Township of East Hanover, PA Parks and Recreation Land Dedication or Fee-in-Lieu

The Board of Supervisors has adopted a Recreation and Park Plan for East Hanover Township. To implement this Plan, all residential subdivisions and residential land developments shall be provided with park, recreation and open space land which shall be dedicated to the Township. The developer may request that the Township not require the dedication of land and any such request shall be accompanied by an offer to pay a fee in lieu of dedication of the land, computed in accordance with the regulations provided herein, an offer to construct recreational facilities and/or an offer to privately reserve land for park, recreation and open space purposes.

§ 74-3 Mandatory dedication of recreation, park and open space land.

The land reserved for park, recreation and open space usage shall be a single lot which shall comply with the requirements of this article and the recommendations of the East Hanover Township Recreation and Park Plan. Unless otherwise approved by the Board of Supervisors, no more than 15% of the lot shall consist of floodplain, wetlands, steep slopes, utility easements or rights-of-way, or other features which shall render the lot undevelopable. No stormwater management facilities designed to retain or detain water from other portions of the development shall be permitted on such land reserved for park, recreation and open space usage.

In the event that the tract of land contains natural features which are worthy of preservation, the Board of Supervisors may require that the park, recreation and open space land be configured in such a manner as to best preserve the natural features.

The park, recreation and open space land shall be accessible to utilities such as sewer, water and power that are provided with the subdivision, and if so requested by the Board of Supervisors, the developer shall extend such utilities to the park, recreation and open space land.

If the adjoining property has previously been developed and recreation land has been provided at the boundary of that previously developed property, the Board of Supervisors may require that the park, recreation and open space land be located adjoining the previously provided recreation land.

If the adjoining property is undeveloped land, the Board of Supervisors may require that the park, recreation and open space land be provided at the boundary of the development in order that it may be added to land provided for park and recreation purposes on the adjoining tract at such time that the adjoining tract is developed.

§ 74-4 Alternatives to public dedication of land.

The developer may request that the Board of Supervisors permit the provision of park, recreation and open space land other than through public dedication of land as set forth above. The developer shall set forth, in writing, the means by which he will fulfill this requirement which may include the payment of a fee in lieu of dedication of all or a portion of the amount of land required to be dedicated, construction of recreation facilities or any combination of dedication, fees or construction of recreational facilities.

If a fee in lieu of dedication is proposed by the developer, said fee shall be the fair market value of the land required to be dedicated under § 74-3 above or the fee established under § 74-6 below, whichever is greater. Payment of all such fees shall be a condition of final plan approval and no plans shall be signed by the Board of Supervisors until such fees are paid. The developer shall provide the Board of Supervisors with all the information necessary to determine that fair market value of the land, including, but not limited to, a copy of the agreement of sale if the developer is an equitable owner and has purchased the land within the past two years, or an appraisal of the property conducted by an MAI appraiser acceptable to the Township. Fair market value shall be computed by dividing the total price for the tract by the number of acres within the tract and multiplying that number by the amount of land required to be dedicated. If the proposed subdivision contains 20 or less lots or units, the developer may elect to provide a fee as established by the Township by resolution of the Board of Supervisors, in lieu of the above procedures.

If the developer proposes to construct recreational facilities, the developer shall present a sketch plan of such facilities and an estimate of the cost of construction. The proposed sketch and estimated cost shall be subject to approval by the Township.

The developer shall enter into an agreement with the Township setting forth the fees to be paid, the facilities to be constructed or the land to be dedicated. All such agreements shall be provided prior to final approval of the plan and shall be satisfactory to the Board of Supervisors.

All proposals for dedication shall be submitted to the East Hanover Township Board of Supervisors for review. The Board of Supervisors shall review the proposal for conformance with this article and the provisions of the Recreation and Park Plan.

§ 74-5 Minimum acreage required to be dedicated.

The minimum of 0.03 acre of land shall be reserved as park, recreation or open space for each residential lot created in a subdivision or each dwelling unit created in a land development.

§ 74-6 Fee in lieu of dedication.

The Board of Supervisors will establish by resolution the required fee in lieu of dedication of recreation, park and open space land. The fee shall be a fixed fee per lot as shown on the subdivision or land development plan, or a fixed fee per dwelling unit, whichever is greater.

If the proposed subdivision contains 20 or less lots or units, the developer may elect to provide the fee in the amount specified in the resolution adopted by the Board of Supervisors referenced in § 74-6A above, in lieu of the procedures outlined under § 74-3, Mandatory dedication of recreation, park and open space land.

All fees shall be held and used by the Township in accordance with the requirements of Article V of the Municipalities Planning Code, 53 P.S. § 10501 et seq., and the recommendations of the East Hanover Township Recreation and Park Plan.

§ 74-7 Severability.

The provisions of this article are severable, and if any section, sentence, clause, part or provision hereof shall be held to be illegal, invalid or unconstitutional by any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision of the court shall not affect or impair the remaining sections, sentences, clauses, parts or provisions of this article. It is hereby declared to be the intent of the Board of Supervisors that this article would have been enacted if such illegal, invalid or unconstitutional section, sentence, clause, part or provision had not been included herein.

§ 74-8 Repeals.

All other ordinances or parts of ordinances inconsistent herewith are expressly repealed.

§ 74-9 Adoption and effective date.

This article shall become effective five days after its enactment by the Board of Supervisors of the East Hanover Township.