[Ord. No. 74-1977, §§ 801, 802, 7/12/1977; Ord. No. 83-1978, § 1, 7/11/1978; Ord. No. 103-1980, § 1, 1/12/1980; Ord. No. 1-1988, § 1; Ord. No. 3-1995, 9/18/1995; Ord. No. 9-1999, § 1, 7/27/1999]
1. 
Purpose. All residential subdivision or land development plans shall provide for suitable and adequate recreation in order to:
A. 
Insure adequate recreational areas and facilities to serve the future residents of the Township.
B. 
Maintain compliance with recreational standards as developed by the National Recreation and Park Association.
C. 
Reduce increasing usage pressure on existing recreational areas and facilities.
D. 
Comply with the South Hanover Township Comprehensive Recreation, Park and Open Space Plan with regard to size and distribution of recreation areas.
E. 
Allow for acquisition and development of additional recreational areas as outlined by the Comprehensive Plan.
F. 
Insure that all present and future Township residents have the opportunity to engage in many and varied leisure pursuits.
G. 
Reduce the possibility of the Township becoming overburdened with the development and maintenance of many very small, randomly planned and widely separate recreation areas.
H. 
Provide for the opportunity of combining small lots of dedicated land from several subdivisions into larger, more usable tracts.
2. 
Definitions.
ACCESSIBLE TO THE DEVELOPMENT
Any area which can be easily approached, entered and used by the citizens of a particular residential development provided that the area is within six air miles of the development.
ACTIVE RECREATION
Any activity that requires some physical exertion on the part of the participant. See Subsections 2A(1) and (2) for general examples.
ACTIVE RECREATION AREA
Any area developed in such a manner as to be conducive to those activities that fall within the range of active recreation. Examples: Athletic fields and hard-surfaced courts, pools, large dams, bicycle and walking trails, open turf areas, and apparatus areas.
LEISURE
Time not committed to making a living or involved with other necessary support functions; discretionary or "free" time.
PASSIVE RECREATION
Any activity that requires little or no physical exertion on the part of the participant. See Subsections 2A(2) and (3).
PASSIVE RECREATION AREA
Any area developed in such a manner as to be conducive to those activities that fall within the range of passive recreation. Examples: Scenic vistas, natural areas, craft areas, meeting areas, sitting areas, walkways, sunbathing, gardens, streams and impoundments, social events, picnicking and spectating areas.
RECREATION
Any activity, whether structured or not, in which individuals voluntarily engage during their leisure. Examples would include:
A. 
Active: Sports (individual, dual, team, co-recreational, and combative), athletics; both land and water-based.
B. 
Passive: Arts and crafts, spectating, picnicking, nature study and board games.
C. 
Either active or passive, depending on specifics: Dance, drama, music, games, skills, social recreation, special events, hiking/walking, cycling, hobbies, outdoor educational activities, and cultural activities.
RECREATION AREA REQUIRED
The amount of land in any given subdivision that would be dedicated for recreation were the fee in lieu of land dedication provision not being utilized.
3. 
The decision to accept land for dedication shall be at the discretion of the Board of Supervisors, with consideration of the provisions contained in § 22-901, Subsection 5. In the event that dedication is rejected, the developer or subdivider shall comply with the provisions herein for payment of a fee in lieu of dedication as provided in § 22-901, Subsection 8.
[Amended by Ord. No. 4-2019, 10/8/2019]
4. 
Land requirements of proposed recreation areas.
A. 
The amount of land required to be provided for recreational purposes for residential subdivisions or land development plans not exempted from the provisions of this section shall be as follows:
(1) 
Single-family detached and semidetached dwelling developments. In these developments or subdivisions, the developer shall provide a minimum of 1,500 square feet per lot.
(2) 
Single-family attached, two family, multiple-family and garden apartment developments. In these developments, a minimum contiguous area of 20% of the total area of the development shall be provided for recreation exclusive of roadways of the land being developed.
