Tentative subdivision and land development plans shall be reviewed
by the Township Zoning Officer, Township Planner, Township Engineer,
and any other staff or consultant as the Township deems necessary.
The tentative subdivision and land development plans shall also be
reviewed by the Planning Commission, the Centre County Planning Commission,
and the Centre Regional Planning Commission and shall be approved
or not approved by the Township Board of Supervisors in accordance
with the procedures specified in this article. Unless specifically
exempted, all plans shall be reviewed in two stages, preliminary and
final.
A potential applicant for subdivision or land development, all
or part of which is situate in the Township, may request a conference
with the Township's Zoning Officer, Township Zoning Administrator,
Township Engineer, Township Planner, and any other staff which the
Township deems necessary for the purpose of discussing or reviewing
such proposed subdivision or land development.
A.
The preapplication conference shall not be mandatory and shall not
be regarded as formal application for subdivision or land development.
The filing of any report, sketch plan, plat or map prior to or at
such conference shall not constitute submission of a plan or application
for land development or subdivision.
B.
Any report, sketch plan, plat or map to be shall be brought to the
preapplication conference.
C.
Township staff may, at its sole discretion, make or refuse to make
recommendations as the result of the preapplication conference. Any
recommendations made by Township staff at or in response to the preapplication
conference shall not be binding upon the Township in its review of
the plan after formal application.
All subdivisions or land developments which do not require the
installation of streets, off-site water and sewage facilities, storm
drainage facilities, curbs or sidewalks, or fire suppression as required
in this chapter are exempt from the requirement to have a preliminary
review and may commence final approval procedures with submission
of a preliminary plan.
A.
All applications for Township approval of subdivision and land development
plans shall commence with the official submission of a plan and all
required supplementary data to the Township Zoning Administrator.
All applications for preliminary review of a plan shall be acted upon
by the Township within such time limits as established in this chapter,
provided that the Board of Supervisors shall render its decision and
communicate it to the applicant not later than 90 days after the date
the application is filed.
B.
A plan shall be deemed to have been submitted for preliminary review
when the applicant has furnished to the Township Zoning Administrator
the following documents:
(1)
One copy of a completed application for subdivision or land development,
plus payment of all application fees;
(2)
Three copies of the completed planning module for land development
as required by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection;
if an on-site sewage facility is planned, soil log test data shall
be included for each lot;
(3)
One electronic copy of all submissions submitted to the Township
Zoning Administrator at the time of submitting said plans.
C.
Upon receipt of the above, the Township Zoning Administrator shall
forward immediately one copy of the plan to the Centre Region Planning
Agency, Township Local Planner, Centre County Planning Commissions;
the Township Engineer; Fire Chief, Township Sewer Enforcement Officer
and the Township Zoning Officer; and any other consultants or experts
the Township deems necessary for a sufficient review of the plan,
and if the proposed subdivision or land development is to have direct
access to a state or federal highway, the District Office of the Pennsylvania
Department of Transportation, District 2-0.
D.
Development review notice signs.
(1)
Intent. The intent of this subsection is to provide notice to adjacent
property owners and the general public of a pending subdivision, land
development or site plan review by the Township. The sign will have
the phone number of the Township so that persons may call to inquire
about the status of a pending development review. With this type of
notification, the Township hopes to involve interested parties and
obtain input earlier in the plan review process.
(2)
Notice requirement. The Department of Public Works shall be responsible
for placement of a development review notice sign on the affected
property in accordance with the following regulations.
(3)
Timing. Within 10 days of submitting a subdivision, land development,
or site plan to the Township, the Department of Public Works shall
place a development review sign on the property in accordance with
the location requirements below.
(4)
One sign shall be placed along each side of the property which abuts
a public right-of-way. The sign shall be placed near the property
line, but not within the right-of-way. The sign shall be placed so
it does not impede traffic visibility, but can be seen by passing
motorists and pedestrians within the public right-of-way.
(5)
If the property does not abut a public right-of-way in the Township,
the Department of Public Works shall confer with the Township Zoning
Officer to determine a feasible location to post the sign or signs
to meet the intent of this section.
(6)
Sign fee. A development review notice sign, post and anchor shall
be issued by the Township for a nonrefundable fee in accordance with
the Township's fee schedule.
(7)
Sign removal. A development review notice sign shall be removed from
the property within seven days of receiving conditional plan approval
from the Board of Supervisors. If the sign is supplied by the applicant
or applicant's agent, an original approved plan with signatures
will not be released until the sign is removed from the property as
verified by the Zoning Officer.
