Township of Upper Merion, PA Article VII Nonresidential Open Space Requirements

[Added 10-21-1999 by Ord. No. 99-696]

§ 145-41 Land reserved for park and recreation purposes in nonresidential land developments.

A. Intent. In support of the goals and objectives in the Township's Park and Recreation Master Plan, it is the intent of this section to require usable, active recreation land on all nonresidential developments or, in lieu thereof, to require the payment of fees to Upper Merion Township for the creation of Township parks and facilities.

B. Requirement for park land or fees in lieu of park land. All nonresidential developments shall either provide park land which meets the requirements outlined below in § 145-42 or shall pay fees in lieu of such park land in accordance with the requirements of § 145-43. The Board of Supervisors encourages nonresidential land developments with less than 400 projected employees to pay a fee in lieu of park land.

§ 145-42 Requirements for park land.

When park land is provided, the following requirements shall be met:

A. A minimum of 20% of the net acreage in a nonresidential land development, being all the land within the lot lines of the subdivision excluding that portion located within the ultimate right-of-way, shall be provided for recreation park use by employees of the development (or the general public if dedicated to the Township) for active or passive recreation.

B. Required active recreation park land shall meet the following conditions:

(1) The land shall have no wetlands, ponds, streams or other water bodies.

(2) The land shall be well drained and shall have slopes that do not exceed a grade of 5%.

(3) The land shall be concentrated in one location.

(4) The land shall have dimensions that are suitable for use as a playing field.

(5) The land shall be located as close to the middle of the tract of land as possible, given the location of natural constraints.

(6) The land shall have at least 100 feet of public road frontage or at least 20% of its perimeter as public road frontage, whichever is greater.

(7) The land shall contain no gravel, paving, buildings or other man-made impervious coverage.

(8) The land shall contain no stormwater control facilities, detention basins or other utilities except for utilities and/or stormwater control facilities needed to serve the active recreation land itself.

C. Park land proposed by an applicant may not be used for lot area, yard setbacks, parking setbacks, building coverage, impervious coverage, green space or any other requirements for a nonresidential building or development.

D. All park land shall be in addition to any other open space required by Township codes for the proposed or land development.

E. All park land shall be permanently restricted from future subdivision and development. Under no circumstances shall any new buildings, except for municipal park buildings, be permitted in the park land at any time.

F. Ownership. Required park land shall be initially offered for dedication to the Township. If the Township does not accept the offer of dedication, the park land shall be owned by a condominium association or a property owners' association, with employees of the development having access and use of the park land.

G. Maintenance. Unless otherwise agreed to by the Board of Supervisors, the cost and responsibility of maintaining privately owned, required park land shall be borne by the condominium association, property owners or a property owners' association. In the event that the organization established to maintain park land, or any successor organization thereto, fails to maintain all or any portion of the park land in reasonable order and condition, the Township may assume responsibility for maintenance and may enter the premises to take corrective action. The costs of such corrective action or maintenance may be charged to the condominium association, property owners or property owners' association and may include administrative costs and penalties. Such costs shall become a lien on said properties.

§ 145-43 Requirements for fees in lieu of park land.

Fees in lieu of park land may be paid for any nonresidential land development. When a fee in lieu of park land is provided, the following requirements shall be met:

A. Fees in lieu of park land shall be used to buy land identified as potential recreation and open space sites in the most recent edition of Upper Merion's Park and Recreation Master Plan. In addition to land purchases, such fees may be used for engineering, legal, transaction and planning costs and all other costs.

B. The cost of such fees shall be calculated using the following criteria:

(1) The fee shall equal the fair market value of the raw, undeveloped land that would have been required for the park land.

(2) The Board of Supervisors and the applicant shall attempt to agree on a figure for the fair market value of land. If the applicant and Board of Supervisors cannot agree on the fair market value, then the applicant shall provide the Board of Supervisors with a land value appraisal, at the applicant's sole expense; the Board of Supervisors shall review said land value appraisal and make a decision as to fair market land value. Such appraisal shall be prepared by an MAI real estate appraiser with no interest, financial or otherwise, in the affected property or application.

C. Fees collected by the Township from any of the three planning areas identified in the most recent edition of Upper Merion's Parks and Recreation Master Plan shall be used to purchase land that is within the same planning area where all the fees were collected and for costs identified in Subsection D hereof.

D. Fees collected by the Township shall be deposited in an interest-bearing account in a bank authorized to receive deposits of Township funds. Interest earned by the account shall be credited to that account and shall be used for the same purposes as money deposited in the account. The interest-bearing account shall clearly identify the recreational facilities for which the fee was received. Funds in the account shall be expended only to cover costs of acquisition and construction for specific recreation facilities for which the funds were collected.

E. Fees in lieu of park land shall be paid to the Township when the land development agreement is finalized. If no land development agreement is required, fees shall be paid before use and occupancy permits are issued.