[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors of the Township
of North Codorus 2-17-2015 by Ord. No. 266-02-2015. Amendments noted
where applicable.]
This chapter shall be known as "the North Codorus Township Official
Map Ordinance." The Official Map is enacted to serve the purposes
authorized for an Official Map in the Pennsylvania Municipalities
Planning Code,[1] as amended (hereafter known as the "MPC"), which are hereby
included by reference.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 10101 et seq.
The attached map, entitled "North Codorus Township Official
Map," dated July 10, 2014, is hereby adopted as the Official Map for
North Codorus Township.
If a term is not defined by this chapter or by the Pennsylvania
Municipalities Planning Code (MPC), and is defined by the Zoning Ordinance,[1] then the Zoning Ordinance definition shall also apply
to this chapter.
A.
The Official Map may include any of the following elements:
(1)
Existing and proposed public streets, watercourses and public grounds,
including widenings, narrowings, extensions, diminutions, openings
or closing of same.
(2)
Existing and proposed public parks, playgrounds and open space reservations.
(3)
Pedestrian ways and easements.
(4)
Railroad and transit rights-of-way and easements.
(5)
Flood control basins, floodways and floodplains, stormwater management
areas and drainage easements.
(6)
Support facilities, easements and other properties held by public
bodies undertaking the elements described in Section 301 of the MPC.
B.
For the purposes of taking action under this section, the Board of
Supervisors or its authorized designee may make or cause to be made
surveys and maps to identify, for the regulatory purposes of this
chapter, the location of property, trafficway alignment or utility
easement by use of property records, aerial photography, photogrammetric
mapping or other method sufficient for identification, description
and publication of the map components. For acquisition of lands and
easements, boundary descriptions by metes and bounds shall be made
and sealed by a licensed surveyor.
C.
After adoption of the Official Map, or part thereof, all streets, watercourses and public grounds and the elements listed in Subsection A on final, recorded plats which have been granted final subdivision and/or land development approval shall be deemed amendments to the Official Map. Notwithstanding any of the other terms of the MPC, no public hearing need be held or notice given if the amendment of the Official Map is the result of the addition of a plat which has been approved as provided by the MPC.
D.
The adoption of any street, street lines or other public lands pursuant
to Article IV of the MPC as part of the Official Map shall not, in
and of itself, constitute or be deemed to constitute the opening or
establishment of any street nor the taking or acceptance of any land,
nor shall it obligate the Township to improve or maintain any such
street or land.
(1)
The adoption of proposed watercourses or public grounds as part of
the Official Map shall not, in and of itself, constitute or be deemed
to constitute a taking or acceptance of any land by the Township.
E.
For the purpose of preserving the integrity of the Official Map of
the Township, no permit shall be issued for any building within the
lines of any street, watercourse or public ground shown or laid out
on the Official Map, unless or until there is compliance with this
chapter. No person shall recover any damages for the taking for public
use of any building or improvements constructed within the lines of
any street, watercourse or public ground after the same shall have
been included in the Official Map during the time of applicability
of the Official Map to that property, and any such building or improvement
unlawfully constructed or placed in violation of the Official Map
shall be removed at the expense of the owner.
(1)
However, when the property of which the reserved location forms a
part cannot yield a reasonable return to the owner unless a permit
shall be granted, the owner may apply to the Board of Supervisors
for the grant of a special encroachment permit to build.
(2)
Before granting any special encroachment permit authorized in this
section, the Board of Supervisors may submit the application for a
special encroachment permit to the Township Planning Commission for
up to 30 days for review and comment and shall give public notice
and hold a public hearing at which all parties in interest shall have
an opportunity to be heard.
(3)
Appeals. A refusal by the Board of Supervisors to grant the special
encroachment permit applied for may be appealed by the applicant to
the Zoning Hearing Board in the same manner, and within the same time
limitation, as is provided in Article IX of the MPC. A decision by
the Zoning Hearing Board regarding the Official Map may be appealed
to the County Court of Common Pleas, pursuant to Article X-A of the
MPC, following the same process as an appeal would be heard on a zoning
matter, unless stated otherwise in the MPC.
F.
The Board of Supervisors may fix the time for which streets, watercourses
and public grounds on the Official Map shall be deemed reserved for
future taking or acquisition for public use, consistent with the time
frames in the MPC and the following provision:
(1)
However, the reservation for public grounds, streets, watercourses
and other improvements shown on the Official Map shall lapse and become
void one year after an owner of such property has submitted a written
notice to the Board of Supervisors announcing his/her intentions to
build, subdivide or otherwise develop the land covered by the reservation,
or has made formal application for an official permit to build a structure
for private use, unless the Board of Supervisors shall have acquired
the property or begun condemnation proceedings to acquire such property
before the end of the year.
(a)
Such written notice shall be addressed to the Board of Supervisors
and shall be hand-delivered to or sent by United States Mail to the
Township Building.
G.
The Board of Supervisors may designate any of its agencies to negotiate
with the owner of land under the following circumstances:
H.
Any releases or agreements, when properly executed by the Board of
Supervisors and the owner and recorded, shall be binding upon any
successor in title.
A.
