A. 
The Township aims to conserve, enhance, and promote the use and retention of common open space, including active and passive open space, to develop a network of recreation, parks, trails, and interconnected natural areas.
B. 
The Township also aims to protect environmentally sensitive areas including steep slopes and wetlands as a natural resource and integral part of open space.
A. 
All developers of major residential subdivisions or land developments, excluding those creating five or less dwelling units, shall dedicate open space commensurate with the number of dwelling units proposed and in a manner meeting the standards of this article and the North Versailles Comprehensive Park, Recreation, and Open Space Plan.
B. 
A deed for the dedication of land required for a particular phase of a plan shall be provided prior to the release of the plat for recordation, not withstanding the Board's right to accept alternative instruments guaranteeing the reservation of required land for public dedication or the developer's reservation of all open space in a preliminary plan as subsequently authorized herein.
C. 
Preliminary plans. Where open space is dedicated in a phased plan, the first phase shall include all such space required on the preliminary plat or the developer shall ensure the reservation of the remaining land through deed covenants or reservations acceptable to the Township Solicitor.
D. 
Open space shall be dedicated at a minimum rate of 0.0223 acres per dwelling unit proposed.
E. 
Where the aforesaid rate of dedication does not provide at least an area equal to the minimum lot size for a single-family home in the respective zoning district in which the development is located, the developer shall provide the remaining amount as the minimum required. The Board may waive this additional requirement when the location and size of the additional land on the site is undesirable for the purposes recommended in the Comprehensive Park, Recreation, and Open Space Plan.
F. 
The Parks and Recreation Department and Recreation Board shall provide a recommendation to the Board within the time allotted for review by the Planning Commission. The Board shall consider said recommendation in its implementation of the Comprehensive Park, Recreation, and Open Space Plan through the evaluation of the open space proposed and consideration of any mutual agreement with the developer regarding alternatives described in this article, including but not limited to fee-in-lieu and construction of facilities.
G. 
While the Board may require public dedication of land to the Township, the Board and developer may mutually agree to dedicate the required land to a homeowners' association. In such a case, the Township Solicitor, prior to final approval, shall approve easements, covenants, homeowners' association documents or condominium declarations. The aforesaid instruments shall ensure the availability of the land to the residents of the subject plan, long-term maintenance with provisions guaranteeing such in favor of the Township wherein properties within the Township may equitably lien properties within the plan for work completed where the related association defaults on such maintenance, preservation of wooded areas and other natural resources, and the perpetual usage of the land for the intended open space or recreational purposes.
A. 
The land offered for dedication shall be accessible to residents in a manner commensurate with National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) standards, in terms of service radius. The land shall bear at least 50 feet or the minimum lot frontage required for single-family homes within the zoning district in which the plan is constructed, whichever is greater, unless portions of the land are accepted for the use of trails by the Board.
B. 
At least 25% of the land dedicated shall be active recreational land and shall be comprised of one contiguous tract area averaging 50 feet in width.
C. 
No more than 25% of the land required to be dedicated shall include areas of wetlands, watercourses, and floodplains, unless the Board finds that additional dedication of such land provides an integral asset to active or passive recreational interests and furthers the objectives of the Comprehensive Park, Recreation, and Open Space Plan.
D. 
Public sewer and water shall be available to land dedicated.
E. 
Land provided shall not be unduly burned by utility easements and rights-of-way, slide-prone soils, and undermining such that active and passive recreational uses commensurate with the Comprehensive Park, Recreation, and Open Space Plan are unreasonably inhibited.
F. 
The configuration of dedicated land shall consider open space corridors, trails, and connections noted in the Comprehensive Park, Recreation, and Open Space Plan, Official Map, and other applicable plans as formally recognized by the Township.
A. 
Fee in lieu of land dedication.
(1) 
The developer, upon mutual agreement with the Township, where each finds that the provision of adequate recreational facilities for the future residents of the subject subdivision or land development are better served by the acquisition or expansion of recreational facilities developed directly by the Township, may provide a fee in lieu of land dedication otherwise required.
(2) 
The fee, charged on a unit basis, shall be reasonably commensurate with the average value of undeveloped residentially zoned land throughout the Township on a per acre basis divided by 0.223 acres required with reasonable consideration for the additional costs of grading improvements required to provide proper active recreational areas. The per-unit fee in lieu of land dedication shall be $800 per dwelling unit.
(3) 
The fee shall be allocated to a specific park accessible to the future residents of the plan per NRPA Standards, to be utilized in the purchase of additional land, development thereof, or installation of additional facilities. The fee shall be deposited in an interest-bearing account clearly identifying the recreational facility or project for which the fee was received. Interest earned shall become a fund of that account.
(4) 
Upon request of any person who paid any fee under this subsection, the Township shall refund such fee, plus interest accumulated thereon from the date of payment, if the Township has failed to utilize the fee paid for the purposes set forth in this section within three years from the date such fee was paid.
(5) 
The developer shall consent to the allocation of the fee in lieu to a particular park or project through the acceptance of a specific condition noted such in the Board's approval of the respective subdivision or land development.
(6) 
The fee-in-lieu authorized by this chapter shall, upon receipt by the Township, be deposited in an interest-bearing account, clearly identifying the specific recreation facilities for which the fee was received. Interest earned on such accounts shall become funds of that account. Funds from such accounts shall be expended only in properly allocable portions of the cost incurred to construct the specific recreation facilities for which the funds were collected.
(7) 
Upon request of any person who paid any fee under this article, the Township shall refund such fee, plus interest accumulated thereon from the date of payment, if the Township has failed to utilize the fee paid for the purposes set forth in this article within three years from the date such fee was paid.
B. 
Construction of facilities.
(1) 
Where the developer proposes the construction of recreational facilities accessible to the residents of the proposed plan, the Board may accept the value of these facilities as a fulfillment of the requirements of this section if the value meets of exceeds the fee in lieu otherwise required for the development.
(2) 
The facilities shall meet applicable safety and construction standards, including the Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code and NRPA standards.
(3) 
The Board shall find that the proposed facilities equate to the needs of the anticipated residents of a plan and provide the types of recreation and open space recommended in the Comprehensive Park, Recreation, and Open Space Plan.
C. 
The Board, upon mutual agreement with the developer, may accept a combination of land, fees, and facilities where the value of all land, fees, and facilities equal or exceed the value of the fee in lieu of land dedication required for the site. The land value assigned shall equal the per unit fee-in-lieu for every 0.223 acres of land offered, or fraction thereof.
A. 
The Board shall require the posting of security necessary to guarantee the construction of facilities or grading of active recreational land as public improvements.
B. 
Said dedication shall be required for construction and improvements to land that is approved to be publicly dedicated and that land that shall be privately owned and maintained.