[Ord. 2000-02, 3/9/2000, § 401]
1.
Hereafter, all preliminary and final subdivision or land development
plans shall be reviewed by the Franklin Planning Commission and the
County Planning Commission and shall be approved or disapproved by
the Township Board of Supervisors in accordance with the procedure
specified in this chapter. Any application not processed as required
hereafter shall be null and void unless it was made prior to the adoption
of these regulations.
2.
All subdivision applications shall be, for the purposes of procedure, classified as either minor or major. Reference should be made to § 22-202 for their definition.
3.
Landowners submitting an application for subdivision or land development
shall apply for and secure approval in accordance with the following
procedures:
4.
Nothing contained herein shall prevent a landowner from first submitting
a sketch plan for a minor subdivision.
5.
Preliminary and final subdivision or land development plan proposals
and sketch plans shall be submitted to the Township Secretary who
will make the appropriate distributions for review. All plans shall
be submitted with the necessary application forms and fees as determined
by the Board of Supervisors. The submission of a sketch plan shall
not be considered the application for approval of a plat as defined
by § 508 of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code,
53 P.S. § 10508.
[Ord. 2000-02, 3/9/2000, § 402]
1.
A sketch plan for all major subdivisions or land development and
for minor subdivisions, at the option of the developer, shall be submitted
to the Planning Commission for review. Submission of a sketch plan
is highly recommended to encourage discussion of alternate design
options prior to expenditure on preliminary work. Submission of a
sketch plan does not constitute a formal subdivision or land development
application as defined by § 508 of the Pennsylvania Municipalities
Planning Code, 53 P.S. § 10508.
3.
Sketch plans shall be submitted at least 30 days prior to the submission
of any preliminary plan.
4.
Sketch plans shall be submitted at least 14 days prior to the Township
Planning Commission meeting.
[Ord. 2000-02, 3/9/2000, § 403]
1.
The Planning Commission shall review the sketch plan at its regularly
scheduled meeting. As far as practical, the Planning Commission shall
inform the applicant as to the consistency of the sketch plan with
this chapter and the Township's Comprehensive Plan. A full discussion
of the submittal process should also take place at this time so that
a clear understanding of the procedure exists on behalf of the applicant.
2.
The applicant may, but need not, request further review of the sketch
plan by the Board of Supervisors. Upon receiving written request by
the applicant, the Board of Supervisors may consider the sketch plan.
The Board of Supervisors may meet with the applicant and may advise
the applicant as to the concerns of the Board. The Board is not required
to review the sketch plan nor to submit comments to the applicant
if the Board does not review the plan.
[Ord. 2000-02, 3/9/2000, § 404; as amended by Ord.
2008-01, 1/16/2008, § 1]
1.
A preliminary plan shall be submitted to the Township for all major
subdivisions and land development proposals.
3.
All preliminary plans shall be submitted at least 14 days prior to
the Township Planning Commission meeting.
4.
No preliminary plan shall be considered complete without the following:
5.
Copies of the preliminary plans shall be distributed by the Township
Secretary to the following officials and agencies for their review
and comment:
A.
One copy to Township Board of Supervisors.
B.
Two copies to Township Planning Commission.
C.
One copy to Township Zoning Officer.
D.
One copy to Township Engineer.
E.
Two copies to Chester County Health Department.
F.
One copy to Chester County Planning Commission.
G.
One copy to Chester County Conservation District.
H.
Three copies to Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.
6.
Additional copies of the preliminary plan, to be supplied by the
applicant, shall be distributed by the Township Secretary to the following
agencies as warranted by the proposal:
A.
One copy to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. When a
proposed subdivision or land development abuts, is traversed by, or
otherwise has access to an existing or proposed state highway.
B.
One copy to each public utility. When a proposed subdivision or land
development abuts or is traversed by an easement or right-of-way belonging
to a public utility; one copy shall be sent to each utility. When
any proposed subdivision or land development will access any utility,
one copy of the plan shall be sent to each such utility.
C.
One copy to the fire department having jurisdiction. When new public
or private streets are proposed.
D.
