The Board of Township Supervisors shall authorize
and direct the Township Engineer to cooperate with the applicant in
arranging for the Engineer's periodic presence at the site of the
work and construction of the required facilities and improvements
during such phases thereof as in the judgment of the Engineer will
enable him/her to determine whether or not such construction is in
general conformity with the final plan and all Township requirements.
A. Notice shall be given to the Township at least 48
hours in advance of commencement of any construction operation to
provide for required inspection.
B. No underground pipes, structures, subgrades, binders
or base courses shall be covered until inspected and approved by the
duly authorized official of the Township. Failure in compliance with
this regulation shall provide cause for uncovering of such work, at
the applicant's expense, to permit the required inspection.
C. In those cases where the Township Engineer deems necessary,
the developer, through his contractor, shall retain the services of
a certified soils engineer to perform moisture and density testing
in order to determine compaction or the extent thereof as related
to the requirements of such Township construction and materials specifications
as have been or may be adopted by the Board of Township Supervisors.
D. The wearing course on all streets proposed to be dedicated
to the Township shall not be placed until at least 75% of the lots
within the development have been built upon, or upon the expressed
desire of the Board of Township Supervisors.
E. Whenever any work or materials are found to be not
in compliance with the final plan and/or applicable Township requirements,
the Township Engineer or any other duly authorized Township representative,
may stop work on the job until such noncompliance or variance is eliminated
and any work or materials installed which are not in compliance are
made to comply. It shall be unlawful to do or perform any work in
violation of such stop order, except as may be necessary to prevent
injury or damage to person or property. Such stop order may be revoked
by the Board of Township Supervisors.
F. Whether or not such construction or work shall have
been accomplished in accordance with Township requirements shall be
determined by the Township Engineer upon the basis of his on-site
inspections during such phases thereof as in his judgment will enable
him/her to make such determination. The Engineer shall submit a written
report to the Board of Township Supervisors in regard thereto.
When the developer has completed all of the
required and necessary improvements and submitted the required as-built
plan, the developer shall notify the Board of Township Supervisors,
in writing, by certified or registered mail, of the completion of
the aforesaid improvements and shall send a copy thereof to the Township
Engineer.
A. The Board of Township Supervisors shall, within 10
days after receipt of such notice, direct and authorize the Township
Engineer to inspect all of the required improvements.
B. The Township Engineer shall, thereupon, file a report,
in writing, with the Board of Township Supervisors, and shall promptly
mail a copy of the same to the developer by certified or registered
mail. The report shall be made and mailed within 30 days after receipt
by the Township Engineer of the authorization for inspection by the
Board of Township Supervisors.
C. The report shall be detailed and shall indicate approval
or rejection of said improvements, either in whole or in part, and
if said improvements, or any portion thereof, shall not be approved
or shall be rejected by the Township Engineer, said report shall contain
a statement of reason for nonapproval or rejection.
D. The Board of Township Supervisors shall notify the
developer, within 15 days of receipt of the Township Engineer's report,
in writing, by certified mail or registered mail, of the action of
the Board with relation thereto.
E. If the Board of Township Supervisors or the Township
Engineer fails to comply with the time limitation provisions contained
herein, all improvements will be deemed to have been approved and
the developer shall be released of all liability, pursuant to its
performance guaranty bond or other security agreement.
F. If any portion of the said improvement shall not be
approved or shall be rejected by the Board of Township Supervisors,
the developer shall proceed to complete the same, and upon completion,
the same procedure of notification as listed above shall be followed.
G. Nothing herein, however, shall be construed in limitation
of the developer's right to contest or question by legal proceedings
or otherwise, any determination of the Board of Township Supervisors
or the Township Engineer.
H. For purposes of this section, improvements shall not be considered to be completed until all improvements have been made, and, in the case of streets dedicated as public streets, until the street is adopted by the Township, unless the Board of Supervisors by written agreement with the subdivider or developer waives this requirement, in which case the written agreement shall specify the terms of the waiver, subject to §
208-54 of this chapter.
In the event that any improvements which may
be required have not been installed as provided in this chapter or
in accordance with the approved final plan, the Board of Township
Supervisors shall have the power to enforce any corporate bond, or
other security by appropriate legal and equitable remedies. If proceeds
of such bond, or other security are insufficient to pay the cost of
installing or making repairs or corrections to all the improvements
covered by said security the Board of Township Supervisors may, at
its option, install part of such improvements in all or part of the
subdivision or land development and may institute appropriate legal
or equitable action to recover the moneys necessary to complete the
remainder of the improvements. All of the proceeds, whether resulting
from the security or from any legal or equitable action brought against
the developer or both, shall be used solely for the installation of
the improvements covered by such security, and not for any other Township
purpose.
[Amended 11-10-2009 by Ord. No. 2009-3]
The Board of Township Supervisors shall prescribe
that the applicant shall reimburse the Township for the reasonable
and necessary expense incurred for the inspection of improvements.
The applicant shall not be required to reimburse the Township for
any inspection which is duplicative of inspections conducted by other
governmental agencies or public utilities. The burden of proving that
any inspection is duplicative shall be upon the objecting applicant.
