Zoning Hearing Board

The Board conducts formal public hearings to consider appeals from a zoning officer’s decision, requests for “variances” (permission to deviate from zoning rules due to a unique hardship), and applications for “special exceptions,” which are land uses permitted only with the Board’s approval. Unlike the Planning Commission, which advises on legislative matters, the Zoning Hearing Board makes final, legally-binding decisions on individual cases, which can only be overturned by an appeal to the Court of Common Pleas.