B. 
Such land set aside shall be suitable to serve the purpose of active and/or passive recreation by reason of its size, shape, location and topography and shall be subject to the approval of the Planning Commission, the Parks and Recreation Commission and the Board of Supervisors, after having conferred with the Zoning Officer.
C. 
All or part of recreation areas may be offered for dedication to the Township, but the Township shall not be obligated to accept the same. All such recreation areas not accepted by the Township shall be irrevocably conveyed to a duly incorporated property owner's association, which shall be responsible to properly maintain perpetually all of such recreation areas, pay all taxes assessed with regard to the land and any improvements thereon and supervise all activities conducted thereon. The Township shall have no obligation whatsoever in connection with such recreation areas other than the normal municipal services provided to the public in general.
D. 
The deed of conveyance of such recreation areas to a property owner's association shall contain a restrictive covenant limiting the use of such land and improvements to the common use of the property owners within the development for the purposes initially approved by the Township. Said deed shall also contain a restriction that said lands and improvements may not be sold or disposed of by the association, except to another organization formed to own and maintain said recreation areas without first offering to dedicate the land and improvements to the Township.
5. 
Criteria for proposed recreation areas. The Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors in exercising their duties regarding the approval of subdivision and land development plans, shall consider the following criteria in determining whether to approve the proposed location of recreation areas in the developer's subdivision or land development plan:
A. 
The site or sites should be easily and safely accessible from all areas of the development to be served, have good ingress and egress and have access to a public road; however, no public road shall traverse the site or sites.
B. 
The site or sites should have suitable topography and soil conditions for use and development as a recreation area.
C. 
The size and shape of the site or sites should be suitable for development as a particular type of park. Sites will be categorized by the Township using the guidelines established by the National Recreation and Park Association, Recreation, Park and Open Space Standards and Guidelines, 1983 edition.
D. 
The design and development of these recreation areas shall be done according to the guidelines established by the National Recreation and Park Association, Recreation, Park and Open Space Standards and Guidelines, 1983, copies of which may be obtained from the Township office.
E. 
The site or sites should, to the greatest extent practical, be easily accessible to essential utilities, including water, sewer and power.
F. 
The site shall be a minimum of three acres and a not more than 25% of the land shall exceed a slope of 8%
[Amended by Ord. No. 4-2019, 10/8/2019]
G. 
A maximum of 25% of the total required land area to be provided for recreation may consist of floodplain areas.
H. 
The site or sites should be compatible with the objectives, guidelines and recommendations set forth in the South Hanover Township Comprehensive Park, Recreation and Open Space Plan.
6. 
Dedication to the Township.
A. 
When the Township requires that recreation areas be dedicated and neither the developer wishes to maintain ownership nor is a property owner's association a viable alternative, then the required recreation area may be dedicated to the Township for public use.
B. 
When the Board deems it to be in the public interest to accept dedicated land, such acceptance shall be by means of a signed resolution to which the property description of the dedicated recreation area shall be attached, and a deed shall be recorded for the dedicated land which deed shall contain the following restrictive clause:
"This land was acquired for perpetual recreation, public park, and open space purposes through the implementation of the South Hanover Township Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance."
C. 
Recreation areas of less than three acres proposed to be dedicated to the Township shall not normally be accepted, unless, opportunities exist to combine them with those of another subdivision.
D. 
Areas dedicated to the Township for public use shall be suitable for recreational purposes by reasons of size, shape, location, topography and access.
E. 
The Board of Supervisors, after having conferred with the Planning Commission and the parks and recreation board may find dedication of land for recreation to be impractical because of the size, shape; location, access, topography, drainage or other physical features of the land, or that such dedication would adversely affect the subdivision or land development and its future residents or occupants, or that there is no other land area within the proposed subdivision which is practical for dedication to the public because of size, access, topography, or other physical characteristics. In such cases the Board of Supervisors shall require payment of a fee in lieu of land dedication.
