Sinking Spring City Zoning Code

Appointment. The provisions of the chapter shall be administered and enforced by the Zoning Officer, who shall be appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the Borough Council. He may be provided with the assistance of such persons as the Borough Council may from time to time direct. The Zoning Officer shall not hold any elective office in the Borough.

Qualifications. The Zoning Officer shall, by adequate professional training and experience, be familiar with building procedures and terminology and with the responsibilities and proper application of the powers and duties of his office. He shall demonstrate proficient knowledge and understanding of the requirements of this chapter prior to appointment.

Compensation. The compensation of the Zoning Officer shall be determined by the Borough Council and reevaluated on an annual basis.

Duties. The Zoning Officer shall have all the duties and powers conferred on him by the chapter in addition to those reasonably implied for that purpose. He shall not issue a zoning permit, building permit or certificate of use and occupancy in connection with any proposed erection, construction, alteration, extension, replacement, conversion, and/or use of any building, structure and/or land unless it first conforms with the requirements of the chapter and all other ordinances of the Borough. It shall be his duty and he shall have the power to:

Relief from personal responsibility. The Zoning Officer, or any employee charged with the enforcement of this chapter, while acting for the Borough, shall not thereby render himself liable personally, and he is hereby relieved from all personal liability for any damage that may accrue to persons or property as a result of any act required or permitted in the discharge of his duties. Any suit instituted against any officer or employee because of an act performed by him in the lawful discharge of his duties shall be defended by the legal representative of the Borough. In no case shall the Zoning Officer or any of his staff be liable for costs in any action, suit or proceeding that may be instituted in pursuance of the provisions of the chapter when he and/or his subordinates perform their duties in good faith and without malice.

Requirements.

Application procedures. Application for a zoning permit shall be submitted in writing on a form obtained from the Borough Secretary at the Borough Hall, as prescribed by the Zoning Officer, by the owner or lessee of any building, structure or land or the agent of either; provided, however, that if the application is made by a person other than the owner or lessee, it shall be accompanied by a written authorization from the owner or lessee authorizing the work and designating the agent, and shall contain the following:

Approval or disapproval. Upon receipt of the application, the Zoning Officer shall examine the application to determine compliance with the chapter and all other Borough ordinances. Within 14 days of receipt of the application, the Zoning Officer shall either approve or disapprove the application and return one copy of the application containing the Zoning Officer's decision to the applicant. The other copy shall be retained by the Zoning Officer. If disapproved, the Zoning Officer shall attach a statement to the application explaining the reasons therefor and informing the applicant of his rights to appeal to the Zoning Hearing Board. If the applicant fails to obtain a zoning permit from the Zoning Officer within three months after the date of approval of the application, the approval of the application shall be considered null and void.

Issuance and posting of permit. Upon approval of the application by the Zoning Officer and the payment of the fees established from time to time by resolution of the Borough Council, the Zoning Officer shall issue a zoning permit placard, which shall be visibly posted on the site of operations during the entire time of construction. The permit shall expire one year from the date of issuance, provided that it may be extended, at the discretion of the Zoning Officer, for six-month periods not exceeding an additional one year.

Rights of permit holders. The permit shall be a license to proceed with the work described on the approved application in accordance with all Borough ordinances. The Zoning Officer shall revoke a permit or approval issued under the provisions of this chapter in case of any false statement or misrepresentation of fact in the application on which the permit or approval was based or for any other cause set forth in the chapter.

Requirements. It shall be unlawful to use and/or occupy any building, structure or land or portion thereof for which a permit is required until a certificate of use and occupancy has been issued by the Zoning Officer. The Zoning Officer shall not issue a certificate of use and occupancy unless he has inspected such building, structure or land and has determined that all provisions of the chapter and other ordinances of the Borough have been complied with.

Issuance. Upon the receipt of written notification that the work for which a zoning permit has been issued has been completed, the Zoning Officer shall inspect the premises within 10 days to determine that the work has been performed in accordance with the approved application and other ordinances of the Borough. If he is satisfied that the work has been completed in accordance with the approved application, he shall issue a certificate of use and occupancy to the permit holder for the use indicated on the approved application. A copy of the certificate of use and occupancy shall be retained by the Zoning Officer as part of the Borough records. If he finds that the work has not been performed in accordance with the approved application, the Zoning Officer shall refuse to issue the certificate of use and occupancy and, in writing, give the reasons therefor and inform the permit holder of his rights of appeal to the Zoning Hearing Board.

