This section outlines the procedures for enforcement and amendment of
this chapter, as well as procedures for challenges and appeals of decisions
rendered under this chapter.
A.
Procedures for amendment. Amendments to this chapter
shall become effective only after public notice is given and public hearing
is held pursuant to public notice in the manner prescribed for enactment of
a proposed ordinance in the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, Act
247 of 1968, as amended by Act 170 of 1988, and as subsequently amended.
B.
Review by Planning Commission required. In the case of
an amendment other than that prepared by the Denver Borough Planning Commission,
the Borough Council shall submit each amendment to the Denver Borough Planning
Commission for recommendations at least 30 days prior to the date of the public
hearing on such proposed amendment.
The applicant shall reimburse the Borough for the reasonable and necessary
expenses incurred by the Borough's professional consultants in connection
with the review of plans and supporting calculations, reports, and documentation;
review of cost estimates, financial security, stormwater management agreements,
easement agreements, deeds of dedication, and similar documentation required
in connection with the application or submitted by the applicant to comply
with conditions or offers of dedication; and inspection of required improvements,
hereinafter collectively referred to as "reviews and inspections."
A.
The Borough shall submit to the applicant an itemized
bill showing the work performed in connection with reviews or inspections
performed, identifying the person performing the services and the time and
date spent for each task. In the event the applicant disputes the amount of
any such expense in connection with reviews or inspections performed, the
applicant shall, no later than 30 days after the date of transmittal of a
bill for review and/or inspection services, notify the Borough and the Borough's
professional consultant that such review and/or inspection expenses are disputed
as unreasonable or unnecessary and shall explain the basis of their objections
to the fees charged, in which case the Borough shall not delay or disapprove
a request for release of financial security, a subdivision or land development
application or any approval or permit related to development due to the applicant's
dispute of the review and/or inspection expenses. Failure of the applicant
to dispute a bill within 30 days shall be a waiver of the applicant's
right to arbitration of that bill under this section.
B.
If the professional consultant and the applicant cannot
agree on the amount of expenses which are reasonable and necessary, then the
applicant shall have the right, within 45 days of the transmittal of the final
bill or supplement to the final bill to the applicant, to request the appointment
of another professional consultant to serve as an arbitrator. The applicant
and professional consultant whose fees are being challenged shall by mutual
agreement, appoint another professional consultant to review any bills the
applicant has disputed and which remain unresolved and make a determination
as to the amount thereof which is reasonable and necessary. The arbitrator
shall be of the same profession as the professional consultant whose fees
are being challenged.
C.
The arbitrator so appointed shall hear such evidence
and review such documentation as the arbitrator in his or her sole opinion
deems necessary and shall render a decision no later than 50 days after the
date of appointment. Based on the decision of the arbitrator, the applicant
or the professional consultant whose fees were challenged shall be required
to pay any amounts necessary to implement the decision within 60 days. In
the event the Borough has paid the professional consultant an amount in excess
of the amount determined to be reasonable and necessary, the professional
consultant shall within 60 days reimburse the excess payment
D.
In the event that the Borough's professional consultant
and applicant cannot agree upon the arbitrator to be appointed within 20 days
of the request for appointment of an arbitrator, then, upon application of
either party, the President Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of the judicial
district in which the Borough is located (or if at the time there be no President
Judge, then the senior active judge then sitting) shall appoint such arbitrator,
who, in that case, shall be neither the Borough's professional consultant
nor any professional consultant who has been retained by, or performed services
for, the Borough or the applicant within the preceding five years.
E.
The fee of the arbitrator shall be paid by the applicant
if the review and/or inspection fee charged is sustained by the arbitrator,
otherwise it shall be divided equally between the parties. If the disputed
fees are found to be excessive by more than $5,000, the arbitrator shall have
the discretion to assess the arbitration fee in whole or in part against either
the applicant or the professional consultant. The Borough and the consultant
whose fees are the subject of the dispute shall be parties to the proceeding.
A.
