
Applicant's name and address and that of his representative, and the interest of every person represented in the application;
(2)
Verification by at least one of the owners attesting to the truth and correctness of facts and information presented;
(3)
A plan showing the extent of the area to be rezoned, if this be the nature of the request, and showing the streets bounding the area, the use and district classification of abutting districts, and the names and addresses of property owners of land within 200 feet of the area;
(4)
A statement of the circumstances in the proposed and abutting districts and any other factors on which the applicant relies as reasons for supporting the proposed rezoning.
B.
The Codes Enforcement Officer shall review the application to determine whether it conforms with the requirements listed above. If satisfactory, the Codes Enforcement Officer shall immediately submit the application to the Planning Commission for review and approval. Upon approval, it shall be submitted to the Borough Council, who shall follow the procedures enumerated in § 475-139.
§ 475-138 Planning Commission requests for amendment to text or map.
§ 475-139 Procedures of Borough Council.
The Borough Council shall adhere to the following procedures when amending this chapter:
A.
Preparation of amendments. The Borough Council may request the Planning Commission to prepare amendments to this chapter using the same procedure set forth in the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code.
B.
Referral to the County and Borough Planning Commission. The Borough Council shall submit such amendment to both the County and Borough Planning Commission at least 30 days prior to the public hearing.
C.
Public hearing. After receiving requests for amending this chapter and after receiving the recommendations of the Planning Commissions, the Borough Council shall hold a public hearing pursuant to public notice.
D.
Revision of amendment. If, after the public hearing, amendment is revised to include land previously not affected by it, the Borough Council shall hold another public hearing.
E.
Voting on amendment. The Borough Council shall consider the recommendations of the Planning Commissions and testimony presented at the public hearing and vote on the proposed amendment.
F.
Notice of decision. The applicant and others so requesting shall receive notice of the decision of the Borough Council through the Codes Enforcement Officer.
§ 475-140 Procedures of Borough Planning Commission.
The Borough Planning Commission shall follow the procedures set forth below for amending this chapter:
A.
Preparation of amendments. At the request of the Borough Council, or on its own initiative, the Borough Planning Commission:
B.
Review of amendments. In the case of an amendment other than that prepared by the Borough Planning Commission, the Commission shall review each such amendment submitted to it by the Borough Council. It shall consider whether or not such proposed amendment would be consistent with and desirable in the furtherance of the community development objectives upon which this chapter is based. The Commission shall submit its recommendations 30 days prior to the public hearing scheduled by the Borough Council.
C.
Referral to the Borough Planning Commission. The Borough Planning Commission shall also be responsible for submitting the proposed amendment to the Montgomery Borough Planning Commission for its review and recommendations 30 days prior to the public hearing by the Borough Council.
§ 475-141 Procedures for curative amendments.
A.
A landowner who desires to challenge this chapter or Zoning Map which prohibits or restricts the use or development of his land may submit a curative amendment to the Borough Council with a written request that his challenge and proposed amendment be heard and decided as provided for in § 475-137.
B.
The Borough Council shall commence a public hearing within 60 days of the request as provided in § 475-137.
C.
The curative amendment shall be referred to the Planning Commission and notice of the public hearing shall be given. The public hearing shall be conducted similarly as those conducted by the Zoning Hearing Board, except that all references to the Zoning Hearing Board shall be references to the Borough Council.
§ 475-142 Procedures for municipal curative amendments.
A.
The Borough Council, by formal action, may declare this chapter or portions thereof substantially invalid and propose to prepare a curative amendment to overcome such invalidity. Within 30 days following such declaration, the Borough Council shall by resolution make specific findings setting forth the declared invalidity which may include:
B.
A curative amendment shall be prepared according to the following procedure:
(1)
Within 180 days from the date of the declaration, the Borough Council shall enact a curative amendment.
(2)
Upon the initiation of the procedures, the Borough Council shall not be required to entertain or consider any landowner's curative amendment filed under § 475-137 nor shall the Zoning Hearing Board be required to give a report, subsequent to the declaration and proposal based upon grounds which are identical to or substantially similar to those specified in the resolution.
(3)
No rights to a cure pursuant to the provisions of § 475-137 shall, from the date of the declaration accrue to any landowner on the basis of the substantive invalidity of the unamended Zoning Ordinance for which there has been a curative amendment pursuant to this section.
(4)
The Borough Council having utilized the procedures as set forth above, may not again utilize the 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. However, if after the date of declaration there is a substantially new duty or obligation imposed upon the Borough by virtue of a change in statute or by virtue of a Pennsylvania Appellate Court decision, the Borough Council may utilize the provisions of this section to prepare a curative amendment to this chapter to fulfill its duty.
§ 475-143 Public hearings.
Prior to enactment of an amendment, the Borough Council shall hold a public hearing pursuant to public notice as follows:
A.
Public notices of proposed zoning ordinances and amendments shall include either the full text or a brief summary setting forth the principal provisions in reasonable detail, and a reference to a place within the Borough where copies of the proposed ordinance or amendment may be examined and the time and place of hearing;
B.
A public notice of a proposed zoning ordinance or amendment shall be published once each week for two successive weeks, the first notice to appear not less than 14 days nor more than 30 days before the date fixed for the hearing, in a newspaper of general circulation in the Borough.
C.
If the proposed amendment involves a Zoning Map change, notice of the public hearing shall be conspicuously posted at points along the perimeter of the affected tract at least seven days prior to the date of the hearing.
§ 475-144 Distribution after enactment.
Within 30 days after enactment, a copy of the zoning ordinance or amendment shall be forwarded to the County Planning Commission.