No building or structure shall be erected, added to or structurally altered until a permit therefor has been issued by the Building Inspector. No building permit shall be issued for any building where said construction, addition or alteration or use thereof would be in violation of any of the provisions of this chapter, except after written order from the Zoning Hearing Board. Any building permit issued in conflict with the provisions of this chapter shall be null and void.

All applications for building permits shall be accompanied by plans in duplicate, drawn to scale, showing the actual dimensions and shape of the lot to be built upon; the exact sizes and locations on the lot of buildings already existing, if any; and the location and dimensions of the proposed building or alteration. The application shall include such other information as lawfully may be required by the Building Inspector, including existing or proposed building or alteration; existing or proposed uses of the building and land; the number of families, housekeeping units, or rental units the building is designed to accommodate; conditions existing on the lot; and such other matters as may be necessary to determine conformance with, and provide for the enforcement of, this chapter.

In approving an application for a building permit, the Building Inspector may require such changes in plans for construction, addition, or alteration or use of such buildings or lots as may be necessary to assure compliance with this chapter.

A building permit for any building or use may be revoked and withdrawn by the Building Inspector if the holder of the building permit has failed to comply with the requirements of this chapter or with any conditions attached to the issuance of the permit, and the holder of the building permit may be subject to penalties as provided by § 440-50 of this article.

The Building Inspector shall act upon an application for a building permit no later than 30 days after receiving the application. Failure to act within this time shall be deemed approval of the application, and in such case the Building Inspector is directed to issue the building permit.

One copy of the plans shall be returned to the applicant by the Building Inspector, after he shall have marked such copy either as approved or disapproved and attested to same by his signature on such copy. The second copy of the plans, similarly marked, shall be retained by the administrative official.

If the work described in any building permit has not begun within 90 days from the date of issuance thereof, said permit shall expire; it shall be cancelled by the Building Inspector; and written notice thereof shall be given to the persons affected. If the work described in any building permit has not been substantially completed within two years of the date of issuance thereof, said permit shall expire and be cancelled by the Building Inspector, and written notice thereof shall be given to the persons affected, together with notice that further work as described in the cancelled permit shall not proceed unless and until a new building permit has been obtained.

It shall be unlawful to use or occupy or permit the use or occupancy of any building or lot, or part thereof, hereafter erected, connected, or wholly or partly altered or enlarged in its use or structure until an occupancy permit has been issued therefor by the Building Inspector. Said occupancy permit shall state that the proposed use of the building or land conforms to the requirements of this chapter.

No nonconforming structure or use of land shall be maintained, renewed, changed or extended until an occupancy permit has been issued by the Building Inspector therefor. After enactment or amendment of this chapter, and upon notification by the Building Inspector owners or occupants of nonconforming structures or uses shall apply for occupancy permits. All occupancy permits for nonconforming structures or uses shall state specifically wherein the nonconforming use differs from the provision of this chapter. (See § 440-42 of this article.)

Occupancy permits shall be applied for coincident with the application for a building permit and shall be issued within five working days after the erection, or alteration has been completed, inspected by the Building Inspector and approved by said Inspector as complying with the provisions of this chapter.

Application for occupancy permits for a new or changed use of land where no building permit is required shall be made directly to the office of the Building Inspector. Occupancy permits shall be issued or written notice stating why an occupancy permit cannot be issued shall be given to the applicant no later than 10 days after the application has been received by the Office of the Building Inspector.

A temporary occupancy permit may be issued by the Building Inspector for a period not exceeding six months during alterations as partial occupancy of a building pending its completion, provided that such temporary permit may require such conditions and safeguards as will protect the safety of the occupants and the public.

Failure to obtain an occupancy permit shall be a violation of this chapter and may be subject to penalties as provided by § 440-50 of this article.

The Building Inspector shall maintain a record of all occupancy permits and copies shall be furnished upon request, to any person having a proprietary or tenancy interest in the building or lot affected.

In accordance with § 440-41 of this article, owners or occupants of nonconforming uses shall apply for occupancy permits. Such application will constitute registration of the nonconforming use.

Requirements.

If the Building Inspector shall find upon reviewing the application for an occupancy permit that the existing use is illegal or in violation of other ordinances or laws, or if he finds that the building for which the permit is requested has been constructed or altered for the existing use or any other use without full compliance with the building code or zoning ordinance in effect at the time of construction or alteration, he shall not issue the permit, but shall declare such use to be in violation of this chapter.

