Enforcement Notice.
1. Whenever it appears to the Township that a violation of any provision of this chapter has occurred, enforcement shall be initiated by the Zoning Officer by sending an enforcement notice as provided in this section. Such notice shall be served for violating:
A. Any provision of this chapter or any amendment thereto.
B. Any detailed statement or a plan approved under the provisions of this chapter or any amendment thereto.
C. Any condition of a variance or special exception granted by the Zoning Hearing Board.
2. The enforcement notice shall be sent to the owner of record of the parcel on which the violation has occurred, to any person who has filed a written request to receive enforcement notices regarding that parcel, and to any other person requested in writing by the owner of record.
3. An enforcement notice shall state at least the following:
A. The name of the owner of record and any other person against whom the Township intends to take action.
B. The location of the property in violation.
C. The specific violation with a description of the requirements which have not been met, citing in each instance to the applicable provision of this chapter.
D. The date before which the steps for compliance must be commenced and the date which the steps must be completed.
E. The recipient of the notice has the right to appeal to the Zoning Hearing Board within a prescribed period of time in accordance with procedures set forth in this chapter.
F. Failure to comply with the notice within the time specified, unless extended by appeal to the Zoning Hearing Board, constitutes a violation, with possible sanctions clearly described.
Causes of Action.
In case any building, structure, landscaping or land is, or is proposed to be, erected, constructed, reconstructed, altered, converted, maintained or used in violation of any provision of this chapter, the Board of Supervisors or, with the approval of the Board of Supervisors, an officer of the Township, or any aggrieved owner or tenant of real property who shows that his property or person will be substantially affected by the alleged violation, in addition to other remedies, may institute any appropriate action or proceeding to prevent, restrain, correct or abate such building, structure, landscaping of land, or to prevent, in or about such premises, any act, conduct, business or use constituting a violation. When any such action is instituted by a landowner or tenant, notice of that action shall be served upon the Township at least 30 days prior to the time the action is begun by serving a copy of the complaint on the Board of Supervisors. No such action may be maintained until such notice has been given.
Enforcement Remedies.
Any person, partnership or corporation who or which has violated or permitted the violation of a provision of this chapter, shall, upon being found liable therefor in a civil enforcement proceeding commenced by the Township, pay a judgment of not more than $500 plus all court costs, including reasonable attorney's fees incurred by the Township as a result thereof. No judgment shall commence or be imposed, levied or payable until the date of the determination of a violation by the magisterial district judge. If the defendant neither pays nor timely appeals the judgment, the Township may enforce the judgment pursuant to the applicable rules of civil procedure. Each day that a violation continues shall constitute a separate violation, unless the magisterial district judge determining that there has been a violation further determines that there was a good faith basis for the person, partnership or corporation violating this chapter to have believed that there was not such violation, in which event there shall be deemed to have been only one such violation until the fifth day following the date of the determination of a violation by the magisterial district judge and thereafter each day that a violation continues shall constitute a separate violation. All judgments, costs and reasonable attorney's fees collected for the violation of this chapter shall be paid over to the Township.
