Procedure for landowner curative amendments.
1. A landowner who desires to challenge on substantive grounds the validity of this chapter or the Zoning Map, or any provision thereof, which prohibits or restricts the use or development of land in which he has an interest may submit a curative amendment to the Board of Supervisors with a written request that his challenge and proposed amendment be heard and decided as provided in Section 916.1 of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code (hereinafter "MPC"), 53 P.S. § 10916.1. The curative amendment and challenge shall be referred to the Planning Commission and the county planning agency as provided in Section 609, and notice of the hearing thereon shall be given as provided in Sections 610 and 916.1 of the MPC, see 53 P.S. §§ 10609, 10610, and 10916.1, respectively.
2. The hearing shall be conducted in accordance with Section 908 of the MPC, 53 P.S. § 10908, and all references therein to the Zoning Hearing Board shall, for purposes of this section, be references to the Board of Supervisors. If the Township does not accept a landowner's curative amendment brought in accordance with this subsection, and a court subsequently rules that the challenge has merit, the court's decision shall not result in a declaration of invalidity for this entire chapter and the Zoning Map, but only for those provisions which specifically relate to the landowner's curative amendment and challenge.
3. The Board of Supervisors, if it determines that a validity challenge has merit, may accept a landowner's curative amendment, with or without revision, or may adopt an alternative amendment which will cure the challenged defects. The Board of Supervisors shall consider the curative amendments, plans and explanatory material submitted by the landowner and shall also consider:
A. The impact of the proposal upon roads, sewer facilities, water supplies, schools and other public service facilities.
B. If the proposal is for a residential use, the impact of the proposal upon regional housing needs and the effectiveness of the proposal in providing housing units of a type actually available to and affordable by classes of persons otherwise unlawfully excluded by the challenged provisions of this chapter or Zoning Map.
C. The suitability of the lot for the intensity of use proposed by the lot's soils, slopes, woodlands, wetlands, floodplains, aquifers, natural resources and other natural features.
D. The impact of the proposed use on the lot's soils, slopes, woodlands, wetlands, floodplains, natural resources and natural features, the degree to which these are protected or destroyed, the tolerance of the resources to development and any adverse environmental impacts.
E. The impact of the proposal on the preservation of agriculture and other land uses which are essential to public health and welfare.
