Easements for sanitary sewer facilities, stormwater drainage
facilities, public utilities or pedestrian access shall meet the following
standards:
A. To the fullest extent possible, easements shall be adjacent to property
lines.
B. Nothing shall be placed, planted, set or put within the area of an
easement that would adversely affect the function of the easement
or conflict with the easement agreement. This requirement shall be
noted on the final plan and shall be included in all deeds for lots
which contain an easement.
C. Pedestrian easements shall have a minimum width of six feet.
D. Public utility easements shall have a minimum width of 20 feet, private
utility easements shall have a minimum width of 10 feet, and all utility
companies are encouraged to use common easements.
E. The applicant shall reserve easements where stormwater or surface
water drainage facilities are existing or proposed, whether located
within or beyond the boundaries of the property. Easements shall have
a minimum width of 20 feet and shall be adequately designed to provide
area for the collection and discharge of water; the maintenance, repair
and reconstruction of the drainage facilities; and the passage of
machinery for such work. The easements shall clearly identify who
has the right of access and responsibility of maintenance. This requirement
shall be noted on the final plan and shall be included in all deeds
for lots which contain an easement.
F. Where any petroleum or petroleum product transmission line traverses
a subdivision or land development, the applicant shall confer with
the applicable transmission or distribution company to determine the
minimum distance which shall be required between each structure and
the center line of such petroleum or petroleum product transmission
line. The applicant shall provide, with the final plan application,
a letter from the owner of the transmission line stating any conditions
on the use of the tract which shall contain the above.
G. Where structures prohibit access for maintenance vehicles to rear
yards, these shall be a common maintenance easement of 20 feet of
the lot across adjoining property lots to a public road.
All stormwater management, collection, conveyance and floodplain considerations shall be accomplished in accordance with the provisions of Chapter
190, Stormwater Management, and Chapter
240, Zoning.
All residential subdivisions and land developments shall be
provided with park and recreation land which shall be dedicated to
the Township. The developer may request that the Township not require
the dedication of land, and any such request shall be accompanied
by an offer to pay a fee in lieu of dedication of the land, computed
in accordance with the regulations provided herein, an offer to construct
recreational facilities and/or an offer to privately reserve land
for park or recreation purposes.
A. The land reserved for park, recreation and open space usage shall
be a single lot which shall comply with the requirements of this chapter
relating to the length-to-depth ratios and which shall be accessible
to the public. No more than 15% of the minimum lot size calculated
in this section shall consist of floodplain, wetlands or other features
which shall render the land undevelopable. Areas of floodplain, wetlands,
or other features which shall render the land undevelopable may be
included within the open space lot if such land is above the minimum
area required. No stormwater management facilities designed to retain
or detain water from other portions of the development shall be permitted
on such land reserved for park, recreation and open space usage.
B. A minimum of 0.025 acres of land shall be reserved as park or recreational
land for each residential lot created in a subdivision or each dwelling
unit created in a land development. Notwithstanding the foregoing,
in all cases the minimum area of land reserved as park and recreation
land shall be equal to the minimum lot size in the district in which
the subdivision or land development is located.
C. The developer may request that the Board of Supervisors permit the
provision of park and recreation land other than through public dedication
of land as set forth above. The developer shall set forth, in writing,
the means by which he will fulfill this requirement which may include
the payment of a fee in lieu of dedication of all or a portion of
the amount of land required to be dedicated, construction of recreational
facilities, the private reservation of land or any combination of
dedication, fees, construction of recreational facilities or private
reservation.
(1) Fee in lieu of dedication. When so requested by the developer, the
Township may accept a fee in lieu of dedication because size, shape,
location, access, topography or other physical features render it
impractical for the developer to dedicate land for recreational areas
as required by this section. Such fee-in-lieu payments shall be payable
to the Township prior to issuance of the recording of each final phase
of the plan by the Township, based on each phase's percentage of the
total number of dwelling units.
(a)
If the developer proposes a fee in lieu of dedication, said fee shall be computed and paid in accordance with policies adopted by the Board of Supervisors. The amount of a fee-in-lieu payment shall be fair market value of the land required to be dedicated under Subsection
B above. The developer shall provide the Township with all information necessary to determine fair market value of the land, including, but not limited to, a copy of the agreement of sale or real estate transfer tax affidavit of value if the developer is equitable owner or has purchased the land within the past two years or an appraisal of the property by an MAI appraiser acceptable to the Township. Fair market value shall be computed by dividing the total price of the tract by the number of acres within the tract and then multiplying that number by the amount of land required to be dedicated. At the option of the developer, the developer may elect to pay the per-lot or dwelling-unit fee in lieu of dedication established by resolution of the Board of Supervisors.
(b)
Any developer which feels aggrieved by the price established
by the Township shall have the right to secure a second appraisal
of the property by an MAI appraiser acceptable to the Township. The
two prices shall be averaged, with the result being the amount owed
being what the developer shall be required to pay.
(c)
Fee-in-lieu funds disposition. Monies received from developers
shall be placed in a capital reserve fund. Fees received from developers
shall be administered and expended as required and authorized by the
MPC.
(2) If the developer proposes to construct recreational facilities, the
developer shall present a sketch plan of such facilities and an estimate
of the cost of construction.
(3) If the developer proposes the private reservation of land, the developer shall provide for the maintenance of such land through either the inclusion of such land as common elements of a condominium or the creation of a homeowners' association. Such documentation shall be recorded, shall provide that the land cannot be further developed and shall give the Township the rights to maintain the land as set forth in MPC Article
VII dealing with the maintenance of common open space in planned residential developments. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the developer may request that the Township approve transfer of the land to an organization dedicated to the conservation of natural resources with deed restrictions preventing further development acceptable to the Township Solicitor.
(4) The developer shall enter into an agreement with the Township setting
the fees to be paid, the facilities to be constructed or the land
to be privately reserved and the method of its maintenance. All such
agreements shall be in a form satisfactory to the Township Solicitor.
All subdivisions or land developments containing 20 or more
dwelling units or nonresidential buildings containing 15,000 or greater
square feet of gross floor area shall be provided with at least two
separate and distinct means of access from existing public streets.
A. Access may be provided through the location of two or more public
or private streets, each of which intersects with an existing public
street. Such public or private streets shall meet all the requirements
of this chapter concerning design and construction.
B. Access for a land development may be provided through two or more access drives into the land development, each of which intersects with an existing public street. Such access drives shall be separated by a distance of at least 150 feet and shall comply with all requirements of this chapter and Chapter
195, Article
II, Driveways.
C. If the applicant is unable to provide access to the subdivision or
land development through two or more public or private streets each
of which intersect with an existing public street or two or more access
drives which intersect with one or more existing public streets, an
emergency access shall be provided.
(1) The emergency access shall be improved so that emergency vehicles
may safely traverse it and shall be indicated on the plans.
(2) The emergency access shall be acceptable to the providers of emergency
services within the Township. Applicants proposing to provide emergency
access shall submit evidence of such approval.
(3) The emergency access may be located so that access to the subdivision
or land development is gained from a public street at a location unsuitable
for regular access with an existing public street.
(4) The emergency access may be located so that access is gained from
an adjacent tract. For example, a subdivision or land development
adjoining a parking lot of another use may provide emergency access
through a point with a break chain. Applicants with plans indicating
emergency access through an adjoining private tract shall provide
evidence that the adjoining property owner has consented to such emergency
access location.