[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors of the Township of Silver Spring 12-13-2017 by Ord. No. 14-2017. Amendments noted where applicable.]
As used in this chapter, the following words and terms shall have the following meanings unless another meaning is plainly intended:
BUILDING PERMIT
A permit for the activities regulated under the Township Building Code, including the following activities:
A. 
Construct or alter a man-made object having a stationary location on land or water.
B. 
Construct an addition.
C. 
Demolish or move a man-made object having a stationary location on land or water.
D. 
Make a change of occupancy. Install or alter any equipment regulated by the Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code including Township UCC amendments.
E. 
Move a lot line which divides a lot from another lot or street.
DEVELOPER
Any person who has legal title of land, agent of the legal title, or tenant with permission of the person who has legal title of land who makes an application for development.
IMPACT FEE
A fee to be paid at building permit issuance and calculated in accordance with the provisions of the Municipalities Planning Code, 53 P.S. § 10101 et seq., as amended, and this chapter.
NEW DEVELOPMENT
Any commercial, industrial, residential or other project which involves new construction, enlargement, reconstruction, redevelopment, relocation or structural alteration and which is expected to generate additional vehicular traffic within the transportation service area of the Township. "New development" also includes any change in use that increases peak-hour trips generated by an improved development.
OFF-SITE IMPROVEMENTS
Those public capital improvements that are not on-site improvements and that serve the needs of more than one development.
ON-SITE IMPROVEMENTS
All improvements constructed on the applicant's property or the improvements constructed on the property abutting the applicant's property necessary for ingress or egress to the applicant's property and required to be constructed by the applicant pursuant to any Township ordinance, including but not limited to the Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code, as amended; Chapter 360, Subdivision and Land Development, and Chapter 415, Zoning, of this Code.
PEAK HOUR
The Township has identified the p.m. peak hour as the relevant peak-hour period for the calculation of impact fees.
TOWNSHIP AGENCY
Any Silver Spring Township entity, including the Township Administration, Police Department, Fire Department, Emergency Services and the Sewer Authority.
TRANSPORTATION AREAS
Geographically defined areas of the Township which, pursuant to the Zoning Ordinance and applicable district regulations, have an aggregation of sites with development potential creating the need for transportation improvements for such area to be funded by impact fees. (See Exhibit A.[1])
TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENTS
Those off-site road improvements that have a life expectancy of three or more years, not including costs for maintenance, operation or repair.
TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENTS PLAN
A plan in effect at the time an impact fee is calculated, adopted by the Board of Supervisors of the Township prior to the enactment of any impact fee ordinance for the purpose of identifying and planning for transportation capital improvements, and as may be amended from time to time.
TRIP GENERATION RATES
Those rates of traffic for the peak hour of adjacent street traffic between 4:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m., as determined in the most recent edition of Trip Generation published by the Institute of Transportation Engineers, and any amendments or future editions thereof.
UNIT COST PER TRIP
The dollar figure calculated by dividing the total costs of the road improvements included in the adopted Transportation Capital Improvements Plan within a given transportation service area attributable to and necessitated by new development within the service area by the number of anticipated p.m. peak-hour trips generated by all new development consistent with the land use assumptions and calculated in accordance with the most recent edition of Trip Generation published by the Institute of Transportation Engineers, and any amendments and future editions thereto.
[1]
Editor's Note: Exhibit A, the Transportation Service Area Map, is on file in the Township offices.
A. 
This chapter shall be uniformly applicable to all new development that occurs within a defined transportation service area.
B. 
This chapter shall not apply to de minimis new development. "De minimis" is defined to be new development that results in a total of five or less p.m. peak-hour trips, including any preexisting p.m. peak-hour trips. This subsection sets forth a threshold limit for the applicability of this chapter and shall not be construed to provide a five-trip credit to new development.
C. 
This chapter shall not apply to a Township agency or buildings associated therewith. Local government agencies serve an overriding public interest, warranting an exemption from impact fees.
No building permit subject to this chapter shall be issued for a development in a transportation service area unless the applicant has paid the impact fee imposed by and calculated pursuant to this chapter.
A. 
The unit cost per trip is derived from the Transportation Capital Improvements Plan and may be amended as transportation needs dictate and as directed by the Board of Supervisors.
B. 
The impact fee imposed by this chapter upon all new development shall be determined by applying the unit cost per trip to the p.m. peak-hour trips generated by a project as identified in the most recent edition of Trip Generation published by the Institute of Transportation Engineers, and any amendments or future editions thereof, or by a special transportation study pursuant to § 212-7. To determine the fee for a specific use, the p.m. peak-hour trip generation rate for the proposed use shall be multiplied by the unit cost per trip in each transportation service area.
