Inspections revealing noncompliance with plans submitted under the provisions of this chapter, the attached Appendixes, or any amendments of this chapter or the Appendixes, shall be sufficient grounds for denial or withdrawal of building permits by the Township until correction thereof, or other penalties or remedies, including injunctive relief, as may be provided by law.
A.
No application for preliminary or final approval shall be deemed to have been submitted until the fee and escrow deposit, as set forth below, shall have been paid.
B.
A subdivision or land development application fee (nonrefundable) and an escrow deposit shall be submitted with any application for preliminary or final plan approval to cover the costs of plan review and processing. Amounts of the application fee and escrow deposit shall be fixed by the Board of Supervisors by resolution. The escrowed funds shall be used to reimburse the Township for actual expenditures incident to these processes, including but not limited to fees of the Township Engineer, consultants and legal fees. Any costs incurred by the Township in excess of the amount held in escrow shall be fully reimbursed by the applicant prior to the issuance of any permits. Any costs not paid within the time specified by the Township shall be assessed an interest penalty as established by the Board and may result in the suspension of reviews of the applicant's plans. Any unexpended balance in the escrow deposit shall become part of the second deposit required by Subsection C below. In the event the applicant disputes the amount of any such review fees, the applicant shall, within 100 days of the applicant's receipt of the bill, notify the Township that such fees are disputed, in which case the Township shall not delay or disapprove a subdivision or land development application due to the applicant's request over disputed fees. In the event that the Township and the applicant cannot agree on the amount of review fees which are reasonable and necessary, then the applicant and the Township shall follow the procedure for dispute resolution set forth in Section 510(g) of the Municipalities Planning Code,[1] provided that the professionals resolving such dispute shall be of the same profession or discipline as the consultants whose fees are being disputed.
[Amended 12-26-2001 by Ord. No. 112; at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 10510(g).
C.
Following final plan approval and recording and the establishment of any required performance guarantee, a second escrow deposit shall be established to cover the cost of inspections of improvements' construction, materials or site testing, or maintenance costs prior to the acceptance of improvements by the Township. Any costs incurred by the Township in excess of the amount held in escrow shall be fully reimbursed by the applicant prior to the acceptance of any public improvements. Any costs not paid within the time specified by the Township shall be assessed an interest penalty as established by the Board and shall result in the denial or withdrawal of any permits. Any unexpected balance in the escrow deposit following acceptance of dedication of improvements to the Township shall be returned to the applicant. The amount of the escrow deposit shall be fixed by the Board of Supervisors by resolution.
The Board of Supervisors may grant a waiver or modification of the requirements of one or more mandatory provisions of this chapter if literal compliance is shown to the satisfaction of the Board to be unreasonable, to cause undue hardship because of peculiar conditions pertaining to the land in question, or when an alternative standard can be demonstrated to provide equal or better results, and provided that such modification will not be contrary to the public interest and that the purpose and intent of this chapter is observed. The process for considering waivers or modifications shall be as follows:
A.
All requests for a modification shall be in writing and shall accompany and be a part of the application for development in accordance with § 315-13O of this chapter. The request shall state in full the grounds and facts of unreasonableness or hardship on which the request is based, the provision or provisions of the chapter involved and the minimum modification necessary.
B.
The request for modification may be referred to the Township Planning Commission for advisory comments.
C.
The Board of Supervisors shall keep a written record of all action on all requests for modifications.