The purpose of this amended chapter is to ensure the public safety and welfare of residents of Salem Township as they traverse the Township roadways by ensuring their safety and welfare and to protect against water runoff, icing and the depositing of gravel, stones, dirt, mud, or such other debris caused by construction, reconstruction or grading of driveways, footwalks, and such means of egress, ingress and regress to and unto Township roadways, as well as the installation and replacement of culverts, drains and drainage pipes. The Township recognizes the necessity of assuring the placement of driveways, footwalks, drains, drainage pipes and culverts in a location and manner as to assure proper sight distances and control of water runoff so as to assure the safety, health, and welfare of the residents traversing the Township roadways by motor vehicle and such other means of mobile transportation.
[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors of the Township of Salem 12-30-1974; amended in its entirety 8-12-2002. Subsequent amendments noted where applicable.]
No person, firm, corporation or such other legal entity shall grade, construct, reconstruct, install, reinstall or erect a drain, drainage pipe, culvert, footwalk, drive, or driveway, or other means of ingress or egress or affecting discharge or passage of drainage water onto a Township roadway or Township right-of-way unless and until the Township has granted a permit for such grading, construction, reconstruction, installation, or reinstallation or erection prior to the commencement thereof.
Application for such permit shall be made by the owner or occupier or by his or her contractor or agent, in writing, on forms provided by the Township and in accordance with such rules and regulations as may be established by the Township. There shall be appended to each application a drawing or plan showing the outlines of the property affected with existing improvements therein, existing drains, drainage pipes, culverts, footwalks, drives and driveways, together with the proposed drain, drainage pipes, culverts, footwalks, drive or driveways to be constructed and/or installed. The proposed improvement shall depict its location and distance from the Township roadway and right-of-way, particularly with relationship to the effect of the drainage on said road. In the case of the construction or reconstruction of a drive or driveway, the grade of said improvement shall be depicted from the point of intersection with the Township roadway and for a distance of 100 feet from the Township right-of-way.
In the case of reconstruction of an existing drive, driveway, or footwalk, or reinstallation or repair of existing drains, drainage pipes or culverts, the application shall not require any fee. Any new construction of a drive, driveway, or footwalk, or installation of a drain, drainage pipe or culvert where none previously existed, the application fee shall be $25, unless and until amended by resolution of the Board of Supervisors. All application fees required under this chapter shall be made payable to Salem Township and submitted in conjunction with the written application.
A.
Upon the submission of a completed application for a permit and the applicable fee, if required, the Board of Supervisors by and through their appointed agent or upon the involvement of two or more supervisors, shall review the submitted plans and inspect the site to determine the feasibility of construction or reconstruction, installation or reinstallation. In the case of the construction of a new driveway or drive, the Township and the applicant shall meet at the site to discuss the location and slope of the proposed drive and driveway. In the event that proposed location and slope of proposed drive and driveway is acceptable to the Township, or a modification as proposed by the Township is acceptable to the applicant, the application shall be marked approved, and a permit shall be granted. In the event that the Township finds the proposed driveway or drive to be in an unacceptable location or proposes a slope which is excessive, and agreement cannot be mutually reached between the Township and applicant, the application shall be deemed disapproved, and the applicant may resubmit the application together with a detailed drawing and engineering specifications which comply with the standards similar to those highway occupancy permits as promulgated by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The resubmitted application shall include a fee in the amount of $35 made payable to Salem Township together with any additional costs as assessed by the Township Engineer to cover his fees in reviewing the resubmitted plans. In the event that the resubmitted plans complies with the standards required by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for a highway occupancy permit, the Township shall approve the application and mark it accordingly. In the instance where the submitted plans failed to satisfy the standards as promulgated by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the resubmitted application shall be deemed denied and marked accordingly. The adoption of the criteria for a highway occupancy permit as set forth by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation shall be solely for the purposes of assuring that the standard of safety as required by the Commonwealth is obtained for driveways and drives intersecting with Township roadways.
B.
For the installation or reinstallation of drains, drainage pipes, and culverts, the Township may alter the plans as submitted to assure the safety and protection of the Township roadway and right-of-way, and therefore, the applicant shall fully comply with any and all modifications which the Township deems necessary.
C.
All plans for driveways in a minor subdivision (which consists of three or more lots) which intersect with a Township road must provide for an asphalt apron which slopes away from the Township road and consists of a minimum of four inches bituminous concrete base course and has a minimum of 1 1/2 inches of wearing course and a minimum width of 20 feet at the widest point of said apron, and a minimum distance of 20 feet from the Township Road. In the event of a major subdivision, all development roadways which intersect with the Township road shall comply with the requirements set forth in the subdivision ordinance[1] governing major subdivisions.
All grading, construction, reconstruction, installation and reinstallation shall be in strict compliance with the plans, specifications, and standards approved by the Township at the time that the plans are approved and the permit is issued. All work shall be completed within two years of the permit issuance. In the event that said is not commenced and completed within the two years of its issuance, said permit shall be deemed expired and the applicant shall be required to resubmit said plans in accordance with this chapter in effect at that time.
Within 10 days of the completion of the work authorized by the permit, the Township shall inspect the work and, when necessary, enforce compliance with the conditions, restrictions and regulations prescribed by the permit. Where any settlement or defect in work occurs, if the applicant shall fail to rectify any such settlement or other defect within 60 days after written notice from the Township to do so, the Township may do the work and shall impose upon the applicant the cost thereof, together with an additional 20% of such cost.
Any person, firm or corporation violating the terms of this chapter or of any of the terms and conditions of any permit issued hereto, including any regulations applicable thereto, shall, upon conviction before a District Justice, be sentenced to pay a fine of not more than $600, together with costs of prosecution, or in default thereof, to undergo imprisonment in Wayne County Prison for not more than 30 days.
This amended chapter is intended to replace the existing Driveway Chapter adopted by the Board of Supervisors of the Township of Salem on 12-30-1974, as subsequently amended prior hereto. The provisions of this amended chapter shall be effective five days after enactment.