The plan requirements and processing procedures shall be followed
by land developers/subdividers as set forth herein and shall be submitted
to the Commission for review and approval prior to consideration or
approval by Council. It is the intent of the Borough Council to expedite
the receipt and processing of plans so as to reduce delays that may
result in increased costs or inconvenience to the applicant or to
the Borough. The procedure set forth below establishes maximum time
limits permissible under state law, but the Borough Council, when
possible, will attempt to complete its reviews and approvals in a
timelier manner.
A. Required plans. Preliminary and final plans and other required supporting
data for all proposed subdivisions and land developments shall be
submitted by the applicant to the Borough, together with the then
applicable fee (which shall be established and fixed from time to
time by resolution of the Borough Council) for review. In addition,
prior to submitting the official preliminary plan for review, the
applicant may prepare a sketch plan for informal discussion with the
Borough.
B. Mifflin County Planning Commission and other agency reviews. The
Subdivision Officer shall provide copies of the plans together with
applicable fees submitted by the applicant to the Mifflin County Planning
Commission as well as other appropriate agencies for review and comment.
C. Consideration of plans. Subdivision and land development plans and
supporting data submitted to the Borough will be considered at the
next regularly scheduled meeting of the Lewistown Borough Planning
Commission, provided that they are received at least 10 calendar days
in advance of said meeting.
D. Action. The Borough Council shall consider all plans submitted to
determine compliance with this chapter and shall approve, disapprove
or approve with conditions all submitted plans. After the plan is
filed, the Borough Council shall act upon applications no later than
90 days following the date of the next regular meeting of the Lewistown
Borough Planning Commission that follows the date that the application
is filed, provided that, should the said next regular meeting occur
more than 30 days following the filing of the application, the said
ninety-day period shall be measured from the 30th day following the
day the application has been filed.
E. Notification. The Borough Council shall notify the applicant, in
writing, no later than 15 days after the date when a decision is reached
by the Borough Council. When a plan is not approved, the decision
of the Borough Council shall specify the defects found in the plan
and shall cite the provisions of the ordinance and law that have not
been met.
F. Conditional approvals. If the preliminary or final plan is approved,
subject to conditions, then the applicant shall either accept or reject
such conditions in writing within a period of 15 days of receipt of
such conditions. Any conditional approval shall be rescinded automatically
if the applicant fails to accept or reject such conditions within
the fifteen-day time period established above.
G. Time extension. Failure of the Borough Council to render a decision
and communicate it to the applicant within the time and in the manner
required herein shall be deemed an approval of the application in
terms as presented unless the applicant has agreed in writing to an
extension of time or change in the prescribed manner of presentation
of communication of the decision, in which case failure to meet the
extended time or change in manner of presentation of communication
shall have like effect.
H. Public hearing. Before acting on any preliminary or final plan, the
Borough Council may hold a public hearing thereon after public notice.
I. Sketch plan. Sketch plans are not required by this chapter, but it
is recommended that the applicant submit such a plan in order to establish,
at an early stage in the planning of the subdivision or land development,
the basic conditions required for the approval of a preliminary and
a final plan.
J. Preliminary plan. All major subdivision and land development plans filed with the Borough shall be considered the official preliminary plan. Said preliminary plan shall be reviewed to determine compliance with these regulations, and said plan shall be approved, approved with conditions or rejected or disapproved and the applicant notified accordingly. However, the applicant may proceed to final action at the first consideration of a plan for a minor subdivision in accordance with the definition herein and the procedure set forth in §
220-11.
K. Final plan. After approval of the preliminary plan, the final plan
for the entire subdivision or land development or a final plan for
a section or stage of development, which has been prepared in accordance
with the approved preliminary plan, shall be submitted by the applicant
to the Borough. Said final plan shall be reviewed to determine compliance
with these regulations, and said plan shall be approved, approved
with conditions, rejected or disapproved and the applicant notified
accordingly.
A simplified procedure for the submission and approval of subdivision
and land development plans may be utilized when the following conditions
exist:
A. Minor subdivisions. The applicant of a minor subdivision, as defined herein, may elect to omit the preliminary plan application review set forth above, provided such proposal is on an existing street and no new streets are involved. A minor subdivision is a final plan and shall be processed in accordance with §§
220-9B and
220-21.
B. Lot additions. When a lot addition is being created, information on both the parent and recipient tracts are required. The information can be in the form of a complete survey for both parcels or a partial survey with deed and/or tax parcel data to ensure what the size of the existing parcels is before the approval of the lot addition as well as the new lot configurations after the merger has occurred. [See §
220-21B(1)(g).]
(1) Lot addition subdivision or a lot line adjustment shall not be required
to show the following final plan requirements:
(2) An inset map shall be required for lot additions and where subdivisions
are not directly connected to a public road system. An inset map is
a general location map of sufficient size and detail for the Borough
Council to readily determine geographically where the subdivision
or lot addition is proposed.
(3) Any applicant desirous of following this procedure may also first submit a sketch plan as set forth in §
220-7I in order to expedite the preparation of the final plan.
C. Agricultural parcels. The division of land, by lease, for agricultural
purposes into parcels of more than 10 acres and not involving any
new street or easement access is exempted from the provisions of this
chapter, except that this shall not apply to agricultural subdivisions
that are also used for other purposes such as for recreation, seasonal
residential, commercial, industrial or other nonagricultural activities.
D. Other exemptions. Certain land developments, as set forth in the
definition of "land development" included herein, have been exempted
from the provisions of this chapter.