All provisions of this chapter shall be administered by the Board of Township Supervisors of Pennsbury Township, or by the Township Secretary, Township Zoning Officer, or other Township official as designated by the Board. All plans, applications, correspondence, complaints, requests for waivers, or appeals shall be delivered to the Township municipal office.
Any amendment to this chapter shall be in accordance with the provisions set forth in the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code.[1]
A. 
Power of amendment. The Board of Supervisors may, from time to time, amend or repeal this chapter. When doing so, the Board shall proceed in accordance with applicable law.
B. 
Referral to Township and County Planning Commissions. At the discretion of the Board of Supervisors, any proposed amendment, regardless of origin, shall be referred to the Township Planning Commission and the Chester County Planning Commission. The Township and County Planning Commissions shall have at least 30 days prior to a public hearing scheduled to discuss the amendment and to submit to the Board of Supervisors a report containing their recommendations, including any additions or modifications to the original proposal, all as provided for in the MPC.
C. 
Hearings. Before voting on the enactment of any amendment, the Board of Supervisors shall hold a public hearing thereon with notice as required by law.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 10101 et seq.
A. 
While this chapter contains the minimum standards for the protection of the public welfare, the Township may modify the minimum standards as necessary to serve the public interest of the Township and its citizens.
B. 
If the literal enforcement of any provision of this chapter will exact undue hardship because of peculiar conditions pertaining to applicant's land or the nature of the application, the Township may grant a modification or waiver in writing to such applicant, provided that such modification or waiver will not be contrary to the public interest and the purpose and intent of this chapter is observed.
C. 
All requests for modifications or waivers shall be in writing, be signed by the applicant and shall accompany and be a part of the application for development. The request shall state in full the grounds and facts upon which the request is based, the provision or provisions of the ordinance involved, and the minimum modification necessary. Additionally, where requested by the Township, the applicant shall provide a cost estimate for those improvements required by this chapter from which a modification or wavier is sought. Any request for modification or waiver may be referred to the Planning Commission for advisory comments.
D. 
In granting modifications or waivers, the Township may impose such conditions as will, in its judgment, substantially secure the objectives of the standards or requirements so modified or waived. In the event that the Township grants waivers for street trees, buffer landscape plantings, or other landscaping/screening required by this chapter, the Township may require alternate plantings or plantings at other locations within the development.
E. 
The Township shall keep a written record of its actions on all requests for modifications or waivers.
(1) 
If a modification or waiver is granted, it shall be referenced in the conditions of approval of the plan and shall apply only to the subject application.
(2) 
A listing of any modifications or waivers granted shall be placed on the final plan prior to recording by the Township.
If, during the course of construction or completion of a subdivision or land development, minor changes, alterations or modification of a final plan become necessary, such changes may be approved only after written acceptance by the Township Engineer. Substantial revisions to any such final plan may be approved only after written acceptance by the Township Engineer and written approval of the Board of Supervisors. If approved, substantial revisions to any final plan shall cause the rerecording of the final plan after such approvals are obtained and the final plan is revised to reflect the approved changes.
The Township shall keep a record of its findings, decisions and recommendations relative to all subdivision or land development applications filed for review.
A. 
Any application for sketch plan review, any application for preliminary approval and any application for final plan approval shall not be deemed to be administratively complete and will not be substantively reviewed until any applicable fees or escrow deposits shall have been paid, in accordance with Article III and as set forth below.
B. 
A subdivision or land development application fee (nonrefundable) shall be submitted with any application for sketch plan review and with any application for preliminary or final plan approval the amount(s) of which shall be fixed from time to time by the Board of Supervisors by resolution.
C. 
A subdivision or land development escrow deposit shall also be submitted with any application for sketch plan review and with any application for preliminary or final plan approval to cover the reasonable costs of plan review and processing. The escrowed funds shall be used to reimburse the Township for actual expenditures incurred in review and processing, including but not limited to the fees of the Township Engineer, Township Solicitor, other Township consultants, and other reviews authorized by the MPC or this chapter. If the Township uses the funds on deposit with the Township, the applicant shall promptly replenish the escrow deposit account to the amount required by the Township's deposit schedule such that sufficient funds shall be available to pay the fees of the Township's professional consultants. Failure of the applicant to replenish the escrow account within seven days of written notification, and as appropriate in other circumstances, shall be sufficient reason for the Township to cause the solicitor to prepare a resolution denying the application, at the applicant's expense. No application will be placed on an agenda for consideration, review, vote or discussion, except for possible denial of the plan, if an escrow account is not current. Any unexpended balance in the subdivision or land development escrow deposit shall become part of the second deposit required in Subsection D, below, except that in the case of an escrow established at the time of preliminary plan application, any unexpended balance upon approval of the preliminary plan shall first become part of the escrow deposit submitted with the subsequent final plan application to the extent applicable. Charges for professional consultants of the Township that are to be paid by the applicant shall be viewed in the broadest possible sense allowable by applicable law to ensure that the applicant, and not Township taxpayers, is responsible for fees and expenses arising because of the submission of the application.
