[Ord. 74-2, 7/2/1974; as amended by Ord. 1985-1, 9/3/1985; by Ord. 93-1, 3/2/1993, § 1; and by Ord. 8.5.2008, 8/5/2008]
1. All streets which by design or intent are to become a part of the official map and/or the Township circulation system by legal action of the Board of Supervisors, shall conform to the following design standards and be planned in a manner acceptable to the Planning Commission:
A. Where a subdivision abuts or contains an existing or proposed arterial street or a railroad right-of-way, access thereto shall be limited to a minimum and such access shall be determined with due regard for sight distance, distance between intersections, approach grades and requirements for future grade separations.
B. Marginal access and reverse frontage streets paralleling limited access and/or arterial streets shall be required. Access to limited access or arterial streets shall not be more frequent than one in 500 feet.
C. Street jogs with center-line offsets of less than 125 feet shall be avoided.
D. Arterial and collector streets shall be improved in accordance with standards and specifications of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.
E. When a street line changes direction more than 10°, it shall be connected with a curve with a radius sufficient to assure adequate sight distance.
F. Streets shall be laid out to intersect as nearly as possible at right angles, and no street shall intersect any other street at less than 60°.
G. Collector and arterial streets shall not intersect at intervals of less than 800 feet.
H. Alleys shall be prohibited.
I. All streets shall have a minimum total width of 50 feet, a minimum cartway of 20 feet, and a minimum berm/shoulder of eight feet on each side of the cartway.
(1) Permanent Private Streets. Shall have a width not less than 36 feet nor greater than 50 feet, unless a greater width is agreed to by the land developer and the Township; the width within such guidelines shall be determined by the Supervisors, based upon the recommendation of the Planning Commission and taking into consideration the requirements for similar public streets as provided in this chapter.
J. Dead-end streets (culs-de-sac) designed to be so permanently, shall be provided with a turn around having an outside cartway diameter of at least 80 feet and a property line diameter of at least 100 feet. Culs-de-sac planned in excess of 500 feet in length shall be subject to the review and approval of the Board of Supervisors. Culs-de-sac shall not have less than fifty-foot right-of-way nor less the twenty-four-foot cartway. Approval of additional length shall be granted only when deemed to the best interests of the citizens and the Township and when no jeopardy in regard to public protection is found.
K. The grade of any street shall not be less than 1/2 of 1%. The grade of any street shall not exceed 10%, unless approved by the Board of Supervisors. The Board of Supervisors shall have the authority to give approval to a street grade not in excess of 20%.
(1) Approval of Streets with Grades in Excess of 10% by the Board of Supervisors. The following requirements and standards shall apply to the approval of any street or development with a street having a grade in excess of 10%, for any portion thereof:
(a) Approval by the Board of Supervisors shall be upon such limitations and conditions as they determine to be appropriate to maintain the safe condition, assure safe travel upon and provide appropriate drainage from the street taking into consideration its intended or potential use.
(b) The Board of Supervisors may require submission of detailed plans showing grades, road cross sections, profiles and construction detail, and such engineering studies it deems appropriate to enable the Board of Supervisors to have sufficient information to determine the appropriate design and construction requirements for said street.
(c) The Board of Supervisors may require such streets to have: paved surfaces, appropriate subsurface construction, curbing, pavement of drainage improvements and storm sewers.
(d) The Board of Supervisors may require the posting of appropriate guarantees for performance and completion of such street design and construction as provided under §
22-704 of this chapter.
(e) The Board of Supervisors may limit the number of lots to be served by any street having a grade in excess of 15% and may impose as a requirement of approval that appropriate restrictions on further development shall be imposed upon all lot owners in the development preventing said lots from being further developed or subdivided.
(f) The Board of Supervisors shall require the Township Engineer to review the plans relating to the street design and construction for any street having a grade in excess of 15%. The Township Engineer may be an engineer especially employed by the Township for this purpose, or the engineer generally employed by the Township. The Township Engineer shall review the plans as submitted and make a report with his comments and recommendations to the Board of Supervisors as to the appropriateness as to the construction design of the street in order to maintain the standards herein set forth and the other requirements of this chapter and the Zoning Ordinance [Chapter
27]. The cost of such Engineer's review and report shall be paid by the developer as an additional subdivision filing fee.
(g) In determining the limitations and conditions to be placed upon the street development, the supervisors shall take into consideration the anticipated traffic load, the safety of the traveling public, the drainage of surface water from the street, the extent of the development served by the street and its effect upon other existing developments in the Township, the manner in which the development is served by utilities, the ability of fire companies, ambulances and other emergency vehicles and service vehicles to traverse the street in order to provide necessary services to the lots intended to be served thereby.
