The Board shall meet to hear and consider such matters which shall properly come before it. All such meetings shall be open to the public.
A. Notice. Public notice in accordance with the requirements of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code shall be given and written notice shall be delivered, given or mailed to the applicant and the Zoning Officer, and should be given, delivered or mailed to the last known primary owner of record of property within 500 feet of any lot which is the subject of an application before the Board. Failure to provide notice to owners of other property shall not be a reason for an appeal of a Zoning Hearing Board decision or a delay of a hearing. In addition to the notice provided herein, notice of said hearing shall be conspicuously posted on the affected tract of land at least 1 week prior to the hearing.
B. Fees and Expenses. The Board of Supervisors shall prescribe reasonable fees with respect to hearings before the Zoning Hearing Board. Fees for said hearings may include compensation for the Secretary, legal counsel and members of the Zoning Hearing Board, notice and advertising costs and administrative overhead, and such other expenses as are authorized under State law. The costs to the applicant, however, shall not include expenses for expert witness costs engaged by the Township.
C. Time Limit. The hearing shall be held within 60 days after the date of the applicant’s submittal of a complete application to the Township, unless the applicant has agreed in writing to an extension of time, or unless a different time period is provided in State law.
D. The hearings shall be conducted by the Board or the 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 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 Board and accept the decision or findings of the hearing officer as final. The Board or hearing officer shall render a written decision, or written findings where no decision is called for, on the application within the time limit established under State law.
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 Board, and any other person including civic or community organizations permitted to appear by the Board. The Zoning Hearing Board shall have the power to require that all persons who wish to be considered parties enter appearances in writing on forms provided by the Board for that purpose.
F. The chairperson or acting chairperson shall have the 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 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 by the Board.
I. The Board or the hearing officer shall not communicate, directly or indirectly, with any party or his/her representatives in connection with any issue currently before the Board except upon notice and opportunity for all parties to participate, shall not take notice of any communication, reports, staff memoranda, or other materials, except advice from their Solicitor, unless such material is part of the public file for the application and is available for review and contest by all parties, 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.
J. Where the application is contested or denied, each decision shall be accompanied by findings of fact and conclusions based thereon together with the reasons therefore. Conclusions based specific provisions of this Ordinance shall reference at least one provision that is relied upon.
K. A copy of the final decisions, or where no decision is called for, the findings shall be delivered to the applicant personally or mailed to him/her within the time period established by State law.
L. Appeals to the Court. Any person aggrieved by any decisions of the Board may, within 30 days after such decisions of the Board, file an appeal to the Court of Common Pleas of Bucks County. Such appeals shall be made in accordance with the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, as amended.
(Ord. passed 10-2-2007, § 1008)