1. No use may be established or changed; no structure shall be erected, constructed, reconstructed, altered, razed, removed, and no building used or occupied, changed in nonresidential use occupancy, until a zoning permit has been obtained from the Zoning Officer. A zoning permit shall be required for a project in excess of 100 square feet or in excess of $2,500 in cost. Within the Historic Districts, a certificate of appropriateness must be obtained whether or not a zoning permit is required. Upon completion of change in use or construction, reconstruction, alteration or moving structures, the applicant shall notify the Zoning Officer of such completion. No permit shall be considered as complete or as permanently effective until the Zoning Officer has noted on the permit that the work or occupancy and use have been inspected and approved as being in conformity with the provisions of this chapter and in compliance with the Uniform Construction Code as adopted in Chapter 5, Part 1.

A. All applications for zoning permits shall be made in writing by the owner, tenant, vendee under contract of sale, or authorized agent on a form supplied by the Township and shall be filed with the Zoning Officer. The application shall include four copies of the following information: see § 27-29021A.(1) for a complete list of requirements.

B. No permit for any new use or construction which will involve the on-site disposal of sewage, and no permit for a change in use or an alteration which will result in an increased volume of sewage to be disposed of on the lot, shall be issued until approval has been granted by the Bucks County Department of Health.

C. No permit for any new use or construction which will use public sewage facilities, and no permit for a change in use or an alteration which will result in an increased volume of such sewage shall, be issued until approval of the connection has been granted by the servicing authority.

D. No permit shall be issued until the following requirements for private water supply are met:
 

(1) Private Water Supply. In all districts except Residential Development District (RD), Traditional Neighborhood Commercial District (TNC), Small Lot Residential District (R-1), and Parcel D of the RD-D District, water shall be furnished by the owner on an individual lot basis. If a well is installed on a lot, the well shall be of the drilled type, cased and grout-sealed into the bedrock. The well shall have a production of not less than six gallons per minute as established by bailor tests certified by the well driller or an equivalent test satisfactory to the Township Engineer. Prior to the issuance of a building permit and upon completion of the installation of any private well, the owner of the premises upon which the well has been installed shall produce a certificate of potability for water within the well in compliance with the standards set forth in the Federal Safe Drinking Water Act, 42 U.S.C. § 300f et seq., a certificate setting forth the rate of flow of water from the well stating that the overall withdrawal from a given well does not exceed the anticipated recharge, and information stating the depth of water and the geologic description. In addition, the quality of the water produced by the well shall be tested to determine compliance with the following maximum contaminant limits by a Water Quality Laboratory certified by the Department of Environmental Protection of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania: see this table for a list of contaminants.
 

E. No permit for any new use or construction shall be issued until approval has been granted and/or permits have been issued by all other applicable agencies (federal, state or county) such as PennDOT, PaDEP, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the like.

F. No permit shall be issued if the activity proposed on the property violates a conservation easement to which the property is subjected.

G. The Zoning Officer shall render a decision either approving or disapproving the applications for a zoning permit within 30 days after the application is filed provided that any disapproval of the application shall be issued within said thirty-day period containing a brief explanation setting forth the reasons for said disapproval and the manner in which the application can be corrected and/or modified to obtain the required approval. If no decision is rendered on the application within 30 days, the application shall be deemed to have been denied, unless the applicant has agreed in writing to an extension of time.

H. Upon the issuance of the permit and until construction or alteration is completed, the permit shall be displayed prominently on or attached to the building or lot for which issued, so that the same can be observed from the outside.

Life of a Permit.

1. The activity authorized by a zoning permit shall be commenced, and any change in use of a building or land authorized by a zoning permit shall be undertaken, within one year after the date of issuance of the permit. If not, the permit shall be considered null and void. However, in case of erection or construction of a building, the right to proceed with construction may be extended annually without additional fees for a period of not more than three years, provided that the construction pursuant to said permit has commenced within the first one-year period.

2. Special exceptions, variances and/or conditional uses shall be treated in accordance with § 603(b)(2.1) of the Municipalities Planning Code, 53 P.S. § 10603(b)(2.1).

See Planning, Code Enforcements & Permits for more information.