[Ord. No. 198,
passed 12-14-1989]
The Council may grant a modification of the requirements of
one or more provisions of these Regulations if the literal enforcement
of such provisions will exact undue hardship because of peculiar conditions
pertaining to the land in question, provided that such a modification
will not be contrary to the public interest and that the purpose and
intent of these Regulations are observed.
All requests for modifications shall be in writing and shall
accompany and be a part of the application for development. The request
shall state in full the grounds and facts of unreasonableness or hardship
upon which the request is based, the provision or provisions of these
Regulations involved, and the minimum modification necessary.
The Council shall keep a written record of all action taken
on all requests for modifications.
[Ord. No. 198,
passed 12-14-1989]
[Ord. No. 198,
passed 12-14-1989; Ord. No. 234, passed 1-21-1992]
(a)
Subdivision and land development application fees and initial escrow
deposits for plan review and processing shall be fixed by the Township
Council by resolution. In addition to such fees and escrow deposits,
all disbursements by the Township incident to plan review, approval
and processing in excess of the amount required by escrow deposits,
and all inspections of construction, including, but not necessarily
limited to, planning and engineering fees, inspection fees, costs
of materials, site testing, or any maintenance of lots prior to the
acceptance of improvements by the Township, shall be reimbursed to
the Township for actual costs by the applicant. In addition, any legal
fees incurred by the Township in excess of review of the Township's
standard forms shall be reimbursed in the same manner.
(b)
All such reimbursements for costs expended prior to the establishment
of the applicant's performance guarantee shall be made prior
to issuance of any permits. All such reimbursements for costs expended
during construction shall be made out of escrow funds established
as the performance guarantee on a monthly basis.
(c)
Excluding fixed administration costs, the applicant shall be charged
only for time actually expended and detailed in bills from the Township
Planner, Engineer and Solicitor. Any unexpected balance of the deposit
shall be returned to the applicant following certification by the
Township Engineer that all work has been completed satisfactorily.
(d)
The applicant shall reimburse the Township for reasonable and necessary expenses incurred in connection with the inspection of improvements. Such reimbursement shall be based upon a schedule established by resolution by the Township Council. Such expenses shall be reasonable and in accordance with the ordinary and customary fees for similar services in the Township. However, in no event shall the fees exceed the rate or cost charged by the engineer or consultant to the Municipality when fees are not reimbursed or otherwise imposed upon applicants. In the event that the applicant disputes the amount of such expense, then the procedures specified in Section 1234.03(g) shall be followed.
(e)
If actual time charges incurred by either the Township, its Planner,
its Engineer or its Solicitor will exceed the deposited amount, the
Township shall render to the applicant a preliminary statement of
time expended and the additional deposit required to complete reviews.
Such required additional amounts must be deposited with the Township
Secretary prior to the issuance of the building permit.
(f)
Costs incurred by the Township in an initial conference with an applicant, as called for in Chapter 1226, shall not be chargeable to the applicant.
(g)
The amounts of these inspection fees shall be fixed by resolution
of the Township Council.
(h)
If problems arise requiring more extensive involvement of the Township
Planner, Engineer or Solicitor, any resulting costs that exceed the
initial fee will be assessed to the applicant.
(j)
The applicant shall be required to pay interest at the rate of 12%
per annum on all balances for fees which are not paid within 30 days
of the date the Township sends a written bill to the applicant.
[Ord. No. 198,
passed 12-14-1989]
If, in the opinion of the Township Engineer, the nature of any
land disturbance work is such that it may create a hazard to human
life or endanger adjoining property at a higher or lower elevation,
or any street or street improvement, or any other public property,
then the Township Engineer may require that the applicant file a certificate
of insurance showing that he or she is insured against claims for
damages for personal injury and property damage (including damage
to the Township by the deposit or washing of material onto Municipal
streets or other public improvements), which may arise from or out
of the performance of the work, whether such performance be by himself
or herself, his or her subcontractor, or any person directly or indirectly
employed by him or her. The amount of such insurance risks involved
shall be in an amount of not less than $25,000 per occurrence. Such
insurance shall be written by a company licensed to do business in
Pennsylvania and approved by the Township. Neither issuance of a permit
nor compliance with the provisions hereof or with any condition imposed
by the Township shall relieve any person from any responsibility for
damage to persons or property otherwise imposed by law, nor shall
it impose any liability upon the Township for damages to persons or
property.
[Ord. No. 198,
passed 12-14-1989]
In the case of a preliminary or final plan which is approved
by the Township, dependent upon conditions set by the Township, the
applicant shall, within 30 days of receipt from the Township of a
written list of these conditions, inform the Township in writing of
the applicant's acceptance or rejection of these conditions.
Approval of a plat shall be rescinded automatically upon the applicant's
failure to accept or reject such conditions, which acceptance or rejection
shall be in writing and delivered to the Township within the thirty-day
time limit.
[Ord. No. 198,
passed 12-14-1989]
Amendments to these Regulations shall become effective only
after a public hearing held pursuant to public notice which has been
given for two successive weeks no less than 14 days in advance of
the public hearing date and in accordance with the requirements of
Section 505 of the Act. In the case of an amendment, the Township
Council shall submit each such amendment to the County Planning Department
for recommendations at least 30 days prior to the fixed date of the
public hearing on such proposed amendment. Within 30 days after adoption,
the Township Council shall forward a certified copy of any amendment
to these Regulations to the County Planning Agency.
[Ord. No. 198,
passed 12-14-1989]
(a)
Any person, partnership, or corporation who or which violates any
of the provisions of these Regulations, for which no penalty is otherwise
provided, shall, upon being found liable therefor in a civil enforcement
proceeding commenced by the Township, pay a judgment of not more than
$500 plus all court costs, including reasonable attorney fees incurred
by the Township 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 District Justice. If the defendant neither pays
nor timely appeals the judgment, the Township 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 District Justice who determined that there has been a violation
further determines that there was a good faith basis for the person,
partnership, or corporation violating these Regulations to have believed
that there was no such violation. In such an event, there shall be
deemed to have been only one such violation until the fifth day following
the date of said determination of such a violation by the District
Justice; thereafter, each day that a violation continues shall constitute
a separate violation.
(b)
The Court of Common Pleas, upon petition, may grant an order of stay,
upon cause shown, tolling the per diem fine pending a final adjudication
of the violation and judgment.
(c)
Nothing contained 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.