Upon the change of any nonconforming use to a conforming use the owner or occupant of such use may request that such use be deleted from any list of or map showing nonconforming uses.

The Building Inspector shall enforce this chapter by issuing building permits and occupancy permits for only those structures and uses that comply with the provisions of this chapter. He shall, furthermore, conduct all inspections necessary to determine compliance with this chapter and shall maintain records thereof.

The Building Inspector and his office shall be responsible for:

To hear and decide appeals where it is alleged there is error in any order, requirement, decision or determination made by the Building Inspector in the enforcement of this article or of any ordinance adopted pursuant thereto.

To hear and decide all exceptions to the terms of this chapter upon which such Board is required to act under provisions of this chapter.

To authorize upon appeal in specific cases such variance from the terms of the ordinance as will not be contrary to the public interest, where owing to special conditions a literal enforcement of the provisions of the ordinance will result in unnecessary hardship, and so that the spirit of the ordinance shall be observed and substantial justice done.

In exercising the above-mentioned powers, such board may in conformity with the provisions of this article reverse or affirm, wholly or partly, or may modify the order, requirement, decision or determination appealed from, and may make such order, requirement, decision or determination as in its opinion ought to be made. Notice of such decision shall forthwith be given to all parties in interest, and shall be filed immediately with the office of the Building Inspector.

The Zoning Hearing Board shall hear and decide upon special exceptions; however, it shall not approve a special exception unless and until:

If it is found by the Planning Committee and the Zoning Hearing Board that the special exception will not adversely affect the public interest in any way, the special exception shall be granted by the Zoning Hearing Board.

In granting any special exception, the Zoning Hearing Board may prescribe appropriate conditions and safeguards in conformity with this chapter. Violation of such conditions and safeguards, when made a part of the terms under which the special exception is granted, shall be deemed a violation of this chapter and punishable under § 440-50 of this article. The Zoning Hearing Board shall prescribe a time limit within which the action for which the special exception is required shall be begun or completed, or both. Failure to begin or complete, or both, such action within the time limit set shall void the special exception.

Planned developments, as hereinbefore defined, are of such substantially different character from other uses permitted by this chapter that the following standards and exceptions are hereby established to govern the recommendations of the Planning Committee and the actions of the Zoning Hearing Board in granting a special exception for planned developments.

Planned developments shall be considered special exceptions and as such shall be applied for and approved or disapproved in accordance with the requirements of Article XII, § 440-45, Special exceptions.

The Zoning Hearing Board shall authorize upon appeal in specific cases such variance from the provisions of this chapter as will not be contrary to the public interest where, owing to special conditions, a literal enforcement of the provisions of this chapter would result in unnecessary hardship. A variance from the term of this chapter shall not be granted by the Board unless and until:

In granting any variance, the Zoning Hearing Board may prescribe appropriate conditions and safeguards in conformity with this chapter. Violation of such conditions and safeguards, when made a part of the terms under which the variance is granted, shall be deemed a violation of this chapter and punishable under § 440-50 of this article.

Under no circumstances shall the Zoning Hearing Board grant a variance to allow a use not permissible under the terms of this chapter in the district involved, or any use expressly or by implication prohibited by the terms of this chapter in said district.

Appeals may be taken to the Zoning Hearing Board by any person, firm or corporation aggrieved or by any officer or department of the Borough of Whitaker affected by any decision of the Building Inspector, relative to the interpretation of this chapter. Such appeal shall be taken within 30 days from the data of such decision by filing with the Building Inspector and with the Zoning Hearing Board a notice of appeal specifying the grounds thereof. The Building Inspector shall forthwith transmit to the Board all the papers constituting the record upon which the action appealed from was taken.

The Zoning Hearing Board shall fix a reasonable time for the hearing of the appeal, give public notice thereof as well as the notice to the parties in interest, and decide the same within 45 days after the hearing or if said hearing is continued, within 45 days after the said continued hearing. If the Zoning Hearing Board does not make a decision within 45 days after the hearing or continued hearing, it shall be deemed that such Board has decided in favor of the person or the officer of the Borough aggrieved or affected who is seeking relief. Upon the hearing, any party may appear in person or by attorney or by agent.