Prior to the adoption of the Official Map or part thereof, or any
amendments to the Official Map, the Board of Supervisors shall refer
the proposed Official Map, or part thereof or amendment thereto, with
an accompanying ordinance describing the proposed map, to the Township
Planning Commission for their review.
(1)
The Planning Commission shall report its recommendations on said
proposed Official Map and accompanying ordinance, part thereof, or
amendment thereto within 45 days unless an extension of time shall
be agreed to by the Board of Supervisors. If, however, the Planning
Commission fails to act within 45 days, the Board of Supervisors may
proceed without its recommendations.
B.
The York County Planning Commission and adjacent municipalities may
offer comments and recommendations during said forty-five-day review
period. Local authorities, park boards, environmental boards and similar
public bodies may also offer comments and recommendations to the Board
of Supervisors if requested by same during said forty-five-day review
period.
(1)
Before voting on the enactment of the proposed ordinance and Official
Map, or part thereof or amendment thereto, the Board of Supervisors
shall hold a public hearing pursuant to public notice (as defined
by the MPC).
C.
When North Codorus Township proposes to adopt an Official Map, or
any amendment thereto, a copy of the Map and the proposed ordinance
adopting it, or any amendment thereto, shall be forwarded for review
to the York County Planning Commission at the same time it is submitted
for review to the Township Planning Commission.
(1)
Any comments of the York County Planning Commission shall be made
to the Township within 45 days, and the proposed action shall not
be taken until such comments are received. If, however, the York County
Planning Commission fails to act within 45 days, the Board of Supervisors
may proceed without its comments.
D.
Following adoption of the ordinance and Official Map, or part thereof
or amendment thereto, a copy of same, verified by the Board of Supervisors,
shall be submitted to the recorder of deeds of York County and shall
be recorded within 60 days of the effective date. The fee for recording
and indexing the ordinance and any amendments shall be paid by the
Township.
E.
If North Codorus Township proposes to adopt an Official Map, or amendment
thereto, that shows any street or public lands intended to lead into
any adjacent municipality, a copy of said Official Map or amendment
shall be forwarded to such adjacent municipality for review and comment
by the governing body and Planning Commission of the adjacent municipality.
(1)
Any comments of the adjacent municipality shall be made to the Board
of Supervisors of North Cordorus Township within 45 days, and the
proposed action shall not be taken until such comments are received.
If, however, the adjacent municipality fails to act within 45 days,
the Board of Supervisors of North Codorus Township may proceed without
its comments.
F.
The Township shall send a certified copy of the Map, the ordinance
adopting it and any later amendments, within 30 days after adoption,
to the York County Planning Commission.
(1)
Additionally, if North Codorus Township adopts an Official Map, or
amendment thereto, that shows any street or public lands intended
to lead into any adjacent municipality, a certified copy of said Official
Map or amendment shall be forwarded to such adjacent municipality.
The Official Map is not intended to designate which existing
roads are public and which existing roads are private.
All of the enforcement, violations and penalty provisions of
the MPC, as amended, are hereby incorporated into this chapter by
reference. (Note: As of the adoption date of this chapter, these provisions
were primarily in Sections 616.1, 617 and 617.2 of such Act.)
A.
Violations. Any person who shall commit, or who shall permit, any
of the following actions shall be considered to be in violation of
this chapter:
B.
Enforcement notice. If the Township has reason to believe that a
violation of a provision of this chapter has occurred, the Township
shall initiate enforcement proceedings by sending an enforcement notice.
An official enforcement notice shall state the deadline to bring the
property into compliance with this chapter, and shall state that the
applicant has 30 days from the receipt of the notice to appeal to
the Board of Supervisors.
(1)
The Board of Supervisors may grant an appeal if the applicant proves
an exception or modification of the requirement is needed to avoid
a significant unnecessary hardship which was not self-created by the
entity requesting the appeal.
C.
Enforcement, penalties and remedies. The causes of action and enforcement
remedies provisions of the MPC, as amended, are hereby incorporated
by reference. (Note: As of the adoption date of this chapter, such
provisions were primarily in Section 617 and 617.2 of such law.)
(1)
Violations and penalties. Any person, partnership, corporation or
other entity who has violated or permitted the violation of the provisions
of this chapter shall, upon being found liable therefor in a civil
enforcement proceeding commenced by the Township, pay a judgment of
not more than $500 plus all court costs, including the reasonable
attorney's fees incurred by the Township as a result thereof. 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.
If the defendant neither pays nor timely appeals the judgment, the
Township may enforce the judgment pursuant to the applicable rules
of civil procedure.
(a)
Each day that a violation continues shall constitute a separate
violation, unless a Magisterial District Judge determining that there
has been a violation further determines that there was a good faith
basis for the person 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.
(b)
All judgments, costs and reasonable attorney's fees collected
for the violation of this chapter shall be paid over to the Township
for the general use of the Township. Imprisonment is not authorized
under this chapter.
(2)
Remedies. In case any building, structure, improvement or other activity
regulated by this chapter is placed, located or occurs in violation
of this chapter, then, in addition to any other remedies provided
by law, the Board of Supervisors may institute any appropriate action
or proceeding to prevent, restrain, correct or abate such violation.