D. 
As a condition of final plan approval, following the establishment of any required performance guarantee, a second escrow deposit shall be required to cover the cost of: (i) inspections of improvements and construction; (ii) materials or site testing; (iii) engineering and legal fees incurred by the Township; and (iv) maintenance costs (e.g., snow removal, stormwater management, etc.) prior to the approval or acceptance of the improvements by the Township, as applicable, all as set forth in an agreement to be signed by the applicant and Township in accordance with Article VI. Any unexpended balance in the escrow deposit following approval or acceptance of improvements by the Township shall be returned to the applicant in accordance with the agreement to be signed by the applicant and Township in accordance with Article VI. The amount of this second escrow deposit shall be based upon the recommendation of the Township Engineer.
E. 
Liability insurance. If, in the opinion of the Township Engineer, the nature of any land disturbance work is such that it may create a hazard to human life or endanger adjoining property or property at a higher or lower elevation, or any street or street improvement, or any other public property, then the Township Engineer may require that such an applicant file a certificate of insurance showing that he is insured against claims for damages for personal injury and property damage (including damage to Pennsbury Township by deposit or washing of material onto municipal streets or other public improvements), which may arise from or out of the performance of the work, whether such performance be by himself, his subcontractor, or any person directly or indirectly employed by him. The amount of such insurance shall be prescribed by the Township in accordance with its determination of the risks involved in an amount not less than $100,000 per occurrence. Such insurance shall be written by a company licensed to do business in Pennsylvania and approved by the Township, neither issuance of permit nor compliance with the provision hereto or any condition imposed by the Township shall relieve any person from any responsibility for damage to persons or property otherwise imposed by law, nor shall it impose any liability upon the Township for damages to persons or property.
A. 
It shall be unlawful to record any subdivision plan in any public office, unless the same shall evidence thereon, by endorsement or otherwise, the approval of the Board of Supervisors following application to the Township as required by this chapter.
B. 
Enforcement remedies. The Township shall have all of the remedies provided by law to enforce compliance with the provisions of this chapter including but not limited to those remedies provided in Sections 511, 515.1 and 515.3 of the MPC[1] as the same may, from time to time, be revised, or any successor legislation thereto, in addition to the following:
(1) 
Any person, partnership or corporation who or which has violated a provision 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 or corporation violating this chapter to have believed 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 a violation by the district justice and thereafter each day that a violation continues shall constitute a separate violation.
(2) 
The court of common pleas, upon petition, may grant an order of stay, upon cause shown, tolling the per diem judgment pending a final adjudication of the violation and judgment.
(3) 
Nothing contained in this section shall be construed or interpreted to grant to any person or entity other than the Township the right to commence any action for enforcement pursuant to this section.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. §§ 10511, 10515.1 and 10515.3, respectively.
C. 
Preventive remedies.
(1) 
In addition to other remedies, the Township may institute and maintain appropriate actions by law or in equity to restrain, correct or abate violations, 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 shall not exempt the seller or transferor from such penalties or from the remedies herein provided.
(2) 
The Township may refuse to issue any permit or grant any approval necessary to further improve or develop any real property which has been developed or which has resulted from a subdivision of real property in violation of this chapter. This authority to deny such a permit or approval shall apply to any of the following applicants:
(a) 
The owner of record at the time of such violation.
(b) 
The vendee or lessee of the owner of record at the time of such violation without regard as to whether such vendee or lessee had actual or constructive knowledge of the violation.
(c) 
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.
(d) 
The vendee or lessee of the current owner of record who acquired the property subsequent to the time the violation without regard as to whether such vendee or lessee had actual or constructive knowledge of the violation.
D. 
As an additional condition for issuance of a permit or the granting of an approval to any such owner, current owner, vendee or lessee for the development of any such real property, the Township may 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.
Appeals from the actions of the Board of Supervisors with respect to any application for subdivision or land development approval shall be governed by the provisions of the MPC, as they may be amended from time to time, or any successor legislation thereto.