The approval of any plat under this chapter by the Approving
Board shall in no way be construed as acceptance of any street, drainage
system(s) or other improvements required by this chapter, nor shall
such plat approval obligate the township in any way to maintain or
exercise jurisdiction over such street, drainage system(s) or other
improvement. Acceptance of any street, drainage system(s) or other
improvement by the township shall be implemented only by favorable
action by the Township Committee. No improvement shall be accepted
by the Township Committee unless and until all of the following conditions
have been met:
A. The Township Engineer shall have certified, in writing, that all
the improvements are complete and that they comply fully with the
requirements of this chapter and of other applicable local ordinances.
B. The final plat shall have been approved by the Approving Board.
C. All improvements required by the Approving Board shall, before being
accepted by the township, be covered by a maintenance guaranty running
in favor of the Township of Knowlton in the amount not to exceed 15%
of the estimated cost of the improvements as estimated by the Township
Engineer. Said maintenance guaranty shall run for a period of two
years and provide for the proper repair and/or replacement of any
such improvements during said period. The two-year period shall be
from the date of the acceptance of the improvements by the township,
and no performance guaranty shall be released by the township until
such time as the maintenance guaranty herein required has been posted
with the township.
In the event that other governmental agencies or public utilities
automatically will own the utilities to be installed or the improvements
are covered by a performance or maintenance guaranty to another governmental
agency, no performance or maintenance guaranty, as the case may be,
shall be required by the municipality for such utilities or improvements.
The governing body shall not accept any road or other improvements
into the municipal road system or for municipal ownership until the
maintenance guaranty has been posted and all deficiencies are corrected
or repaired.
No certificate of occupancy shall be issued for any building
or structure until all improvements as shown on the approved plans
shall have been installed by the developer and approved by the Township
Engineer and a certificate of compliance from the Soil Conservation
Service has been issued, except that a certificate of occupancy may
be issued if the following conditions are met:
A. The Township Engineer shall certify, in writing, to the Construction
Official that all required utility improvements, curbs and/or gutters
and the intermediate course of the road have been installed, inspected
and approved and that the best interests of the township require a
delay for engineering reasons before the developer completes the other
improvements. The developer shall post a cash bond in the amount approved
by the Township Engineer for that portion of the improvements yet
to be completed and for maintenance of those completed in the particular
section for which certificates of occupancy have been requested.
B. The developer shall notify each homeowner that he or she has deposited
funds with the township to guarantee the completion and maintenance
of the required improvements, and a copy thereof, together with proof
of service, shall be filed with the Construction Official. The maintenance
guaranty shall remain in effect for two years from the date of approval
of the improvement by the Township Engineer.
C. Prior to the issuance of a certificate of occupancy for a lot or
site awaiting landscaping, the developer shall have graded the land
or lot to which the certificate of occupancy applies in a manner approved
by the Township Engineer to ensure proper drainage and to have installed
appropriate measures to prevent soil erosion and sedimentation.
D. In the event that a certificate of occupancy is requested for a subdivision
or site plan where improvements, which will not be turned over to
the Township, remain incomplete, the township may require that a cash
bond be posted to assure the completion or installation of said private
improvements.
E. In the event that the road is not accepted by the Township Committee,
no certificate of occupancy shall be issued unless:
(1) The base course and drainage facilities for the road have been installed
to the satisfaction of the Township Engineer.
(2) The applicant has posted a bond acceptable to the Township Attorney
for the installation of the top course.
(3) The applicant has entered into a developer's agreement that requires
maintenance of the road by the applicant, including but not limited
to snow removal and repairs, until the acceptance of the road by the
Township Committee.
F. The performance guaranty for the uncompleted improvement remains
in full force and effect in accordance with the terms of this chapter.
