This chapter shall be known, cited and referred to as the East
Hempfield Township subdivision and land development ordinance of 2014
(hereinafter "Chapter.").
This chapter is adopted to regulate and manage the subdivision
and development of land within East Hempfield Township for the following
purposes:
A. Protect and provide for the public health, safety, morals, and general
welfare of East Hempfield Township.
B. Guide and coordinate the future growth and development of East Hempfield
Township.
C. Provide for adequate light, air, and privacy; secure safety from
fire, flood, stormwater and other danger; and prevent overcrowding
of the land and undue congestion of population.
D. Protect the character and the social and economic stability of all
parts of East Hempfield Township.
E. Promote the preservation of the Township's natural and historic
resources and prime agricultural land.
F. Protect and conserve the value of land, buildings and improvements
throughout East Hempfield Township and minimize conflicts between
land uses.
G. Guide public and private policy and action in order to provide adequate
and efficient transportation, water, sewerage, parks, playgrounds,
recreation, and other required public services and facilities.
H. Provide for safe and convenient circulation of people and goods throughout
the Township, including pedestrian travel, and provide for the proper
location and width of streets and building lines.
I. Establish reasonable standards of design and procedures for subdivisions
and land developments in order to further the orderly layout of land,
and to ensure proper legal description and monumenting of subdivisions
and land developments.
J. Ensure that improvements for public facilities are available and
will have a sufficient capacity to serve proposed subdivisions and
land developments.
The provisions of the East Hempfield Township subdivision and
land development ordinance shall meet the following long-term community
development goal and objectives.
East Hempfield Township's goal is to honor its past, exercise
thoughtful stewardship of the present and, through thorough planning,
prepare for the future. As such, East Hempfield Township adopts the
following objectives for its subdivision and land development ordinance:
A. East Hempfield Township always will be a place where families can
thrive; neighbors can connect; activities, jobs, and services are
plentiful; and nature, prime farmland, and historic traditions are
valued and protected.
B. East Hempfield Township will be a place where the promotion of its
citizens' safety, health, welfare and morals are paramount; where
people feel comfortable to live, work, worship, and play; and, where
its residents are proud to call the Township "home."
C. East Hempfield Township will continue to be a vibrant community with
a wide variety of housing opportunities and places for people to live
in its villages, residential neighborhoods and on its farmsteads.
D. East Hempfield Township will offer its citizens a variety of recreational
opportunities and will promote the expansion and use of open spaces
for the public.
E. East Hempfield Township will be a place that values its cultural
heritage and the farming activities that epitomize that heritage.
The Township will ensure that farming will not be just a remnant of
the past but a vital part of its future, with a lively farming community
that is sustained by farmstead activities, necessary agriculture support
businesses, and local markets.
F. East Hempfield Township will embrace the conservation and preservation
of its historic and natural resources and its agricultural land. The
Township will also be a place where one's legal and constitutional
rights to the use of land are esteemed and protected.
G. East Hempfield Township will work to sustain and enhance its older
neighborhoods and, at the same time, support carefully planned and
coordinated new development.
H. East Hempfield Township will be a place that is friendly to business
and industry, where economic development and job creation is encouraged
and promoted.
This chapter is adopted pursuant to the authority granted by
the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code (Act of 1968, P.L. 805,
No. 247), as reenacted and amended. In the event of future PA MPC amendments which may conflict
with this chapter, the provisions of the PA MPC shall apply unless
specifically noted otherwise in the enacting legislation.
A. The Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code is hereafter referred
to as the "PA MPC".
In order that land may be subdivided and/or developed in accordance
with the policies and purposes of these regulations, this chapter
is hereby adopted and made effective as of the effective date of this
chapter.
This chapter shall not be construed as abating any action now
pending under, or by virtue of, prior existing subdivision or land
development regulations, or as discontinuing, abating, modifying or
altering any penalty accruing or about to accrue, or as affecting
the liability of any person, firm or corporation, or as waiving any
right of the Township under any section or provision existing at the
time of adoption of this chapter, or as vacating or annulling any
rights obtained by any person, firm or corporation by lawful action
of the Township, except as shall be expressly provided for in this
chapter.
Upon the adoption of this chapter, all provisions of the East
Hempfield Township subdivision and land development ordinance of 1988,
as amended, are expressly repealed in their entirety to land within
the limits of East Hempfield Township.