The Township Board of Supervisors may grant a modification of
these chapter requirements if it has been satisfactorily proven that
these regulations are unreasonable, will cause extraordinary and undue
hardships from strict compliance or literal enforcement due to peculiar
conditions of the land in question, or when an alternative standard
can be demonstrated to provide equal or better results. Modifications
may be granted by the Board of Supervisors so that substantial justice
may be done and the public interest secured, provided that such modification
or variation will not have the effect of nullifying the intent and
purpose of the Comprehensive Plan or these chapter requirements.
A.
Any request for variances and modifications must be in writing and
be included as a part of the application for subdivision and land
development. All applications must include an explanation of the facts
of hardship, the provision or provisions of the chapter requirements
involved and the minimum variance or modification necessary for relief.
B.
The Township Planning Commission shall review all requests for modification
and prepare a written report of recommendation to the Board of Supervisors.
C.
In granting variances and modifications, the Board of Supervisors,
with the advice of the Township Planning Commission, may require such
conditions as will, in its judgment, secure substantially the objectives
of the standards or requirements so varied or modified.
D.
The Board of Supervisors shall keep a written record of all actions
taken on requests for modifications.
A.
The owner shall pay to the Township reasonable consultant fees, including but not limited to engineering, planning, legal and surveying, incurred by the Township for the services of the Township Engineer incidental to the examination and other work incidental to the approval of each subdivision or land development or section thereof and shall also pay to the Township reasonable legal fees incurred by the Township for legal services incidental to the preliminary discussions and negotiations with respect to the approval of such plans of each subdivision or development or section thereof, the approval thereof and the drafting of the contracts and bonds required by Article VII of this chapter and for legal services required by the Township which may arise by reason of the approval of such plans of each subdivision or development or section thereof, inclusive of the cost of legal services incidental to the final acceptance by the Township of the streets laid out on the subdivision or land development.
B.
The consultant fees, including but not limited to engineering, planning,
legal and surveying, required to be paid by this article shall be
promptly paid to the Township by the owner, upon the submission of
bills thereof to the owner by the Township, from time to time, as
such fees are billed to the Township by its or their engineers or
attorneys.
C.
To the consultant fees, including but not limited to engineering,
planning, legal and surveying, required to be paid to the Township
by this article, there shall be added a sum, to be determined from
time to time by resolution duly adopted by the Board of Supervisors,
which the owner shall pay to the Township as reimbursement to the
Township of the costs incurred by the Township for the collection
of such fees and the disbursement of the same to the Township Engineer
and Township Solicitor.
D.
An escrow deposit in accordance with the Township Fee Schedule shall
be required at the time of submission of the preliminary plans in
order to cover engineering and legal fees incurred during review and
approval of subdivision or land development plans. If the required
escrow deposit amount falls below the prescribed level at any time
during the review process, the application shall be considered incomplete.
A.
Three days prior to the commencement of any operation in the construction
or installation of streets, curbs, sidewalks, drainage facilities,
street signs, monuments and capped sewers, the owner shall notify
the Township Engineer, who shall observe the work, materials, construction
and installation to assure that the same are in accordance with Township
requirements.
B.
After initial commencement of any operation in the above-referenced
construction, the owner shall notify or cause to be notified the Township
Engineer no less than 24 hours prior to any additional construction
to permit observation of the construction activity.
It is hereby declared to be the legislative intent that:
A.
If a court of competent jurisdiction declares any provision of this
chapter to be invalid or ineffective, in whole or in part, the effect
of such decision shall be limited to those provisions which are expressly
stated in the decision to be invalid or ineffective, and all other
provisions of this chapter shall continue to be separately and fully
effective.
B.
If a court of competent jurisdiction finds the application of any
provision or provisions of this chapter to any lot, building or other
structure or tract of land to be invalid or ineffective, in whole
or in part, the effect of such decision shall be limited to the person,
property or situation immediately involved in the controversy, and
the application of any such provisions to other persons, property
or situations shall not be affected.