One copy to the adjacent municipality(ies). When the proposed subdivision
or land development abuts or extends into an adjacent municipality(ies),
one copy of the plan shall be sent as a courtesy to that municipality(ies).
7.
All preliminary plans shall be submitted with a title insurance certificate
and documentation of any and all encumbrances, conservation easements,
restrictive covenants, deed restrictions, any other filings listed
on said certificate, for each parcel being subdivided and/or developed.
[Ord. 2000-02, 3/9/2000, § 405]
1.
The Township Planning Commission shall review the preliminary plan
at the first regular meeting of the Commission following the submittal
of a complete preliminary plan.
2.
The Township Planning Commission shall review the preliminary plan
for consistency with the Comprehensive Plan and this chapter.
3.
The Township Planning Commission shall review and make its recommendations
in writing to the Board of Supervisors within such time as will permit
the Board to make a timely decision under the applicable law.
4.
The Board of Supervisors, at a regularly scheduled meeting or special
meeting, shall act to either approve, conditionally approve, or disapprove
the preliminary plan. This decision shall be made within 90 days following
the date of the regular meeting of the Planning Commission next following
the date the application is filed; provided, that should the said
next regular meeting of the Planning Commission occur more than 30
days following the submittal of a complete preliminary plan, the said
ninety-day period shall be measured from the 30th day following the
date the complete preliminary plan is filed.
5.
No action shall be taken by the Board with respect to a preliminary
plan until it has received and considered the recommendations and
comments of the County Planning Commission. In the event that these
recommendations are not forthcoming within 30 days of plan receipt
by the County, the Board may act without having considered the review.
A referral letter from the Township shall accompany all plan submittals
to the county.
6.
The decision of the Board of Supervisors shall be in writing and
shall be communicated to the applicant personally or mailed to the
applicant no later than 15 days following the decision.
7.
When the preliminary plan is not approved as submitted, the decision
shall specify the defects found in the application and describe the
requirements which have not been met, and shall in each case, cite
the provisions of the statute or ordinance relied upon.
8.
When deemed desirable, the applicant may be requested to agree, in
writing, to an extension of time beyond the ninety-day period prescribed
by this section in which a decision concerning the status of an application
for approval of a plan is to be rendered. Upon receipt of the applicant's
written agreement, the Board shall render a decision and communicate
it, in the prescribed manner, to the applicant before termination
of the extended time period.
9.
Any special exceptions, conditional uses and/or variances required
for a subdivision must be approved prior to preliminary plan approval.
[Ord. 2000-02, 3/9/2000, § 406]
1.
A final plan shall be submitted to the Township for all minor and
major subdivision and land development proposals.
3.
All final plans shall be submitted at least 14 days prior to the
Township Planning Commission meeting.
4.
No final plan shall be considered complete without the following:
5.
The final plan and other materials as applicable shall be submitted
to the Township Secretary for distribution and approval within 12
months of the approval of the preliminary plan by the Board of Supervisors.
7.
The Township Secretary shall submit a final plan to the County Planning
Commission for review and comment only when:
8.
The applicant shall be responsible for submitting the plan to other
applicable agencies if the plan comes under their jurisdiction. Evidence
of submittal and the responses from such agencies shall be presented
to the Board of Supervisors. Receipt of such information may be a
prerequisite to the Board of Supervisors taking action on final plans.
[Ord. 2000-02, 3/9/2000, § 407]
1.
The Township Planning Commission shall review the final plan at the
first regular meeting of the Commission following the submittal of
a complete final plan.
2.
The final plan and supporting data (including reports from the Pennsylvania
Department of Environmental Protection, the Chester County Health
Department, the Chester County Natural Resource Conservation Service,
and the Chester County Planning Commission, if applicable) shall comply
with the provisions of this chapter.
3.
The Township Planning Commission shall review the final plan for
consistency with the approved preliminary plan, the Comprehensive
Plan, the official Sewage Facilities Plan and this chapter.
4.
The Township Planning Commission shall approve, conditionally approve,
or disapprove the final plan and shall submit its findings, in writing,
to the Board of Supervisors and the applicant within 60 days of the
submission of a complete final plan.
5.
