Schwenksville City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XXII
Zoning Hearing Board
§ 176-2200 Appointment and qualifications.
The Borough Council of Schwenksville Borough shall appoint a Zoning Hearing Board consisting of three members. The word "Board" when used in this article shall mean the Zoning Hearing Board. Two additional alternate members may be appointed at the pleasure of Borough Council.
§ 176-2201 Membership; terms of office; vacancies.
A.
The membership of the Board shall consist of three residents of the Borough appointed by the Borough Council.
B.
The terms of office shall be three years and shall be so fixed that the term of office of one member shall expire each year.
C.
The Board shall promptly notify the governing body of any vacancies which occur, and appointments to fill vacancies which occur, and appointments to fill vacancies shall be only for the unexpired portion of the term.
D.
Members of the Board shall hold no other office of the Borough.
§ 176-2202 Organization; conduct of business; records to be kept.
A.
The Board shall elect from its own membership its officers, who shall serve annual terms as such, and may succeed themselves.
B.
For the conduct of any hearing and the taking of any action, a quorum shall be not less than a majority of all the members of the Board, but where two members are disqualified to act in a particular matter, the remaining member may act for the Board.
C.
The Board may make, alter, and rescind rules and forms for its procedure; consistent with ordinances of the Borough and laws of the Commonwealth.
D.
The Board shall keep full public records of its business and shall submit a report of its activities to the Borough Council once every three months so as to coincide with the calendar year quarters.
§ 176-2203 Conduct of hearings.
The Board shall conduct hearings and make decisions in accordance with the following requirements:
A.
Notice shall be given to the public, the applicant, the Borough Planning Commission, the Borough Engineer, the Borough Secretary, the Borough Zoning Officer, to any person who has made timely request for the same, to all property owners on the same street within 500 feet and not on the same street within 150 feet of the affected property, and shall be conspicuously posted on the affected tract of land.
1.
Written notice of the hearing shall be given by mail, as well as conspicuously posted on the affected tract of land at least one week prior to the hearing, and public notice shall be published once each week for two successive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the Borough. Such notice shall state the time and place of the hearing and the particular nature of the matter to be considered at the hearing. The first publication shall not be more than 30 days and the second publication shall not be less than seven days from the date of the hearing.
2.
The notice herein required shall state the location of the building or lot and the general nature of the question involved but shall be sufficient to provide adequate notice of all questions to be considered. Notice to the County Planning Commission, the Borough Planning Commission, the Borough Engineer and the Borough Zoning Officer shall include a copy of the plot plan, if any filed.
B.
The hearings shall be conducted by a quorum of the Board. The decision, or where no decision is called for, the findings shall be made by the Board, but the parties may waive decision or findings by the Board.
C.
The parties to the hearing shall be the Borough and any person affected by the application who has made timely appearance of record before the Board and any other person including civil or community organizations permitted to appear by the Board.
D.
The Chairman or Acting Chairman of the Board or the hearing officer presiding shall have power to administer oaths and issue subpoenas to compel the attendance of witnesses and the production of relevant documents and papers, including witnesses and documents requested by the parties.
E.
The parties shall have the right to be represented by counsel and shall be afforded the opportunity to respond and present evidence and argument and cross-examine adverse witnesses on all relevant issues.
F.
Formal rules of evidence shall not apply, but irrelevant, immaterial, or unduly repetitious evidence may be excluded.
G.
The Board or the hearing officer, as the case may be, shall keep stenographic records of the proceedings, and a transcript of the proceedings and copies of graphic or written material received in evidence shall be made available to any party at cost.
H.
The Board or the hearing officer shall not communicate, directly or indirectly, with any party or his representatives in connection with any issue involved except upon notice and opportunity for all parties to participate, shall not take notice of any communications, reports, staff memoranda, or other materials unless the parties are afforded an opportunity to contest the material so noticed and shall not inspect the site or its surroundings after the commencement of hearings with any party or his representative unless all parties are given an opportunity to be present.
I.
The Board or the hearing officer, as the case may be, shall render a written decision or, when no decision is called for, make written findings on the application within 45 days after the last hearing before the Board or hearing officer.
1.
Each decision shall be accompanied by findings of fact and conclusions based thereon, together with the reasons therefor.
2.
Conclusions based on any provisions of Act 247, the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code or of any ordinance, rule or regulation shall contain a reference to the provision relied on and the reasons why the conclusion is deemed appropriate in the light of the facts found.
3.
If the hearing is conducted by a hearing officer, and there has been no stipulation that his decision or findings are final, the Board shall make his report and recommendations available to the parties and the parties shall be entitled to make written representatives thereon to the Board prior to final decision or entry of findings, and the Board's decision shall be entered no later than 45 days after the decision of the hearing officer.
4.
All extensions of the 45 days must be in writing signed by the applicant.