C. 
If the development for which a building permit is sought contains a mix of uses, the applicant must separately calculate the impact fee due for each type of development.
A. 
Applicability. An additional impact fee shall be imposed upon new developments that generate 1,000 or more p.m. peak-hour trips, net of pass-by trips, as defined by the most recent edition of Trip Generation published by the Institute of Transportation Engineers, and any amendments or future editions thereof. This section is in addition to the impact fee calculated under this chapter.
B. 
Traffic study. An applicant for a new development that generates 1,000 or more p.m. peak-hour trips shall be required to perform a traffic analysis of development traffic impact on highways, roads or streets outside the transportation service area in which the new development is located, but within the boundaries of the Township. Any highways, roads or streets, or parts thereof, outside the transportation service area that will accommodate 10% or more of the new development traffic and 100 or more new p.m. peak-hour trips may be required to be studied. The traffic study is to be conducted in accordance with the Township requirements, as determined by the Township Traffic Engineer.
C. 
Mitigation. Applicants for new development that generate 1,000 or more new p.m. peak-hour trips, less pass-by trips, will be required to mitigate the traffic impact of the new development on the affected roads, highways and streets per the traffic study to maintain the predevelopment conditions.
The Township has defined transportation service areas as shown on the transportation service area map (See Exhibit A, attached hereto and incorporated herein[1]) in accordance with the provisions of the Municipalities Planning Code, 53 P.S. § 10101 et seq.
[1]
Editor's Note: Exhibit A, the Transportation Service Area Map, is on file in the Township offices.
A. 
Applicability of this section. The Board of Supervisors may require a new development to perform a special transportation study to document actual trip generation from a particular use. The instances when a special transportation study can or must be performed are limited to instances where:
(1) 
The Township requests a special transportation study.
(2) 
The Institute of Traffic Engineers (ITE) Trip Generation Manual is not applicable because the proposed land use does not match an ITE land use category within the most recent edition of the Trip Generation Manual.
(3) 
The traffic projections provided by the most recent edition of the ITE Trip Generation Manual are not applicable because the site characteristics are such that local data collection is required. The ITE Trip Generation Manual provides guidance for land uses where local data should be collected in lieu of using data from the Manual.
B. 
Guidelines for conducting a special transportation study. Special transportation studies must be conducted in accordance with the guidance in the most recent version of Trip Generation published by the Institute of Traffic Engineers or as determined with consultation with the Township. The new development is responsible for all costs associated with the special transportation study. The parameters of the special transportation study should be agreed upon with the Township prior to the start of the study.
A. 
Collection of impact fees. Impact fees due pursuant to this chapter shall be collected by the Township in the manner prescribed herein prior to issuance of a building permit.
B. 
Establishment and maintenance of accounts. The Township Manager shall establish interest-bearing trust fund accounts created solely for impact fees and shall maintain records whereby impact fees collected are segregated by transportation service areas. All interest earned shall become the funds of that account. Impact fees generated from new development may only be expended for transportation capital improvements identified as being funded by impact fees under the Transportation Capital Improvements Plan in a particular transportation service area, except as provided for in § 212-10.
C. 
Maintenance of records. The Director of Finance shall maintain and keep adequate financial records for each such account that will show the source and disbursement of all revenues, that will account for all moneys received, and that shall ensure that the disbursement of funds from each account will be used solely and exclusively for the provision of projects specified in the Transportation Capital Improvements Plan for the particular transportation service area.
D. 
Annual accounting. The Township will provide that an annual accounting is made for any account containing impact fee proceeds and earned interest. The accounting shall include the total funds collected, the source for the funds collected, the total amount of interest accruing on such funds and the amount of funds expended on specific transportation improvements. Notice of the availability of the results of the accounting will be included and published as part of the Township's annual audit.
A. 
Role of the Impact Fee Advisory Committee. The "Impact Fee Advisory Committee" or "Advisory Committee" is a committee formed pursuant to the Municipalities Planning Code, 53 P.S. § 10101 et seq., as amended, to serve in an advisory capacity to the Board of Supervisors. The Advisory Committee has as its duties:
(1) 
To make recommendations with respect to land use assumptions, the development of comprehensive road improvements and impact fees.
(2) 
To make recommendations to approve, disapprove or modify a capital improvements program by preparing a written report containing these recommendations to the Township.
(3) 
To conduct public hearings with respect to any recommendations on land use assumptions in accordance with the requirements of this chapter and the Municipalities Planning Code, 53 P.S. § 10101 et seq., as amended.
(4) 
To prepare or cause to be prepared a roadway sufficiency analysis in accordance with the requirements of this chapter and the Municipalities Planning Code, 53 P.S. § 10101 et seq., as amended.
