This chapter shall be known and may be cited
as the "Concord Township Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance
of 1990."
This chapter is enacted for purposes which are
to provide for and accomplish the following:
A. To assist in the harmonious, orderly, efficient and
integrated development of Concord Township.
B. To ensure that the arrangement and design of subdivisions
and land developments conform to the Comprehensive Plan, the Official Sewage Facilities Plan, Chapter
210, Zoning, and all other ordinances, codes, regulations, plans and maps adopted in furtherance thereof.
C. To promote and protect the health, safety and welfare
of the residents of the Township.
D. To assure sites suitable for building purposes and
human habitation and use.
E. To facilitate and accommodate prospective pedestrian
and vehicular movement, fire protection and the rendition of other
essential services through a coordinated system and design of streets.
F. To ensure the coordination and conformity of subdivision
and/or land development plans with the public improvement plans of
the Township regarding such facilities as streets, sewers and other
facilities and improvements.
G. To establish a uniform and equitable procedure for
the review and processing of subdivision and/or land development plans.
H. To establish standards to ensure that developments
are environmentally sound by requiring preservation of existing natural
features to the greatest possible extent in areas affected through
excavation, construction or other land development activities.
I. To establish minimum standards for the design and
construction of improvements which aid in the use and enjoyment of
land, such as streets, sidewalks, adequate drainage and water and
sewage facilities, and which would aid in precluding adverse environmental
effects, such as sedimentation, soil erosion, flooding, deforestation
and water pollution.
J. To establish standards for the administration of this
chapter.
The provisions of this chapter shall be deemed
to be the minimum requirements necessary to meet the foregoing purposes.
However, when interpreting such requirements, the following shall
be noted:
A. Where, owing to special or unique conditions, the
life, health, safety or property of persons may be menaced or jeopardized
by the application of any of the requirements of this chapter, more
stringent or restrictive requirements necessary to eliminate or alleviate
such menace or jeopardy may be applied or imposed by the Board of
Supervisors.
B. Where, owing to special or unique conditions, the
provisions of this chapter will inflict unnecessary hardship upon
the applicant, reasonable exceptions to such provisions may be made
by the Board of Supervisors as will not be contrary to the foregoing
purposes or to the public interest upon prior recommendation of the
Planning Commission.
C. Where the provisions of this chapter impose more stringent
requirements than those of any statute, ordinance or regulation, the
provisions of this chapter shall prevail; where the provisions of
any statute, ordinance, code or regulation impose more stringent requirements
than those of this chapter, such statute, ordinance, code or regulation
shall prevail.
D. Where it is desirable to effect economy and ingenuity in the layout of subdivisions and land developments and to protect sensitive natural areas, modifications of site requirements may be made in accordance with the guidelines set forth in §
160-81 herein, and the Board of Supervisors may alter site requirements for encouraging other practices which are in accordance with modern and evolving principles of site planning and development.
In accordance with Article
V, Section 501 of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, Act 247, as amended, the Concord Township Board of Supervisors shall have the
authority to regulate subdivision and/or land development within the
Township by enacting this chapter. Through such authority, the following
shall apply:
A. No subdivision, resubdivision or land development of any lot, tract or parcel of land within the Township shall be made and no street, alley, sanitary sewer, capped sewer, storm sewer, water main or other such facilities in connection therewith or other improvements of any kind shall be laid out, constructed, opened or dedicated for public use or travel or for the common use of occupants of buildings abutting thereon, except in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, Chapter
210, Zoning, as amended, and all other Township ordinances, codes, regulations, plans and maps, as amended from time to time.
B. No lot in a subdivision may be sold, no permit to erect, alter or add to any building or other structure or portion thereof upon land in a subdivision or land development may be issued and no building may be erected in a subdivision or land development unless and until a subdivision and/or land development plan, filed in accordance with this chapter, has been approved and, where required, recorded and proof of such supplied to the Township in accordance with §
160-15, unless and until the required improvements in connection therewith along, upon or through the lot or lots to be sold or built upon and to an existing improved street have been constructed and approved or, in lieu thereof, the Township has been assured of the completion of such construction and the maintenance thereof by means of a completion and maintenance guaranty in the form of a bond or other security sufficient to cover the cost of the required improvements and their maintenance, as set forth in Article
X.
C. The following are subject to the regulations of this
chapter:
(1) The improvement of one lot or two or more contiguous
lots, tracts or parcels of land for any purpose involving a group
of two or more residential or nonresidential buildings, whether proposed
initially or cumulatively, or a single nonresidential building on
a lot or lots, regardless of the number of occupants or tenure; or
the division or allocation of land or space, whether initially or
cumulatively, between or among two or more existing or prospective
occupants by means of or for the purpose of streets, common areas,
leaseholds, condominiums, building groups or other features; except
that the addition of an accessory building, not to exceed 360 square
feet in area, on a lot or lots subordinate to an existing principal
building is exempt only from the aforementioned definition and plan
review and requirements process of this chapter and not the building
permit process and other applicable Township regulations.
(2) A subdivision of land, including the division or redivision
of a lot, tract or parcel of land by any means into two or more lots,
tracts, parcels or other divisions of land, including changes in existing
lot lines for the purpose, whether immediate or future, of lease,
partition by the court for distribution to heirs or devisees, transfer
of ownership or building or lot development.
All other ordinances or parts of ordinances
inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed, except as they relate to
pending applications submitted prior to the effective date of this
chapter and previously approved subdivision and/or land development
plans in accordance with Section 508.4 of the Municipalities Planning
Code.