[Adopted 12-12-1983 by Ord. No. 481]
Plans of any road to be constructed, opened or dedicated in Honesdale Borough shall be prepared in duplicate and submitted (together with the filing fee to the Borough Council for approval. Plans shall include such maps and such other information in writing as may be required to explain the plans. If the plans are for roads to be constructed in conjunction with a land subdivision or development for which a submission is being made under Chapter 183, Subdivision and Land Development, such submissions and approvals shall be combined.
For the purpose of this article, the word "road" shall not include ways used exclusively for access to timberlands, hay fields, pasture lands, agricultural lands, sandbanks or quarries for removal of stone, of shale or of gravel.
Filing fees shall be established by resolution of the Borough Council and may be adjusted from time to time. Fees shall be paid by check or money order payable to the order of Borough of Honesdale.
[1]
Editor's Note: The current Fee Schedule can be found on file in the Borough offices.
A. 
Plans shall include such details as may be required to adequately reflect the land conditions in, over or upon which the proposed road will be constructed, opened or dedicated.
B. 
Plans shall include but shall limited to the following details:
(1) 
The width of the road throughout its entire course, including intersections and turnabout areas.
(2) 
Specifications for proposed bridges.
(3) 
Specifications for proposed drainage.
(4) 
The course, capacity and structure of drainage facilities.
(5) 
The profile of the road.
(6) 
Identification of the markers which will indicate the course or property lines or other items shown on the map.
(7) 
A certification regarding the identity of each property owner along all sides of the right-of-way of the roadway, together with an indication as to whether such property owner joins in the submission for approval of the plans and releases any right to assert any claim such property owner might otherwise have against any person, persons, partnership or corporation by reason of the construction, opening or dedication or the maintenance and use of such roadway; such certification shall be made by or on behalf of the person, persons, partnership or corporation requesting approval of the plans and shall be supported by appropriate evidence of the authority pursuant to which the certification is made.
(8) 
If the road is to open onto a borough street, the plans shall also include an application for a highway occupancy permit. If the road opens onto a state highway, a copy of the application for a state highway occupancy permit shall be prior to final approval of the plans.
Approval of the plans by the Council may be made contingent upon the filing of a performance bond, with surety approved by the Council, in such amount as, in the discretion of the Council, may be required under the circumstances, which bond will be conditioned upon the roadway being constructed in accordance with the approval plan and will be in such amount as would be required to complete construction of the roadway as shown on the plans, should the applicant fail to do so, or in such other amount as may be reasonable under the circumstances.
The following are minimum requirements of any road:
A. 
The road shall have a fifty-foot-wide legal right-of-way. "Legal right-of-way" shall mean the width released or dedicated to road purposes, which may be greater than (but not less than) the area actually used as a traveled portion and shoulders of the road and drainage facilities adjoining the same.
B. 
The traveled portion of the road shall be, at a minimum, 20 feet wide, and the Borough Engineer may require additional width pursuant to Pennsylvania's Department of Transportation Guidelines for Design of Local Roads and Streets. "Traveled portion" shall mean that part of the road (with base and top constructed as herein provided) over which vehicles may be driven.
C. 
A four-foot-wide shoulder shall be provided on each side of the traveled portion of the road and in addition to the traveled portion.
D. 
On all dead-end roads, a turnabout area with a one-hundred-foot-diameter right-of-way and seventy-foot-diameter traveled portion will be provided.
E. 
The traveled portion of the roadway must have one of the following:
(1) 
An eight-inch rolled base of red shale or gravel with two-and-one-half-inch ID bituminous top;
(2) 
A suitable subgrade with a four-inch bituminous black base topped by a one-inch wearing surface; or
(3) 
Suitable materials of demonstrated quality equal to or better than is specified in Subsection E(1) or (2) above. Such material shall be subject to approval of the Borough Engineer.
F. 
At each point where the roadway is intersected by a driveway which requires that surface drainage water be carried under the intersection of the driveway and the road, a sluice pipe of not less than 15 inches in diameter (and of such gauge as conforms to Pennsylvania Department of Transportation requirements for a sluice pipe of corresponding diameter) shall be installed across the width of the driveway and at such depth as drainage and soil conditions may require at that location, the depth and manner of installation to be subject to approval of the Council in each case.
G. 
At such points along the road as may be required, cross drains shall be of pipe of not less than 15 inches in diameter (and of such gauge as conforms to Pennsylvania Department of Transportation requirements for a cross drain of corresponding diameter), which cross drains shall be buried to the depth and in the manner, depending upon subsoil and drainage conditions, with the depth and manner of installation to be subject to approval of the Council in each case.
H. 
In addition to the requirements of this article, any road constructed, opened or dedicated in Honesdale Borough must satisfy requirements of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, as set forth in Form 408 Specifications and in Form 409 Specifications (and any amendment or additions subsequent thereto), to the extent that such Commonwealth of Pennsylvania requirements may be necessary to qualify the borough to receive reimbursement from the commonwealth for the subject road under such laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for the construction or reconstruction or maintenance or repair of roads located within such Pennsylvania municipal subdivisions.
I. 
Sidewalks and curbs may be required as a condition of approving any road plan submission or accepting the dedication of any road.
[Amended 12-8-1997 by Ord. No. 564]
J. 
All plans shall be subject to the approval of the Honesdale Director of Public Works and the Borough Engineer and shall not be finally approved by Council until such time as each has certified that the plans submitted meet the terms of this article and principles of good road construction.
A. 
In the event that the plans are disapproved for any reason, amended plans must be accompanied by an additional filing fee as herein provided for amended plans and will be processed in the same manner as the original plans.
B. 
In the event that the plans are disapproved, the applicant may request a conference with the Council to review the reason for such disapproval, and such conference will be scheduled at the earliest date convenient to the Council.
Private drives shall be exempt from the provisions of this article. "Private drives" shall be defined as those which serve a single dwelling or use, are not open to general public use and are not planned to provide access to additional parties.
Exceptions to the standards of § 179-9E of this article may be made under the following conditions:
A. 
The road shall be maintained as a private thoroughfare for the use of owners of adjacent lots and their guests, and the applicant shall so certify in a form satisfactory to the Borough Solicitor.
B. 
No lot which fronts on such a road or street shall be sold unless the purchaser first executes an affidavit acknowledging such purchaser's understanding that the road or street is private, is intended to remain so, cannot be dedicated to or accepted by the borough in its present condition and will not be improved to dedication requirements by the seller. The affidavit shall be in a form satisfactory to the Borough Solicitor. Also, prior to the approval of plans for any such road, the form shall be presented to and approved by the Borough Council and provisions made for the attachment of the same as a restrictive convenient to the purchaser's deed.
C. 
No road shall be so approved which is not passable in accordance with requirements of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code.[1] The applicant shall be responsible for providing a professional engineer's certification to this effect.
[Amended 12-8-1997 by Ord. No. 564]
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 10101 et seq.
[Amended 12-8-1997 by Ord. No. 564]
Any person, firm, partnership or corporation who or which shall violate any provision of this article shall, upon conviction thereof before a District Justice, be sentenced to pay a fine of not more than $600, plus costs of prosecution, and upon failure to pay the fine may be committed to jail for a period not to exceed 30 days, provided that each violation of any one of the provisions of this article shall constitute a separate offense.
In addition to any penalty therein provided, any person, persons, firm, partnership or corporation who shall violate any provision of this article shall be subject to any law or laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania which afford a remedy for such violation in any court of the commonwealth.