Applicants shall be required, as a condition for approval of
all subdivisions, site plans or conditional use, to pay their pro
rata share of the cost of providing reasonable and necessary street
improvements and/or water, sewerage and drainage facility improvements
and any necessary easements therefor located outside the property
limits of the subject premises but necessitated for safety considerations
or required by construction or improvements within such subdivision
or development. The following criteria shall be utilized in determining
the developer's proportionate pro rata monetary share for the necessary
off-tract developments.
In cases where the need for an off-tract improvement is created
by the proposed subdivision or development and where no other property
owners receive a special benefit thereby (as opposed to a mere incidental
benefit), the applicant may be required, as a condition of approval
and at the applicant's sole expense, to acquire and/or improve lands
outside the tract and dedicate such lands to Knowlton Township or
Warren County or, in lieu thereof, require the subdivider or developer
to deposit with the township a sum of money sufficient to allow the
township to acquire and/or improve such lands on conditions it may
deem appropriate under the circumstances.
In cases where the need for any off-tract improvements to be
implemented now or in the future is necessitated by safety considerations
or required by the proposed development application and where it is
determined that properties outside the development will also be benefitted
by the improvement, the following criteria, together with the provisions
or rules and regulations of Knowlton Township or any department thereof,
may be utilized in determining the developer's proportionate share
of such improvements:
A. Sanitary sewers. For distribution facilities, including the installation,
relocation or replacement of collector, trunk and interceptor sewers
and the installation, relocation or replacement of other appurtenances
associated therewith, the applicant's proportionate share shall be
computed as follows:
(1) The capacity and the design of the sanitary sewer system shall be
based on the Rules and Regulations for the Preparation and Submission
of Plans for Sewerage Systems, New Jersey State Department of Environmental
Protection, and any Knowlton Township sewer design standards, including
infiltration standards.
(2) Developer's pro rata share:
(a)
The capacity of the existing system to serve the entire improved
drainage area shall be computed. If the system is able to carry the
total development drainage basin, no improvement or enlargement cost
will be assigned to the developer although some charges, including
but not limited to capacity charges, may be imposed. If the existing
system does not have adequate capacity for the total development drainage
basin, the prorated enlargement or improvement share shall be computed
as follows:
Developer's Cost
Total Enlargement or
Improvement Cost
|
=
|
Development GPD
Total Tributary GPD
|
(b)
If it is necessary to construct a new system in order to develop
the subdivision or development, the prorated enlargement share to
the developer shall be computed as follows:
Developer's Cost
Total Project Cost
|
=
|
Development Tributary GPD
Total Tributary GPD to New System
|
(c)
The plans for the improved system or the extended system shall
be prepared by the developer's engineer. All work shall be calculated
by the developer and approved by the Township Engineer.
B. Roadways. For street widening, alignment, channelization of intersections,
construction of barriers, new or improved traffic signalization, signs,
curbs, sidewalks, trees, utility improvement uncovered elsewhere,
the construction or reconstruction of new or existing streets and
other associated streets or traffic improvements, the applicant's
proportionate cost shall be determined as follows:
(1) The applicant's engineer shall provide the Township Engineer with
the existing a.m. and p.m. peak-hour volumes which impact the off-tract
areas in question, which volumes shall analyze pedestrian, bicycle
and motor vehicle traffic. Additionally, the applicant shall provide
the service flow rate (SF) for a Level of Service C in the affected
roadways. The service flow rate shall include the total traffic in
both directions measured in passenger cars per hour. The applicant's
engineer, with concurrence of the Township Engineer, shall determine
the off-tract areas impacted by the project by including all local
roadways from the project site to the nearest county or state highway
facility.
