[Amended 10-9-1984 by Ord. No. 84-18]
Before final approval of any plans of subdivision or land development, said plans must be first submitted to the Delaware County Planning Commission for a report thereon to the Board of Township Commissioners. Pending receipt and consideration of such report, the Township of Marple shall defer final action on any proposed subdivision or land development plans; provided, however, that if a report of the Delaware County Planning Commission is not received by the Township of Marple within 20 days from the submission of said plans to the Delaware County Planning Commission or within such further time as may be agreed upon between the Board of Township Commissioners and the Delaware County Planning Commission, then the Board of Township Commissioners shall proceed to finally pass on the subdivision or land development plans as submitted.
[Amended 5-8-1972 by Ord. No. 72-9; 5-12-1980 by Ord. No. 80-8; 5-11-1981 by Ord. No. 81-8; 10-9-1984 by Ord. No. 84-18; 2-8-1998 by Ord. No. 88-3]
A. 
Each application for approval of any preliminary plan shall be accompanied by 22 copies of such plan and one vicinity plan. Each initial application for approval of any plan shall be accompanied by a filing fee as set from time to time by resolution of the Board of Commissioners, payable to the Township, also a fee for the Delaware County Planning Commission and the Township Engineer for their plan reviews, subject to their current fee schedules. In addition, all subdivisions containing four or more lots shall pay a filing fee as set from time to time by resolution of the Board of Commissioners and all land development of two acres shall pay a filing fee as set from time to time by resolution of the Board of Commissioners. Township Engineer fees are applicable to all stages of any subdivision. If the Marple Township Planning Commission denies any stage of a subdivision, then a resubmittal of new plans and fees will be required.
B. 
All plans shall show or be accompanied by the following information:
(1) 
Proposed subdivision name or identifying title.
(2) 
Municipality in which the subdivision is located.
(3) 
North point, scale and date.
(4) 
Name of the owner of the property or of his authorized agent.
(5) 
Name of the registered engineer, registered surveyor or registered architect responsible for the plan.
(6) 
Tract boundaries with bearings and distances.
(7) 
Contours at vertical intervals of five feet or, in the case of relatively level tracts, at such lesser intervals as may be necessary for satisfactory study and planning of the tract.
(8) 
Datum to which contour elevations refer. Where reasonably practicable, data shall refer to known, established elevations.
(9) 
All existing watercourses, tree masses and other significant natural features.
(10) 
All existing buildings, sanitary and storm sewers, water mains, culverts, petroleum or petroleum products' lines, fire hydrants, gas mains, telephone conduits and other significant man-made features.
(11) 
All existing streets on or adjacent to the tract, including name, right-of-way width and cartway width.
(12) 
All existing property lines, easements and rights-of-way and the purpose for which the easements or rights-of-way have been established.
(13) 
Location and width of all proposed streets, alleys, rights-of-way and easements; proposed lot lines with approximate dimensions; proposed minimum building setback lines for each street; playgrounds, public buildings, public areas and parcels of land proposed to be dedicated or reserved for public use.
(14) 
Wherever practicable, the preliminary plan shall show the names of owners of all abutting unplotted land and the names of all abutting subdivisions.
(15) 
Where the preliminary plan covers only a part of the subdivider's entire holding, a sketch shall be submitted of the prospective street layout for the remainder.
(16) 
The preliminary plan shall be at a scale of not more than 100 feet to the inch.
(17) 
Such plan shall show the zoning boundaries, if any, that traverse or are within 300 feet of the area covered by the plan.
(18) 
Such plan shall show such street extensions or spurs as are reasonably necessary to provide adequate street connections and facilities to adjoining or contiguous developed or undeveloped areas.
(19) 
Such plans shall show the proposed size and location of sanitary sewers, storm sewers, water mains, stormwater management structures and erosion and sedimentation control, along with sufficient engineering design and calculations to satisfactorily demonstrate to the Township Engineer the feasibility of the proposed construction.
