Vernon Township City Zoning Code

Notice of hearings shall be given to the public-by-public notice as set forth in the Planning Code in a newspaper of general circulation in the County. Such notice shall state the time and place of the hearing and the particular nature of the matter to be considered at the hearing. Written notice shall be given to the applicant, the Zoning Officer, and to any person who has made timely request for the same. Written notices shall be prescribed by rules of the Board. In addition to the notice provided herein, written notice of said hearing shall be conspicuously posted on the affected tract of land at least one week prior to the hearing.

The Board of Supervisors may prescribe reasonable fees with respect to hearings before the Zoning Hearing Board. Fees for said hearings may include compensation for the Secretary and members of the Zoning Hearing Board, notice and advertising costs and necessary administrative overhead connected with the hearing. The costs, however, shall not include legal expenses of the Zoning Hearing Board, expenses for engineering, architectural or other technical consultants or expert witness costs.

The first hearing shall be held within 60 days from the date of receipt of the applicant's application, unless the applicant has agreed in writing to an extension of time. Each subsequent hearing shall be held within 45 days of the prior hearing unless otherwise agreed to by the applicant in writing or on the record. An applicant shall complete the presentation of his case-in-chief within 100 days of the first hearing. Upon the request of the applicant, the Board or Hearing Officer shall assure that the applicant receives at least seven hours of hearings within the 100 days, including the first hearing. Persons opposed to the application shall complete the presentation of their opposition to the application within 100 days of the first hearing held after the completion of the applicant's case-in-chief. An applicant may, upon request, be granted additional hearings to complete his case-in-chief provided the persons opposed to the application are granted an equal number of additional hearings. Persons opposed to the application may, upon the written consent or consent of the record by the applicant and Township, be granted additional hearings to complete their opposition to the application provided the applicant is granted an equal number of additional hearings for rebuttal.

The hearings shall be conducted by the Board or the Board may appoint any member or an independent attorney 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 hearing shall be the Township, 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 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 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 argument 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. The appearance fee for a stenographer shall be shared equally by the applicant and the Board. The cost of the original transcript shall be paid by the Board if the transcript is ordered by the Board or Hearing Officer or shall be paid by the person appealing from the decision of the Board if such appeal is made, and in either event the cost of additional copies shall be paid by the person requesting such copy or copies. In other cases the party requesting the original transcript shall bear the cost thereof.

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, except that advice from the Board's Solicitor is exempt from this restriction; 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 the 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, makes written findings on the application within 45 days after the last hearing before the Board or Hearing Officer. Where application is contested or denied, each decision shall be accompanied by findings of fact and conclusions based thereon together with the reasons therefore. Conclusions based on any provisions of this chapter or the Planning Code, or any 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. 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 within 45 days, and the parties shall be entitled to make written representations thereon to the Board prior to final decision or entry of findings, and the Board's decision shall be entered no later than 30 days after the report of the Hearing Officer. Except for challenges filed under § 916.1 of the Planning Code, where the Board fails to render the decision within the period required by this chapter or the Planning Code, or fails to commence, conduct or complete the required hearing as required by Article IX of the Planning Code, 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 Board to meet or render a decision as herein above provided, the Board shall give public notice of said decision within 10 days in the same manner as provided in § 607(1) of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code. Nothing in this subsection shall prejudice the right of any party 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 to him/her not later than the day following its date. To all other persons who have filed their name and address with the Board no later than the last day of the hearing, the Board shall provide by mail or otherwise, a brief notice of the decision or findings and a statement of the place at which the full decision or findings may be examined.

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 this chapter in the neighborhood or district in which the property is located.

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 this chapter and that the authorization of a variance is therefore necessary to enable the reasonable use of the property.

That such unnecessary hardship has not been created by the applicant.

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, nor be detrimental to the public welfare.

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.

Where the Board of Township Supervisors, in the zoning ordinances, has stated conditional uses to be granted or denied by the Board of Township Supervisors pursuant to express standards and criteria, the Board of Township Supervisors shall hold hearings on and decide requests for such conditional uses in accordance with such standards and criteria. The hearing shall be conducted by the Board of Township Supervisors, or the Board of Township Supervisors may appoint any member or an independent attorney as a hearing officer. The decision, or, where no decision is called for, the findings shall be made by the Board of Township Supervisors. However, the appellant or the applicant, as the case may be, in addition to the Township, may, prior to the decision of the hearing, waive decision or findings by the Board of Township Supervisors and accept the decision or findings of the Hearing Officer as final. In granting a conditional use, the Board of Township Supervisors may attach such reasonable conditions and safeguards, in addition to those expressed in the ordinance, as it may deem necessary to implement the purposes of this chapter.