[Ord. 571, 3/10/1998, § 1.1]
1. 
Enabling Authority/Adoption. The Council of the Borough of West Homestead (Council), in accordance with the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, Act 247 of 1968, as reenacted and amended by Act 170 of 1988, and as subsequently amended, 53 P.S. 10101 et seq. (MPC), enacts the following chapter to regulate the subdivision and development of land in the Borough of West Homestead (Borough).
2. 
Planning Agency Authority. The Planning Commission of the Borough of West Homestead (Commission) is designated as the Borough planning agency with authority to review applications for subdivision and land development submitted pursuant to this chapter and to make recommendations to Council as to approval or denial. The Commission may recommend approval as submitted, approval subject to conditions specified or denial of such applications for specified reasons. The Commission shall make such recommendations in writing and, in the case of recommendations of approval subject to conditions or denial, the Commission shall specify in writing the reasons for such recommendation. Council retains the sole authority to approve, approve subject to conditions or deny applications made pursuant to this chapter.
3. 
Repeal of Prior Ordinance. Any prior Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance as may have been adopted by the Borough is hereby repealed.
4. 
Title. This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "West Homestead Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance."
5. 
Separability. Any section, subsection, or provision of this chapter that is declared to be invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction shall not affect the validity of any other part of this chapter or the ordinance as a whole.
6. 
Amendments. This chapter may be amended by the Council in accordance with the procedures specified in the MPC.
7. 
Effective Date. This chapter shall become effective 14 days after the date of enactment.
[Ord. 571, 3/10/1998, § 1.2; as amended by Ord. 623, 2/14/2006]
1. 
General Purpose. It is the purpose of this chapter to protect and promote the public health, safety, and welfare through the establishment of standards and procedures for the review and approval of subdivisions and land development in West Homestead Borough.
2. 
Specific Purposes. The provisions of this chapter are intended to achieve the following specific purposes.
A. 
To encourage new development that is well-designed, of high quality, and suited to the natural conditions of its site.
B. 
To encourage the coordinated growth of communities; compact, efficient, and economic patterns of development; and to avoid excessive public costs of scattered development.
C. 
To prevent development which may be hazardous because of the physical character of land and to protect and preserve valued natural, historic, and cultural features of the environment.
D. 
To ensure the provision of public improvements which are necessary and appropriate for the development and which are coordinated with nearby areas.
E. 
To provide flexibility in standards and requirements so that the design of development can be fitted to the character of its site and to the community in which it is located.
F. 
To reflect and implement municipal, Borough, and regional plans and policies.
G. 
To provide standards and procedures for the uniform preparation and recording of plans so that the land records of the Borough are accurate and complete.
[Ord. 571, 3/10/1998, § 1.3; as amended by Ord. 623, 2/14/2006]
1. 
Approval Authority. These regulations shall govern the review and approval of subdivisions and land developments in the Borough. Council retains to itself the sole authority to finally approve, approve subject to conditions or deny applications.
2. 
Review Authority. The Commission is vested with authority to review applications submitted pursuant to this chapter and exercise all such powers as provided for in the MPC.
3. 
Review Period. All plans shall be reviewed and approved as submitted, approved subject to condition or denied within the time limits set forth in the Municipalities Planning Code, 53 P.S. § 10101 et seq.
[Ord. 571, 3/10/1998, § 1.4; as amended by Ord. 623, 2/14/2006]
1. 
General. No subdivision or land development of any lot, tract, or parcel of land shall be made, no street, sanitary sewer, storm sewer, water main, or other improvements in connection therewith shall be laid out, constructed, opened or dedicated for public use or travel, or for the common use of occupants of buildings abutting thereon, except in accordance with the provisions of this chapter and of any applicable municipal ordinance.
2. 
Recording Required. All plans of subdivisions and land developments shall be recorded within 90 days after their final approval in the office of the Recorder of Deeds of West Homestead Borough.
3. 
Borough Review Notation Required. The Recorder of Deeds shall not accept any plan for recording unless the plan officially notes the review by the West Homestead Borough Department of Economic Development (Department).
4. 
Effect on Applications Pending or Previously Approved.
A. 
Pending Applications. The provisions of this chapter shall not affect any application for subdivision or land development which is pending approval prior to the effective date of this chapter. Such applications shall comply with regulations in effect at the time they were filed.
B. 
Approved Applications. No provision of this chapter shall adversely affect the right of an applicant to complete any aspect of a plan that was approved prior to the effective date of this chapter in accordance with the terms of such approval within five years from the date of first approval.
[Ord. 571, 3/10/1998, § 1.5]
1. 
Interpretation. The provisions of this chapter shall be held to be minimum requirements for subdivisions and land developments in the Borough of West Homestead.
2. 
Conflict with Other Public Provisions. If any provision of this chapter imposes restrictions which are different from those imposed by any other applicable ordinance, regulation, or provision of law, the provision that is more restrictive or which imposes higher standards shall control.
3. 
Conflict with Private Provisions. If the requirements of this chapter are different from those contained in deed restrictions, covenants, or other private agreements, the requirements that are more restrictive or which impose higher standards shall govern, provided that the private provisions are otherwise lawful.
4. 
Liability. The review or approval of a subdivision or land development by the Borough in accordance with the provisions of this chapter shall not constitute a guarantee of any kind that the proposed development is safe and shall create no liability upon the Borough, its officials, or employees.
[Ord. 571, 3/10/1998, § 1.6]
1. 
