Land shall be subdivided only for the purposes for which the
subdivision has been approved or proposed.
A. A preservation of natural features: The applicant shall make every
effort to preserve shade trees and other salient natural features,
keep cut-fill operations to a minimum, and ensure conformity with
topography so as to create the least erosion potential and adequately
handle the volume and velocity of surface water runoff. Whenever possible,
the applicant shall preserve trees, scenic points, historic spots
and other community assets and landmarks. All subdivisions over five
acres in size shall include a comprehensive environmental analysis
prepared by a qualified environmental engineer. Such environmental
analysis shall include:
(1) A description of the project.
(2) A map indicating:
(a)
Limits of the following slope areas:
(b)
All natural watercourses and wetlands.
(c)
Undermined areas with less than 100 feet overburden.
(3) An assessment of the impact of the proposed development on those items identified in Subsection
A(2) above.
(4) A list of steps proposed to mitigate environmental damage to the
site during construction in accordance with latest revision of the
EPA Clean Water Act.
(5) Evidence that the analysis was completed by a qualified environmental
engineer.
B. Subsidence. Land subject to subsidence or underground fires shall
either be made safe for the purpose for which it is to be used, or
such land shall be set aside for uses which shall not endanger life
or property or further aggravate or increase the existing menace.
C. Flood-prone areas. Portions of land which are poorly drained, subject to periodic flooding, or are in a designated FEMA floodplain or floodway shall be developed in accordance with Chapter
130 of the Township Code and also any applicable Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection regulations.
D. Grading, excavating and filling. No change shall be made in the contour
of the land, no grading, excavating, removal or destruction of the
topsoil, trees or other vegetative cover of the land shall be commenced
unless approved in the preliminary and final plat, and, where applicable,
reviewed and approved by the Allegheny County Conservation District.
Such approval shall be based on the preliminary grading plan for minimizing
erosion and sedimentation, controls for excessive slope areas, grading
regulations, and storm drainage regulations in this chapter, and as
may be required by applicable regulatory agencies having jurisdiction
thereof.
E. Land subject to hazards of life, health and safety shall not be subdivided
until such hazards have been reviewed or corrected.
F. All portions of a tract being subdivided or developed shall be taken
up in lots, streets, public lands, or other proposed uses so that
remnants and landlocked areas shall be avoided.
Easements with a minimum width of 20 feet shall be provided
in all subdivisions and land developments for poles, wires, conduits,
storm drains, sanitary sewers, gas, water and heat mains and/or other
utility lines intended to service the abutting lots, tracts or parcels.
Additional widths may be required if more than one utility is located
in the same easement. Easements shall be centered on or adjacent to
rear or side lot lines. No structures or trees shall be placed within
such easements. The applicant shall comply with the Pennsylvania Public
Utility Commission (PUC) order of July 8, 1973, which requires electric
and telephone service in residential developments to be placed underground.
Where a subdivision is traversed by a watercourse, there shall be
provided a drainage easement or right-of-way, conforming substantially
with the line of such watercourse and with such width as will be adequate
to preserve natural drainage and provide sufficient width for maintenance.
Applicants shall avail themselves of the facilities provided by the
various authorities or public utility companies in determining the
proper locations for utility line easements.
A. Water supply.
(1) All properties in subdivisions shall connect with an approved public
water supply system, if available. The subdivider shall construct
a system of water mains which are to be connected to the public water
system serving the Township wherever same is available. Subdivisions
of three lots or less which are located 1,000 feet beyond the existing
system may be exempted from this requirement by the Township Board
of Commissioners. If the water distribution system cannot be tied
in with an approved public system, an individual well or spring must
be installed and operated in full compliance with the latest Pennsylvania
Department of Environmental Protection specifications covering such
facilities. All land developments of other types must be equipped
with a public water supply system, approved as adequate by the Township
Board of Commissioners.
(2) The plans for the installation of the mains of a water distribution
system shall be prepared with the cooperation of the applicable public
water authority and reviewed and approved by its engineer. A statement
of approval from the Township shall be submitted to the Township Board
of Commissioners.
(3) Upon completion of a water distribution and supply system, one copy
of the plans for the system shall be filed with the Township Board
of Commissioners. The plan shall also be reviewed and approved by
the Department of Environmental Protection.
(4) Fire hydrants. It will be the responsibility of the applicant to
provide all subdivisions and land developments with fire hydrants.
Hydrants shall be installed with the installation of the water lines
or as soon as they become available. The location of the hydrants
shall be approximately every 1,000 feet and shall be subject to approval
by the Township on the final plat.
B. Sanitary sewage disposal.
(1) Each property shall connect with an approved public sewer system.
Where the sewer is not yet provided, the applicant shall install the
sewer line, including lateral connections as may be necessary to provided
adequate service to each lot when connection with the sewer system
is made. The sewer lines shall be suitably capped at the limits of
the subdivision or development, and the laterals shall be capped at
the street right-of-way line.
(2) All plats submitted for approval must show sanitary drains separated
from all other drains. No stormwater shall be permitted in sanitary
drains.
(3) All plats, designs, and data of any new sewage system or for extension
for tapping into any existing system shall be submitted to the Township
for approval and be subject to all its requirements.
(4) The subdivider shall contract the necessary and required sanitary
sewer lines which shall, when possible, be connected to the public
sewer system serving the Township or a portion thereof.
(5) If, in the opinion of the Allegheny County Health Officer, the Township
Engineer and/or the Township Board of Commissioners, factors exist
which would create a public health and sanitation problem if a certain
area is developed, the Zoning Hearing Board shall not, in those cases,
approve the subdivision and platting of such area until such factors
are corrected by an adequate sanitary sewer system.