[Added 5-13-1974 by Ord. No. 74-14[1]; amended 9-12-2005 by Ord. No. 2005-9]
All applications for approval of a subdivision or land development, whether preliminary or final, shall be acted upon by the Board of Commissioners of Marple Township and a decision rendered and communicated to the applicant not later than 90 days fallowing the date of the regular meeting of the Board of Commissioners or Planning Agency, whichever first reviews the application, next following the date the application is filed or after a final order of court remanding an application, provided that should the next regular meeting occur more than 30 days following the filing of the application or the final order of the court, said ninety-day period shall be measured from the 30th day following the day the application has been filed.
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance repealed former § 74-9, Submission of plan.
Approval of any preliminary plan shall be effective for two years only, after the expiration of which such approval shall be considered canceled and rescinded unless extended, in writing, by the Board of Commissioners.
A. 
Any plan in final form shall be submitted to the Board of Commissioners for final approval and shall be accompanied by the necessary supporting data in the same manner as is required with respect to preliminary plans. If such final plan follows a preliminary plan, it shall be submitted within two years after action has been taken by the Board of Commissioners on the preliminary plan unless an extension of time may have been granted by the Board upon written request.
[Amended 5-8-1972 by Ord. No. 72-9]
B. 
The final plan shall incorporate all modifications and revisions specified by the Board of Commissioners. Any plan submitted in final form may be considered as a preliminary plan or a revised preliminary plan if the Board of Commissioners requires any modifications or alterations.
C. 
Any failure to submit the required supporting data shall be cause for tabling the plan.
A. 
The subdivision plan submitted for final approval shall be a clear and legible white print of an ink drawing.
B. 
Final plans shall be on sheets not larger than 34 inches by 44 inches overall. It is recommended that as far as practicable final plan sheets be held to the following overall sizes: 17 inches by 22 inches; 22 inches by 34 inches; 34 inches by 44 inches. Where necessary to avoid sheets larger than the maximum size prescribed above, final plans shall be drawn in two or more sections accompanied by a key diagram showing relative location of the sections.
C. 
The final plan shall be at a scale of not more than 100 feet to the inch and shall include the following information:
(1) 
Subdivision name or identifying title.
(2) 
Municipality in which the subdivision is located.
(3) 
North point, scale and date.
(4) 
Name of the record owner and subdivider.
(5) 
Name and seal of the registered professional engineer or registered surveyor responsible for the plan.
(6) 
Boundaries of the tract.
(7) 
Street lines, lot lines, rights-of-way, easements and areas dedicated or proposed to be dedicated to public use.
(8) 
Sufficient data to determine readily the location, bearing and length of every street, lot and boundary line and to reproduce such lines upon the ground.
(9) 
The length of all straight lines, radii, lengths of curves and tangent bearings for each street.
(10) 
All dimensions and angles or bearings of the lines of each lot and of each area proposed to be dedicated to public use.
(11) 
The proposed building setback line for each street, or the proposed placement of each building.
(12) 
Location and width of all private driveways.
(13) 
Location, size and invert elevation of all sanitary and storm sewers, and location of all manholes, inlets and culverts, water mains, petroleum or petroleum products' lines, fire hydrants and other significant man-made features.
(14) 
All dimensions shall be shown in feet and hundredths of a foot.
(15) 
Lots within a subdivision shall be numbered.
(16) 
Names of streets within and adjacent to the subdivision shall be shown.
(17) 
Permanent reference monuments shall be shown on the plan thus
(18) 
Names of any adjoining subdivision shall be shown.
(19) 
Names of the owners of any adjoining unplotted land shall be shown.
(20) 
Final plan shall be at a scale of not more than 100 feet to the inch.
(21) 
Such plan shall show the zoning boundaries if any traverse or all within 300 feet of the area covered by the plan.
D. 
The final plan shall include thereon or be accompanied by:
(1) 
An affidavit that the applicant is the owner or equitable owner of the land proposed to be subdivided.
(2) 
A statement duly acknowledged before an officer authorized to take acknowledgment of deeds and signed by the owner or owners of the property, to the effect that the subdivision as shown on the final plan is made with his or their free consent and that it is desired to record the same.
