This chapter shall be known as and referred
to as the "Middlesex Township Improvement Design Standards."
This chapter is adopted for the following purposes:
A.
Establish construction standards and specifications
governing the construction of public and private improvements in the
Township.
B.
Control the construction and installation of public
and private improvements in the Township by developers and public
utility companies.
C.
Control the acceptance of public improvements.
D.
Control the satisfactory completion of private improvements.
The Township shall be responsible for the administration,
enforcement and interpretation of this chapter.
These regulations shall be applicable to the
construction of all public and private improvements in the Township.
Public and private improvements constructed by any person or entity including a developer shall be constructed in accordance with Article IV of this chapter.
A.
All construction of public and private improvements
in the Township by developers shall be conducted in accordance with
this section of this chapter.
B.
Notice prior to start of work. In order that the Township may provide proper inspection and emergency services during construction, the developer shall file with the Township a Notice of Commencement in form set forth in Article III not less than two days prior to start of work and shall also submit the following:
C.
Supervision and superintendence.
(1)
The developer shall supervise and direct the work
and be solely responsible to see that the work is done in accordance
with the construction standards and specifications.
(2)
The developer shall have available at all times while
construction is continuing a competent superintendent, who may be
contacted during an emergency. The superintendent will be the developer's
representative at the site and shall have authority to act on behalf
of the developer. All communications given to the superintendent shall
be as binding as if given to the developer. If the superintendent
is replaced, the developer shall give written notice thereof to the
Township immediately.
(3)
The developer shall be fully responsible for the acts
and omissions of the contractors, subcontractors, persons and organizations
directly or indirectly in his employ.
D.
Site appearance. The developer shall keep the site
free from accumulation of waste materials, rubbish and other debris
resulting from the work. At the completion of the work, the developer
shall remove all waste materials, rubbish and debris from and about
the site as well as all tools, construction equipment and machinery,
and surplus materials, and shall leave the site clean.
E.
Parking. No construction vehicles, vehicles of construction
employees, equipment, materials or supplies shall encroach onto a
public street. In the case where there is a private street or proposed
public street, not yet accepted by the Township, the developer shall
maintain an eighteen-foot unobstructed clear path on such street for
emergency vehicle purposes.
F.
Hours of construction. The operation of heavy construction
or excavation machinery, including but not limited to bulldozers,
high-lifts, backhoes, trucks, power shovels, pumps and jack hammers,
and the operation of equipment such as saws and drills or any other
type of machinery in conjunction with the construction of public and
private improvements, which causes noise sufficient to disturb the
peace and general tranquility of the general public shall be prohibited
in the entire Township between the hours of 9:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m.,
Monday through Saturday, and all day Sunday.
G.
Dust control. The developer shall maintain the site
so as to control the dust. The developer shall employ measures necessary
to control dust. At the Township's direction the Township may require
routine maintenance of the site for dust control should, in the opinion
of the Township, the developer not maintain the site in a reasonable
manner.
H.
Responsibility for compliance. The developer shall
have the sole responsibility to comply with all federal, state, and
local laws, and the Township disclaims any duty to enforce any violation
of such laws or inform the developer of noncompliance.
A Township road occupancy permit is required
for the installation of any utilities within an existing public street
in accordance with the procedures and requirements set forth in the
ordinances of the Township.
A.
It shall be unlawful for any developer or public utility
company to construct public or private improvements regulated by this
chapter, or cause the same to be done, in conflict with or in violation
of any of the provisions of this chapter.
B.
Notice of violation. The Township shall serve a notice
of violation or order on the developer or utility company responsible
for the violation of the provisions of this chapter or of the plans
approved thereunder. Such order shall direct the discontinuance of
the illegal action or condition and the abatement of the violation.
C.
Any person who violates or permits a violation of
this chapter shall, upon conviction in a summary proceeding brought
before a District Justice under the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal
Procedure, be guilty of a summary offense and shall be punishable
by a fine of not more than $1,000, plus costs of prosecution. In default
of payment thereof, the defendant may be sentenced to imprisonment
for a term not exceeding 90 days. Each day or portion thereof that
such violation continues or is permitted to continue shall constitute
a separate offense, and each section of this chapter that is violated
shall also constitute a separate offense.
D.
Abatement of violation. The imposition of the penalties
herein prescribed shall not preclude the Township from instituting
appropriate action to prevent unlawful construction or to restrain,
correct or abate a violation or to stop an illegal act.
A.
Notice to stop work. Upon notice from the Township
that work on the installation of public or private improvements is
being prosecuted contrary to the provisions of this chapter, such
work shall be immediately stopped. The stop-work order shall be in
writing and shall be given to the developer, or to the person doing
the work. The stop-work order shall state the conditions under which
the work may be resumed.
B.
Unlawful continuance. Any person who shall continue
any work in or about a work site after having been served with a stop-work
order, except such work as that person is directed to perform to remove
a violation or unsafe conditions, shall be liable to the violations
and penalties set forth herein.
The procedure for acceptance of public improvements shall be in accordance with Chapter 150, Subdivision and Land Development.
This chapter may be amended by action of the Supervisors; however, the construction standards in Article IV of this chapter as they pertain to any particular public improvement may be modified by motion of the Supervisors upon recommendation of the Township Engineer and Township Manager.
A.
Should there arise any dispute between the developer
or the Township with regard to any provisions of this chapter, the
developer and Township may elect to use the provisions of this section
to mediate such dispute. Participation in mediation shall be wholly
voluntary. The appropriateness of mediation shall be determined by
the particulars of each case and the willingness of the parties to
negotiate.
B.
Parties agreeing to enter into mediation shall first
enter into a written mediation agreement containing at least the following
minimum provisions:
(1)
Identification of the selected mediator who, at a
minimum, shall have a working knowledge of municipal zoning and subdivision
procedures, and engineering practices. The mediator shall have demonstrated
skills in mediation.
(2)
Time frame in which the mediation will be conducted
and completed.
(3)
Provisions for suspension of time limits, if necessary,
for applications subject to the same in regards to subdivision, land
development, planned residential development or other application
or procedures pursuant to the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning
Code.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 10101
et seq.
(4)
Identification of all parties and affording them the
opportunity to participate.
(5)
Subject to legal restraints determining whether the
mediation sessions or parts thereof shall be open to the public.
(6)
Identification as to whether the results of such mediation
shall be binding upon the parties.
C.
Funding for mediation shall be borne equally between
the Township and the developer.
D.
Mediated solutions shall be in writing and signed
by the parties, and become subject to review and approval by the appropriate
decision making body when necessary.
E.
No offers or statements made in the mediation sessions,
excluding the final written mediated agreement, shall be admissible
as evidence in any subsequent judicial or administrative proceedings.