Silverdale City Zoning Code
ARTICLE X
Administration
§ 340-87 Zoning Officer; powers and duties.
A.
The provisions of this chapter shall be administered and enforced by the Zoning Officer, who shall be appointed by the Borough Council.
B.
It shall be the duty of the Zoning Officer:
(1)
To receive and examine applications for zoning permits.
(2)
To process zoning permit applications for all permitted uses.
(3)
To issue permits only where there is compliance with the provisions of this chapter, with other Borough ordinances, and with the laws of the commonwealth. Permits for construction of a use requiring a special exception or variance shall be issued only upon order of the Zoning Hearing Board. Permits requiring approval by the Borough Council shall be issued only after receipt of approval from the Borough Council.
(4)
To receive applications for special exceptions and variances and forward those applications to the Zoning Hearing Board for action thereon.
(5)
To receive applications for conditional uses, curative amendments and zoning changes, forwarding the requests to the Borough Council, the Borough Planning Commission, and other appropriate agencies.
(6)
Following refusal of a permit, to receive applications for interpretation appeals and variances and forward those applications to the Zoning Hearing Board for action thereon.
(7)
To conduct inspections and surveys to determine compliance or noncompliance with the terms of this chapter.
(8)
To issue stop, cease and desist orders and to order, in writing, correction of all conditions found to be in violation of the provisions of this chapter. Such written orders shall be served personally or by certified mail upon persons, firms or corporations deemed by the Zoning Officer to be in violation of the terms of this chapter. It shall be unlawful for any person to violate any such order issued lawfully by the Zoning Officer, and any person violating any such order shall be guilty of a violation of this chapter. All orders not appealed in 30 days shall be deemed final.
(9)
With the approval of the Borough Council or when directed by it, to institute in the name of the Borough any appropriate action or proceedings to prevent unlawful erection, construction, reconstruction, alteration, repair, conversion, maintenance or use; to restrain, correct or abate such violation, so as to prevent the occupancy of or use of any building, structure, or land; or to prevent any illegal act, conduct, business, or use in or about such premises.
(10)
To revoke any order or zoning permit issued under a mistake of fact or contrary to the law or the provisions of this chapter.
(11)
To record and file all applications for zoning permits with accompanying plans and documents. All applications, plans, and documents shall be a public record.
(12)
To maintain a map or maps showing the current zoning classification of all land in the Borough.
(13)
At the request of the Borough Council, to identify and register nonconforming uses and structures created as a result of the adoption of this chapter or created as a result of amendments thereto.
§ 340-88 Duties of Planning Commission.
The Borough Planning Commission shall review applications for zoning permits referred to it under § 340-87. In reviewing such applications, the Planning Commission shall follow the same procedure employed in reviewing subdivision and land development plans. The Planning Commission shall submit its recommendations and findings to the Borough Council within 30 days of receipt of the application from the Zoning Officer. Should the Planning Commission fail to submit a report and recommendation to the Borough Council within 30 days from receipt of the application from the Zoning Officer, the application shall be deemed acceptable to the Planning Commission.
§ 340-89 Zoning permit required.
Hereafter, no use listed in the use sections of this chapter may be established or changed, and no structure shall be erected, constructed, reconstructed, altered, razed, or removed, and no building shall be used or occupied, or changed in use, until a zoning permit has been secured from the Zoning Officer. Upon completion of the change in use or construction, reconstruction, alteration or moving of structures, the applicant shall notify the Zoning Officer of such completion. No permit shall be considered as complete or as permanently effective until the Zoning Officer has noted on the permit that the work or occupancy and use have been inspected and approved as being in conformity with the provisions of this chapter.
§ 340-90 Application requirements for zoning permits.
A.
All applications for zoning permits shall be made by the owner, tenant, vendee under contract of sale, or authorized agent, on a form supplied by the Borough, and shall be filed with the Zoning Officer. The application shall include the following information:
(1)
A statement as to the proposed use of the building or land.
(2)
A site layout, drawn to scale, showing the location, dimensions, and height of proposed buildings, structures, or uses and any existing buildings in relation to property lines and street lines. If the application states that the property will be developed in successive stages, such plans shall show the relationship of the portion scheduled for initial development to the proposed layout of the entire property.
(3)
The location, dimensions, and arrangements of all open spaces, yards and buffer yards, including methods to be employed for screening.