After receiving the recommendations of the Township Planning Commission
or after 60 days have passed from the date of submission of the complete
final plan, the Board of Supervisors, at a regularly scheduled meeting
or special meeting, shall act to either approve, conditionally approve,
or disapprove the final plan. This decision shall be made within 90
days following the date of the regular meeting of the Planning Commission
next following the date the application is filed; provided, that should
the said next regular meeting of the Planning Commission occur more
than 30 days following the submittal of a complete final plan, the
said ninety-day period shall be measured from the 30th day following
the date the complete final plan is filed.
6.
In the event that the County Planning Commission is required to review
the final plan, such review shall take no more than 30 days following
the submittal to the county. No action shall be taken by the Board
of Supervisors until the county review has been received. In the event
that the county takes more than its allotted 30 days to review the
plan, the Board may act on its own.
[Amended by A.O.]
7.
The decision of the Board of Supervisors shall be in writing and
shall be communicated to the applicant personally or mailed to the
applicant no later than 15 days following the decision.
8.
When the final plan is not approved as submitted, the decision shall
specify the defects found in the application and describe the requirements
which have not been met, and shall in each case, cite the provisions
of the statute or ordinance relied upon.
9.
When deemed desirable, the applicant may be requested to agree, in
writing, to an extension of time beyond the ninety-day period prescribed
by this section in which a decision concerning the status of an application
for approval of a plan is to be rendered. Upon receipt of the applicant's
written agreement, the Board shall render a decision and communicate
it, in the prescribed manner, to the applicant before termination
of the extended time period.
[Ord. 2000-02, 3/9/2000, § 408]
1.
In the event a subdivision or land development is to be constructed
in stages, the final plan requirements shall only apply to those stages
for which final plan approval is sought.
2.
Each final plan for a staged development must conform to the provisions
of the approved preliminary plan.
3.
The approval of a final plan of a portion of a staged development
shall be effective for the five-year period established in § 508(4)
of the Municipalities Planning Code, as amended from time to time,
53 P.S. § 10508(4).
[Ord. 2000-02, 3/9/2000, § 409]
1.
The applicant shall be required to pay such fees at such time to
the Township Secretary as shall be set forth by resolution of the
Board of Supervisors. Fees may be required for, but not limited to:
submission of preliminary plan, submission of final plan, reimbursement
for Township Engineer's review, deed of dedication, field inspections
(if any), and material tests (if any). Any fees required shall be
directly related to the processing of plans.
2.
Fees shall be collected by the Township Secretary in the same manner
as all other stated fees are collected.
3.
Once the applicant has submitted any stage of his subdivision plan
in the required procedure and has paid the required fee, no portion
of such fee shall be refunded despite the fact that the applicant
may abandon the plan, or the plan may be disapproved by the Board.
4.
After approved plans have become null and void, under conditions
described in the Part, any fees paid for said plans, or by the same
applicant for plans for other lands, shall not apply to any subsequent
plans.
5.
The Township may require payment of additional fees for review of
any substantially revised application.
[Ord. 2000-02, 3/9/2000, § 410; as amended by Ord.
2013-04, 12/1/2013, § 3]
All applications for subdivision and land development shall comply with the provisions of Chapter 19, Stormwater Management, the provisions of which are incorporated herein as if set forth fully herein. All applications for subdivision and land development shall include a stormwater management plan and an erosion and sediment pollution control plan when required by Chapter 19, Stormwater Management. Plans required to be submitted pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 19, Stormwater Management, shall accompany both the preliminary (if required) and final plan submission to the Township. Any erosion and sediment pollution control plan which requires approval by the Chester County Conservation District shall receive such approval prior to final plan approval by the Board.
[Ord. 2000-02, 3/9/2000, § 411; as amended by Ord.
2007-03, 8/15/2007, § 1; and by Ord. 2008-05, 11/19/2008,
§ 1]
1.
Every applicant filing for final plan approval shall execute an agreement,
to be approved by the Township, pending the review of the Township
Solicitor, before the final plan is released by the Board of Supervisors
and filed on record. Said agreement shall specify the following, where
applicable:
A.