F. 
All approved recreation areas shall be completed and dedicated before 50% occupancy has been reached in any applicable subdivision. Withholding of building permits may occur to insure compliance with this provision.
7. 
Recreation facility development.
A. 
Developers required to dedicate land for recreation shall also develop the recreation areas, according to the Recreation Park and Open Space Standards and Guidelines published by the National Recreation and Park Association in 1983.
B. 
Specific facilities to be constructed shall conform to the previously referenced standards based upon the size of the recreation area being dedicated.
C. 
In cases where the opportunity exists to combine dedicated recreation with another subdivision, the developer shall be required to escrow funds that will pay for later construction of facilities on a combined recreation area according to the subdivision's percentage contribution to the ultimate combined recreation area. The Township will then develop the combined recreation area with the escrowed funds when all portions thereof have been deeded over to the Township.
D. 
Actual size, number, placement and other specifications of recreation facilities to be developed shall be recommended by the Parks and Recreation Board to the Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors after discussions with the developers.
E. 
Final subdivision and/or land development plans shall indicate location and specifications of all recreation facilities to be constructed and metes, bounds and acreage(s) of the recreation area(s).
F. 
As a condition for the final approval of any plan, the Township may require either the actual completion of any and all requirements set forth under this section or the deposit with the Township of a corporate bond, or other security acceptable to the Board of Supervisors, in an amount sufficient to guarantee that such completion may be carried out as required.
G. 
The developer shall install, as a minimum, the following recreation facilities, or the equivalent if approved by the Township, on the land which has been set aside for this purpose:
Dwelling Units
Play Areas
BB/VB1 Courts
Tennis Courts
Ball2 Diamonds
Pavilions
Soccer/FB3 Fields
30 or less
—
—
—
—
—
—
31 to 49
1
1
—
—
—
—
50 to 99
1
1
—
—
—
100 to 199
2
2
1
1
1
—
200 to 299
2
2
2
1
1
1
300 to 400
2
2
2
2
2
1
Over 400
3
2
2
2
2
2
The mix of facilities shall be determined by the Township.
1 Basketball and/or volleyball court.
2 Softball and/or baseball diamond.
3 Soccer and/or football field.
H. 
Designs of recreation areas shall be reviewed by the parks and recreations board, Planning Commission and the Township Supervisors.
8. 
Fee-in-lieu of dedication.
A. 
When the Board of Supervisors decides that because of size, shape, location, access, topography or other physical features it is impractical for the developer to dedicate land for recreation areas as required by this section, the Board shall require payment of a fee-in-lieu of land dedication. Such fee-in-lieu of dedication payments shall be payable to South Hanover Township prior to approval of each final section of the overall plan by the Board.
B. 
Fee-in-lieu payments shall be arrived at by annual resolution adopted by the Board of Supervisors that will set the fee-in-lieu amounts for the calendar year. Amounts established shall remain in effect until a succeeding resolution establishing other rates is adopted.
C. 
All monies paid to the Township pursuant to this section shall, upon receipt by the Township, be deposited in an interest-bearing account, clearly identified as reserved for providing, acquiring, operating or maintaining park or recreational facilities. Interest earned on such accounts shall become funds of that account.
[Amended by Ord. No. 2-2021, 4/13/2021]
D. 
The amount of fees to be paid shall bear a reasonable relationship to the use of the park and recreational facilities by future inhabitants of the development or subdivision.
[Amended by Ord. No. 4-2019, 10/8/2019 and Ord. No. 2-2021, 4/13/2021]
E. 
Upon request of any person who paid the fee-in-lieu of under this subsection, the Township shall refund such fee, plus interest accumulated thereon from the date of payment, if the Township had used the fee paid for a purpose other than the purposes set forth in this section.
[Added by Ord. No. 2-2021, 4/13/2021]