(3) 
Typical cross sections and street profiles for all streets. Such profiles shall show at least the following:
(a) 
Existing (natural) grade along the proposed street center line.
(b) 
Existing (natural) grade along each side of the proposed street rights-of-way.
(c) 
Proposed finished center-line grade or proposed finished grade at top of curbs.
(d) 
Sanitary sewer mains and manholes.
(e) 
Storm sewer mains, inlets, manholes and culverts.
(f) 
Design and number of streetlights along with final plans and reviewed by the Planning Commission with final approval made by the Board of Commissioners.
[Added 4-11-1988 by Ord. No. 88-10]
E. 
Modification of requirements. The above requirements for preliminary and final plans and for supporting data may be modified by the Board of Commissioners as warranted by special circumstances.
[Amended 8-12-1974 by Ord. No. 74-20; 5-12-1980 by Ord. No. 80-8]
The applicant shall submit 22 copies of such final plan. The Township Board of Commissioners shall render its decision upon such plan and send notice of such decision to the applicant not later than 90 days after such plan is filed. Approval shall be indicated and noted on the plan and shall be recorded by the applicant with the Recorder of Deeds in and for Delaware County as required by the Act of Assembly.
Every approval shall be subject to the following conditions:
A. 
The owner shall and will agree in writing, in a form to be approved or prepared by the Solicitor of the Township, that he will lay out and improve the roads, streets, lanes or alleys and construct all of the improvements, including necessary grading, paving, curbs, gutters and other street improvements, including sidewalks, streetlights on steel poles, one tree per lot planted on the house side of the sidewalk, fire hydrants, water mains, street signs, storm sewers and sanitary sewers where connection with any proposed Township sewer system is practicable as shown on the plan or the application submitted to the Township or where these improvements are required as a condition of the approval of the plan by the Board of Commissioners within the time or times therein specified. The owner shall agree to install all electric and telephone utilities along the rear portion of the lots and to provide sufficient right-of-way for such installation and maintenance by the respective utility company. The owner shall also erect at least one boundary marker or monument within each development as an engineering aid to determine the location of such boundaries. In all cases wherein trunk line sanitary sewer facilities are available, the owner shall be required to install sanitary sewers and connect the same to such trunk line sewer, irrespective of the size of the lots included on said plot plan. If such facilities are not available but will become available within a reasonable time, such sewers, together with all necessary laterals extending from the main sewer to the limits of the street right-of-way or front property line of lots abutting said street, shall be installed and capped. The laterals shall be fitted with a trap and standpipe and Philadelphia regulation curb vent box extended to an elevation of one inch above the proposed finished grade and shall be located between the curb and sidewalks. In such event, the owner may also install on-site disposal units, provided that they are so located as to permit easy and the least expensive connection to the sewer when it becomes usable.
B. 
He shall furnish a certificate of a reputable title insurance company, satisfactory to the Board of Township Commissioners, which, as of the date of approval, shall set forth the name or names of the owner or owners of all property covered by such plans and shall show and shall contain a list of all mortgages, judgments, liens, easements, contracts and agreements of record in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, which shall affect the property covered by such plans. If said certificates of the title insurance company shall disclose that any such property shall be subject to any mortgage, judgment, easement, lien, contract or agreement or other matters of record, then at the option of the Board of Township Commissioners the holders or owners of such mortgages, judgments, liens, easements, contracts or agreements shall be required to join in and approve said application before the same shall be acted upon by the Board of Township Commissioners, or agree to release the area to be dedicated to the Township from the lien of said mortgage, judgment or other similar encumbrance.
C. 