(4)
The site layout shall indicate all existing trees, which are to be saved, the tree protection zone boundary, and the method by which tree protection will occur.
(5)
The location, size, arrangement and capacity of all areas to be used for motor vehicle access, off-street parking, off-street loading and unloading, and provisions to be made for lighting such areas.
(7)
The location and dimensions of sidewalks and all other areas to be devoted to pedestrian use.
(8)
Provisions to be made for treatment and disposal of sewage and industrial wastes, water supply, and stormwater management.
(9)
The capacity and arrangement of all buildings used or intended to be used for dwelling purposes, including the proposed density in terms of number of dwelling units per acre of land.
(10)
A description of any proposed industrial or commercial operations in sufficient detail to indicate the effects of those operations in producing noise, glare, air pollution, water pollution, fire hazards, traffic congestion, or other safety hazards. Also, a description shall be provided of the methods to be employed to control those impacts.
(11)
Any other data deemed necessary by the Zoning Officer, Planning Commission or Borough Council to enable them to determine the compliance of the proposed development with the terms of this chapter.
B.
No permit for any new use or construction which will involve the on-site disposal of sewage, and no permit for a change in use or an alteration which will result in an increased volume of sewage to be disposed of on the site, shall be issued until approval has been granted by the Bucks County Department of Health.
C.
No permit for any new use or construction which will use public sewage facilities, and no permit for a change in use or an alteration which will result in an increased volume of sewage, shall be issued until the servicing authority has granted approval of the connection.
D.
No permit for any new use or construction which is defined as a "regulated activity" pursuant to Section 104 of Ordinance No. 305, as amended (Silverdale Borough Stormwater Management Ordinance), shall be issued until approval of a stormwater management plan (or exemption) has been received from the Borough for the use or construction activity.
[Added 4-7-2014 by Ord. No. 307]
§ 340-91 Fees.
All applicants for zoning permits shall, at the time of making application, pay to the Zoning Officer for the use of the Borough a fee in accordance with the fee schedule adopted by resolution of the Borough Council upon the enactment of this chapter or as such schedule may be amended by resolution of the Borough Council.
§ 340-92 Zoning permit duration.
Any erection, construction, reconstruction, alteration or moving of a building or other structure, including a sign, authorized by a zoning permit shall be commenced, and any change in use of a building or land authorized by a zoning permit shall be undertaken, within one year after the date of issuance of the permit. If not, the permit shall be considered null and void. However, in case of erection or construction of a building, the right to proceed with construction may be extended annually without additional fees for an aggregate period of not more than three years, provided that the construction pursuant to said permit has commenced within the first one-year period.
§ 340-93 (Reserved) [1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Former § 340-93, Certificates of occupancy, was repealed 4-7-2014 by Ord. No. 307.
§ 340-94 Conditional uses.
The Borough Council may allow or deny a conditional use application after receiving recommendations from the Planning Commission pursuant to the various standards set forth in this section and those contained in other appropriate sections of this chapter.
A.
The Council shall:
(1)
Determine that the proposal provides for adequate access to public streets of a suitable capacity without creating hazardous conditions. In making this determination, the Council may impose conditions requiring:
(a)
Access to be limited or combined with that of adjoining properties.
(b)
Improvements of vertical or horizontal alignment adjoining the site or off-site if the use would create a hazardous condition or if the alignment problem restricts access to the site.
(c)
Widening or replacing a bridge if said bridge restricts access to the site or where the volume or nature of the traffic generated by the proposed use would create a hazardous or restrictive situation.
(2)
Examine the use and its relationship to existing land uses to ensure that the proposed use does not adversely alter the character of stable neighborhoods and to protect adjoining residents from uses which are objectionable. To this end, the Council may impose conditions requiring:
(a)
Special buffer planting, buffer yards or planted berms.
(b)
Planting or walls to screen intruding uses such as parking lots, loading docks, mechanical plants, etc.
(c)
Control of the location of intruding uses so that they are sited in the least disrupting manner.
(d)
Special design of lighting and signs to avoid disrupting existing neighborhoods or conflicting with the vision of motorists, particularly near intersections.
B.
In residential districts, conditional uses shall be limited to the same impervious surface ratio as the residential use. Where several impervious surface ratios are listed, the highest shall be used.