Township of West Manchester, PA Article V Improvement Guaranties

§ 121-16 General requirements.

A. No project shall be considered in compliance with this chapter until the streets, street signs, sidewalks, curbs, landscaping, storm drainage for dedication or which affect adjacent properties or streets, sanitary sewer facilities for dedication, water supply facilities, fire hydrants, lot line markers, survey monuments and other such public improvements have been installed in accordance with this chapter and other applicable Township ordinances.

B. No final plan shall be signed by the Board of Supervisors for recording in the office of the York County Recorder of Deeds unless:

(1) A financial security in accordance with § 121-17 is accepted by the Board of Supervisors; and/or

(2) The improvements required by this chapter have been installed.

§ 121-17 Financial security.

The administration of the financial security shall comply with the provisions of this article, the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, Act 247, as amended,[1] and other applicable laws of the commonwealth.

A. Submission of financial security. Final plan applications that include public improvements that have not been installed shall include financial security in accordance with the following:

(1) Type of financial security. Although the Board of Supervisors may accept an alternative type of financial security, commonly used forms are irrevocable letters of credit and escrow accounts. Such financial security shall be posted by a reputable chartered lending institution or bonding company authorized to do business in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and is subject to review by the Township Solicitor for adequacy.

(2) Amount of financial security.

[Amended 6-14-1990 by Ord. No. 90-07]

(a) The amount of financial security shall be equal to 110% of the cost of completion estimated as of 90 days following the date scheduled for completion by the developer. Annually, the Board of Supervisors may adjust the amount of the financial security by comparing the actual cost of the improvements which have been completed and estimated cost for the completion of the remaining improvements as of the expiration of the 90th day of either the original date schedule for completion or a rescheduled date of completion. Subsequent to said adjustment, the Board of Supervisors may require the developer to post additional security in order to assure that the financial security equals said 110%. Any additional security shall be posted by the developer in accordance with this chapter.

(b) The amount of financial security required shall be based upon an estimate of the cost of completion of the required improvements, submitted by an applicant or developer and prepared by a professional engineer licensed as such in this commonwealth and certified by such engineer to be a fair and reasonable estimate of such cost. The Board of Supervisors, upon the recommendation of the Township Engineer, may refuse to accept such estimate for good cause shown. If the applicant or developer and the Board of Supervisors are unable to agree upon an estimate, then the estimate shall be recalculated and recertified by another professional engineer licensed as such in this commonwealth and chosen mutually by the Board of Supervisors and the applicant or developer. The estimate certified by the third engineer shall be presumed fair and reasonable and shall be the final estimate. In the event that a third engineer is so chosen, fees for the services of said engineer shall be paid equally by the Board of Supervisors and the applicant or developer.

(c) If the party posting the financial security required more than one year from the date of posting of the financial security to complete the required improvements, the amount of financial security may be increased by an additional 10% for each one-year period beyond the first anniversary date from posting of financial security or to an amount not exceeding 110% of the cost of completing the required improvements as reestablished on or about the expiration of the preceding one-year period by using the above procedure.

B. Release of financial security.

(1) As the work of installing the required improvements proceeds, the applicant may request the Board of Supervisors to release or authorize the release of portions of the financial security. Any such requests shall be in writing addressed to the Board of Supervisors who shall have 45 days from receipt of such request for the Township Engineer to certify, in writing, to the Board of Supervisors that such portion of the work has been completed in accordance with the approved plan. Upon such certification, the Board of Supervisors shall authorize release of the amount estimated by the Township Engineer to represent the value of the improvements completed. If the Board of Supervisors fails to act within said forty-five-day period, the Board of Supervisors shall be deemed to have approved the release of funds as requested.

(2) When the applicant has completed all the required improvements, he shall notify the Board of Supervisors, in writing, by certified or registered mail, and shall send a copy of such notice to the Township Engineer. The Board of Supervisors shall, within 10 days after receipt of such notice, authorize the Township Engineer to inspect the required improvements. The Township Engineer shall promptly file a report, in writing, with the Board of Supervisors, and shall mail a copy of the report to the applicant by certified or registered mail. The report shall be made and mailed within 30 days after receipt by the Township Engineer of the aforesaid authorization by the Board of Supervisors. The report of the Township Engineer shall be detailed and shall indicate approval or rejection of said improvements, either in whole or in part. If improvements, or any portion thereof, are not approved by the Township Engineer, said report shall contain a statement of reasons for such nonapproval.

