Neville Township City Zoning Code

The duty of administering and enforcing the provisions of this section is hereby conferred upon the Zoning Officer, who shall have such powers as are conferred upon him/her by this chapter.

The Zoning Officer shall meet qualifications established by the Township and shall be able to demonstrate, to the satisfaction of the Board of Commissioners, a working knowledge of municipal zoning. He/she shall be appointed by Board of Commissioners and shall hold no other elective office in the Township.

The Zoning Officer shall administer and enforce this chapter in accordance with its literal terms and shall not have the power to permit construction or any use or change of use, which does not conform to this chapter.

The duties of the Zoning Officer shall be:

Any apparent violation of this chapter shall cause such official to initiate enforcement proceedings by sending an enforcement notice as provided in this section.

The enforcement notice shall be given in writing, by certified mail and shall require abatement of the violation within a time period specified in the notice. Such time period will begin on the day of receipt of said notice. In cases of emergency involving the health, safety, and welfare of any person or the public, immediate correction or abatement of the violation may be imposed.

The enforcement notice shall contain the following information:

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 the 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.

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 section.

No building or other structure shall be erected, moved, extended, expanded, structurally altered, razed or removed without a zoning permit having been issued by the Zoning Officer of the Township of Neville.

Any zoning permit issued which does not comply with these requirements is unlawful and shall be null and void.

In cases where other approvals are necessary, such as conditional use, variance or land development reviews, the zoning permit shall not be issued until approval for the conditional use, variance or land development plan has been rendered.

All work described in the approved zoning permit application shall be completed within 12 months from the date of issuance, or such zoning permit shall expire and be canceled by the Zoning Officer. Such cancellation notice shall be provided, in writing, to the applicant within three days of cancellation. Extension of the zoning permit for not more than six months may be granted by the Zoning Officer after written request by the applicant at least 30 days prior to expiration of the zoning permit.

Any zoning permit may be revoked and withdrawn by the Zoning Officer if he finds that its permit holder has failed to comply with the conditions included in the issuance of the permit.

Zoning permits shall not be required for painting or masonry repainting; reroofing and residing; repaving existing driveways, patios, or courts; replacing windows or doors, with no change of dimensions; or interior alterations when no structural changes are proposed and the use of the building/structure is not changed.

A temporary zoning permit shall be required for any mobile, modular or manufactured home or building used for office, storage or security activities on a construction site, as per the provisions of § 340-62.

Failure to obtain a zoning permit for required activities identified in this section shall be a violation of this chapter and be subject to enforcement activities in this section.

Applications for zoning permits shall be made in writing, on forms furnished by the Township office.

The zoning permit application shall not be considered complete until all required information has been submitted, in duplicate, as follows:

The application shall be accompanied by the appropriate fee as established by resolution of the Township Board of Commissioners.

The Zoning Officer shall examine the application and determine its completeness. If incomplete, the application shall be returned to the applicant with the deficiencies identified in writing.

When the application is complete, the Zoning Officer shall review the application for compliance with this chapter. If the Zoning Officer determines that the building, as proposed, violates the requirements of this chapter, the applicant shall be notified, in writing. The applicant may petition the Zoning Hearing Board for a variance. A variance for a specific deviation shall not exempt the remainder of the application from the appropriate review and approval process.

A certification of occupancy shall be required prior to the use/occupancy of the following:

It shall be unlawful to use, occupy or permit the use or occupancy of any building, land, premises or part thereof, or change the use, owner, tenant or occupant of a building, land or premises until a certificate of occupancy has been issued by the Zoning Officer or duly appointed Township official. In the case of multiple tenants, a certificate of occupancy shall be required for each tenant prior to occupancy.

In order to meet the conditions for the certificate of occupancy, the following inspections must be conducted by the Zoning Officer:

Every application for a zoning permit shall be deemed an application for a certificate of occupancy.

Inspection.

Issuance of certificate.

It shall be a violation of this chapter for a structure to be occupied without a certificate of occupancy first having been issued. The penalties of § 340-86 shall apply to any developer, builder or homeowner who allows such violations.

If such event is intended to occur on an annual or seasonal basis, it shall be required to obtain approval for each occurrence as a temporary use from the Zoning Officer.

If such event uses any Township services, including but not limited to road closures and public safety enforcement, approval shall be obtained from the Board of Commissioners.

The Board of Commissioners shall determine a schedule of fees, charges and expenses, as well as a collection process for variances, conditional use reviews, nonresidential site plan reviews, amendments and other matter pertaining to this chapter. Said schedule of fees shall be posted in the Township Office.

The Board of Commissioners shall be empowered to reevaluate the fee schedule and make necessary alterations to it. Such alterations shall not be considered an amendment to this chapter and may be adopted at any public meeting of the Board.

All such fees shall be paid into the Township of Neville general fund.

The penalty provisions of § 340-86 shall dictate.

Should a violation of this chapter occur after the issuance of the certificate of occupancy, the Zoning Officer may revoke such certificate, followed by the issuance of a notice of eviction, or may pursue any and all remedies available to the Township of Neville.