The title of this ordinance shall be "An Ordinance to Require
Clear Sight Triangle Provisions at the Intersections of Public Streets."
For the purposes of this article and any rules and regulations
promulgated pursuant thereto, the following definitions shall apply:
PRIVATE STREET
A roadway that is otherwise built to public standards that
the Township does not accept.
TRAVEL LANE
The designated width of roadway pavement to carry through
traffic and to separate it from opposing traffic, traffic occupying
other travel lanes, a parking lane or the shoulder. The travel lane
may be delineated on one or both sides by travel lane pavement markings.
If the travel lane is not delineated on both sides by travel lane
pavement markings, the travel lane shall be 12 feet in width as measured
from an adjoining travel lane pavement marking or from the center
line of the street or from the edge of another travel lane (should
the road contain more than two unmarked travel lanes). The inner edge
of the travel lane is always closest to the center line of the street;
the outer edge of the travel lane is always the most distant from
the center line of the street.
Upon discovery of any violation of this article, the Township may, in its sole and absolute discretion, forgo any prosecution hereunder, and may grant the owner a period of 30 calendar days to comply with the provisions of this article and remove the violation. If the Township, in its sole and absolute discretion, determines the violation to be of an emergency nature, the Township need not provide a thirty-calendar-day period to cure the violation and may immediately commence to abate the violation pursuant to §
304-42. The Township's Code Enforcement Officer, Public Works Manager or other employee or agent designated by the Township from time to time shall have the power and duty to administer and enforce the provisions of this article.
If the owner of property upon which the violation of this article
is located does not comply with the notice to abate the violation
within the time limit prescribed, or in the event that the Township,
in its sole and absolute discretion, determines the violation to be
of an emergency nature, without any prior notice, the Township shall
have the authority to, and may, take measures to correct the conditions
and collect the cost of such corrections plus 10% of all costs.
A violation of the clear sight triangle requirements may be
permitted upon application to and approval by the Board of Commissioners.
A. Appeal process.
(1) Application. An applicant may submit an appeal application to the
Board of Commissioners. The appeal application shall conform to the
requirements listed below or be deemed incomplete and rejected. The
applicant may provide additional materials as necessary to support
the appeal. The application shall, at a minimum, consist of the following:
(a)
A completed "Professional Staff Consultation Application," including
W-9, Agreement, and fee and escrow for "Civil and Land Planning Engineering
Review."
(b)
Five copies of a scaled plan showing sufficient detail of the
intersection in question to support the appeal, showing, at a minimum,
the intersection, the clear sight triangle and violation.
(c)
Written justification for the appeal.
(2) Procedure.
(a)
The Township, within 10 days of receipt of an appeal application,
shall forward one copy of the application to the Township Engineer
and one copy to the Department of Community Development for review
by the Township Public Safety Commission.
(b)
The Public Safety Commission shall review the plan and submission
and submit a written recommendation to the Board of Commissioners.
(c)
Following the submission of the written recommendation by the
Public Safety Commission, the Board of Commissioners shall review
the appeal application and render a written decision on the application.
(d)
Should the Board of Commissioners' written decision stipulate
conditions of approval on the appeal, the applicant shall accept the
stipulated conditions in writing within 10 days of the date of the
written decision. Failure to do so renders the approval of the appeal
null and void.
(3) Public Safety Commission review.
(a)
The Public Safety Commission shall review the appeal application
materials presented by the applicant and the review comments of staff,
the Township Engineer and other applicable reviewing agencies. The
Public Safety Commission shall consider whether continuation of the
violation constitutes an unreasonable impact to public safety. Consideration
may include, but is not limited to, the following:
[1]
Traffic control measures available at the intersection in question.
[2]
The speed limits of all streets entering the intersection.
[3]
The topography of the area surrounding the intersection in question.
[4]
Other traffic-calming devices installed or strategies implemented
that impact the traffic flow through the intersection in question.
(b)
The Public Safety Commission may consider the implementation
of actions that seek to mitigate the impact to public safety by the
continuation of the violation in their determination.
(c)
The Public Safety Commission shall render a written recommendation
to the Board of Commissioners. The Public Safety Commission may attach
such reasonable conditions and safeguards to this recommendation as
it may deem necessary to ensure the public safety.
(4) Board of Commissioners review and decision. The Board of Commissioners
shall review the appeal application materials presented by the applicant,
the review comments of staff, the Township Engineer and other applicable
reviewing agencies, and the recommendations of the Public Safety Commission.
The Board of Commissioners shall consider whether continuation of
the violation, with consideration to any mitigating actions recommended
by the Public Safety Commission, constitutes an unreasonable impact
to public safety. The Board of Commissioners shall then render a decision
and may attach such reasonable conditions and safeguards to this decision
as it may deem necessary to ensure the public safety.
(5) Closure of application and applicant notification. The Board of Commissioners
shall render a written decision to the applicant, the Community Development
Department and the Township Engineer. The appeal application is deemed
closed 10 days after the date of the written decision.
B. Should the owner of a property upon which the violation of this article
is located submit an appeal to have the violation permitted by the
Board of Commissioners, the above-mentioned thirty-day requirement
to remove the violation is suspended pending resolution of the application.
At such time as the appeal is deemed closed, the suspension of the
thirty-day requirement is lifted and the owner of the property upon
which the violation of this article is located shall have the remainder
thirty-day time frame to remove the violation, unless otherwise specified
by the Board of Commissioners.
Any person violating any of the provisions of this article or
failing to comply therewith, or with any of the requirements thereof,
shall upon conviction before a Magisterial District Judge, be sentenced
to pay a fine of not more than $1,000 per day the violation exists,
in addition to the costs of prosecution. Each day that a violation
continues shall constitute a separate offense.