[Amended 5-7-1985 by Ord. No. 5-1985; 10-9-1990 by Ord. No.
7-1990]
A.Â
In the event that any improvements required by any
final plan approval have not been timely installed and completed as
provided in this chapter or in accord with the approved final plan,
the developer shall be in default, and the Supervisors shall enforce
any corporate bond, financial security agreement or other security
by any appropriate legal or equitable remedies. Upon the Supervisors'
written notice of default to the financial institution posting the
financial security or corporate bond guaranteeing installation, construction
and completion of any required improvement or maintenance thereof,
said financial institution shall forthwith pay over to the Township
any amount or amounts demanded by the Township comprising the bond
or financial security. If the proceeds of any corporate bond or other
financial security are insufficient to pay the costs of installing
or making repairs or corrections to all of the improvements covered
by the security, the Supervisors may, at their option, install all
or part of the improvements in all or part of the subdivision or land
development and may institute appropriate legal or equitable actions
to recover the moneys necessary to complete the remainder of these
improvements, including proceeding against the developer on the developer's
performance bond. All of the proceeds, whether resulting from the
security or from any legal or equitable action brought against the
developer, or both, shall be used solely for the installation or maintenance,
as applicable, of the improvements covered by such security and the
recovery of all court costs and legal fees incurred by the Township
in any such action or actions.
B.Â
In addition to other remedies, the Township may institute
and maintain appropriate actions at law or in equity to restrain,
correct or abate violations of this chapter, 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 lots or parcels of ground in any subdivision or land
development shall not exempt the seller or transferor from any such
penalties or from the remedies herein provided for.
C.Â
The Township may refuse to issue any permit or grant
any approval necessary to further improve or develop any real property
within a subdivision or land development which has been developed
or which has resulted from a subdivision or land development of real
property in violation of this chapter or any ordinance adopted pursuant
to the MPC[1] or other statute. This authority to deny such permit or
approval shall apply to any of the following:
(1)Â
The owner of record at the time of such violation.
(2)Â
The vendee or lessee of the owner of record at the
time of such violation, without regard as to whether such vendee or
lessee has actual or constructive knowledge of the violation.
(3)Â
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)Â
The vendee or lessee of the current owner of record
who acquired the property subsequent to the time of the violation,
without regard as to whether such vendee or lessee had actual or constructive
knowledge of the violation.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 10101
et seq.
D.Â
As an additional condition for the issuance of a permit
or the granting of an approval to any owner, current owner, vendee
or lessee described in the preceding subsection for any such property,
the Township shall 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.
[Amended 7-13-2005 by Ord. No. 5-2005]
Applicants for subdivision and land development
approval shall pay a filing fee to cover the administrative cost for
the Township's review of plans and a fee to be placed in escrow to
cover the Township's professional consultants' costs relating to the
review of the application and any supporting documents and materials,
and report to the Township on the same. The term "professional consultants"
shall include any persons who provide expert or professional advice,
including but not limited to, architects, attorneys, certified public
accountants, engineers, geologists, land surveyors, landscape architects
or planners. Any amount in the escrow funds which exceeds the Township's
professional consultants' review costs shall be returned to the applicant,
without interest. If the amount in the escrow fund is not sufficient
to meet all of the Township's professional consultants' review costs,
the applicant shall be billed therefor and shall pay the amount due
within 30 days of such billing. The filing fees and escrow fees shall
be as established or amended from time to time by resolution of the
Board of Supervisors.
The Supervisors may grant a modification of
one or more of the requirements of this chapter if the literal enforcement
thereof will exact undue hardship upon the developer because of peculiar
conditions pertaining to the land which is the subject of the application.
The granting of such modification shall be discretionary with the
Supervisors who must be satisfied that the undue hardship results
from the circumstances described in MPC Section 910.2(a)[1] and will not be detrimental or contrary to the public
interest and welfare and will not be contrary to the purposes and
intent of this chapter. All requests for modification shall be in
writing and must accompany and be a part of the application for subdivision
or land development. Such request shall state in full the grounds
and facts of unreasonableness or hardship upon which the request is
based, cite the provision or provisions of this chapter involved and
describe the minimum requested modification. The Supervisors shall
keep a written record of their action with respect to any such request,
but the failure of the Supervisors to act on any such request shall
not result in a deemed approval thereof.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 10910.2(a).
A.Â
Any person, partnership, corporation or other legal
entity who or which has violated the provisions of this chapter shall,
upon being found liable therefor in a civil enforcement proceeding
commenced by the Township, pay a judgment of not more than $500, plus
all court costs, including reasonable attorney fees incurred by the
Township 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 Township 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, corporation
or other entity violating this chapter 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 violation by the District Justice, and, thereafter,
each day that a violation continues shall constitute a separate violation.
B.Â
This chapter may be enforced by the Supervisors, the
Township Zoning Officer or his Deputy(s), the Township Engineer and
the Township Solicitor.
A.Â
The Supervisors may, from time to time, revise, modify
and amend this chapter by appropriate action taken at a scheduled
public hearing held pursuant to public notice, subject to the requirements
of MPC Sections 505 and 506, as those sections may be changed, renumbered
or amended from time to time.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. §§ 10505
and 10506.
Appeals from the action of the Planning Commission
or, as applicable, the Supervisors in either approving or disapproving
a preliminary plan or a final plan or from a conditional final plan
approval unacceptable to the applicant shall be taken and made in
accordance with the applicable provisions of the MPC.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 10101
et seq.
When an application for approval of a plat, whether preliminary or final, has been approved or approved subject to conditions acceptable to the applicant, no subsequent change or amendment of this chapter or the Zoning Ordinance (Chapter 84) shall be applied to affect adversely the right of the applicant to commence and to complete any aspect of the approved development in accordance with the terms of such final approval within five years from such approval, as provided for in Section 508(4) of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code,[1] as amended, but subject, nevertheless, to the terms and
conditions of the provisions of the latter section.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 10508(4).