J.
A copy of the final decision or, where no decision is called for, of the findings shall be delivered to the applicant personally or mailed to him not later than the day following its date.
1.
To all other persons who have filed their name and address with the Board, not later than the last day of the hearing, the Board shall provide by mail or otherwise, brief notice of the decision or findings and a statement of the place at which the full decision or findings may be examined.
2.
It shall be the duty of the Secretary of the Zoning Hearing Board to arrange for the mailing of the notices and decisions in each case.
§ 176-2204 Appeals from decision of Zoning Officer.
The Board shall hear and decide appeals where it is alleged by the appellant that the Zoning Officer has failed to follow prescribed procedures or has misinterpreted or misapplied any provision of a valid ordinance or map or any valid rule or regulation governing the action of the Zoning Officer.
§ 176-2205 Challenges to validity of regulations.
The Board shall hear challenges to the validity of a zoning ordinance or map except as indicated by Act 247. In all such challenges, the Board shall take evidence and make a record thereon as provided in § 176-2203. At the conclusion of the hearing, the Board shall decide all contested questions of interpretation and shall make findings on all relevant issues of fact which shall become part of the record on appeal to the court.
§ 176-2206 Requests for variances.
A.
The Board shall hear requests for variances where it is alleged that the provisions of the Zoning Chapter inflict unnecessary hardship upon the applicant. The Board may by rule prescribe the form of application and may require preliminary application to the Zoning Officer. The Board may grant a variance provided the following findings are made where relevant in a given case:
1.
That there are unique physical circumstances or conditions, including irregularity, narrowness, or shallowness of lot size or shape, or exceptional topographical or other physical conditions peculiar to the particular property, and that the unnecessary hardship is due to such conditions and not the circumstances or conditions generally created by the provisions of the Zoning Chapter in the neighborhood or district in which the property is located.
2.
That because of such physical circumstances or conditions, there is no possibility that the property can be developed in strict conformity with the provisions of the Zoning Chapter and that the authorization of a variance is therefore necessary to enable the reasonable use of the property.
3.
That such unnecessary hardship has not been created by the applicant.
4.
That the variance, if authorized, will not alter the essential character of the neighborhood or district in which the property is located, nor substantially or permanently impair the appropriate use or development of adjacent property, not be detrimental to the public welfare; and
5.
That the variance, if authorized, will represent the minimum variance that will afford relief and will represent the least modification possible of the regulation in issue.
B.
In granting any variance, the Board may attach such reasonable conditions and safeguard as it may deem necessary to implement the purposes of this act and the Zoning Chapter.
§ 176-2207 Requests for special exceptions.
A.
Where the Borough Council in the Zoning Chapter has stated special exceptions to be granted or denied by the Board, the Board shall hear and decide requests for such special exceptions, in accordance with the following standards and criteria:
1.
The applicable use standards as indicated in Article III, Use Regulations, for the particular use.
2.
The suitability for the property for the use desired.
3.
The effect of the proposed use upon the safety and health of the immediate neighborhood, and the general public therein.
4.
The effect of the proposed use upon the character of the immediate neighborhood so as to conserve the value of existing buildings and encourage the most appropriate use of the land.
B.
In granting a special exception, the Board may attach such seasonable conditions and safeguards, in addition to those expressed in the chapter, as it may deem necessary to implement the purposes of this act and the Zoning Chapter. The Board is charged with using its most sound discretion in considering special exceptions in that the uses subject to the special exception have not been permitted in a given district but rather must be considered on a case-by-case basis. The burden of proof in any application for a special exception shall be on the applicant to prove that the use is one which is permitted by special exception and that the proposed use will not adversely affect the general public.
§ 176-2208 Requests for reasonable accommodations.
A.
An applicant for reasonable accommodation shall have the burden of establishing that:
1.
The residents or proposed residents of the premises are handicapped.
2.
The premises are to be used as a dwelling for persons with handicaps.
3.
The specific accommodation to the rules and regulations of the ordinances of the Borough may be necessary to afford persons with handicaps an equal opportunity to housing in the Borough.
B.
In determining whether a requested accommodation is reasonable, the Borough Zoning Hearing Board shall consider:
§ 176-2209 Time limits on variances and special exceptions.
Unless otherwise specified by the Board, a special exception, variance or reasonable accommodation shall expire and lapse six months after the date of its grant if the applicant fails to obtain a building permit to effect such variance, special exception or reasonable accommodation or commence the use specified in the Board's decision on the appeal.
§ 176-2210 Appeals from decisions of Board.
Any person aggrieved by any decision of the Board or any resident, taxpayer, officer, council member or the Borough may, within 30 days after any decision of the Board, appeal said decision to the Court of Common Pleas of Montgomery County by zoning appeal as prescribed or authorized by law.