Members of the Board shall be residents of the municipality, appointed by the governing body. The Zoning Hearing Board shall consist of three members, one of whom shall be designated to serve until the first day of January following the adoption of the Zoning Ordinance, one until the first day of the second January thereafter and one until the first day of the third January thereafter. Their successors shall be appointed on the expiration of their respective terms to serve three years. Members of the Board shall hold no other public office in the municipality, except that no more than one member of the Board may also be a member of the Planning Commission.

Appointment to fill vacancies. The Board shall promptly notify the governing body of any vacancies which occur. Appointments to fill vacancies shall be for the unexpired term of the member or members whose term or terms become vacant and such appointments to fill shall be made in the same manner as the original appointment.

Removal. Any Board member may be removed for malfeasance, misfeasance or nonfeasance in office or for other just cause by majority vote of the governing body who appointed the member, taken after the member has received 15 days' advance notice of the intent to take such a vote. A hearing shall be held in connection with the vote if the member shall request it in writing.

Organization of Board. The Board shall elect from its own membership its officers, who shall serve annual terms as such and may succeed themselves. 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 the Board may appoint a hearing officer from its own membership to conduct any hearing on its behalf and the parties may waive further action by the Board as provided in Subsection D. The Board may make, alter and rescind rules and forms for its procedure consistent with ordinances of the municipality and laws of the commonwealth. The Board shall keep full public records of its business and shall submit a report of its activities to the governing body once a year.

Notice shall be given to the public, the applicant, the local planning agency, the Zoning Officer and such other persons as the governing body shall designate by ordinance and to any person who has made timely request for the same. Notices shall be given at such time and in such manner as shall be prescribed by ordinance or, in the absence of ordinance provision, by rules of the Board. The governing body may establish reasonable fees, based on cost, to be paid by the applicant and by persons requesting any notice not required by ordinance. In addition to the notice provided herein, notice of said hearing shall be conspicuously posted on the affected tract of land.

The hearings shall be conducted by the Board, or 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 findings by the Board and accept the decision or findings of the hearing officer as final.

The parties to the hearings shall be the municipality, any person affected by the application who has made timely appearance of record before the Board and any other person, including civic or community organizations permitted to appear by the Board. The Board shall have the power to require that all persons who wish to be considered parties enter appearances in writing on forms provided by the Board for that purpose. The Chairman or Acting Chairman of the Board or the hearing officer presiding shall have the 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.

The parties shall have the right to be represented by counsel and shall be afforded the opportunity to respond and present evidence and cross-examine adverse witnesses on all relevant issues. Formal rules of evidence shall not apply, but irrelevant, immaterial or unduly repetitious evidence may be excluded.

The Board or the hearing officer, as the case may be, shall keep a stenographic record 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.

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 communication, 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 commencement of hearings with any party or his representative unless all parties are given an opportunity to be present.

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. Where the application is contested or denied, each decision shall be accompanied by findings of fact and conclusions based thereon together with the reasons therefor. Conclusions based on any provisions of this chapter, rules or regulations shall contain a reference to the provisions relied on and the reasons why the conclusion is deemed appropriate in the light of the facts found. 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 representations thereon to the Board prior to the 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. Where the Board fails to render the decision within the period required by this subsection or fails to hold the required hearing within 60 days from the date of the applicant's request for a hearing, the decision shall be deemed to have been rendered in favor of the applicant unless the applicant has agreed in writing to an extension of time. When a decision has been rendered in favor of the applicant because of the failure of the Board to meet or render a decision as hereinabove provided, the municipality shall give public notice of said decision within 10 days in the same manner as provided in Subsection D(1) of this section. Nothing in this subsection shall prejudice the right of any party opposing the application to urge that such decision is erroneous.

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. 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.

Appeals from the 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. Nothing contained herein shall be construed to deny to the appellant the right to proceed directly in court, where appropriate, pursuant to Pa.R.C.P., Sections 1091 to 1098, relating to mandamus.

Challenge to the validity of any ordinance or map. The Board shall hear the challenges to the validity of a Zoning Ordinance or Map except as indicated in Section 1003 and Subsection (1)(b) of Section 1004 of Act 247, as amended.[2] In all such challenges, the Board shall take evidence and make a record thereon as provided in Subsection D above. At the conclusion of the hearing, the Board shall decide all contested questions and shall make findings on all relevant issued of fact which shall become part of the record on appeal to the court.

Variances.

Special exceptions. Where this Zoning Ordinance allows for special exceptions to be granted or denied by the Board pursuant to express standards and criteria found herein, the Board shall hear and decide requests for special exceptions in accordance with such standards and criteria. In granting a 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 purpose of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code (Act 247, as amended by Act 93 and subsequent amendments)[3] and this Zoning Ordinance and subsequent amendments.

