New Bethlehem City Zoning Code
ARTICLE V
Administration, Enforcement and Violations
§ 500-37 Zoning Officer.
Borough Council shall appoint the Zoning Officer who shall administer and enforce the provisions of this chapter.
§ 500-38 Duties of Zoning Officer.
The Zoning Officer shall enforce all the provisions of this chapter and shall have such duties and powers as are conferred by this chapter and are reasonably implied for that purpose.
A.
Applications, zoning certificates, building permits and inspection. The Zoning Officer shall receive applications for zoning certificates, and copies of building permits and occupancy permits and make all inspection in accordance with the provisions of this chapter. Applications for building and occupancy permits must be obtained from the Borough's authorized Building Code Administration Official.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
B.
Inspection. The Zoning Officer may examine or cause to be examined all structures and/or land for which an application has been filed for zoning certificate, and he may conduct such inspections from time to time during and at completion of the work for which a zoning certificate has been issued.
C.
Nonconforming uses. The Zoning Officer shall maintain an up-to-date list of all nonconforming uses.
§ 500-39 Zoning certificates.
A.
Requirements. Until the Zoning Officer has issued a zoning certificate applicable thereto, no person shall:
(1)
Occupy or use any vacant land; or
(2)
Construct, reconstruct, move, alter or enlarge any structure so as to change its use; or
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
(3)
Change the use of a structure or land to a different use; or
(4)
Change a nonconforming use.
B.
Expiration of zoning certificate. The zoning certificate shall expire six months from the date of its issuance if the use is not implemented.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
C.
Application and fees. Each applicant for a zoning certificate shall present, with the application, a plot plan showing clearly and completely the location, dimensions and nature of any structures involved and such other information as the Zoning Officer may require as to compliance with the ordinance, together with a filing fee in accordance with a schedule fixed by resolution of Borough Council.
(1)
Fees for zoning certificate shall be as established by the Zoning Officer and the Borough.
§ 500-40 Occupancy permit.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
A.
After the purposes of a building permit have been completed by an applicant, the Zoning Officer shall be notified and inspect the work to verify that it has been carried out in accordance with the zoning certificate.
B.
No building hereafter constructed, erected or altered shall be occupied or used in whole or in part for any use whatsoever, and no change of use of any building or part thereof shall hereafter be made, until an occupancy permit has been issued by the Building Code Administration Officer, certifying that the building use complies with the provisions of applicable ordinances.
§ 500-41 Violations and penalties.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
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 Borough of New Bethlehem, pay a judgment of not more than $500, plus all court costs, including the reasonable attorneys' fees incurred by the Borough of New Bethlehem 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 Borough of New Bethlehem may enforce the judgment pursuant to the applicable rules of civil procedure. Each day that a violation continues shall constitute a separate violation, unless a 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 by the Magisterial District Judge, and thereafter each day that a violation continues shall constitute a separate violation. All judgments, costs and reasonable attorneys' fees collected for the violation of this chapter shall be paid over to the Borough of New Bethlehem.