Review by Borough Council. The provisions of these regulations
are intended as a minimum standard for the protection of the public health,
safety, and welfare. If the literal compliance with any mandatory provision
of these regulations is shown by the applicant, to the satisfaction of a majority
of the members of the Borough Council present at a public meeting, to be unreasonable
and to cause undue hardship because of peculiar conditions pertaining to the
particular property and if the applicant shows that an alternative proposal
will allow for equal or better results, the Borough Council may grant a waiver
from such mandatory provision, so that substantial justice may be done and
the public interest secured while permitting the reasonable utilization of
the property. However, the granting of a waiver shall not have the effect
of making null and void the intent and/or purpose of this chapter.
B.
Authority to impose conditions. In granting waivers,
the Borough Council may impose such conditions as will, in its judgment, secure
substantially the objectives of the standards and requirements of this chapter.
C.
Procedures for processing waivers. All requests for waivers
shall be processed in accordance with the requirements of this chapter.
A.
Right to appeals. Any person aggrieved by a finding,
decision, or recommendation of the Borough Council with respect to the approval
or disapproval of a plan or waiver request may appeal as provided for in the
Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, Act 247 of 1968, and as subsequently
amended.
B.
Mediation. As an alternative to an adjudicatory appeal proceeding, a party entitled to appeal a decision of the Borough Council may request the utilization of mediation as an aid in resolving the dispute. Participation in mediation shall be wholly voluntary by the parties, and shall be conducted as prescribed in Article IX of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, Act 247 of 1968, as amended by Act 170 of 1988, and as subsequently amended.
A.
Authority to initiate court actions. Any person, partnership
or corporation, or the members of such partnership or the officers of such
corporation, who or which, being the owner or agent of the owner of any lot,
tract or parcel of land, shall:
(1)
Lay out, construct, open and/or dedicate any street,
sanitary sewer, storm sewer, water main or other improvement for public use,
travel or other purposes or for the common use of occupants of buildings abutting
thereon; or
(2)
Sell, transfer or agree to enter into an agreement to sell or
transfer any land in a subdivision or land development, whether by reference
to or by use of a plan of such subdivision or land development or otherwise;
or
(3)
Erect any building or buildings which constitute a land development
thereon; or
(4)
Commence site grading or construction of improvements prior to recording of a final plan unless such grading or construction is for the sole purpose of installing improvements as prescribed in § 170-10 herein, unless and until a final plan has been prepared in full compliance with the provisions of this chapter and has been recorded as provided herein; or
(5)
Fail to comply with any condition imposed upon approval of a
preliminary plan or a final plan or any condition imposed upon the granting
of any waiver; or
(6)
Fail to comply with any agreement with the Borough Council or
the authority relating to development in accordance with a preliminary plan
or a final plan; or
(7)
Fail to comply with any note included on an approved preliminary
plan or final plan;
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Commits a violation of this chapter.
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B.
Recordation prohibited prior to Borough Council approval.
Any person, partnership or corporation, or the members of such partnership
or the officers of such corporation, who or which, being the owner or agent
of the owner of any lot, tract or parcel of land, shall construct or permit
the construction of any improvement or develop or permit the development of
any property in a manner which does not fully comply with the approved improvement
construction plan or final plan, as applicable, commits a violation of this
chapter.
C.
Notice of violation. Any person, partnership or corporation,
or the members of such partnership or the officers of such corporation, who
or which, being the owner or agent of the owner of any lot, tract or parcel
of land, shall knowingly provide false information on any plan, report, certification
or other document required to be submitted by this chapter commits a violation
of this chapter.
D.
Abatement of violations. Any person, partnership or corporation,
or the members of such partnership or the officers of such corporation, who
or which, being the owner or agent of the owner of any lot, tract or parcel
of land, in any other way takes action or permits another to take action not
authorized by this chapter or contrary to the provisions of this chapter commits
a violation of this chapter.
E.
As an additional condition for the issuance of a permit
or the granting of an approval to any owner, current owner, vendee or lessee
for the development of any such real property, the Borough Council 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.
The Borough Council shall keep an accurate, public record of its findings,
decisions, and recommendations relevant to all applications filed with it
for review or approval.
Should any section, subsection or provision of this chapter be declared
by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such decisions shall not
affect the validity of the chapter as a whole, or of any other part thereof.
Whenever there is a difference between the minimum applicable standard
specified herein and those included in other applicable Borough regulations,
the more stringent requirement shall apply.
