Hearings pursuant to this chapter shall be held by the Zoning Hearing Board in accordance with the following requirements.
A. Public notice shall be given and written notice shall be given to the applicant, the Zoning Officer, such other persons as the Board of Supervisors shall designate by ordinance and to any person who has made timely request for the same. Written 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 Zoning Hearing Board. In addition to the written 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.
B. The Board of Supervisors may prescribe reasonable fees by resolution 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.
C. The hearing shall be held within 60 days from the date of the applicant's request, unless the applicant has agreed in writing to an extension of time.
D. The hearing shall be conducted by the Zoning Hearing Board, or the Zoning Hearing 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 Zoning Hearing Board; however, the appellant or the applicant, as the case may be, in addition to the municipality, may, prior to the decision of the hearing, waive decisions or findings by the Zoning Hearing Board and accept the decision or findings of the hearing officer as final.
E. The parties to the hearing shall be the Township, any person affected by the application who has made timely appearance of record before the Zoning Hearing Board, and any other person, including civic or community organizations, permitted to appear by the Zoning Hearing Board. The Zoning Hearing Board shall have power to require that all persons who wish to be considered parties enter appearance in writing on forms provided by the Zoning Hearing Board for that purpose.
F. The Chairman or Acting Chairman of the Zoning Hearing 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.
G. 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.
H. Formal rules of evidence shall not apply, but irrelevant, immaterial or unduly repetitious evidence may be excluded.
I. The Zoning Hearing Board or the hearing officer, as the case maybe, shall keep a stenographic record of the proceedings. The appearance fee for a stenographer shall be shared equally by the applicant and the Zoning Hearing Board. The cost of the original transcript shall be paid by the Zoning Hearing Board if the transcript is ordered by the Zoning Hearing Board or hearing officer or shall be paid by the person appealing from the decision of the Zoning Hearing 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.
J. The Zoning Hearing 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 where all parties have opportunity to participate. The Zoning Hearing Board or the hearing officer shall not take notice of any communication, report, staff memorandum, or other materials, except advice from its solicitor, unless all 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.
K. The Zoning Hearing 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 Zoning Hearing 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 the provisions of any act of the commonwealth or any ordinance, rule or regulation shall contain a reference to the provision relied on and the reasons why the conclusion is deemed appropriate in 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 Zoning Hearing Board shall make its report and recommendations available to the parties within 45 days, and the parties shall be entitled to make written representations thereon to the Zoning Hearing Board prior to the final decision or entry or findings, and the Zoning Hearing Board's decision shall be entered no later than 30 days after the report of the hearing officer. Where the Zoning Hearing Board fails to render its 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 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 Zoning Hearing Board to meet or render a decision as hereinabove provided, the Zoning Hearing Board shall give public notice of said decision within 10 days from the last day it could have met to render a decision in the same manner as provided in Subsection A of this section. If the Zoning Hearing Board shall fail to provide such notice, the applicant may do so. Nothing in this subsection shall prejudice the right of any party opposing the application to appeal the decision to a court of competent jurisdiction.
L. 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 Zoning Hearing Board not later than the last day of the hearing, the Zoning Hearing 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.
Fees and escrow deposits.
A. The applicant for any hearing before the Zoning Hearing Board shall at the time of making application pay the Zoning Officer, for the use of the municipality, a fee in accordance with a fee schedule adopted by resolution of the Board of Supervisors, and as such schedule may be amended from time to time. In addition, an escrow deposit may be required. The escrow deposit requirements shall be set from time to time by resolution of the Board of Supervisors.
B. The total fees payable for any one application shall be determined by the total number of specific reliefs separately sought, and the inclusion of more than one relief sought in any one application or application form will not avoid the obligation of the applicant to pay the multiple fees in accordance with the adopted fee schedule.
C. The Zoning Officer shall, subject to the modification of the Board, determine the actual nature and number of specific reliefs sought by any one application. Such determination shall be irrespective of the use by the respective applicant in his application of the descriptive terms "variance," "special exception" or "appeal," unless otherwise so indicated by the application.
Mediation option.
A. Parties to proceedings in Articles IX and X-A of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, Act 247, as amended by Act 170 (PA MPC),[1] may utilize mediation as an aid in completing such proceedings. In proceedings before the Zoning Hearing Board, in no case shall the Zoning Hearing Board initiate mediation or participate as a mediating party. Mediation shall supplement, not replace, those procedures in Articles IX and X-A of the PA MPC once they have been formally initiated. Nothing in this section shall be interpreted as expanding or limiting municipal police powers or as modifying any principles of substantive law.
B. Participation in mediation shall be wholly voluntary.
The appropriateness of mediation shall be determined by the particulars of each case and the willingness of the parties to negotiate. The municipality shall assure that in each case, the mediating parties, assisted by the mediator as appropriate, develop terms and conditions for:
(1) Funding mediation.
(2) Selecting a mediator who, at a minimum, shall have a working knowledge of municipal zoning and subdivision procedures and demonstrated skills in mediation.
(3) Completing mediation, including time limits for such completion.
(4) Suspending time limits otherwise authorized in the PA MPC, provided there is written consent by the mediating parties and by an applicant or municipal decisionmaking body if either is not a party to the mediation.
(5) Identifying all parties and affording them the opportunity to participate.
(6) Subject to legal restraints, determining whether some or all of the mediation sessions shall be open or closed to the public.
(7) Assuring that mediated solutions are in writing and signed by the parties and become subject to review and approval by the appropriate decisionmaking body pursuant to the authorized procedures set forth in the PA MPC.
C. No offers or statements made in the mediation sessions, excluding the final written mediated agreement, shall be admissible as evidence in any subsequent judicial or administrative proceedings.
