The Board may, from time to time, revise, modify,
and amend this chapter by appropriate action taken at a scheduled
public meeting and in accordance with the provisions of the Pennsylvania
Municipalities Planning Code, Act 247, as amended.
Notice of the date, time, and place of such a public
meeting together with the brief summary setting forth the principal
provisions of the proposed revisions, modifications, or amendments,
shall be published in one newspaper of general circulation in the
Township once a week for two successive weeks in advance of such meeting.
If any mandatory provisions of this chapter are shown
by the applicant, to the satisfaction of the Board, to be unreasonable
and cause undue hardship as they apply to the applicants proposed
subdivision, the Board may grant a modification of the requirements
of one or more provisions if the literal enforcement will exact undue
hardship because of peculiar conditions pertaining to the land in
question, provided that such modification will not be contrary to
the public interest and that the purpose and intent of the ordinance
is observed.
All requests for a modification shall be in writing
and shall accompany and be a part of the application for development.
The request shall state in full the grounds and facts of unreasonableness
or hardship on which the request is based, the provision or provisions
of the ordinance involved and the minimum modification necessary.
In granting modifications, the Board may impose such
conditions as will, in its judgment, secure substantially the objectives
of the standards or requirements so varied or modified.
Any applicant aggrieved by a finding, decision, or
recommendation of the Board may request and receive opportunity to
appear before the Board, present additional relevant information and
request reconsideration of the original finding, decision, or recommendation.
Parties to proceedings listed below in Subsection G may utilize mediation as an aid in completing such proceedings. Mediation shall supplement, not replace, those procedures as may be provided for by this chapter and the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code.[1]
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.
Prior to commencement of the actual mediation, the
mediating parties, with the assistance of a mediator, if desired,
shall develop terms and conditions for:
Selecting a mediator who, at a minimum, shall have
working knowledge of municipal zoning and subdivision procedures,
and demonstrated skills in mediation;
Suspending time limits specified by this chapter and
authorized by the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, provided
that there is written consent by the mediating parties, and by an
applicant or municipal decision-making body if either is not a party
to the mediation;
Assuring that mediated solutions are in writing and
signed by the parties and become subject to review and approval by
the appropriate decision-making body pursuant to the authorized procedures
set forth by this chapter and authorized by the Pennsylvania Municipalities
Planning Code.
No offers or statements made during the mediation
process, excluding the final written mediated agreement, shall be
admissible as evidence in any subsequent judicial or administrative
proceedings.
Mediation shall be an option, subject to the above requirements, to achieve agreement on the proceedings specified by Articles IX and X-A of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code and as authorized by Section 908.1 thereof.
Mediation is not an option to resolve conflict between an applicant and the Township on the issue of fees. Conflicts involving fees shall be resolved as described in § 170-8 of this chapter and Sections 503(1), 503(11), 509 and 510 of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code.
The decision of the Board of Supervisors regarding
the approval or rejection of subdivision or land development plans
may be appealed directly to the Chester County Court as provided for
in Act 247, the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code.
The Township shall assign a subdivision application
number to all applications, and all matters referring to this should
be tied in with and filed in accordance with the subdivision case
number. The Township shall keep a record of its findings, decisions
and recommendations relative to all subdivision plans filed with it
for review.
Subdivision and land development application fees
and initial escrow deposits for plan review and processing shall be
fixed by the Board of Supervisors by resolution. In addition to such
fees and escrow deposits, all disbursements by the Township incident
to plan review, approval and processing in excess of the amount required
by escrow deposits, and all inspections of construction, including
but not necessarily limited to legal fees, engineering fees, inspection
fees, costs of materials or site testing and any maintenance costs
prior to the acceptance of improvements by the Township, shall be
reimbursed to the Township.
All such reimbursements for costs expended prior to
establishment of the applicant's performance guarantee shall be made
prior to issuance of any permits. All such reimbursements for costs
expended during construction shall be made out of escrow funds established
as the performance guarantee, on a monthly basis.
Any person, partnership or corporation who or which
being the owner or agent of the owner of any lot, tract or parcel
of land who shall lay out, construct, open or dedicate any street,
sanitary sewer, storm sewer, water main or other improvements for
public use, travel or other purposes or for the common use of occupants
of buildings abutting thereon, or who sells or offers to sell, transfers
or agrees or enters into an agreement to sell any land in a subdivision
or land development whether by reference to or by other use of a plat
of such subdivision or land development or otherwise, or erect any
building thereon, unless and until a final plat has been prepared
in full compliance with the provisions of this chapter and has been
recorded as provided herein, shall, upon such person or the members
of such partnership, or the officers of such corporation or the agent
of any of them, responsible for such violation being found liable
thereof in a civil enforcement proceeding commenced by a municipality,
pay a judgment not exceeding $500, plus all court costs, including
reasonable attorney fees incurred by the municipality 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 municipality 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
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.
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.
Nothing contained in this section shall be construed
or interpreted to grant to any person or entity other than the municipality
the right to commence any action for enforcement pursuant to this
section.
The description by metes and bounds in the instrument
of transfer or other document used in the process of selling or transferring
shall not exempt the seller or transferor from such penalties or from
the remedies herein provided.