Pennsylvania Statutes Title 53 P.S. Municipal and Quasi-Municipal Corporations § 10915.1. Stay of proceedings

(a) Upon filing of any proceeding referred to in section 913.3  1 and during its pendency before the board, all land development pursuant to any challenged ordinance, order or approval of the zoning officer or of any agency or body, and all official action thereunder, shall be stayed unless the zoning officer or any other appropriate agency or body certifies to the board facts indicating that such stay would cause imminent peril to life or property, in which case the development or official action shall not be stayed otherwise than by a restraining order, which may be granted by the board or by the court having jurisdiction of zoning appeals, on petition, after notice to the zoning officer or other appropriate agency or body.  When an application for development, preliminary or final, has been duly approved and proceedings designed to reverse or limit the approval are filed with the board by persons other than the applicant, the applicant may petition the court having jurisdiction of zoning appeals to order such persons to post bond as a condition to continuing the proceedings before the board.

(b) After the petition is presented, the court shall hold a hearing to determine if the filing of the appeal is frivolous.  At the hearing, evidence may be presented on the merits of the case.  It shall be the burden of the applicant for a bond to prove the appeal is frivolous.  After consideration of all evidence presented, if the court determines that the appeal is frivolous, it shall grant the petition for a bond.  The right to petition the court to order the appellants to post bond may be waived by the appellee, but such waiver may be revoked by him if an appeal is taken from a final decision of the court.

(c) The question whether or not such petition should be granted and the amount of the bond shall be within the sound discretion of the court.  An order denying a petition for bond shall be interlocutory.  An order directing the responding party to post a bond shall be interlocutory.

(d) If an appeal is taken by a respondent to the petition for a bond from an order of the court dismissing a zoning appeal for refusal to post a bond and the appellate court sustains the order of the court below to post a bond, the respondent to the petition for a bond, upon motion of the petitioner and after hearing in the court having jurisdiction of zoning appeals, shall be liable for all reasonable costs, expenses and attorney fees incurred by the petitioner.