(8)
Sign design. The development review sign shall be 30 inches wide
by 48 inches high and shall have the following wording in three- and
four-inch lettering: "LAND DEVELOPMENT PROPOSED, CALL HALFMOON TOWNSHIP,
692-9800." The sign shall be made of aluminum with white reflective
sheeting, and the lettering shall be royal blue.
E.
The Fire Chief's review shall consist of the following:
(1)
Water supply available for firefighting.
(2)
The location and available flow of fire hydrants (wet/dry/stand/tank).
(3)
Fire apparatus access.
(4)
The location of applicable fire lanes.
(5)
The location of any Fire Department connections to be provided.
(6)
The presence of any built-in suppression systems.
F.
The Fire Chief, Township Zoning Officer, Centre Region Planning Agency,
Township Engineer, Centre County Planning Agency, Township Sewer Enforcement
Officer any any other staff or consultant reviewing said preliminary
plan shall provide the Township Zoning Administrator their comments
within 14 days of receipt of the plan.
G.
H.
Review by Township Board of Supervisors.
(1)
Upon receipt of the recommendations of the Planning Commission, the
plan shall be placed upon the agenda of the Supervisors for review
at a regularly scheduled public meeting or, at the Board of Supervisors'
discretion, at a special public meeting to be held for that purpose.
(2)
At said meeting the supervisors shall:
(a)
Review the plan and the written reports thereon of the Township
Planning Commission, the Centre County Planning Commission and the
Township staff to determine if the plan meets the provisions contained
in these regulations.
(3)
Before acting on any plan, the Supervisors may hold a public hearing
thereon after public notice.
(4)
Prior to final review of a plan for which off-site sewer or water
service is proposed, the Board of Supervisors may require, as a condition
of preliminary approval, that the applicant furnish written confirmation
from the appropriate bodies that such service is and will be made
available to the site under review.
(5)
The decision of the Township Board of Supervisors shall be in writing
and shall be communicated to the applicant personally or mailed to
him/her at his last known address not later than 15 days following
the decision.
(a)
If the plan receives preliminary approval by the Township Board
of Supervisors, the action of the Supervisors shall be noted, together
with the date of action and signature of the Chairman and Secretary,
on two copies of the plan. One copy of the plan shall be given to
the applicant, while the other copy shall be retained in the Township
files. After the signatures are obtained, the applicant may immediately
begin to lay out all lots, parcels, blocks, easements and rights-of-way
and construct all streets, sanitary sewage disposal systems, water
supply systems, storm drainage facilities and monuments in accordance
with the approved plan, but no parcel or lot may be conveyed or recorded
until after final approval of the plan.
(b)
If the plan is not approved, the decision shall specify the
defects found in the plan and describe the requirements which have
not been met and shall, in each case, cite the provisions of this
chapter from which such defects or requirements originate.
(c)
Within 45 days after the issuance of the decision, the applicant
may submit a corrected plan for review by the Township Board of Supervisors.
If submitted, the Supervisors shall consider the plan, if after staff
and consultant review all requirements of the Supervisors are fulfilled,
at a regularly scheduled meeting or at a special meeting held within
45 days after resubmission.
[1]
If the plan as resubmitted corrects all the defects cited in
the denial, the Township Board of Supervisors shall approve the corrected
plan.
[2]
If changes are made by the applicant which were not cited as
defects in the plan by the Township Board of Supervisors in their
decision disapproving the plan, such plan may be considered as a new
plan and must be submitted for approval in accordance with this section.
(6)
Failure of the Township to render a decision within 90 days of application
and communicate it to the applicant within the time and in the manner
required herein shall be deemed an approval of the plan in terms as
presented unless the applicant has agreed, in writing, to an extension
of time or change in the prescribed manner of presentation of communication
of the decision, in which case, failure to meet the extended time
or change in manner of presentation of communication shall have like
effect.
A plan shall be officially submitted to the Township Zoning
Administrator for final Township review after all improvements indicated
on the plan receiving preliminary approval have been installed or,
including but not limited to, state, county, fire, and regional required
permits and improvements. In lieu of the completion of the improvements
and/or permits, the applicant shall deposit with the Township a corporate
bond or other security acceptable to the Township Supervisors as follows:
A.
Corporate or security bonds:
(1)
Shall be in an amount sufficient to cover the costs of any improvements
which may be required.
(2)
Such financial security may include, among others, a lending institution
letter of credit or a restrictive or escrow account in a lending institution.
