[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors
of the Township of North Coventry 6-24-2002 by Ord. No. 120. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
[Amended 9-9-2002; 3-22-2021 by Ord. No. 01-2021]
There is hereby created the North Coventry Township
Open Space Review Board which shall consist of seven members appointed
by the Board of Supervisors of North Coventry Township and which shall
include within its membership, one member of the Township Board of
Supervisors, one member of the Township Planning Commission, one member
of the Township Parks and Recreation Board, one member of the Township
Historical Commission, and three members who shall be citizens at
large.
[Amended 9-9-2002]
A.
The term of membership shall be five years, except
as originally established herein.
B.
The initial members of the Open Space Review Board
shall be appointed to terms of office as follows:
(1)
Two members, one of which, at the time of appointment,
is a member of the Township Board of Supervisors, and the other a
citizen at large, for a term to expire December 31, 2003;
(2)
One member who, at the time of appointment, shall
be a member of the Township Planning Commission, for a term to expire
December 31, 2004;
(3)
Two members, one of which shall be a member of the
Township Historical Commission at the time of appointment, and one
of which shall be a member of the Township Parks and Recreation Board,
for a term to expire December 31, 2005;
(4)
One member who shall, at the time of appointment,
be a citizen at large, for a term to expire December 31, 2021;
[Amended 3-22-2021 by Ord. No. 01-2021]
(5)
One member who shall be a citizen at large, for a
term to expire December 31, 2007.
When a member of the Open Space Review Board
appointed as a member of the Board of Supervisors, Planning Commission
or Parks and Recreation Board shall no longer be a member of such
board, commission or council, such member shall nevertheless continue
as a member of the Open Space Review Board until the expiration of
his or her term of appointment. When vacancies shall occur in the
membership of the Open Space Review Board, the Board of Supervisors
shall fill such vacancies in the membership for the remaining unexpired
term.
A.
The Chairperson of the Open Space Review Board shall
be appointed by the Board of Supervisors until such time as the Open
Space Review Board members, by majority vote, shall elect their own
Chairman, and all other necessary officers, including a secretary.
All officers shall be elected for a period of one year, that period
of office to be coterminous with the calendar year. The Open Space
Review Board shall reorganize as the first order of business in its
initial meeting of each calendar year.
B.
The secretary shall keep minutes of all meetings of
the Open Space Review Board and make a copy of those minutes available
to the Board of Supervisors as a matter of course.
The Open Space Review Board shall adopt rules
and regulations for the conduct of its own meetings and business.
Said rules and regulations shall comply with all applicable statutory
regulations, including but not limited to the Pennsylvania Sunshine
Law.[1] The Open Space Review Board shall establish regular meeting
dates and criteria for the calling of special meetings.
[1]
Editor's Note: 65 Pa.C.S.A. § 701
et seq.
All members of the Open Space Review Board shall
serve without compensation, but may be reimbursed for necessary and
reasonable expenses as approved by the Board of Supervisors.
The Open Space Review Board shall have the following
general powers and responsibilities:
A.
To identify, review, evaluate, and rate the relative
desirability of parcels of real estate; to make recommendations with
respect to the price that the Township would pay for particular parcels
of real estate; to submit recommendations to the Board of Supervisors
for its consideration to acquire such interests in real property.
B.
To recommend to the Board of Supervisors procedures
for:
The Open Space Review Board shall submit the
following information and reports to the Board of Supervisors and
unless otherwise indicated herein:
A.
An annual report to the Board of Supervisors not later
than March 31 following the year for which the report applies, said
reports to include a summary of the activities of the Open space Review
Board, with particular reference to the extent and adequacy of the
program and its effectiveness in view of the public expenditure involved
and the public objectives to be met.
B.
Periodic recommendations to the Board of Supervisors
regarding the following:
(1)
Types of real property interests to be acquired (such
as fee simple, conservation easement, restrictive covenant agreement,
or other).
(2)
Type of use of real property to be considered (such
as active recreation, passive recreation, agricultural lands preservation,
natural resources preservation, or other).
(3)
Documentation to achieve the objectives for use and/or
preservation of specific parcels of real property.
(4)
Proposals for the purchase of specific open space
property interest, including but not limited to installment or other
deferred basis.
C.
Review proposed ordinance provisions that relate to
the protection, preservation and management of open space in the Township.
D.
Coordinate with the Parks and Recreation Board and
Planning Commission by evaluating any property being considered for
active recreation, passive recreation, or other open space preservation
uses.
Review, rating and evaluation of interests in
open space lands. The Open Space Lands Acquisition and Preservation
Act, as amended by Act 153 of 1996 (32 P.S. § 5001 et seq.)
requires local government units to establish procedures for the review,
rating, and evaluation of interests in open space lands, reflecting
the relative preservation desirability of perspective open space parcels.
The Open Space Review Board, while authorized to establish such procedures,
shall incorporate the following procedures and/or recommendations
into its protocol:
A.
The Board shall give due consideration to the Township's
Comprehensive Plan, the Township Open Space, Recreation and Environmental
Resources Plan, other Township plans and studies related to land use
and planning for the Township, and the Chester County Comprehensive
Land Use Plan (known as the "Landscapes" Plan), as each may be from
time to time amended.
B.
The Board shall retain qualified professional independent
appraisers as the need for such expertise may arise.
C.
The Board and the Township Board of Supervisors shall
record any and all interests in the real property acquired by the
Township at the Chester County Recorder of Deeds Office.
D.
The Board shall maintain such records as are appropriate,
including but not limited to records of all interests in real property
which have been acquired by the Township.
E.
The Board shall submit to the Owen J. Roberts School
District, in compliance with the Act, a certified copy of all deeds
reflecting acquisition by the Township of open space property interests
pursuant to the Act.
F.
The Board shall recognize that under the provisions
of the Act, the Township is not entitled to exercise the power of
eminent domain.
G.
The Board shall recognize the obligations of the Township
for the resale of fee simple interests in open space acquired pursuant
to the Act and this chapter.
H.
The Board shall recognize compliance with all other
mandatory provisions of the Act.