(2) Minor subdivisions may be approved by the Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors with streets that are intended to remain permanently as private streets, that is not to be ever dedicated or accepted by the Township upon the following conditions:
(a) Such permanent private streets shall meet all the requirements for streets, as set forth in this chapter.
(b) The developer or the Planning Commission may recommend and the Board of Supervisors may require, that, the number of lots to be served by a permanent private street be limited and if approval of the subdivision plan is conditioned upon such limitation, the agreement with the Township and the declaration of restrictive covenants hereinafter referred to shall contain appropriate provisions for such limitation.
(c) The approval of a minor subdivision with permanent private streets, shall require the developer to submit as part of the subdivision application, a proposed declaration of restrictive covenants and a form of agreement to be signed by the lot owners and the developer to provide for the permanent maintenance of the streets. The declaration of restrictive covenants shall provide for:
1) A prohibition providing that such private streets shall not ever be offered for dedication and that the same shall remain private streets permanently and shall not be dedicated to the public or offered to the Township for acceptance as public streets.
2) That the owners or occupiers of lots in said subdivision shall waive the right to petition or otherwise request that said streets be accepted or maintained by the Township as public streets.
3) The restrictions shall be permanent for the benefit of the Township. The Township shall have the sole authority to voluntarily consent to a modification in the future, which consent shall not take place until the roads and streets are improved to an extent satisfactory to the Township and the Township voluntarily consents or agrees that it would be appropriate to allow further subdivision or other modification of the restrictions including acceptance of the street as a public street.
4) If the Board of Supervisors determines that the number of lots to be served by said streets are to be limited, the developers agreement and instruments of conveyance, deed or lease, shall provide appropriate notice thereof and agreement to such restriction; they shall further provide that no further subdivision of the lots of said plan shall occur, unless consented to by the Township.
5) The declaration of restrictive covenants shall contain a requirement that an agreement for maintenance of the right-of-way shall be executed, which agreement shall be binding upon the developer and all lot owners.
6) The declaration of restrictive covenants shall contain such other provisions that shall be reasonably required by the Township Supervisors upon recommendation of the Planning Commission to assure that said streets remain permanently as private streets and to assure their appropriate maintenance by the subdivider or lot owners benefitted by the same.
(d) The declaration of restrictive covenants shall be recorded simultaneously with the recording of the approved subdivision plan.
(e) As a condition of approval of the subdivision plan, the developers shall sign an agreement with the Township in such form as approved by the Township from time to time which agreement shall require that:
1) The said declaration of restrictive covenants be recorded simultaneously with the recording of the subdivision plan.
2) A notation of reference to the declaration of restrictive covenants on the subdivision plan.
3) Identification on the plan that the street and right-of-way is designated as a permanent private street.
4) That the subdivider or lot owner(s) and not Hepburn Township are responsible for improvement and maintenance of the street.
5) That the lot owners are required to sign a right-of-way maintenance agreement as approved by the Township.
6) That the Township shall be indemnified and held harmless by the developer on account of any and all matters arising out of the use, maintenance, development of said private streets and/or from any act which would attempt to make said private street(s) a public street(s).
7) That the signs required hereunder will be posted.
8) That all other requirements imposed will be adhered to.
(f) The developer in accordance with said agreement shall provide a reference on each deed, lease, conveyance or other instrument creating any interest in said subdivision to the declaration of restrictive covenants and provide that as a condition of the conveyance that the acceptance of the deed, lease, instrument of conveyance or the acceptance of any interest in the lands of the subdivision is an agreement by the grantee, lessee, person or entity receiving such interest that they, their successors, heirs or assigns, agree to be bound by such restrictions.
(g) The developer and/or those responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of the permanent private street shall cause a sign or signs to be posted at such locations as determined by the Board of Supervisors which signs shall state that such streets are permanent private streets. The sign(s) shall be of such size, design and location as will readily advise those using the street of its permanent private nature.
L. Where the grade of any street at the approach to an intersection exceeds 4%, a leveling area shall be provided having not greater than 4% grade for a distance of 25 feet measured from the nearest right-of-way line of the intersecting street.
M. At intersections cartway or curb radii shall not be less than 20 feet.
N. Partial streets shall not be permitted. Suitable access to adjacent unsubdivided land shall be provided when such land does not abut a public street and may be landlocked by the subdivision under consideration.
O. Multiple intersections involving junction of more than two roads shall be prohibited.
P. Horizontal and vertical street alignment:
(1) The minimum radius at the center line for horizontal curves shall be 150 feet for local streets.
(2) Vertical curves shall be used in grade differentials exceeding an algebraic difference of 2 1/2%, and shall be designed for maximum visibility.
Q. Any street intended for acceptance by the Township as a public road shall have, at a minimum, the specifications found herein as well as those of §
22-704 or as otherwise required. The form is as follows: