(A) Appeals. Appeals to the Zoning Hearing Board shall be handled as set forth in the Municipalities Planning Code, being 53 P.S. Ch. 30.
(B) Mediation.
(1) With respect to proceedings before the Board, the parties may attempt to use mediation as an aid to completing such proceedings. However, in no case shall the Board initiate mediation or participate as a mediating party. Mediation shall supplement, not replace, those procedures in this subchapter and the provisions of the Municipal Planning Code, being 53 P.S. Ch. 30 once they have been formally initiated.
(2) 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. In each case, the mediating parties, assisted by the mediator as appropriate, shall develop terms and conditions for:
(a) Funding mediation;
(b) Selecting a mediator who, at a minimum, shall have a working knowledge of municipal zoning and subdivision procedures and demonstrated skills in mediation;
(c) Completing mediation, including time limits for such completion;
(d) Suspending time limits otherwise authorized in this chapter, provided there is written consent be the mediating parties, and by an applicant or Board or Township Supervisors or Township Planning Commission if any of them are not a party to the mediation;
(e) Identifying all parties and affording them the opportunity to participate;
(f) Subject to legal restraints, determining whether some or all of the mediation sessions shall be open or closed to the public; and
(g) Assuring that mediated solutions are in writing and signed by the parties, and become subject to review and approval by the appropriate decision-making body pursuant to the authorized procedures set forth in the other sections of this act.
(3) 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.
(Ord. 678, passed 10-20-2010)