(3)
Such bond or other security shall provide for and secure to the public
the completion of any improvements which may be required within a
stated period, which shall not be longer than one year from the date
the plan received preliminary approval.
(4)
Upon written application signed by the obligor and surety of a performance
guaranty in a form approved by the Township Supervisors, the governing
body may, at its discretion, extend said period, provided that satisfactory
security for the completion of the improvements within the extended
time is provided, or, when the improvements have been partially completed,
reduce proportionally the amount of the bond or other form of security
by formal resolution.
(5)
In the event that any improvements which may have been required in
accordance with the finally approved plan have not been installed,
the Township Board of Supervisors may enforce any corporate bond or
other security by appropriate legal and equitable remedies.
(6)
If the proceeds of such bond or other security are insufficient to
pay the cost of installing or making repairs or corrections to all
the improvements covered by said security, the Township Supervisors
may install part of such improvements in all or part of the subdivision
or land development or cause the same to be installed and may institute
appropriate legal or equitable action to recover the moneys necessary
to complete the remainder of the improvements. All the proceeds, whether
resulting from the security or from any legal or equitable action
brought against the applicant, or both, shall be used solely for the
installation of the improvements covered by such security and not
for any other municipal purpose.
(8)
Prior to final approval of a plan by the Township, the Township Supervisors
may require the applicant to deliver to the Secretary a maintenance
guaranty, in an amount of not more than 115% of the estimate of the
cost of all required improvements, guaranteeing that the applicant
shall maintain all such improvements in good condition for a term
not to exceed 18 months from the date of acceptance of dedication.
B.
All plans which have received preliminary approval shall be entitled
to final approval in accordance with the terms of the approved preliminary
application for a period of five years from the date of the preliminary
approval.
C.
The final review of the plan shall be conducted by the Township Supervisors
in the same manner as prescribed for preliminary review of the plan
except that final review shall be limited to determining if the plan
conforms to the plan which received preliminary approval, including
all conditions and modifications required by the Township Supervisors,
and the requirements for final plan review have been met.
(1)
As a condition of approval, the applicant shall permit the Township
Engineer to make periodic site inspections of such nature and extent
as are necessary to ensure that the required improvements are being
installed and constructed in conformity with the design standards
contained herein or otherwise specified in the preliminary approval
of the plan. If the applicant has completed all of the required improvements,
he/she shall notify the Township Board of Supervisors in writing,
by certified mail, of the completion of the improvements and shall
send a copy thereof to the Municipal Engineer. The Supervisors hereby
direct and authorize the Municipal Engineer to make a final inspection
of all the aforesaid improvements after receipt of such notice. The
Municipal Engineer shall thereupon file a written report with the
Supervisors and shall promptly mail a copy of the same to the applicant.
D.
All applications for final approval of a plan shall be acted upon
by the Township within such time limits as established in this chapter,
provided that the Supervisors shall render their decision and communicate
it to the applicant not later than 90 days after the date of the next
regular meeting of the governing body following the date the final
plan application is filed.
E.
In the case where subdivision and land development is projected over
a period of years, the Supervisors may authorize final review of the
plan by sections or stages of development subject to such requirements
or guaranties as to improvements in future sections or stages of development
as they find essential for the protection of any finally approved
section or stage of development. In each such case, prior to preliminary
approval of the plan, the Supervisors and the developer shall enter
into a written agreement specifying the sequence of development of
sections or stages, the maximum time permitted the developer for final
submission of the plan for each subsection and any other such requirements
or guaranties as are applicable to that particular development. Where
development is permitted in stages, all improvements installed subsequent
to the third anniversary of preliminary approval of the plan shall
conform to standards for such improvements in effect at the time of
installation of the same.
F.
Final official submission of the plan to the Township Supervisors shall consist of five black- (or blue-) on-white prints of the plan for which the plan received preliminary approval, plus the financial security specified in Subsection A, all offers of dedication and deeds of easements to the municipality and all other required documents.
After completion of the procedures required by these regulations
and after final approval by the Supervisors, all endorsements shall
be so indicated on the approved plan and on as many other copies of
the plan as may be desired by the governing body. Upon approval and
signing of the plan by the Supervisors, a record plan shall be recorded
in the Office of the Recorder of Deeds of Centre County by the applicant
within 90 days of such approval and signing. Such recording shall
be otherwise in conformity with Section 513 of the Municipalities
Planning Code.[1] Within 10 days after the Recorder of Deeds has properly
recorded the subdivision or land development plan, a copy of such
shall be forwarded to the Township Secretary by the applicant, including
the endorsement of the Recorder of Deeds.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 10513.
