In order to provide for a wide range of housing types and new
design innovations in the field of residential development and at
the same time ensure the necessary amenities for residential living
as provided for in all residential districts, the following section
is included to ensure the necessary ordinance flexibility for this
kind of development. This section shall apply only to the RSP, RF,
RLD and RHD residential or districts.
A.
An application for an approval authorizing a modification of the
requirements of this chapter for a planned residential development
must be made to the Township Supervisors in three copies. This application
shall contain the following information:
(1)
A legal description of the property under consideration which
shall be a minimum of 15 acres in area.
(2)
A scaled topographic map of the entire parcel with a contour
interval of not less than two feet.
(3)
A site plan showing the location of all existing and proposed
buildings and structures, parking lots, buffer strips, plantings,
streets, public ways, and curb cuts.
(4)
Proposed reservations for parks, parkways, playgrounds, school
sites and other open spaces with indication of the organization to
own and maintain such open space.
(5)
A location map showing the location of the site in relation
to the surrounding area.
(6)
Architectural sketches, at the appropriate scale, showing building
height, bulk, interior layout, and proposed use.
(7)
A feasible proposal for sanitary sewers and stormwater control.
(8)
The substance of covenants, grants of easement, or other restrictions
proposed to be imposed upon the use of the land, buildings, and structures,
including proposed easements of grants for public utilities.
(9)
The required modifications in the land use regulations otherwise
applicable to the subject property.
(10)
A schedule showing the proposed times within which applications
for final approval of all sections of the planned residential development
are intended to be filed if the development plans call for development
over a period of years. This schedule must be updated annually until
the development is completed and accepted.
B.
Review.
(1)
The Township Supervisors shall refer the application to the
Township Planning Commission and the County Planning Department for
study and recommendation. The two agencies shall be required to make
comment to the Township Supervisors within 30 days or the right to
review will be considered forfeited.
C.
Report.
(1)
Within 30 days following the conclusion of the public hearing,
the Township Supervisors shall make a written report by certified
mail to the applicant. Said report shall:
(2)
Failure to so act within said period shall be deemed to be a
grant of tentative approval of the development plan as submitted.
If tentative approval is granted subject to conditions, the landowner
may, within 30 days after receiving a copy of the official written
report, notify the Township Supervisors of his refusal to accept all
said conditions, in which case the Township Supervisors shall be deemed
to have denied tentative approval of the development plan. If the
landowner does not, within said period, notify the Township Supervisors
of his refusal to accept all said conditions, tentative approval of
the development plan, with all stated conditions, shall stand as granted.
(3)
The official report granting or denying tentative approval shall
include conclusions and findings of fact related to the proposal and
reasons for the grant, with or without conditions, or the denial.
Also contained in the report shall be a statement of the respects
in which the development plan is or is not in the public interest,
including conclusions on the following:
(a)
In those respects in which the development plan is or is not
consistent with the Comprehensive Plan for the development of the
Township.
(b)
The extent to which the development plan departs from zoning
and subdivision regulations otherwise applicable to the subject property,
and the reasons why such departures are or are not deemed to be in
the public interest.
(c)
The purpose, location, and amount of the common open space in
the planned residential development; the reliability of the proposals
for maintenance of the common open space; and the adequacy or inadequacy
of the amount and purpose of the common open space as related to the
proposed density and type of residential development.
(d)
The physical design of the development plan and the manner in
which said design does or does not make adequate provision for public
services; provide adequate control over vehicular traffic; and further
the amenities of light and air, recreation and visual enjoyment.
(e)
The relationship, beneficial or adverse of the proposed planned
residential development to the neighborhood in which it is proposed
to be established.
(f)
Application for final approval shall be filed within three months
of tentative approval. In the case of a development plan which provides
for development over a period of years (phased development), the time
between applications for final approval of each phase or part shall
not be more than 12 months.
D.
The official written report shall be certified by the secretary of
the Township Supervisors and filed in his office. Where tentative
approval has been granted, the same shall be noted on the Zoning Map.
(1)
Tentative approval shall not qualify a plat of the planned residential
development for recording, development, or the issuance of any building
permits. A plan which has received tentative approval shall not be
modified, revoked, or otherwise impaired by action of the Township,
if the time periods for submission of final application specified
in said written reports are being fulfilled, unless the applicant
consents to the change or modification.