Unified appeals. Where the Board has jurisdiction over a zoning matter pursuant to Subsection E(1), (2) and (3) above, the Board shall also hear all appeals which an applicant may elect to bring before it with respect to any Towanda Borough 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 nonzoning issues but shall take evidence and make a record thereon as provided in Subsection D above. 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 the court.

No person shall be allowed to file any proceeding with the Board later than 30 days after an application for development, preliminary or final, has been approved by the appropriate municipal officer, agency or body if such proceeding is designed to secure reversal or to limit the approval in any manner unless such person alleges and proves that he had no notice, knowledge or reason to believe that such approval had been given. If such person has succeeded to his interest after such approval, he shall be bound by the knowledge of his predecessor in interest.

The failure of anyone other than the landowner to appeal from any adverse decision on a tentative or preliminary plan pursuant to Section 709 of Act 247, as amended,[4] or from an adverse decision by a Zoning Officer on a challenge to the validity of an ordinance or map pursuant to Section 1005(b) of Act 247, as amended,[5] shall preclude an appeal from a final approval, except in the case where the final submission substantially deviates from the approved tentative or preliminary approval.

The landowner shall make written request to the governing body that it hold a hearing on his challenge. The request shall contain a short statement reasonably informing the Board or the governing body of the matters that are in issue and the grounds for the challenge. Such statement shall contain a certification that the landowner did not know at the time of the application that the municipality had resolved to consider a particular scheme of rezoning by publication of notice of hearings on a proposed Comprehensive Plan or proposed Zoning Ordinance or otherwise or that the scheme of rezoning would be inconsistent with the landowner's proposed use, provided that this rezoning scheme had reached sufficient particularity to disclose that, if adopted, it would cure the defect in the Zoning Ordinance attacked by the substantive challenge.

The request may be submitted at any time after the ordinance or map takes effect, but, if an application for a permit or approval is denied thereunder, the request shall be made not later than the time provided for appeal from the denial thereof. In such case, if the landowner elects to make the request to the governing body and the request is timely, the time within which he may seek review of the denial of the permit or approval on other issues shall not begin to run until the request to the governing body is finally disposed of.

The request shall be accompanied by plans and other materials describing the use or development proposed by the landowner in lieu of the use or development permitted by the challenged ordinance or map. Such plans and other materials shall not be required to meet the standards prescribed for preliminary, tentative or final approval or for the issuance of a permit so long as they provide reasonable notice of the proposed use or development and a sufficient basis for evaluating the challenged ordinance or map in the light thereof. Nothing contained herein shall preclude the landowner from first seeking a final permit or approval before submitting his challenge to the Board or governing body.

If the submission is made to the governing body under Subsection B(2) above, the request shall be accompanied by an amendment or amendments to the ordinance proposed by the landowner to cure the alleged defects therein.

Notice of the hearing required by Sections 609.1, 910 and 913.1 of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, Act 247 of 1972, as amended,[2] whichever is applicable, shall include notice that the validity of the ordinance or map is in question and shall give the place where and the times when a copy of the landowner's request, including the plans submitted pursuant to Subsection B(3) above and the proposed amendments, if any, submitted under Subsection B(4) above, may be examined by the public.

The Board or the governing body, as the case may be, shall hold a hearing upon the landowner's request pursuant to Sections 609.1, 910 and 913.1 of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, Act 247 of 1972, as amended, whichever is applicable, commencing not later than 60 days after the request is filed, unless the landowner requests or consents to an extension of time.

In a zoning appeal, the court shall have power to declare any ordinance or map invalid and set aside or modify any action, decision or order of the governing body, agency or officer of the municipality brought up on appeal, only if it determines that:

Court order.

The fact that the plans and other materials referred to in Subsection D(2) above are not in a form or are not accompanied by other submissions which are required for final approval of the development or use in question or for the issuance of permits shall not prevent the court from granting the definitive relief authorized in Subsection D(2), and the court may act upon preliminary or sketch plans by framing its decree to take into account the need for further submissions before final approval is granted.

No court shall grant or enforce relief with respect to a substantive challenge without first making an affirmative finding of fact that the landowner's certification required by Section 1004(2)(a) of Act 247 of 1972, as amended,[3] has in fact been made and is true and correct.

The aggrieved person shall submit a written request to the Board that it hold a hearing on the challenge. The request shall contain a short statement reasonably informing the Board of the matters that are in issue and the grounds for the challenge.