Any person, partnership or corporation who or which has violated or permitted the violation of the provisions of this chapter shall, upon being found liable therefor in a civil enforcement proceeding commenced by the Borough, pay a judgment of not more than $ 500, plus all court costs, including reasonable attorney fees incurred by the Borough as a result thereof. No judgment shall commence or be imposed, levied or payable until the date of the determination of a violation by the Magisterial District Judge. If the defendant neither pays nor timely appeals the judgment, the Borough may enforce the judgment pursuant to the applicable Rules of Civil Procedure. Each day that a violation continues shall constitute a separate violation, unless the Magisterial District Judge determining that there has been a violation further determines that there was a goad faith basis for the person, partnership or corporation violating this chapter to have believed that there was no such violation, in which event there shall be deemed to have been only one such violation until the fifth day following the date of the determination of a violation by the Magisterial District Judge, and thereafter, each day that a violation continues shall constitute a separate violation. All judgments, costs and reasonable attorney fees collected for the violation of this chapter shall be paid over to the Borough.

The owner or tenant of any building, structure, premises, or part thereof, and any architect, builder, contractor, agent, or other person who commits, participates in, assists in, or maintains such violation may each be found guilty of a separate offense and suffer the penalties herein provided.

Nothing herein contained shall prevent the Borough from taking such other lawful action as is necessary to prevent or remedy any violation.

The Planning Committee of the Borough of Whitaker shall receive from the office of the Building Inspector copies of all applications for amendments to this chapter and shall make findings and recommendations thereon, after which the Committee shall forward such findings and recommendations to the Borough Council.

The Planning Committee shall receive from the office of the Building Inspector copies of all applications for special exceptions and shall make findings and recommendations thereon, after which the Committee shall forward such findings and recommendations to the Zoning Hearing Board.

The Planning Committee shall determine the number of parking space to be required for special uses, in accordance with Article X, § 440-20, of this chapter.

The Planning Committee shall, furthermore, initiate, direct, and review, from time to time, a study of the provisions of this chapter, and to make reports of its findings and recommendations to the Borough Council not less frequently than annually.

The Borough Council shall establish a schedule of fees, charges, and expenses, and a collection procedure, for building permits, occupancy permits, appeals and other matters pertaining to this chapter. The schedule of fees shall be posted in the office of the Building Inspector and may be altered or amended only by the Borough Council.

No permit, special exception or variance shall be issued unless or until such costs, charges, fees, or expenses have been paid in full, nor shall any action be taken on proceedings before the Zoning Hearing Board unless or until preliminary charges or fees have been paid in full.

The Borough Council shall have the power to approve conditional uses at a public hearing following public notice for any of the uses for which this chapter requires the obtaining of such approval and for no other use or purpose. An application to the Borough Council shall be made on the form approved by the Borough Council and shall be accompanied by the fee set by the Borough Council.

In granting a conditional use, the Borough Council shall make findings of fact consistent with the provisions of this chapter. The Borough Council shall not grant a conditional use except in conformation with the conditions and standards outlined in this chapter. Borough Council shall consider recommendation for approval or denial of the conditional use application as reviewed and provided by Borough Planning Committee. Borough Council shall also consider any applicable comments provided as part of any public hearing for said application. The Borough Planning Committee and Borough Council may attach additional reasonable conditions and safeguards to ensure the proposed conditional use is in the best interest and applicability of development within the overall Borough and the surrounding development/land use activity.

General requirements and standards applicable to all conditional uses. The Borough Council shall grant a conditional use only if it finds adequate evidence that any proposed use submitted for a conditional use will meet all the following general requirements as well as any specific requirements and standards listed for the proposed use. The Borough Council shall, among other things, require that any proposed use and location be:

The Borough shall use the following criteria as a guide in evaluating a proposed conditional use:

The requirements and standards set forth in Section 913.2 of the Municipalities Planning Code[1] shall apply to Borough Council's consideration of an application for approval of a conditional use.

All administrative proceedings under this chapter shall be conducted in accordance with Article IX of the Municipalities Planning Code entitled "Zoning Hearing Board and Other Administrative Proceedings."[1] Sections 901 through 917 of the Municipalities Planning Code shall supersede any contrary provisions in this chapter.

All references in this chapter to Board of Adjustment are hereby replaced with Zoning Hearing Board.