(2)
In the event tentative approval is granted, but prior to final
approval, the applicant elects to abandon said plan and notifies the
Township Supervisors in writing or fails to file for final approval
within the specified times, the tentative approval shall be deemed
to be revoked; and all the area in the development plan which has
not received final approval shall be subject to this chapter as otherwise
applicable thereto and the same shall be noted on the Zoning Map and
in the records of the Township Supervisors.
E.
The application for final approval may be for all the land included in the plan or, to the extent set forth in the tentative approval, for a section thereof. Said application shall be made to the Township Supervisors within the time or times specified by the tentative approval. The application for final approval shall meet all requirements and contain all enclosures specified for the final plan of the subdivision stated within Chapter 185, Subdivision and Land Development. A public hearing on an application for final approval of the development plan or part thereof shall not be required, provided the development or part thereof submitted for final approval is in compliance with the development plan theretofore given tentative approval.
(1)
When the final application has been filed, together with all
drawings, specifications, and other documents in support thereof,
and as required by this chapter and the official written report of
tentative approval the Township Supervisors, within 30 days of such
filing, shall grant final approval to said plan.
(2)
When the final application contains variations for the plan
given tentative approval, the Township Supervisors may refuse to grant
final approval and shall within 30 days of the filing so advise the
applicant of said refusal, setting forth the reasons why one or more
of the variations are not in the public interest. In the event of
such refusal, the applicant may either: refile his application without
objected variations or request a public hearing on his application
for final approval. Either action shall be taken within the time which
the applicant is entitled to apply for final approval or within 30
additional days if the time for applying for final approval has already
passed when the applicant was advised of the denial. If no action
is taken by the applicant, the plan shall be deemed to be abandoned.
If a public hearing is requested, it shall be conducted in the same
manner prescribed for tentative approval, but the written report shall
either grant or deny final approval in the same form and contain the
findings, as required for an application for tentative approval.
F.
A development plan or any part thereof which has received final approval
shall be certified by the Township Supervisors and filed within 90
days with the Lebanon County Recorder of Deeds. Should the plan not
be recorded within such period, the action of the Township Supervisors
shall become null and void. No development shall take place until
the plan has been recorded, and from that point of time, no modification
of the provisions of said plan or part thereof as finally approved
shall be made without the consent of the landowner.
G.
In the event that a development plan, or a section thereof, is given
final approval and thereafter the landowner shall abandon such plan
or the section thereof that has been finally approved, the landowner
shall so notify the Township Supervisors in writing; or, in the event
the landowner shall fail to commence and carry out the planned residential
development, no further development shall take place on the property
included in the development plan until after said property is resubdivided
and is reclassified by enactment of an amendment to this chapter.
H.
Any decision of the Township Supervisors under this article granting
or denying tentative or final approval of a development plan shall
be subject to appeal to court in the same manner and within the same
time limitation provided for zoning appeals.
A.
Dwelling units permitted. The number of dwelling units permitted
shall be determined by dividing the net development area by the minimum
lot area per family required by the district in which the area is
located. Net development area shall be determined by subtracting the
area set aside for churches and school use from the gross development
area and deducting 15% of the remainder for streets, regardless of
the amount of land actually required for streets. The area of land
set aside for common open space or recreational use shall be included
in determining the number of dwelling units permitted. The Township
Supervisors shall determine the appropriate percentage of multifamily
dwellings and/or commercial uses permitted in the development depending
upon the size of the development and the character of the area in
which such development is located; however, in no case shall more
than 50% of the net developable land area be developed into multiple
dwellings and no more than 6% of the net developable land area shall
be developed into commercial uses.
B.
Lot area and frontage. The minimum lot area and minimum lot frontage
of dwelling lots established within the development shall not be less
than 1/2 of the normal minimum lot area or minimum lot frontage of
the district in which the lot is located.
C.
Other requirements. All other applicable provisions of this chapter such as off-street parking regulations and limitations of signs shall apply to the planned unit development. Layout and improvement of streets and driveways shall conform to Chapter 185, Subdivision and Land Development, and other regulations pertaining thereto established by the Township Supervisors.