C. Propane. All propane installation shall be subject to prior approval
of the Township Engineer or other person designated by the Township
and the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry.
All provisions in this article shall be equally applicable and
binding for both dedicated and privately maintained streets, where
said streets serve more than one dwelling.
A. General standards:
(1) All streets intended for public use shall be paved to full cartway
width. In all cases, paving materials and workmanship shall conform
to any and all applicable Township standards, including all Pennsylvania
Department of Transportation Standards adopted by the Township. The
proposed street system shall extend existing or recorded streets at
the same width, but in no case at less than the required minimum width,
and be so located as to allow proper development of surrounding properties.
(2) Where a subdivision or land development abuts an existing street
of improper width or alignment, the Township Board of Commissioners
may require the dedication of land sufficient to widen the street
or correct the alignment.
(3) Streets in and bordering a subdivision or land development shall
be coordinated, and be of such widths and grades and in such locations
as deemed necessary to accommodate prospective traffic and facilitate
fire protection.
(4) Proposed streets shall be planned suitable to the contour of the
land, to provide buildable lots, to have a suitable alignment and
grade, and to be able to drain properly in accordance with the standards
established by this chapter or other ordinances.
(5) Partially completed streets shall not be approved in a development
plan, but all streets shall be constructed as soon as feasible under
the construction schedule in accordance with the designations under
the approved final plat.
(6) Street name signs shall be installed by the applicant at each street
intersection in accordance to type of materials, design and standards
established by the Township.
(7) A streetlighting system shall be installed in all developments involving
multifamily dwellings and at all intersections with existing Township
streets/roads. Streetlights may also be required where a hazard exists
as determined by the Township Board of Commissioners.
B. Street widths shall be as follows:
|
Street Type
|
Minimum Required Width
|
Feet
|
---|
|
Collector
|
Right-of-way
Cartway
|
50
24
|
|
|
|
|
|
Local
|
Right-of-way
Cartway
|
50
20
|
|
|
|
|
|
Permanent cul-de-sac
|
Right-of-way (radius)
Cartway (radius)
|
50
40
|
|
|
|
|
|
Split street (having a median with a separate lane of traffic
for each direction)
|
Right-of-way
Cartways (each)
|
70
16
|
(1) Additional right-of-way and cartway widths may be required by the
Township Board of Commissioners for various reasons, including, but
not limited to:
(a)
The type of land development.
(b)
Public safety and convenience.
(c)
Allowance for anticipated traffic volume.
(d)
The size of vehicles frequenting the development.
(f)
The loading of school buses or other public transportation.
C. Street grades. There shall be a minimum center line grade of 2%.
Grades shall be designed for maximum visibility. Center line grades
shall not exceed the following:
(5) All street intersections: 4%.
D. Horizontal curves: Proper sight distance must be provided with respect
to horizontal alignment. Measured along the center line five feet
above grade, horizontal curves shall be provided to permit the following
minimum sight distances:
(1) Arterial street: 200 feet.
(2) Collector street: 200 feet.
E. Vertical curves. Proper sight distance must be provided with respect
to vertical alignment. Such curves shall be measured along the center
line five feet above minimum sight distances.
F. Intersections.
(1) Streets shall intersect as nearly as possible at right angles. No
more than two streets shall intersect at the same point. Intersections
with collector streets shall be located not closer than 1,000 feet
apart, measured from the center line of the major street.
(2) Intersections with connector streets shall be at intervals not less
than 800 feet.
(3) Intersections with minor streets shall be at intervals not less than
500 feet.
(4) Staggered intersections shall be provided on collector streets at
a minimum distance of 500 feet; and on connector or minor streets
at not less than 200 feet as measured from center line to center line
along the street common to both intersections.
(5) Intersections shall be rounded by a tangential arc with a minimum
radius of:
(a)
Twenty-five feet for intersections involving only minor streets.
(b)
Thirty feet for all intersections involving a connector or collector
street.
G. Sight distance at intersections and obstructions. Embankments, fences,
hedges, shrubbery, walls, planting (except for trees and grass) or
other obstructions, including signs, shall not be located within the
right-of-way and shall not obscure any intersection. A clear sight
triangle shall be maintained at intersections, so that measured along
the center line, there shall be a clear sight triangle of 75 feet,
minimum, from the point of intersection. No obstruction to view will
be permitted in this area above the height of 2 1/2 feet and
below 10 feet.
H. Culs-de-sac and temporary dead-end streets.
(1) Cul-de-sac streets, permanently designed as such, shall not exceed
1,000 feet in length. The center line grade on a cul-de-sac street
shall not exceed 8%.
(2) Dead-end streets shall be prohibited except for future access to
an adjoining property or because of authorized stage development.
Such streets shall be provided with a temporary, all-weather turnaround,
within the subdivision or development, and the use of such turnaround
shall be guaranteed to the public until such time as the street is
extended. The outer paving radius shall be 40 feet. Temporary dead-end
streets shall not exceed 1,000 feet in length.
I. Street names.
(1) Proposed streets which are obviously in alignment with others already
existing and named shall bear the names of the existing streets.
(2) In no case shall the name of a proposed street duplicate or be phonetically
similar to an existing street name in either the Township or the postal
district in which located. The applicant shall submit the proposed
street names to the Township at the time the preliminary discussions
are held and prior to filing a preliminary plat.
See Chapter
130, Flood Damage Prevention.