A.
The Board of Supervisors has adopted the following procedures which
shall be observed by all applicants.
B.
Whenever any subdivision or land development is proposed and before
any construction improvement is commenced and any building permit
is requested, the applicant shall apply for and secure approval in
accordance with the following procedures:
A.
For the purpose of this chapter, for both minor and major subdivision
and land development plans, whether preliminary or final, the date
of the regularly scheduled meeting of the Board of Supervisors next
following the date application is filed shall represent the official
submission date of a plan. The Board shall render a decision and communicate
it to the applicant no later than 90 days from such filing date in
the time, manner and form required by Section 508 of the Municipalities
Planning Code.[1] Should the next regular meeting occur more than 30 days
following the filing of the application, the statutory period shall
commence on the 30th day following the day the application has been
filed.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 10508 et seq.
B.
The official submission date shall not be assigned prior to municipal
receipt of a complete application. If the Board holds any portion
of the submission, pending receipt of the balance, the application
shall not be deemed to have been officially received until the next
regularly scheduled Board of Supervisors meeting following the date
of completing an application.
A.
Application. The Board shall make available to applicants a form
upon which all applications for approval of subdivision and land development
plans shall be made.
B.
To defray the expenses of plan review, fees shall be payable to the
Board of Supervisors at the time of filing an application. Fees shall
be established or amended from time to time by resolution to the Board
of Supervisors.
C.
Engineering and planning.
(1)
For engineering and planning services required for plan review,
the applicant shall pay the actual cost of the engineering and planning
review. At the time of filing an application, the applicant shall
deposit an escrow amount, as set forth in Appendix A,[1] to cover the initial engineering and planning review costs
with the Board of Supervisors. If the initial amount is exhausted,
the additional monies required for the engineering and planning review
shall be paid either by:
(a)
Additional escrow amounts; or
(b)
By monthly invoices to the applicant covering the cost of the
engineering and planning services.
[1]
Editor's Note: Appendix A is included as an attachment to
this chapter.
(2)
The choice of payment method is at the sole discretion of the
Board of Supervisors. All funds in excess of actual engineering and
planning review fees will be returned to the applicant at the end
of the application review.
D.
Inspection and testing.
(1)
For inspection and testing of site improvements during or after
construction, the applicant shall pay the actual costs of inspection
and testing. Upon final approval of the plans the applicant shall
deposit an escrow amount, as set forth in Appendix A,[2] to cover the initial inspection and testing costs with
the Board of Supervisors. If the initial escrow amount is exhausted,
the additional monies required for the inspection and testing shall
be paid either by:
(a)
Additional escrow amounts; or
(b)
By monthly invoices to the applicant covering the cost of inspection
and testing.
[2]
Editor's Note: Appendix A is included as an attachment to
this chapter.
(2)
The choice of payment method is at the sole discretion of the
Board of Supervisors. All funds in excess of actual inspection and
testing fees will be returned to the applicant upon dedication of
the street.
E.
Completion of improvements or guarantee thereof prerequisite to final
plan approval.
(1)
No plan shall be finally approved unless the streets shown on
such plan have been improved to a mud-free or otherwise permanently
passable condition, or improved as may be required by this chapter,
and any walkways, curbs, gutters, streetlights, fire hydrants, shade
trees, water mains, sanitary sewers, storm drains and other improvements
as may be required by this chapter have been installed in accordance
with the specifications of this chapter. In lieu of the completion
of any improvements required as a condition for the final approval
of a plan, the owner shall provide for the deposit with the Township
of a corporate bond or other financial security acceptable to the
Board of Supervisors in an amount sufficient to cover the costs of
any improvements or common amenities, including, but, not limited
to, roads, stormwater retention and/or retention basins and other
related drainage facilities, recreational facilities, open space improvements
or buffer or screen plantings which may be required, which financial
security may include, among others, a lending institution letter of
credit or a restrictive or escrow account in a lending institution.
Without limitation as to other types of financial security which the
Township may approve, federal or commonwealth-charted lending institution
irrevocable letters of credit and restrictive or escrow accounts in
such lending institutions shall be deemed acceptable financial security
for the purposes of this section. Such financial security shall be
posted with a bonding company or federal or commonwealth-charted lending
institution chosen by the party posting the financial security, provided
such bonding company or lending institution is authorized to conduct
such business within the commonwealth. Such bond or other security
shall provide for and secure to the public the completion of any improvements
which may be required within one year of the date fixed in the plan
for completion of such improvements. The amount of financial security
shall be equal to 110% of the cost of the required improvements for
which financial security is to be posted. The cost of the improvements
shall be established by submission to the Board of Supervisors of
a bona fide bid or bids from the contractor or contractors chosen
by the party posting the financial security to complete the improvements
or, in the absence of such bona fide bids, the costs shall be established
by an estimate prepared by the Township's Engineer. If the party posting
the financial security requires more than one year from the date of
posting of the financial security to complete the required improvements,
the amount of financial security may be increased by an additional
10% for each one-year period beyond the first anniversary date from
posting of financial security or to an amount not exceeding 110% of
the cost of completing the required improvements as reestablished
on or about the expiration of the preceding one-year period by using
the above bidding procedure. In the case where development is projected
over of period of years, the Board of Supervisors may authorize submission
of final plans by section or stages of development, subject to such
requirements or guarantees as to improvements in future sections or
stages of development as it finds essential for the protection of
any finally approved section of the development.
