On March 29, the Commonwealth Court rendered a decision in Borough of West Conshohocken v. Soppick, 2017 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 90 (Pa Commw. Ct. 2017), significantly limiting when a municipality may initiate a civil enforcement action seeking a judgment for fines for the alleged violation of its zoning ordinance.
Under the Municipalities Planning Code, 53 P.S. Section 10101 et seq., (MPC), a municipality possesses two enforcement options when it believes a violation of its zoning ordinance has occurred: institute an action in Common Pleas Court to prevent, restrain, correct or abate the violation, or initiate a civil enforcement action before the magisterial district judge in which it can seek a judgment of up to $500 per day for each day the violation continues, plus costs and attorney fees. However, prior to doing so the municipality must first send a notice of violation to the owner of record. The notice of violation must state, among other things, the specific violation, the steps that must be taken to come into compliance, the time within which compliance must be obtained, that the recipient has the right to appeal to the zoning hearing board within a prescribed period of time, and the sanctions for a failure to comply unless extended by an appeal to the zoning hearing board. Once a notice of violation has been issued, the recipient must either comply with the notice or appeal the alleged violation to the zoning hearing board. If the landowner fails to do either, the violation is deemed unassailable as a matter of law and a conclusive finding of liability is established (see City of Erie v. Freitus, 681 A.2d 840, 843 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 1996)).
