Lower Nazareth Township is governed by an elected body organized under the Second Class Township Code of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. That Board is called the Board of Supervisors and consists of five (5) elected officials, each serving a six (6) year term.

The Board of Supervisors is charged with the general governance of the township to secure the health, safety and welfare of the citizens of the Community. To accomplish that task the Board adopts laws, known as ordinances, which govern various activities within the Township.

The Board may appoint a Township Manager who is charged by the Board with implementing the ordinances it passes and managing the annual budget of the Township which is adopted by the Board each December for the following calendar year.

The Zoning Hearing Board has no legislative power; therefore it can neither make nor modify zoning policy. The Zoning Hearing Board does not have enforcement powers. It is a quasi-judicial body; that is, its powers are to some extent judicial in nature. The board schedules hearings on applications and appeals that come before it, takes evidence, and issues written decisions with findings of fact and conclusions of law. A ZHB must limit its scope of activities to those permitted by the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code (MPC) and by the local zoning ordinance.

The primary purpose of the Zoning Hearing Board is to help assure fair and equitable application and administration of the zoning ordinance by hearing appeals on the zoning officer’s determinations and by granting relief from the literal enforcement of the ordinance in certain hardship situations. The Board consists of a three-member Board with two alternate members. All members of this Board are appointed by the Board of Supervisors and serve five year terms. They meet on demand, the fourth the Tuesday of each month.