Council May Grant. Council may grant a modification or waiver of the requirements of one or more provisions of this chapter for the following reasons, provided that such modification or waiver will not be contrary to the public interest and that the purposes of the ordinance are observed:
A. 
Hardship. The literal enforcement of the provision will exact undue hardship because of peculiar conditions pertaining to the land in question.
B. 
Alternative Standard. An alternative standard can be demonstrated to provide equal or better results.
2. 
Requests in Writing. All requests for modifications or waivers shall be in writing and shall accompany and be a part of the application. The requests shall state in full the grounds and facts of hardship or evidence of equal or better result on which the request is based, the provision or provisions of the ordinance involved and the minimum modification necessary.
3. 
Records Required. Council shall keep a written record of all actions on requests for modifications.
[Ord. 571, 3/10/1998, § 1.7; as amended by Ord. 623, 2/14/2006]
1. 
Mediation as an Option. Council may offer mediation as an aid in reaching decisions on applications for approval of subdivision or development of land and as an alternative to appeals from such decisions. Mediation shall supplement, not replace, those procedures once they have been formally initiated. Nothing in this section shall be interpreted as expanding or limiting the Borough's police powers or as modifying any principle of substantive law.
2. 
Voluntary Participation. Participation in mediation shall be wholly voluntary. The appropriateness of mediation shall be determined by the particulars of each case and the willingness of the parties to negotiate. Council shall assure that, in each case, the mediating parties, assisted by the mediator, as appropriate, develop terms and conditions for:
A. 
Funding mediation.
B. 
Selecting a mediator who, at a minimum, shall have a working knowledge of zoning and subdivision procedures and demonstrated skills in mediation.
C. 
Completing mediation, including the time limits for such completion.
D. 
Suspending time limits otherwise authorized in this chapter, provided there is written consent by the mediating parties, and by an applicant or Council if either is not a party to the mediation.
E. 
Identifying all parties and affording them the opportunity to participate.
F. 
Subject to legal restraints, determining whether some or all of the mediation sessions shall be open or closed to the public.
G. 
Assuring that mediated solutions are in writing and signed by the parties, and become subject to review and approval by Council pursuant to the procedures for approval contained in this chapter.
3. 
Final Agreement Admissible as Evidence. No offers or statements made in the mediation sessions, excluding the final written mediated agreement, shall be admissible as evidence in any subsequent judicial or administrative proceedings.
[Ord. 571, 3/10/1998, § 1.8]
Any person aggrieved by a decision of Council concerning an application for approval of a subdivision or land development may appeal the decision in accordance with the procedures specified in Article X-A of the MPC.
[Ord. 571, 3/10/1998, § 1.9; as amended by Ord. 623, 2/14/2006]
1. 
Preventive Remedies. The Borough may institute and maintain actions by law or in equity to restrain, correct or abate violations, to prevent unlawful construction, to recover damages and to prevent illegal occupancy of a building, structure, or premises.
A. 
No Exemption in Metes and Bounds Descriptions. The description by metes and bounds in the instrument of transfer or other documents used in the process of selling or transferring shall not exempt the seller or transferor from the penalties or remedies provided.
B. 
Further Development Not Permitted. The Borough or a municipality in which a violation of this chapter occurs may refuse to issue any permit or grant any approval necessary to further improve or development real property which has been developed or which has resulted from a subdivision of real property in violation of this chapter. The authority to deny such a permit or approval shall apply to any of the following applicants:
(1) 
The owner of record at the time of such violation.
(2) 
The vendee or lessee of the owner of record at the time of such violation without regard as to whether such vendee or lessee had actual or constructive notice of the violation.
(3) 
The current owner of record who acquired the property subsequent to the time of violation without regard as to whether such current owner had actual or constructive knowledge of the violation.
(4) 
The vendee or lessee of the current owner of record who acquired the property subsequent to the time of violation without regard as to whether such vendee or lessee had actual or constructive knowledge of the violation.
C. 
Compliance with Ordinance Required for Permit. As an additional condition for issuance of a permit or the granting of an approval for any such owner, current owner, vendee, or lessee for the development of any such real property, the Borough may require compliance with the conditions that would have been applicable to the property at the time the applicant acquired an interest in such real property.
2. 
Enforcement Remedies.
A. 
Initial Jurisdiction. Magisterial district judge shall have initial jurisdiction in proceedings brought under this section.
B. 
Judgment. Any person, partnership or corporation who or which has violated the provisions of this chapter shall, upon being found liable therefor in a civil enforcement proceeding commenced by the Borough, pay a judgment of not more than $500, plus all court costs, including reasonable attorney fees incurred by the Borough as a result thereof.
(1) 
No judgment shall commence or be imposed, levied or be payable until the date of the determination of a violation by the magisterial district judge.
(2) 
If the defendant neither pays nor timely appeals the judgment the Borough may enforce the judgment pursuant to the applicable rules of civil procedure.
(3) 
Each day that a violation continues shall constitute a separate violation unless the magisterial district judge determining that there has been a violation further determines that there was a good faith basis for the person, partnership or corporation violating this chapter to have believed that there was no such violation, in which event there shall be deemed to have been only one such violation until the fifth day following the date of the determination of a violation by the magisterial district judge, and, thereafter, each day that a violation continues shall constitute a separate violation.
C. 
Stay of Judgment. The Court of Common Pleas, upon petition, may grant an order of stay, upon cause shown, tolling the per diem judgment pending a final adjudication of the violation and judgment.
D. 
Enforcement by Borough. Nothing in this section shall be construed or interpreted to grant to any person or entity other than the Borough the right to commence any action for enforcement pursuant to this section.