The Board of Supervisors is authorized to enforce the provisions
of this chapter. The Board of Supervisors may designate another party,
including the Township Zoning Officer or Assistant Zoning Officer(s),
the Township Engineer, or the Township Solicitor, to enforce the provisions
of this chapter and the accompanying design standards and improvement
specifications.
The Board of Supervisors may institute and maintain appropriate legal
proceedings in law or in equity to restrain, correct or abate violations,
including, but not limited to:
Inspection of actual construction under any approved subdivision
or land development plan shall be the sole responsibility of the Township,
which may undertake any reasonable measures to provide an adequate
inspection of all projects.
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. The authority to deny such a permit
shall apply to any of the following:
The vendee or lessee of the owner of record at the time of such
violation without regard as to whether such vendee or lessee has actual
or constructive knowledge of the violation.
The current owner of record who acquired the property subsequent
to the time of violation without regard as to whether such current
owner has actual or constructive knowledge of the violation.
The vendee or lessee of the current owner of record who acquired
the property subsequent to the time of violation without regard as
to whether such vendee or lessee had actual or constructive knowledge
of the violation. As an additional condition for the 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 municipality 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.
The Board of Supervisors shall prescribe and make available to applicants
a form upon which all applications for approval of subdivision and
land development plans shall be made.
The Board of Supervisors shall establish a schedule of fees and a
collection procedure for all applications and other matters pertaining
to this chapter. No application for preliminary or final approval
shall be deemed to have been submitted until the fee and escrow deposit,
as set forth below, shall have been paid and the applications are
properly signed and filed in the form required by this chapter. The
fees and fee schedule shall be adopted by resolution by the Board
of Supervisors.
A subdivision or land development application fee (nonrefundable)
and an escrow deposit shall be submitted with any application for
preliminary or final plan approval to cover the costs of plan review
and processing.
The escrowed funds shall be used to reimburse the Township for
actual expenditures incident to these processes, including but not
limited to fees of the Township Engineer and legal fees in excess
of the fee for review of the Township's standard forms.
Any costs incurred by the Township in excess of the amount held
in escrow shall be fully reimbursed by the applicant prior to the
issuance of any permits.
If a mandatory provision of this chapter is shown by the applicant
to the satisfaction of the Board of Supervisors at a scheduled public
meeting to be unreasonable and to cause unique and undue hardship
as it applies to his proposed subdivision or land development, the
Board of Supervisors, upon obtaining the comments and recommendations
of the Planning Commission, may grant a modification in writing (waiver)
to such applicant from such mandatory provision so that substantial
justice may be done and the public interest secured, provided that
such variance will not have the effect of nullifying the intent and
purposes of this chapter.
In granting modifications, the Board of Supervisors may impose such
conditions as will, in its judgment, secure substantially the objectives
of the standards or requirements so varied or modified.
The Board of Supervisors of West Bradford Township may, from time
to time, revise, modify and amend this chapter by appropriate action
taken at a scheduled public meeting, all in accordance with the applicable
provisions of Act 247.[1]
Except for an amendment proposed by the Township Planning Commission,
the Board of Supervisors shall submit any proposed amendment to the
Planning Commission for its review and recommendation at least 30
days prior to the date fixed for the public hearing on such proposed
amendment. The recommendations of the Planning Commission shall be
submitted to the Board of Supervisors in a written report.
At least 30 days prior to the hearing on the proposed amendment,
the Board of Supervisors shall submit any proposed amendment to the
Chester County Planning Commission for review and recommendation.
The Board shall take no action to approve or deny any proposed amendment
until 30 days have been allowed for the receipt of such report.
Notice of the date, time and place of the public hearing on
the proposed amendment and the content of such notice shall be in
accordance with Section 506 of Act 247.[2]
In the event substantial amendments are made in the proposed
ordinance or amendment before voting on the enactment, the Board of
Supervisors, at least 10 days prior to enactment, shall readvertise
a brief summary setting forth all the provisions in reasonable detail
together with a summary of the amendments.
Within 30 days following adoption, the Township shall forward
a certified copy of any amendments to this chapter to the Chester
County Planning Commission.
Any person, partnership or corporation who or which has violated
the provisions of this Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance
or prior ordinances shall, upon being found liable therefor in a civil
enforcement proceeding commenced by the municipality, pay a judgment
of not more than $500 plus all court costs, including reasonable attorneys'
fees incurred by the municipality 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 Magisterial District
Judge. If the defendant neither pays nor timely appeals the judgment,
the municipality 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 Magisterial District Judge determining that there has been
a violation further determines that there was a good faith basis for
the person, partnership or corporation violating the ordinance to
have believed that 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
Magisterial District Judge, and thereafter each day that a violation
continues shall constitute a separate violation.
Nothing 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.
The Township may bring any action in law or in equity to enforce
the provisions of this chapter and is authorized to undertake any
of the preventive remedies set forth in Section 515.1 of Act 247.[1]
The decision of the Board of Supervisors with respect to the
approval or disapproval of plans may be appealed directly to court
as provided for in Act 247.