The applicant agrees that he will lay out and construct all streets and other public improvements, including grading, paving, sidewalks, fire hydrants, water mains, streets signs, shade trees, storm and sanitary sewers, landscaping, traffic control devices, open space areas, and erosion and sediment control measures in accordance with the final plan as approved, where any or all of the these improvements are required by this chapter or as conditions of approval. Construction of said improvements shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of Part 7 and shall be completed within the time or times specified by the Board of Supervisors.
C.
The applicant agrees to have prepared a deed or deeds of dedication
to the Township for such streets, easements for sanitary and storm
sewers, sidewalks, and other public improvements; provided, that the
Township shall not accept dedication of such improvements until their
completion is certified as satisfactory by the Township Engineer or
representing agent.
D.
Whenever an applicant proposes to establish or continue a street
which is not offered for dedication to public use, the Board of Supervisors
shall require the applicant to submit and to record with the plan
a copy of an agreement made with the Board on behalf of himself and
his heirs and assigns, signed by him, and which shall establish the
conditions under which the street may later be offered for dedication.
Stipulations of such agreement shall include, but shall not be limited
to, the following:
(1)
That an offer to dedicate the street shall be made only for
the street as a whole.
(2)
That the Township shall not be responsible for repairing or
maintaining any undedicated streets.
(3)
That the method of assessing repair and maintenance costs of
undedicated streets be stipulated, and be set forth in recorded deed
restrictions so as to be binding on all successors or assigns.
(4)
That, if dedication is to be sought, the street shall conform
to Township specifications or that the owners of the abutting lots
shall at their own expense, bring the streets into conformance with
Township specifications.
(5)
That the Township shall have no automatic responsibilities to
maintain or accept dedication of any proposed improvement.
E.
Where the application involves land disturbance activity, each agreement
shall include the following:
(1)
It is hereby stipulated and agreed that in the event the applicant
(developer), its agents, contractors or assigns, fails to strictly
comply with the provisions of the approved plan regarding erosion
and sedimentation control and stormwater management including, but
not limited to, sequence of construction, maintenance of vegetative
cover on disturbed areas, maintenance of all stormwater control facilities
and full compliance with the requirements of the NPDES permit for
the project, the developer hereby agrees, upon a finding by a magisterial
district judge that the developer has failed to comply, to a stipulated
penalty in the amount of $500 per day for each failure to comply,
and agrees to a stipulated penalty in the amount of $500 per each
day of continued failure to comply, until the failure is corrected
to the satisfaction of the Township. The developer further stipulates
and agrees to immediately stop all development and site work for the
project, with the sole exception of the remedial work necessary to
bring the site into compliance with the approved plan and the NPDES
permit, upon receipt of notice from the Township of any such failure
to comply until the failure is corrected to the satisfaction of the
Township.
[Ord. 2000-02, 3/9/2000, § 412]
1.
Unless the applicant shall complete the installation of required
improvements prior to the final plan being released by the Board of
Supervisors and filed on record, the applicant shall deposit with
the Township financial security in an amount sufficient to cover the
cost of all improvements and common amenities including, but not limited
to, streets, walkways, shade trees, stormwater management facilities,
pipes and other related drainage facilities, recreational facilities,
retaining walls, open space improvements, buffer or screen plantings,
water main and other water supply facilities, fire hydrants, and sanitary
sewage disposal facilities.
2.
Financial security required herein shall be in the form of a federal-
or commonwealth-chartered lending institution irrevocable letter of
credit, a restrictive or escrow account in such institution or with
a financially responsible bonding company, cash or cash equivalent,
or such other type of financial security which the Township may, at
its reasonable discretion, approve. The bonding company may be chosen
by the party posting the financial security; provided, that the said
bonding company or lending institution is authorized to conduct business
within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and stipulates that it will
submit to Pennsylvania jurisdiction and Chester County venue in the
event of legal action.
3.
The said financial security shall provide for, and secure to the
public, the completion of all subdivision improvements for which such
security is being posted within one year of the date fixed on the
subdivision plan and subdivision agreement for completion of such
improvements.
4.