He shall furnish an escrow agreement between himself (the developer), a Township-designated escrow agent and the Township of Marple in such amount and under such conditions and form as shall be prepared by the Township Solicitor and approved by the Board of Commissioners, to guarantee the performance of the said contract and to secure the completion of the said improvements within the time period therein specified. Upon acceptance of the said streets and improvements, the developer shall enter into a maintenance escrow agreement between the developer, the Township-designated escrow agent and the Township of Marple or furnish a maintenance bond issued by a reputable bonding company and acceptable to the Township of Marple in such amount and under such conditions and form as shall be approved by the Board of Commissioners, to guarantee the maintenance of the roads, streets, curbs, sidewalks, storm sewers and sanitary sewers, for a period of not less than two years from the date of acceptance of the roads, streets and public improvements by the Township.
[Amended 9-13-1971 by Ord. No. 71-17; 4-11-1977 by Ord. No. 77-5]
(1) 
Whenever any of the provisions hereof require that any work is to be done according to specifications of the Township Engineer, such specifications shall be construed to mean specifications and requirements of the Township Engineer, approved by the Township Board of Commissioners.
(2) 
The developer shall furnish an escrow agreement to be executed by the developer, a Township-designated escrow agent and the Township of Marple in such amount and under such conditions and form as shall be prepared by the Township Solicitor and approved by the Board of Commissioners, to guarantee the installation and performance of all necessary nonpublic improvements, including but not limited to water and fire hydrants, electric lines and streetlighting, street signs, monuments and final as-built drawings.
[Amended 4-11-1977 by Ord. No. 77-5]
D. 
He will install all utilities, including but not limited to sanitary and storm sewers, before paving any street or before curbs or sidewalks are constructed.
E. 
He will notify the Township Manager 24 hours before the contemplated installation or performance of any work requiring Township inspection.
F. 
He will pay all engineering, inspection and legal expenses which the Township may incur and which are connected with or incidental to the development, the preparation or the approval of the foregoing agreements, bonds, resolutions and inspection.
G. 
Upon completion of all of the foregoing improvements, the developer agrees, upon the written request of the Township and no later than three months after such written request, such time being of the essence, to dedicate to the Township by good and sufficient deed, with title to be free and clear of all liens and encumbrances, together with a certificate from a reputable title company acceptable to the Township so stating, containing a legal description by metes and bounds, all streets, drainage, easements, rights-of-way for streets, storm and sanitary sewer facilities and all other public improvements as indicated on said plan.
[Amended 4-11-1977 by Ord. No. 77-5]
H. 
He will mark or stake the four major corners of each lot appearing on the subdivision plan with iron pins not less than 2 1/2 feet in length, embedded or driven to a depth of not less than two feet. Nothing shall prevent the use of granite or some other suitable or appropriate marker.
I. 
He will, before allowing any house to be occupied on any street included within that portion of the subdivision for which subdivision plan approval is applied, erect the appropriate street sign or signs on such streets.
J. 
Type of streetlights and number of streetlights.
[Added 4-11-1988 by Ord. No. 88-10]
A. 
Soil percolation tests.
(1) 
Soil percolation tests to determine the suitability of the ground for on-site sewage disposal facilities shall be required on all building lots which, at the time of proposed construction thereon, will not be connected to the Township sanitary sewer system.
(2) 
Soil percolation tests shall be performed by a certified sewage enforcement officer, appointed by the Board of Commissioners, and in accordance with the provisions of the Pennsylvania Sewage Facilities Act 537, as amended.[1] The test results shall be certified by the sewage enforcement officer or his firm or personnel and shall be submitted to the Director of Code Enforcement at the time preliminary subdivision plans are submitted to the Township or, in the case of single dwellings or buildings, at the time application for building permits are made.
[Amended 2-13-1978 by Ord. No. 78-2]
[1]
Editor's Note: See 35 P.S. § 750.1 et seq.
(3) 
At the time application is made to the sewage enforcement officer for an on-site sewage disposal system, the applicant shall pay an inspection fee, as set from time to time by resolution of the Board of Commissioners, per lot to the Township. An application and fee shall be required for any new construction or any alterations of on-site sewage disposal systems in the Township.
[Amended 2-13-1978 by Ord. No. 78-2]
B. 
Test method.
