Conemaugh Township Cambria County Johnstown, Pennsylvania ZONING ORDINANCE Proposed Amendment

Proposed Amendment to the Conemaugh Township Zoning Ordinance

Approved by Conemaugh Township Planning Commission
Currently under review by County Planning Commission

An Ordinance of the Township of Conemaugh amending its Zoning Ordinance to provide for the rates of all fees charged thereunder to be set by resolution of the township supervisors, amending the penalty provisions to prescribe civil penalties of up to $1,000.00 as mandated by revisions to the Second Class Township Code, establishing minimum standards for documents submitted thereunder and requiring commercial applications to pay an advanced fee to cover the cost of review by the township.

Whereas, there have been changes in the second class township code which require the township to revise the penalty provision of its zoning and other ordinances to remove criminal penalties and replace them with a civil penalty not exceeding $1,000.00., and,
Whereas, certain fees as set forth in the zoning ordinace are at variance with the actual cost of administering the ordinance and the same should be revised from year to year based on experience and actual cost, and,
Whereas, fees for review of of commercial building permits are insufficient to pay for the cost of engineering review of the plans required by the ordinance, and,
Whereas, experience with some developers has shown that standards for the submission of plans will allow for the more expeditious and cost effective review of plans.

NOW Therefore be it Ordained on this ___ day of _____, 1996, after review by the Conemaugh Township and Cambria County Planning Commissions as required by the Municipalities Planning Code, the Conemaugh Township Zoning Ordinance is revised as follows:

Section 1, All fees as set out in the ordinance shall henceforth be adjusted or revised by resolution of the Township Supervisors at times they shall determine as necessary to keep costs in line with expenditures in the administration of the ordinance.

Section 2, All penalties under the zoning ordinance are hereby revised as follows;

• Subsection a) to provide for a maximum penalty of $1,000.00 per day per violation., and,
• Subsection b)The Township Code Enforcement Officer shall assess penalties for the violation of Ordinance according to the following schedule unde the category listed as "After Magistrate Conviction" in the table below. Notice of assessment of Civil penalty shall be delivered to the person responsible in writing. Certain violations of the ordinance are deemed to justify a penalty less than the maximum penalty established under section 1 above. A person receiving a Notice of Civil Assessment, who chooses to admit the violation may request adjustment by the Code enforcement Officer within 15 days of receipt of the assessment, in which case upon written acknowledgement of responsibility and waiver of hearing before the Magistrate on the issue of responsibility, the Codes Enforcement Office may reduce the assessment to the amount shown in the category listed as "Guilt admitted".
• Subsection c) Administrative Hearing on amount of Penalty
  If a person is agrieved by the amount of assessment, as oppossed to whether a violation has occurred, the person may appeal a determination of the permit officer to the Township Supervisors , who shall in such instance sit as a Board of Adjustment under the local public agency law. Request for such appeal must be filed within 30 days of the original assessment and must be accompanied by a fee of $150.00 to cover the costs of the hearing. At the hearing, the Supervisors shall have the power to eliminate or modify the assessment, modification may reduce or increase the assessment withinn the limits permitted by this ordinance.
• Subsection d) No penalty effective until convicted or admitted.
  No Penalty established hereunder shall be enforcible until the fact of the violation is established in an action before a magistrate or admitted to by the person in writing on a standard waiver form provided by the township.
• Subsection e) Severability
  If section 2 or 3 of this ordinance should be found invalid, then it is the Townships intention to impose a flat non discretionary penalty of $1000.00 per day.

_______________________________
Supervisor

Zoning Ordinance Table of Contents

Conemaugh Township can be contacted at:
Conemaugh Township Supervisors
104 Janie St.
Johnstown PA 15902
phone: 814-535-6924
Conemaugh Township, Cambria County Home Page

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