Such reimbursement shall be based upon a schedule adopted by resolution
of the Board of Township Supervisors upon enactment of this chapter,
or as such schedule may be amended. A copy of said fee schedule shall
be available for review at the Township office. Such expense shall
be reasonable and in accordance with the ordinary and customary fees
charged by the Township Engineer or consultants for work performed
for similar services in the community, but in no event shall the fees
exceed the rate or cost charged by the engineer or consultant to the
Township for comparable services when fees are not reimbursed or otherwise
imposed on applicants.
[Amended 11-10-2009 by Ord. No. 2009-3]
A. The Board of Township Supervisors shall submit to the applicant an
itemized bill showing work performed in connection with the inspection
of improvements performed, identifying the person performing the services
and the time and date spent for each task. In the event the applicant
disputes the amount of any such expense in connection with the inspection
of improvements, the applicant shall, no later than 100 days after
the date of transmittal of a bill for inspection services, pay the
undisputed amount and notify the Township and the Township's professional
consultant that such expenses are disputed as unreasonable or unnecessary
and shall explain the basis of their objections to the fees charge,
in which case the Township shall not delay or disapprove a request
for a release of financial security, a subdivision or land development
application or any approval or permit related to development due to
the applicant's dispute of inspection expenses. Failure of the applicant
to dispute a bill within 100 days shall be a waiver of the applicant's
right to arbitration of that bill under this section.
[Amended 12-9-2014 by Ord. No. 2014-6]
B. Subsequent to the final release of financial security for completion
of improvements for a subdivision or land development, or any phase
thereof, the professional consultant shall submit to the Board of
Township Supervisors a bill for inspection services, specifically
designated as a final bill, which the governing body shall submit
to the applicant. The final bill shall include inspection fees incurred
through the release of financial security.
[Amended 12-9-2014 by Ord. No. 2014-6]
C. If the professional consultant and the applicant cannot
agree on the amount of expenses which are reasonable and necessary,
then the applicant and the Township shall follow the procedure for
dispute resolution as set forth below:
(1) The applicant shall have the right, within 100 days of the transmittal
of the final bill or supplement to the final bill to the applicant,
to request the appointment of another professional consultant to serve
as an arbitrator. The applicant and professional consultant whose
fees are being challenged shall, by mutual agreement, appoint another
professional consultant to review any bills that applicant has disputed
and which remain unresolved and make a determination as to the amount
thereof which is reasonable and necessary. The arbitrator shall be
of the same profession as the professional consultant whose fees are
being challenged.
[Amended 12-9-2014 by Ord. No. 2014-6]
(2) The arbitrator so appointed shall hear such evidence
and review such documentation as the arbitrator, in his or her sole
opinion, deems necessary and shall render a decision no later than
50 days after the date of appointment. Based on the decision of the
arbitrator, the applicant or the professional consultant whose fees
were challenged shall be required to pay any amounts necessary to
implement the decision within 60 days. In the event the Township has
paid the professional consultant an amount in the excess of the amount
determined to be reasonable and necessary, the professional consultant
shall within 60 days reimburse the excess payment.
(3) In the event that the Township’s professional
consultant and the applicant cannot agree upon the arbitrator to be
appointed within 20 days of the request for appointment of an arbitrator,
then upon application of either party, the President Judge of the
Court of Common Pleas of York County (or if at the time there be no
President Judge, then the senior active judge then sitting) shall
appoint such arbitrator, who, in that case, shall be neither the Township’s
professional consultant nor any professional consultant who has been
retained by, or performed services for, the Township or the applicant
within the preceding five years.
(4) The fee of the arbitrator shall be paid by the applicant if the disputed
fee is upheld by the arbitrator. The fee of the arbitrator shall be
paid by the charging party if the disputed fee is $2,500 or greater
than the payment decided by the arbitrator. The fee of the arbitrator
shall be paid in an equal amount by the applicant and the charging
party if the disputed fee is less than $2,500 of the payment decided
by the arbitrator.
[Amended 12-9-2014 by Ord. No. 2014-6]
(5) In the event that the disputed fees have been paid and the arbitrator
finds that the disputed fees are unreasonable or excessive by more
than $10,000, the arbitrator shall:
[Added 12-9-2014 by Ord. No. 2014-6]
(a)
Award the amount of the fees found to be unreasonable or excessive
to the party that paid the disputed fee; and
[1]
Impose a surcharge of 4% of the amount found as unreasonable
or excessive to be paid to the party that paid the disputed fee.
(6) A municipality or an applicant shall have 100 days after paying a
fee to dispute any fee charged as being unreasonable or excessive.
[Added 12-9-2014 by Ord. No. 2014-6]
The Board of Supervisors may, at its discretion,
require the applicant to submit a maintenance guarantee or other approved
performance guarantee in order to guarantee the structural integrity
and proper functioning of improvements.
A. If improvements are to be subject to a maintenance
guarantee in accordance with this section, the applicant shall be
advised of the requirement at the preliminary plan stage.
B. Financial security shall not exceed 15% of the installation costs and shall be in one of the forms permitted by §
208-67 of this chapter.
C. The term of a maintenance guarantee shall not exceed
18 months from the date of acceptance of dedication.