In accordance with Article IX of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, a Zoning Hearing Board shall be appointed and organized, which Board may adopt rules to govern its procedures. The Board shall hold meetings, keep minutes and, pursuant to notice, conduct hearings, compel the attendance of witnesses, take testimony under oath and render decisions in writing within 45 days after the last hearing or continued hearing, all as required by law. For the filing of any appeal or proceeding with the Board, a fee shall be charged in accordance with a schedule annually fixed by Council.

Except as provided in the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code as amended, the Board shall have no power to pass upon the validity of any provision of an ordinance or map adopted by the City.

Any person or City official aggrieved or affected by any provision of this Zoning Ordinance or by any decision of the Zoning Officer may appeal to the Zoning Hearing Board within a reasonable time, as provided by rules of the Board, by filing a notice of appeal specifying the grounds thereof. The Board shall have the power to hear and decide appeals from any order, requirement, decision, grant or refusal made by the Zoning Officer in the administration of this Zoning Ordinance. All appeals and applications made to the Board shall be in writing on forms prescribed by the Board.

Every appeal or application shall refer to the specific provision of the Zoning Ordinance involved, and shall set forth exactly the interpretation that is claimed, the use for which the special permit is sought, or the details of the variance that applied for and the grounds on which it is claimed the variance should be granted.

The hearings shall be conducted in accordance with the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code as amended. The Board may appoint any member as a hearing officer. The decision, or where no decision is called for, the findings, shall be made by the Board, but the parties may waive decision or finding by the Board and accept the decision of the hearing officer as final.

Where the Board has jurisdiction over a zoning matter, it shall also hear all appeals which an applicant may elect to bring before it with respect to any City ordinance or requirement pertaining to the same development plan or development. In any such case, the Board shall have no power to pass upon the non-zoning issues, but shall take evidence and make a record thereof as provided in the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code. At the conclusion of the hearing, the Board shall make findings on all relevant issues of fact which shall become part of the record on appeal to court.

In accordance with Section 910.2 of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, the Zoning Hearing Board, upon appeal, shall have the power to authorize variances from the provisions of this Zoning Ordinance provided that all of the following findings are made where relevant in a given case:

In granting a variance, the Board may attach such reasonable conditions and safeguards as it may deem necessary to implement the purposes of this Act and the Zoning Ordinance.

The Zoning Hearing Board shall have the power to decide applications for special exceptions as specified in this Zoning Ordinance, in harmony with its general purpose and intent and in accordance with the standards set forth in Article 1329 and the following standards and criteria:

In interpreting and applying the provisions of this Zoning Ordinance, they shall be held to be the minimum requirements for the health, safety, and general welfare of the City.

In granting the special exception, the board may attach such reasonable conditions and safeguards, in addition to those expressed in the ordinance, as it may deem necessary to implement the purposes of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, as amended, and the Zoning Ordinance.

In cases involving performance standards, the Zoning Hearing Board may require a plan of the proposed construction or development, a description of machinery proposed and specifications for the mechanisms and techniques to be used.

The Board may obtain qualified expert consultants to testify as to whether a proposed use will conform to the performance requirements. The cost of such services shall be borne by the applicant.

A nonconforming use which occupies a portion of a structure or premises may be extended within such structure or premises as they existed when the prohibitory provision took effect, but not in violation of the area and yard requirements of the district in which such structure or premises are located.

The Board may impose such conditions as it deems necessary for the protection of adjacent property and the public interest. No change of a nonconforming use shall entail structural alterations beyond those required by law for the purpose of safety and health.