[Ord. 2016-2267, 10/11/2016]
All provisions of this chapter shall be administered by the
Borough Council or its officially designated representatives. All
matters relating to this chapter shall be submitted to the Borough
Manager, who will handle the matter in accordance with current municipal
policies, procedures, and guidelines established by the Borough Council.
[Ord. 2016-2267, 10/11/2016]
The Borough shall keep a public record of its correspondence,
findings, recommendations, and actions relating to plans filed for
review, in accordance with the policies, procedures, and guidelines
established by the Borough Council and Planning Commission.
[Ord. 2016-2267, 10/11/2016]
1. No application for preliminary or final approval shall be deemed
to have been submitted until the fee and escrow deposit, as set forth
below, shall have been paid.
2. A subdivision or land development application fee (nonrefundable) and an escrow deposit shall be submitted with any application for preliminary or final plan approval to cover the costs of plan review and processing. Amounts of the application fee and escrow deposit shall be fixed by the Borough Council by resolution. The escrowed funds shall be used to reimburse the Borough for actual expenditures incident to these processes, including but not limited to fees of the Borough Engineer and legal fees in excess of the fee for review of the Borough's standard forms. Any costs incurred by the Borough in excess of the amount held in escrow shall be fully reimbursed by the applicant prior to the issuance of any permits. Any unexpected balance in the escrow deposit shall become part of the second deposit required by Subsection
4.
3. Any costs incurred by the Borough that are outside the various fee
and escrow requirements otherwise described within this chapter shall
be reimbursable to the Borough in accordance with the Master Fee Schedule.
4. Following final plan approval and recording and the establishment
of any required performance guarantee, a second escrow deposit shall
be established to cover the cost of inspections of improvements construction,
materials or site testing, or maintenance costs prior to the acceptance
of improvements by the Borough. Any costs incurred by the Borough
in excess of the amount held in escrow shall be fully reimbursed by
the applicant. Any unexpected balance in the escrow deposit following
acceptance of dedication improvements to the Borough shall be returned
to the applicant. The amount of the escrow deposit shall be fixed
by the Borough Council by resolution.
[Ord. 2016-2267, 10/11/2016]
Upon review and recommendation by the Borough Planning Commission,
the Borough Council may grant a modification of the requirements of
one or more provisions of this chapter if the literal enforcement
of them would exact undue hardship because of peculiar conditions
pertaining to the land in question, provided that such modification(s)
will not be contrary to the public interest and that the purpose and
intent of this chapter is observed. All requests for modification(s)
shall:
1. Be in writing and part of an application for subdivision and/or land
development;
2. State the grounds and facts of unreasonableness or hardship on which
the request is based;
3. List the provision(s) of the ordinance involved;
4. State the minimum modification necessary; and
5. Be subject to approval by the Borough Council after receiving advisory
recommendations from the Phoenixville Planning Commission.
[Ord. 2016-2267, 10/11/2016]
1. Preventive Remedies.
A. In addition to other remedies, the Borough may institute and maintain
appropriate actions by law or in equity to restrain, correct or abate
violations, to prevent unlawful construction, to recover damages and
to prevent illegal occupancy of a building, structure or premises.
The description by metes and bounds in the instrument of transfer
or other documents used in the process of selling or transferring
shall not exempt the seller or transferor from such penalties or from
the remedies herein provided.
B. The Borough may refuse to issue any permit or grant any approval
necessary to further improve or develop any property which has been
developed or which has resulted from a subdivision of real property
in violation of any ordinance adopted pursuant to this chapter. This
authority to deny such a permit or approval shall apply to any of
the following applicants:
(1)
The owner of record at the time of such violation.
(2)
The vendee or lessee of the owner of record at the time of such
violation without regard as to whether such vendee or lessee had actual
or constructive knowledge of the violation.
(3)
The current owner of record who acquired the property subsequent
to the time of violation without regard as to whether such current
owner had actual or constructive knowledge of the violation.
(4)
The vendee or lessee of the current owner of record who acquired
the property subsequent to the time of violation without regard as
to whether such vendee or lessee had actual or constructive knowledge
of the violation. As an additional condition for issuance of a permit
or the granting of an approval to any such owner, current owner, vendee
or lessee for the development of any such real property, the Borough
may require compliance with the conditions that would have been applicable
to the property at the time the applicant acquired an interest in
such real property.
2. Revealing noncompliance with plans submitted under the provisions
of this chapter, the attached appendix, or any amendments to this
chapter or the appendix shall be sufficient grounds for denial or
withdrawal of building permits by the Borough under sections thereof,
or other penalties or remedies, including relief, as may be provided
by law.
3. Enforcement Remedies.
A. Any person, partnership or corporation who or which has violated
the provisions of any subdivision or land development ordinances enacted
under this chapter or prior enabling laws shall, upon being found
liable therefor in a civil enforcement proceeding commenced by the
Borough, pay a judgment of not more than $1,000 per day plus all court
costs, including reasonable attorney fees incurred by the Borough
as a result thereof. No judgment shall commence or be imposed, levied
or payable until the date of the determination of a violation by the
District Justice. If the defendant neither pays nor timely appeals
the judgment, the Borough may enforce the judgment pursuant to the
applicable rules of civil procedure. Each day that a violation continues
shall constitute a separate violation, unless the District Justice
determining that there has been a violation further determines that
there was a good faith basis for the person, partnership or corporation
violating the ordinance to have believed that there was no such violation,
in which event there shall be deemed to have been only one such violation
until the fifth day following the date of the determination of a violation
by the District Justice, and thereafter each day that a violation
continues shall constitute a separate violation.
B. The Court of Common Pleas, upon petition, may grant an order of stay,
upon cause shown, tolling the per diem judgment pending a final adjudication
of the violation and judgment.
4. Nothing contained in this section shall be construed or interpreted
to grant to any person or entity other than the Borough the right
to commence any action for enforcement pursuant to this section.