B. 
Review of transportation capital improvements or impact fees charge. The Board of Supervisors may request, no more than annually, the Advisory Committee to review and make recommendations on the transportation capital improvements or impact fee charges, based only on:
(1) 
Subsequent new development which has occurred in the Township.
(2) 
Completion of capital improvements in the Transportation Capital Improvements Plan.
(3) 
Unavoidable delays in construction of capital improvements contained in the plan beyond the Township's control or responsibility.
(4) 
Significant changes in the land use assumptions.
(5) 
Changes in the estimated costs of the transportation improvements proposed which may be recalculated by applying the construction cost index as published in the American City/County Magazine or the Engineering News Record.
(6) 
Significant changes in the projected revenue from sources listed.
The Township may expend impact fees paid by an applicant on projects not contained in the adopted Transportation Capital Improvements Plan if all of the following criteria are met:
A. 
The applicant has provided written consent to use its collected impact fees for specific transportation projects which are not included in the Transportation Capital Improvements Plan.
B. 
The alternative transportation project has as its purpose the reduction of traffic congestion or the removal of vehicle trips from the roadway network.
C. 
The Township amends its Transportation Capital Improvements Plan components required by § 504-A(e)(1)(vi) of the Municipalities Planning Code, 53 P.S. § 10504-A(e)(1)(vi), to provide replacement of the collected impact fees transferred to transportation projects outside the approved Transportation Capital Improvements Plan from sources other than impact fees or developer contributions within three years of completion of the alternative projects to which the transferred fees were applied.
Payment of the impact fee shall be made by the new development prior to the issuance of a building permit by the Township to the new development for development on the applicable site.
A. 
A developer is entitled to a credit against the impact fee in the amount of the fair market value of any land dedicated by the applicant to the Township for future right-of-way, realignment or widening of any existing roadways or for the value of any construction of road improvements which are performed at the applicant's expense and are contained in the Transportation Capital Improvements Plan. The amount of such credit for any capital improvement constructed shall be the amount allocated in the capital improvement program, including contingency factors for such work. The fair market value of any land dedicated by the applicant shall be determined as of the date of the submission of the land development or subdivision application to the Township.
B. 
Any new development which performs, at its own expense, off-site improvements as defined by this chapter shall be eligible for a credit toward the impact fee otherwise due in the amount of the actual cost of such off-site improvements, as approved by the Township Engineer. Such credit shall not exceed the amount of the impact fee. In order for a new development to be eligible for this credit it must announce the intent to perform off-site improvements during the subdivision or land development approval process. The announcement must be in writing and must set forth the off-site improvement project for which the developer is seeking credit. The developer must enter into an agreement with the Township prior to the issuance of any building permit. The agreement must establish the estimated cost of the improvement, the schedule for initiation and completion of the improvement, guarantee that the improvement be completed to Township and Pennsylvania Department of Transportation standards and design criteria and such other terms and conditions as deemed necessary by the Township. The Township must review the improvement plan, verify costs and time schedules, determine if the improvement is an eligible improvement and determine the amount of the applicable credit for such improvement to be applied to the otherwise applicable impact fee prior to issuance of any building permit. In no event may the Township provide a credit that is greater than the applicable impact fee. If, however, the amount of the credit is calculated to be greater than the amount of the impact fee due, the new development may utilize such excess credit toward the impact fees imposed on other building permits for development on the same site and in the same ownership.
The words and phrases of this chapter are to be construed in accordance with the following rules:
A. 
Definitions and interpretations.
(1) 
Words and phrases are to be interpreted as defined by this chapter.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See definitions in § 212-1.
(2) 
Words and phrases that are not defined by this chapter are to be interpreted as defined in §§ 107 and 502-A of the Municipalities Planning Code (MPC), 53 P.S. §§ 10107 and 10502-A, as amended.
(3) 
Words and phrases that are not defined in this chapter or §§ 107 and 502-A of the MPC are to be interpreted as defined in Chapter 415, Zoning, or Chapter 360, Subdivision and Land Development, of this Code.
(4) 
Words and phrases that are not defined in this chapter, §§ 107 and 502-A of the MPC, 53 P.S. §§ 10107 and 10502-A or in the Township's Zoning Ordinance or Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance are to be given their common, ordinary dictionary meaning within the context of the sentence in which they are used.
B. 
Construction. The words, phrases and provisions of this chapter are not to be interpreted in a way the results in an absurd construction of the meaning or in a way that causes one provision to contradict another.
The provisions of this chapter shall be liberally construed to effectively carry out the purposes that are hereby found and declared to be in furtherance of the public health, safety, welfare and convenience.