The amount of financial security shall be equal to 110% of the costs,
plus engineering and inspection costs, of the required improvements
for which financial security is to be posted. Estimates shall involve
an itemized listing of each improvement or activity. The cost of the
improvements shall be established by:
A.
Submission to the Board of Supervisors of bona fide bid or bids from
the contractor or contractors chosen by the party posting the financial
security to complete the improvements. Said bid or bids shall be reviewed
by the Township Engineer for reasonableness and a recommendation forwarded
to the Board.
B.
In the absence of such bona fide bids as described above, the costs
shall be established by estimates prepared by the developer and approved
by the Township Engineer.
|
It shall be at the discretion of the Board to select which estimate
shall be used.
|
5.
If the party posting the financial security requires more than one
year from the date of posting of the financial security to complete
the required improvements, the amount of financial security shall
be increased by an additional 10% for each one-year period beyond
the first anniversary date from posting of financial security or to
an amount not exceeding 110% of the cost of completing the required
improvements as reestablished on or about the expiration of the preceding
one-year period by using the above bidding procedure.
6.
As the work of installing the required improvements proceeds, the
party posting the financial security may request the Board of Supervisors
to release or authorize to be released, from time to time, such portions
of the financial security necessary for payment to the contractor
or contractors performing the work. Any such requests shall be in
writing addressed to the Board of Supervisors, and the Board shall
have 45 days from receipt of such request within which to allow the
Township Engineer to certify, in writing, that such portion of the
work upon the improvements has been completed in accordance with the
approved plans. Upon such certification, the Board shall authorize
release by the bonding company or lending institution of an amount
as estimated by the Township Engineer fairly representing the value
of the improvements completed.
7.
The Township Engineer, in certifying the completion of work for a
partial release, shall not be bound to the amount requested by the
applicant, but shall certify to the Board his independent evaluation
of the proper amount of partial releases.
8.
The Board may, prior to final release at the time of completion and
certification by the Township Engineer, require retention of 10% of
the estimated cost of aforesaid improvements.
9.
Full release of the financial security shall follow the procedures
established in Part 8.
[Ord. 2000-02, 3/9/2000, § 413]
Within 90 days of approval of the final plan by the Board of
Supervisors, the final plan shall be recorded by the applicant in
the office of the Recorder of Deeds of Chester County and a copy of
such final plan with the recording information inscribed on it shall
be furnished to the Township.
[Ord. 2000-02, 3/9/2000, § 414]
1.
Unless the applicant shall complete the installation of required
improvements prior to the final plan being released by the Board of
Supervisors, no construction of land disturbance activities shall
be commenced until the applicant submits to the Township Secretary
a copy of the Recorder of Deeds' receipt for recording of the final
plan. Soil and percolation testing, well drillings, and similar engineering
or surveying activities are excepted from this restriction.
2.
No application for a building permit under Chapter 27, Zoning, shall be issued for any building in any subdivision or land development until the final plans for the said subdivision or land development has been approved and recorded as provided for and until the terms of Subsection 1 have been satisfied.
3.
Where final subdivision or land development approval has been conditioned
upon the submission and approval of individual lot grading plans for
some or all of the lots, no building permit shall be issued for construction
on any such lot until this condition has been complied with.
4.
No water system or sewer system, including extensions to existing
or proposed Township systems or new systems employing sewage treatment
plants, shall be constructed prior to the issuance of appropriate
permits from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection
and from any applicable federal or local agencies.
5.
When building permits are to be issued in a staged development, permits
for subsequent phases shall only be issued upon completion of a minimum
of 75% of the total units or dwellings within a previous stage and
all public improvements supporting said stage have been installed
and certified for acceptance by the Township Engineer.
[Ord. 2000-02, 3/9/2000, § 415]
The approval of any subdivision or land development shall be
as established in § 508(4) of the Municipalities Planning
Code, as amended from time to time, 53 P.S. § 10508(4).
[Ord. 2000-02, 3/9/2000, § 416]
Major modification of the approved plan, as determined by the
Township, shall be resubmitted and reprocessed in the same manner
as the original plan. All site disturbance activities shall cease
pending approval of modified plans.
