Patterson Township City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XXI
Amendments
§ 190-91 Authority.
Whenever the public necessity, convenience or general welfare indicate, the governing body may, by ordinance in accordance with applicable laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, amend, supplement or change the regulations, restrictions, boundaries or classifications of buildings, structures and land, as the same are established by this chapter or may hereafter be made a part thereof.
§ 190-92 Application or petitions; fees.
Applications or petitions for any change or amendments to existing zoning districts shall be made to the office of the Planning Commission and shall be accompanied with a fee as determined by the governing body payable to Patterson Township and shall be deposited in the general fund. This fee is for the purpose of defraying the costs of preparing the necessary plats, maps, data, legislation and notices and all official publications required by the Township and shall not be refundable even though the application is disapproved by the governing body.
§ 190-93 Amendment by municipality.
The Board of Township Commissioners may from time to time on its own motion or petition, after public notice and hearing, amend the regulations and districts herein established, but no amendment shall become effective unless the same shall have first been submitted to the Planning Commission for approval, and said Commission shall have been allowed a reasonable time for consideration and report, and no such amendment which has been disapproved by said Commission shall take effect unless subsequently passed by a two-thirds vote of the governing body.
§ 190-94 Curative amendment. [1]
A.
A landowner who desires to challenge on substantive grounds the validity of an ordinance or map or any provision thereof which prohibits or restricts the use or development of land in which he has an interest may submit a curative amendment to the Township Commissioners with a written request that his challenge and proposed amendment be heard and decided as provided in Section 609.1 of Act 247 of 1968.[2] The Township Commissioners shall commence a hearing thereon within 60 days of the request. The curative amendment and challenge shall be referred to the Township Planning Commission and County Planning Commission at least 30 days prior to the public hearing for review and comment. Public notice of the hearing the curative amendment shall be given as provided in § 190-95. The Township Commissioners shall conduct the public hearing in accordance with § 190-90 of Article XX, and all references therein to the Zoning Hearing Board, for purposes of this section, shall be references to the Township Commissioners.
[2]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 10609.1.
B.
If the Township does not accept a landowner's curative amendment brought in accordance with this section and a court subsequently rules that the challenge has merit, the court's decision shall not result in a declaration of invalidity for this entire chapter but only for those provisions which specifically relate to the landowner's curative amendment and challenge.
C.
If the Township Commissioners determines that a validity challenge has merit, the Township Commissioners may accept a landowner's curative amendment, with or without revision, or may adopt an alternative amendment which will cure the challenged defects. The Township Commissioners shall consider the curative amendments, plans and explanatory material submitted by the landowner and shall also consider:
(1)
The impact of the proposal upon roads, sewer facilities, water supplies, schools and other public service facilities;
(2)
If the proposal is for a residential use, the impact of the proposal upon regional housing needs and the effectiveness of the proposal in providing housing units of a type actually available to and affordable by classes of persons otherwise unlawfully excluded by the challenged provisions of this chapter or the Zoning Map;
(3)
The suitability of the site for the intensity of the use proposed by the site's soils, slopes, woodlands, wetlands, floodplains, aquifers, natural resources and other natural features;
(4)
The impact of the proposed use on the site's soils, slopes, woodlands, wetlands, floodplains, natural resources and natural features, the degree to which these are protected or destroyed, the tolerance of the resources to development and any adverse environmental impacts; and
(5)
The impact of the proposal on the preservation of agriculture and other land uses which are essential to public health and welfare.