In Luke v. Cataldi, et al., 37 WAP 2006 (September 26, 2007), the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has ruled that when a municipality violates a notice requirement when hearing a conditional use application (i.e., a special exception except heard by the governing body), any subsequent decision is void ab initio and the thirty-day appeal period provided [...]
Now that the local elections are over, a question sometimes arises about when a current Board can contractually bind an incoming Board. Whether a governmental body may enter into long-tern contracts binding upon its successors turns on whether the contract serves a governmental or proprietary purpose. If the contract concerns a proprietary purpose, then [...]
The recent Pennsylvania Supreme Court case of Wistuk v. Lower Mt. Bethel Township Zoning Hearing Board, 79 MAP 2006 (June 25, 2007) demonstrates that if a zoning hearing board is not careful, it may miss the 45-day time period to render a written decision that will result in a deemed approval to the applicant. [...]