Verona City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XVIII
Building and Occupancy Permits; Duties of the Zoning Officer
§ 250-90 Administration and enforcement.
A.
The Zoning Officer shall administer and enforce this chapter in accordance with its literal terms. He shall be appointed by the Borough Council and may hold no elective office in the municipality.
B.
If the Zoning Officer shall find that any provisions of this chapter are being violated, he shall notify the owner of the property upon which such violation is occurring by registered mail, such notice being deemed adequate if persons other than the owner are perpetrating the alleged violation.
C.
Communications regarding violations shall indicate the nature of the violation and shall order the action necessary to correct it.
D.
Such communications shall order the discontinuance of illegal use of land or structures or the removal or moving of illegal structures or additions or alterations thereto, as well as any other action necessary to assure compliance with or prevent violation of this chapter, and shall indicate the owner's alternative actions under the terms of this chapter.
E.
The Zoning Officer shall allow the owner of a property upon which a violation of this chapter has been noted 30 days from the date of mailing of the order specifying the violation and action necessary to correct it to carry out the required action. After the thirty-day period, the owner shall be subject to penalty as required by Article XXI of this chapter, with each day the violation remains uncorrected being a separate penalty, unless the owner has filed an appeal for a hearing before the Zoning Hearing Board prior to the expiration of the thirty-day period.
[Amended 9-8-2015 by Ord. No. 04-2015]
F.
All questions of interpretation and enforcement of this chapter shall be first presented to the Zoning Officer, and such questions shall be considered by the Zoning Hearing Board only on appeal from the decision of the Zoning Officer.
G.
The Zoning Officer shall keep records of all applications either approved or disapproved, including one copy of each permit issued, shall maintain a journal of his activities, and shall submit a report annually to the Borough Council.
§ 250-91 Zoning permits. [1]
A.
No building or other structure shall be erected, moved, extended or structurally altered without a permit for such action having been issued by the Zoning Officer.
B.
Applications for zoning permits shall be made to the Zoning Officer upon forms supplied by him.
[Amended 9-8-2015 by Ord. No. 04-2015]
C.
Applications shall include the following, in triplicate.
(1)
A site plan of the property upon which the proposed construction is to occur, drawn to scale and dimensioned, showing:
(a)
The boundaries of the property, indicating dimensions;
(b)
Public streets abutting the property;
(c)
Public utilities in the streets abutting the property and/or in easements running across the property;
(d)
Existing buildings on the property and those within 50 feet of the property boundaries on adjacent properties;
(e)
The proposed building or structure, indicating height, and dimensions between building or structure and property boundaries;
(f)
The location of proposed parking and loading areas and drives, if applicable, indicating the number of parking spaces; and
(g)
The location of proposed signs, if applicable.
(2)
A narrative statement, indicating:
(a)
The proposed use of the structure to which the permit applies and the use of other buildings or structures on the property, if any;
(b)
The number of dwelling units, whether for sale or rent and/or commercial, retail or service units, if applicable, that the building is designed to accommodate; and
(c)
If the building or structure is one of a number of buildings or structures to be erected over time on the same property, an indication of location and scheduling of future construction.
(3)
The Zoning Officer may, to satisfy requirements of other development ordinances adopted by Verona Borough, expand the application form to secure additional information necessary to assure conformance with such other development ordinances.
D.
If the application is satisfactory, the Zoning Officer shall approve it and return one copy of the application documents together with a signed zoning permit authorizing the applicant to proceed.
[Amended 9-8-2015 by Ord. No. 04-2015]
E.
If the application is not satisfactory, the Zoning Officer shall return all but one set of the application documents, together with a letter indicating the specific reasons why the application cannot be approved.
F.
The Zoning Officer shall, from time to time, visit the property whereon the approved construction is taking place in order to assure himself that the work is proceeding in accordance with the application documents. The Zoning Officer shall not be denied access to the property in order to inspect the construction in progress and may order the work halted pending appeal to the Zoning Hearing Board or corrected to conform to the application documents.
G.
If an applicant wishes to amend the use, arrangement or construction of his building from that shown on the application documents after such documents are approved, he shall file with the Zoning Officer an application for a zoning permit to cover the proposed amendment.
[Amended 9-8-2015 by Ord. No. 04-2015]
H.
A zoning permit shall become void if, after six months from the date of issuance, the construction for which the permit was issued has not been commenced and has not continued at a reasonable pace, in the opinion of the Zoning Officer, who may establish a maximum time limit within which the developer shall complete the work covered by the permit, after which the permit shall become void.
[Amended 9-8-2015 by Ord. No. 04-2015]
[1]
Editor’s Note: The title of this section was changed 9-8-2015 by Ord. No. 04-2015.
§ 250-92 Occupancy permits.
A.
For new use or expansion of existing uses:
(1)
Upon completion of the entire building or structure for which a building permit has been issued, the owner of such building or structure shall apply to the Zoning Officer for an occupancy permit.
(2)
The Zoning Officer shall inspect the premises and, if satisfied that all conditions of the building permit have been met, shall issue an occupancy permit certifying that the premises complies with the provisions of this chapter and may be used for the purposes set forth on the building permit.
(3)
If the Zoning Officer upon inspection finds the premises to have been developed in violation of any of the conditions of the building permit, he shall order the violations corrected to conform to the building permit and shall not issue an occupancy permit until satisfied these corrections have been made.
(4)
Appeals from decisions of the Zoning Officer shall be to the Zoning Hearing Board.
(5)
It shall be illegal for anyone to occupy a structure for which a building permit has been issued unless or until an occupancy permit has been secured.
B.
For changing existing uses:
(1)
If a property owner wishes to change the use of any building or structure on the property he owns, he shall apply to the Zoning Officer for an occupancy permit. Changes for which an occupancy permit shall be required include addition of a dwelling unit or units in the structure, introduction of a home occupation, conversion from a nonconforming to a conforming or less nonconforming use or conversion to another use permitted in the zone district where the property is located.
(2)
If the Zoning Officer is satisfied that such change does not violate any requirements of this chapter or of other development ordinances of Verona Borough, he shall issue an occupancy permit.
(3)
Applications for occupancy permits for a change of use that are denied by the Zoning Officer may be appealed to the Zoning Hearing Board.