(2) The applicant shall furnish a plan for the proposed off-tract improvements,
which shall include an estimated a.m. and p.m. peak-hour traffic generated
by the proposed development. Included in the proposed plan shall be
all appropriate intersection improvement affecting the local roadway
at their intersection with county or state highways, together with
the level of improvement of affected local roadways in order to establish
or maintain a flow rate for Level of Service C. The pro rata share
shall be computed as follows:
Developer's Cost
Total Cost of Roadway
Improvement and\or Extension
|
=
|
Highest Peak-Hour Traffic
Generated by the Development
Service Flow Rate for Level of
Service C at Highest Peak Hour
|
(3) For purposes of this calculation, the future a.m. and p.m. peak-hour
traffic generated by the development as well as the service flow rate
for Level of Service C shall be calculated by utilizing the Highway
Capacity Manual published by the Transportation Research Board Latest
Edition.
(4) The plans for the improved system or the extended system shall be
prepared by the developer's engineer. All work shall be calculated
by the developer and approved by the Township Engineer.
C. Drainage improvements. For the stormwater and drainage improvements,
including the installation, relocation or replacement of storm drains,
culverts, catch basins, manholes, riprap or improved drainage ditches
and appurtenances thereto and the relocation or replacement of other
storm drainage facilities or appurtenances associated therewith, the
applicant's proportionate share shall be determined as follows:
(1) The capacity and design of the drainage system to accommodate stormwater
runoff shall be based on a method described in Urban Hydrology for
Small Watershed, Technical Release 55, Soil Conservation Service USDA,
January 1975, as amended, and shall be computed by the developer's
engineer and approved by the Township Engineer.
(2) The capacity of the enlarged, extended or improved system required
for the subdivision or development and areas outside of the subdivision
or development shall be computed by the developer's engineer and be
subject to the approval of the Township Engineer. The prorated share
for the proposed improvement shall be computed as follows:
Developer's Cost
Total Enlargement or
Improvement Cost of
Drainage Facilities
|
=
|
Development CFS
Total Tributary CFS
|
(3) The plans for the improved system or the extended system shall be
prepared by the developer's engineer. All work shall be calculated
by the developer and approved by the Township Engineer.
D. In all of the above cases, the applicant shall be charged with the
cost of the additional criteria:
(1) The difference in the cost of the improvement necessitated by the
proposed development application and the sum of the total special
benefits conferred on other properties outside the development.
(2) The cost factor attributable to the applicant that reasonably reflects
the need for the improvement.
In the event that a minor or major subdivision or site plan
adjoins or includes existing township streets that do not conform
to widths as shown on either the Master Plan or Official Map or the
street width requirements of this chapter, additional land along both
sides of the street sufficient to conform to the right-of-way requirements
shall be provided. The additional widening shall be provided to the
township for the location, installation, repair and maintenance of
streets, drainage facilities, utilities and other facilities customarily
located on street rights-of-way and shall be expressed on the plat
as follows: "Street right-of-way easement granted to the Township
of Knowlton permitting the township to enter upon these lands for
the purposes provided for and expressed in the Land Subdivision Ordinance
of the Township of Knowlton." This statement on an approved plat shall
in no way reduce the developer's responsibility to provide, install,
repair or maintain the facilities in the area dedicated by ordinance
and/or as shown on the plat and/or as provided for by any maintenance
or performance guaranties. If the subdivision or site plan is along
one side only, 1/2 of the required extra width measured from the center
line of the roadway shall be dedicated and that portion of the existing
street or road adjoining or included within a subdivision or site
plan shall be improved, including excavation, grading, gravel base,
drainage facility and surfacing, in accordance with the road improvement
standards of this chapter.
Where the proposed off-site and off-tract improvement is to
be undertaken at a future date, funds required for the improvement
shall be deposited to the credit of Knowlton Township in a separate
account until such time as the improvement is constructed. In lieu
of a cash escrow account, developers may present irrevocable letters
of credit for the term required in a form acceptable to the Township
Attorney. If the off-site and off-tract improvement is not begun within
10 years of the deposit, all moneys and interest shall be returned
to the applicant or the letter of credit, as the case may be, surrendered.
An off-site and off-tract improvement shall be considered begun if
Knowlton Township has taken legal steps to provide for the design
and financing of such improvements.