(1) 
Number and location of tests. Not fewer than four tests, in separate test holes spaced uniformly over the ground area, shall be made per acre of ground on which a building is proposed. When fractional-acre building lots are proposed, the required number of tests per acre may be divided among the several building lots, but in no case shall less than one test per individual building lot be performed. At least one test per individual building lot shall be performed at or adjacent to the site of the proposed on-site disposal facilities.
(2) 
Test holes. For each test, a hole four to 12 inches in diameter shall be dug or bored to the depth of the on-site sewage disposal facilities. Any suitable means of digging or boring may be used which will yield a hole having vertical sides. Where the soil at the sides of the hole shows a tendency to slough off or cave in, a cylinder of open mesh wire cloth may be inserted in the hole to line the walls. The walls and bottom of the hole shall be scratched with a sharp-pointed instrument. Two inches of coarse sand or fine gravel shall be added to the bottom of the test hole.
(3) 
Soil saturation. The test hole shall be filled with clear water to a depth of not less than 12 inches above the layer of sand or gravel. By suitable means, such as an automatic siphon, this water level shall be maintained in the test hole overnight.
(4) 
Percolation rate measurement.
(a) 
If, after 24 hours, water remains in the test hole, adjust the depth of the water to about six inches above the level of the sand or gravel. Using a suitable ground-level reference point and a measuring dipstick, determine the drop in the water level over a thirty-minute period.
(b) 
If, after 24 hours, no water remains in the test hole, add clear water to a depth of approximately six inches over the sand or gravel. Refilling to a water depth of six inches over the sand or gravel as necessary, measure the drop in water level at thirty-minute intervals over a period of four hours. The drop in water level measured in the final thirty-minute period shall be used to calculate the percolation rate.
(c) 
In sandy soil or other soil in which the first six inches of water added after 24 hours seeps away in less than 30 minutes, the test shall be run for one hour, adding water as needed, with measurements made every 10 minutes. The drop in water level measured during the final ten-minute period shall be used to calculate the percolation rate.
C. 
Percolation rate. The percolation rate shall be reported as the time, in minutes, required for the water level to fall one inch.
D. 
Test interpretation.
(1) 
Private dwellings: absorption area requirements.
(a) 
Absorption area for seepage pit systems is figured as the effective side wall area below the inlet.
(b) 
Soil having a percolation rate of over 30 minutes shall be considered unsuitable for seepage pit systems.
(c) 
Absorption area requirements are based on square feet per bedroom. In no case shall provisions be made for fewer than two bedrooms.
(d) 
The following minimum absorption area requirements provide for automatic-sequence home washing machines and household appliances:
Percolation Rate
Absorption Area
(square feet
per bedroom)
1 or less
70
2
85
3
100
4
115
5
125
10
165
15
190
30
250
(e) 
In addition to the above minimum absorption area requirements, minimum volume capacity requirements shall be met. Where a difference in the size of the facilities, based upon the two requirements, exists, whichever is greater shall apply.
(2) 
Private dwellings: volume capacity requirements. The following minimum liquid volume capacity requirements provide for automatic-sequence home washing machines and household appliances:
Number of Bedrooms
Minimum Pit
Capacity (gallons)
2 or fewer
750
3
900
4
1,000
Each additional bedroom, add:
250
(3) 
Private dwellings: other than seepage pit systems. The minimum requirements for other than seepage pit systems shall be those given in "Manual of Septic Tank Practice," Public Health Service Publication, No. 526, United States Department of Health, Education and Welfare, 1957 or later Edition.
(4) 
Private dwellings: reference and computation tables. In considering approval of proposed on-site sewage facilities, and the soil percolation test results on which such proposals are based, the Township Board of Health shall utilize the reference and computation tables presented in the "Manual of Septic Tank Practice," described in § 265-17D(3) above.
(5) 
Institutions, recreational areas and other establishments. On-site sewage disposal facilities of institutions, recreational areas and other establishments shall meet the requirements of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and prior approval by the appropriate agency of the commonwealth shall be obtained before permission to begin construction shall be granted by the Township.