(3) Based on the report of the Township Engineer, the Board of Supervisors shall indicate approval or rejection of the improvements, either in whole or in part, and if not approved, state reasons for the rejection. The Board of Supervisors shall, within 15 days of receipt of the Township Engineer's report, notify the applicant, in writing, by certified or registered mail, of its actions.

[Amended 6-14-1990 by Ord. No. 90-07]

(4) If the Board of 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 applicant shall be released from all liability, pursuant to his security agreement.

(5) If any portion of said improvements is not approved or is rejected by the Board of Supervisors, the applicant shall proceed to complete the same and, upon completion, the same procedure of notification outlined herein shall be followed.

(6) In all cases where the public improvements have been certified to have been properly completed, the Board of Supervisors shall release all of the posted financial security except for an amount equal to 10% of the cost of actual installation of the public improvements. The unreleased financial security will be held until the required maintenance guaranty is posted in accordance with § 121-19 of this chapter.

[Added 6-11-1992 by Ord. No. 92-08]

C. Other remedies. If proceeds of the financial 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 Supervisors may, at its option, install all or part of such improvements and may institute appropriate legal or equitable action to recover the funds 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 applicant, or both, shall be used solely for the installation of the improvements covered by such security and not for any other municipal purpose.

D. Construction of improvements. Upon approval by the Board of Supervisors of a final plan, the applicant, in addition to all bonds or other security required, shall deliver to the Township a check payable to the Township in an amount equal to 3.5% of the bond or other security. The amount deposited by the applicant shall be used by the Township to cover the costs of assuring the proper construction and completion of improvements, including inspection during installation, inspection upon completion, administrative costs and other related costs. If the amount deposited by the applicant is not sufficient to cover such costs, the applicant shall furnish additional amounts, from time to time, when notified to do so. All amounts furnished by the applicant shall be held in a separate fund and applied by the Township to inspection and administrative costs. The funds deposited by the applicant shall be governed by the provisions of Subsection E of this section. No lot shall be sold and no permit to erect, alter or repair any building shall be issued with respect to the land included in the final plan until all costs of assuring the proper construction and completion of improvements have been deposited by the applicant.

[Added 8-24-1989 by Ord. No. 89-10]

E. Escrow accounts. Deposits shall be credited to each fund as they are made, and costs shall be charged against each fund as they are incurred. The applicant shall be furnished with an accounting thereof upon request. When the fund is terminated, any excess amount remaining therein after all costs have been paid shall be refunded to the applicant.

[Added 8-24-1989 by Ord. No. 89-10]

[1] Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 10101 et seq.

§ 121-18 Dedication and acceptance of improvements.

All improvements shall be deemed to be private improvements and only for the benefit of the specific project until such time as the same have been offered for dedication and formally accepted by the Board of Supervisors. No responsibility of any kind with respect to improvements shown on the final plan shall be transferred until the improvements have been formally accepted. All requests for dedication shall follow the current procedures of the Township of West Manchester.

§ 121-19 Maintenance guaranty.

The Board of Supervisors shall require the applicant to submit a maintenance guaranty or other approved guaranty as specified herein, guaranteeing the structural integrity as well as function of any improvement shown on the final plan for a term not to exceed 18 months from the date of acceptance of dedication by the Board of Supervisors. Said guaranty shall not exceed 15% of the actual cost of installation of said improvements and be of the same type of financial security as required in this article.

§ 121-20 Inspection of improvements.

A. Prior to the initiation of construction, the developer shall acquire a public improvement permit as required by the West Manchester Township Public Improvement Ordinance and notify the Township so that an inspection schedule can be coordinated with the construction schedule. Additionally, the Township shall be notified two days in advance of any intended date of construction. The provisions stated herein shall be construed as mandating periodic inspections, and the undertaking of periodic inspections shall not be construed as an acceptance of the work during construction or as a final inspection of the construction.

B. The Township, at the expense of the developer, reserves the right to require tests of the improvement to determine whether the improvement complies in all respects with the requirements of the Township.

§ 121-21 As-built plans.

Upon completion of all required improvements and prior to this issuance of occupancy permits, the applicant shall submit an as-built plan showing the location, dimension and elevation of all public improvements. In addition, the plan shall indicate that the resultant grading, drainage structures and/or drainage systems and erosion and sediment control practices, including vegetative measures, are in substantial conformance with the previously approved drawings and specifications. The plan shall note all deviation from the previously approved drawings. Two copies of the plan shall be submitted to the Township, which shall distribute one copy to the Township Engineer and retain one copy for the Township files.