(A) Whenever the public necessity, convenience or general welfare indicates, the governing body may, by ordinance in accordance with applicable laws of the commonwealth, amend, supplement or change the regulations, restrictions, boundaries or classifications of buildings, structures and land, as the same are established by this chapter, or may hereafter be made a part thereof.
(1) Before voting on the enactment of an amendment, the governing body shall hold a public hearing thereon, pursuant to public notice. In addition, if the proposed amendment involves a Zoning Map change, notice of said public hearing shall be conspicuously posted by the municipality at points deemed sufficient by the municipality along the perimeter of the tract to notify potentially interested citizens. The affected tract or area shall be posted at least one week prior to the date of the hearing.
(2) In case of an amendment other than that prepared by the Planning Commission, the governing body shall submit each such amendment to the Planning Commission at least 30 days prior to the hearing on such proposed amendment to provide the Planning Commission an opportunity to submit recommendations.
(3) If, after any public hearing held upon an amendment, the proposed amendment is changed substantially, or is revised, to include land previously not affected by it, the governing body shall hold another public hearing, pursuant to public notice, before proceeding to vote on the amendment.
(4) At least 30 days prior to the public hearing on the amendment by the governing body, the municipality shall submit the proposed amendment to the County Planning Commission for recommendations.
(5) Within 30 days after enactment, a copy of the amendment to this chapter shall be forwarded to the County Planning Commission.
(B) Applications of petitions for any change or amendments to existing zoning districts shall be made to the Planning Commission and shall be accompanied with a fee as determined by the governing body, payable to the Township of Greene, and shall be deposited in the General Fund. This fee is for the purpose of defraying the costs of preparing the necessary plats, maps, data, legislation and notices and all official publications required by the township and shall not be refundable even though the application is disapproved by the governing body.
(C) The Township Supervisors may from time to time, on their own motion or petition, after public notice and hearing, amend the regulations and districts herein established, but no amendment shall become effective unless the same shall have first been submitted to the Township and County Planning Commissions for review, and said Commissions shall have been allowed a period of at least 30 days for consideration and report.
(D) A landowner who desires to challenge on substantive grounds the validity of this chapter or Zoning Map or any provision thereof, that prohibits or restricts the use or development of land in which he or she has an interest, may submit a curative amendment to the Township Supervisors in accordance with provisions of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code (see 53 P.S. §§ 10101 et seq.).
(1) The governing body shall commence a hearing thereon within 60 days of the request. The curative amendment and challenge shall be referred to the township and County Planning Commissions for review and comment and notice of the hearing thereon shall be given as provided for in this chapter.
(2) If the Township Supervisors do not accept a landowner’s curative amendment brought in accordance with this division (D) and a court subsequently rules that the challenge has merit, the court’s decision shall not result in a declaration of invalidity for this entire chapter and Zoning Map, but only for those provisions which specifically relate to the landowner’s curative amendment and challenge.
(3) The governing body may determine that a validity challenge has merit and may accept a landowner’s curative amendment, with or without revision, or may adopt an alternative amendment that will cure the challenged defects. The governing body shall consider the curative amendments, plans and explanatory material submitted by the landowner and shall also consider:
(a) The impact of the proposal upon roads, sewer facilities, water supplies, schools and other public service facilities;
(b) If the proposal is for a residential use, the impact of the proposal upon regional housing needs and the effectiveness of the proposal in providing housing units of a type actually available to, and affordable by, classes of persons otherwise unlawfully excluded by the challenged provisions of this chapter or Zoning Map;
(c) The suitability of the site for the intensity of use proposed by the site’s soils, slopes, woodlands, wetlands, floodplains, aquifers, natural resources and other natural features;
(d) The impact of the proposed use on the site’s soils, slopes, woodlands, wetlands, floodplains, natural resources and natural features, the degree to which these are protected or destroyed, the tolerance of the resources to development and any adverse environmental impacts; and
(e) The impact of the proposal on the preservation of agriculture and other land uses which are essential to public health and welfare.
(E) If the Township Supervisors determine that this chapter or any portion thereof is substantially invalid, they may initiate a municipal curative amendment in accordance with the provisions of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code.
(1) Declare by formal action the chapter or portions thereof substantively invalid and propose to prepare a curative amendment to overcome such invalidity. Within 30 days following such declaration and proposal the governing body shall:
(a) By resolution make specific findings setting forth the declared invalidity of the chapter; and
(b) Begin to prepare and consider a curative amendment to the chapter to correct the declared invalidity.
(2) Within 180 days from the date of the declaration and proposal, enact a curative amendment to validate, or reaffirm the validity of, the chapter.
(F) Zoning amendments shall not be enacted unless notice of proposed enactment is given. The notices shall include the time and place of the meeting at which passage will be considered, and a reference to a place within the township where copies of the proposed ordinance or amendment may be examined either without charge or for a charge not greater than the cost thereof. The governing body shall publish the proposed ordinance or amendment once in one newspaper of general circulation in the municipality not more than 60 days nor less than seven days prior to passage. Publication of the proposed ordinance or amendment shall include either the full text thereof or the title and a brief summary, prepared by the Municipal Solicitor and setting forth all the provisions in reasonable detail. If the full text is not included:
(1) A copy thereof shall be supplied to a newspaper of general circulation in the township at the time the public notice is published;
(2) An attested copy of the proposed chapter shall be filed in the Beaver County Law Library; and
(3) In the event substantial changes are made in the proposed amendment, before voting upon enactment, the governing body shall, at least ten days prior to enactment, readvertise, in one newspaper of general circulation in the township, a brief summary setting forth all the provisions in reasonable detail together with a summary of the amendments.
(2003 Code, § 170-78) (Ord. 2-93, passed 5-4-1993)