The request shall be submitted within the time limitations prescribed by Section 915 of Act 247, as amended.[2] In order not to unreasonably delay the time when a landowner may secure assurance that the ordinance or map under which he proposes to build is free from challenge and recognizing that the procedure for preliminary approval of his development may be too cumbersome or may be unavailable, the landowner may advance the date from which time for any challenge to the ordinance or map will run under said Section 915 by the following procedure: The landowner may submit plans and other materials describing his proposed use or development to the Zoning Officer for a preliminary opinion as to their compliance with the applicable ordinances and maps. Such plans and other materials shall not be required to meet the standards prescribed for preliminary, tentative or final approval or for the issuance of a building permit so long as they provide reasonable notice of the proposed use or development and a sufficient basis for a preliminary opinion as to its compliance. If the Zoning Officer's preliminary opinion is that the use or development complies with the ordinance or map, notice thereof shall be published once each week for two successive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the municipality. Such notice shall include a general description of the proposed use or development and its location, by some readily identifiable directive, and the place and times where the plans and other materials may be examined by the public. The favorable preliminary opinion of the Zoning Officer shall be deemed to be a preliminary approval under Section 915 of Act 247, as amended, and the time therein specified for commencing a proceeding with the Board shall run from the time when the second notice thereof has been published.

The Board shall hold a hearing upon the aggrieved person's request pursuant to Section 910 of Act 247 of 1972, as amended,[3] commencing not later than 60 days after the request is filed. If a hearing has been held by the governing body covering the same matters, at which a stenographic record has been taken, the Board shall, upon motion of any party, accept said record as the record in the case before the Board, but the Board shall not be precluded from taking additional evidence, unless such evidence ought to be excluded under Section 908(6) of Act 247, as amended.[4]

From a decision of the governing body or planning agency under a subdivision or land development ordinance, the landowner may appeal directly to court or to the Zoning Hearing Board under Section 913.1[1] in cases where that section is applicable. If the municipality provides a procedure, formal or informal, for the submission of preliminary or tentative plans, an adverse decision thereon shall, at the landowner's election, be treated as final and appealable.

From the decision of the governing body or planning agency denying tentative approval of a development plan under Section 709(3) of Act 247, as amended,[2] or, if tentative approval has been granted from any adverse decision on an application for final approval, the landowner may appeal directly to court or to the Zoning Hearing Board under Section 913.1 of Act 247, as amended, in cases where that section is applicable.

To the extent that the Board has jurisdiction of the same under Section 909 of Act 247, as amended,[3] all other appeals shall lie exclusively with the Zoning Hearing Board.

Applications under Sections 912 and 913 of Act 247, as amended,[4] shall be made exclusively to the Zoning Hearing Board.

Appeals to the court may be taken by the landowner from any decision of the governing body or planning agency under Subsection A(1) and (2) after the decision is issued or, if no decision is made, when a decision is deemed to have been made under this chapter.

Appeals to court from any decision of the Zoning Hearing Board may be taken by any party aggrieved.

Persons aggrieved by a use or development permitted on the land of another who desire to secure review or correction of a decision or order of the governing body or of any officer or agency of the municipality which has permitted the same on the grounds that such decision or order is not authorized by or is contrary to the provisions of an ordinance or map shall first submit their objections to the Zoning Hearing Board under Sections 909 and 915 of Act 247, as amended.[5] The submission shall be governed by the provisions of Section 1005 of Act 247, as amended.[6]

Appeals to the court from the decision of the Zoning Hearing Board may be taken by any party aggrieved.

Zoning appeals shall be entered as of course by the Prothonotary or Clerk upon the filing of a zoning appeal notice which concisely sets forth the grounds on which the appellant relies. The appeal notice need not be verified. The zoning appeal notice shall be accompanied by a true copy thereof.

Upon filing of a zoning appeal, the Prothonotary or Clerk shall forthwith as of course send to the governing body, board or agency whose decision or action has been appealed, by registered or certified mail, the copy of the zoning appeal notice together with a writ of certiorari commanding said governing body, board or agency, within 20 days after receipt thereof, to certify to the Court its entire record in the matter in which the zoning appeal has been taken, or a true and complete copy thereof, including any transcript of testimony in existence and available to the governing body, board or agency at the time it received the writ of certiorari.

If the appellant is a person other than the landowner of the land directly involved in the decision or action appealed from, the appellant, within seven days after the zoning appeal is filed, shall serve a true copy of the zoning appeal notice by mailing said notice to the landowner or his attorney at his last known address. For identification of such landowner, the appellant may rely upon the record of the municipality and, in the event of good faith mistakes as to such identity, may make such service nunc pro tunc by leave of court.

The filing of an appeal in court under this section shall not stay the action appealed from, but the appellants may petition the court having jurisdiction of zoning appeals for a stay. If the appellants are persons who are seeking to prevent a use or development of the land of another, whether or not a stay is sought by them, the landowner whose use or development is in question may petition the court to order the appellants to post bond as a condition to proceeding with the appeal.

Where the appeal is from the decision of the Board, the court may reverse, affirm or modify the decision appealed.

Where the appeal involves a challenge to the validity of any ordinance or map, the court shall have power to declare the ordinance, map or any provisions thereof invalid and, in addition thereto, shall have power to enter judgment in favor of the landowner as provided in § 325-61 or to stay the effect of its judgment for a limited time to give the governing body an opportunity to modify or amend the ordinance or map in accordance with the opinion of the court.