Temporary certificate of use and occupancy. Upon request of the holder of a permit, the Zoning Officer may issue a temporary certificate of use and occupancy for a building, structure, sign and/or land, or portion thereof, before the entire work covered by the permit shall have been completed. Such portion or portions may be used and/or occupied prior to full completion of the work, provided life or the public welfare is not endangered. The Zoning Officer shall also issue a temporary certificate of use and occupancy for such temporary uses as tents, trailers and buildings on construction sites, use of land for religious and other public and semipublic purposes or other temporary use and/or occupancy. In no case shall any certificates be issued for more than six months.

Where the Borough Council, in this chapter, has stated conditional uses to be granted by the Borough Council pursuant to express standards and criteria, the Borough Council shall hold hearings on and decide requests for such conditional uses in accordance with such standards and criteria. In granting a conditional use, the Borough Council may attach such reasonable conditions and safeguards in addition to those expressed in the chapter.

Four copies of an application for permission to conduct a use permitted by condition shall be submitted to the Borough Secretary. Such application shall include all information specified for a zoning permit application and any other information necessary to allow the Borough Council to determine that all requirements of this chapter have been met. The applicant shall be responsible for all pertinent costs incurred for the review of the application.

After receiving an application, the Borough Council shall refer one copy of the application to the Borough Planning Commission for its review and one copy to the Borough Zoning Officer for his review.

The application shall be reviewed at one or more advertised meetings of the Borough Council.

Conditional uses shall meet the specific standards established for each use by this chapter and all other applicable zoning district requirements and general regulations established by this chapter. In addition, the following standards shall be met:

The Borough Council shall render a written decision or, when no decision is called for, make written findings on the conditional use application within 45 days after the last hearing before the Borough Council.

Where the application is contested or denied, each decision shall be accompanied by findings of fact or conclusions based thereon, together with any reasons therefor. Conclusions based on any provisions of the 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.

Where the Borough Council fails to render the decision within the required time period or fails to hold the required hearing within 60 days from the date of the applicant's request for a hearing, or fails to complete the hearing no later than 100 days after the completion of the applicant's case, unless extended for good cause upon application to the Court of Common Pleas, the decision shall be deemed to have been rendered in favor of the applicant unless the applicant has agreed in writing or on the record to an extension of time. When a decision has been rendered in favor of the applicant because of the failure of the Borough Council to meet or render a decision as herein provided, the Borough Council shall give public notice of the decision within 10 days from the last day it could have met to render a decision in the same manner as required by the public notice requirements of the MPC. If the Borough Council shall fail to provide such notice, the applicant may do so.

Nothing in this section shall prejudice the right of any party opposing the applicant to appeal the decision to a court of competent jurisdiction. 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 no later than the day following its date.

The granting of permission to conduct a use permitted by condition does not exempt an applicant from acquiring all approvals required by Chapter 170, Subdivision and Land Development, of this Code.

The approval of a conditional use if authorized by Borough Council, which anticipated construction or modification of a structure, creation of new or revised lot lines or dimensional standards for a property or structure situated thereon, shall be valid and remain in effect for a term of one year from the date of said approval and shall thereafter expire and be void unless said construction, modification, new or revised lot lines or dimensional standards or change of use or occupancy be initiated within said one-year term or said term is expressly extended as part of the initial approval. In the event that the activity as may be expressed in the approval, or should the activity which is the subject of the conditional use, be discontinued, the premises or structure or structure situated thereon shall not thereafter be used except in conformity with the regulations of the district in which it is located.

When application for a conditional use has been filed with the Borough Council and the subject matter of such application would ultimately constitute either a land development or a subdivision, no change or amendment of the zoning, subdivision and land development or other governing ordinance or plans shall affect the decision on such application adversely to the applicant, and the applicant shall be entitled to a decision in accordance with the provisions of the governing ordinances or plans as they stood at the time the application was duly filed; provided, further, should such an application be approved by the Borough Council, the applicant shall be entitled to proceed with the submission of either land development or subdivision plans within a period of six months or longer as may be approved by the Borough Council following the date of such approval in accordance with the provision of the governing ordinances or plans as they stood at the time the application was duly filed with the Borough Council. If either a land development or subdivision plan is so filed within said period, such plan shall be subject to the provisions of Section 508 of the MPC, and the time limitations thereof shall commence as of the date of filing of such land development or subdivision plan.