(2)
As the work of installing the required improvements proceeds,
the party posting the financial security may request the Board of
Supervisors to release, or authorize the release from time to time,
such portions of the financial security necessary for payment to the
contractor or contractors performing the work. Any such requests shall
be in writing, addressed to the Board of Supervisors, and the Board
shall have 45 days from receipt of such request within which to allow
the Township Engineer to certify, in writing, to the Board that such
portion of the work upon the improvements has been completed in accordance
with the approved plan. Upon such certification, the Board shall authorize
release by the bonding company or lending institution of an amount
as estimated by the Township Engineer fairly representing the value
of the improvements completed or, if the Board fails to act within
said forty-five-day period, it shall be deemed to have approved the
release of funds as requested.
(a)
The Board may, prior to final release at the time of completion
and certification by its Engineer, require retention of 10% of the
estimated cost of the aforesaid improvements. Said amount, if retained,
shall be refunded one year from the project's completion date.
(b)
If any portion of the said improvements shall not be approved
or shall be rejected by the Board, the developer shall proceed to
complete the same and, upon completion, the same procedure of notification,
as outlined herein, shall be followed.
(c)
If financial security has been provided in lieu of the completion of improvements required as a condition for the final approval of a plat as set forth in § 282-303E(1), the Township shall not condition the issuance of building, grading or other permits relating to the erection or placement of improvements, including buildings, upon the lots or land as depicted upon the final plan upon actual completion of the improvements depicted upon the approved final plan. If said financial security has been provided, occupancy permits for any building or buildings to be erected shall not be withheld following the improvements of the streets providing access to and from existing public roads to such building or buildings to a mud-free or otherwise permanently passable condition, as well as the completion of all other improvements as depicted upon the approved plan, either upon the lot or lots, or beyond the lot or lots in question, if such improvements are necessary for the reasonable use of or occupancy of the building or buildings.
(3)
Where the Board accepts dedication of all or some of the required improvements following completion, it may require the posting of financial security to secure structural integrity of said improvements as well as the functioning of said improvements in accordance with the design and specifications as depicted on the final plan for a term not to exceed 18 months from the date of acceptance of dedication. Said financial security shall be of the same type as otherwise required in § 282-303E(1) with regard to installation of such improvements, and the amount of the financial security shall not exceed 15% of the actual cost of installation of said improvements. If water mains or sanitary sewer lines, or both, along with apparatus or facilities related thereto, are to be installed under the jurisdiction and pursuant to the rules and regulations of a public utility or municipal authority separate and distinct from the Township, financial security to assure proper completion and maintenance thereof shall be posted in accordance with the regulations of the controlling public utility or municipal authority and shall not be included within the financial security as otherwise required by this section.
A.
All applicants submitting subdivision and land development plans
are urged to submit a sketch plan the Township. Such a submission
should include sufficient information for a determination by the Board
of Supervisors concerning the classification of the proposal as a
major or minor subdivision. The submission of a sketch plan shall
not preclude the applicant from proceeding with preliminary and final
application as required by this chapter.
B.
The submission of a sketch plan is not mandatory, but is intended
to facilitate the review and approval of preliminary and final plans
by providing an informal discussion between the applicant and the
Board of Supervisors.
C.
Submission of a sketch plan shall not constitute formal filing of a plan with the Township for purposes of § 282-302.
D.
Two copies of the sketch plan accompanied by a request for review
shall be submitted to the Board of Supervisors. The request shall
come from the applicant and include the name, address and telephone
of an individual who shall be authorized to receive all notices required
by this chapter.
A.
Applicants proposing a major subdivision shall submit a preliminary
plan and application to the Township for review in accord with the
provisions of this chapter.
B.
Application for consideration and approval of a preliminary or final
plan shall be as set forth in Appendixes A (Fees) and B (Procedure)
as the same may be established and modified by resolution of the Supervisors.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Appendixes A and B are included as attachments
to this chapter.
C.
Township Planning Commission review. Each properly filed preliminary plan shall be submitted for review by the Township Planning Commission at its next regularly scheduled meeting. During the review of the preliminary plan, the Township Planning Commission shall consider written reports of the Township Engineer and Zoning Officer, and other appropriate agencies, prior to formulating a recommendation. The Planning Commission may recommend approval, disapproval or approval with conditions. Such recommendation shall be submitted in writing to the Board of Supervisors, Township Engineer and the Township Zoning Officer as soon as possible after review is complete, but in all events no later than 60 days after the filing date as established by § 282-302.
D.
Review agency recommendations. Where deemed desirable by the Township
Planning Commission or Supervisors, other agencies may be requested
to review certain aspects of the plan. In such case, the applicant
shall, upon request, provide such agencies with copies of the appropriate
plan or other information.
E.
Board of Supervisors review and decision.
(1)
Upon receipt of the plans, recommendations, reports and supporting
materials from the Township Planning Commission, the Board of Supervisors
shall consider the same and may request such additional information
as may be necessary and proper to complete its review and decision.
The Supervisors shall not be bound by any statement, determination
or recommendation of the Planning Commission or other reviewing agency,
except as may be specifically provided for in this chapter or other
applicable law. The Board of Supervisors may approve as submitted,
approve with conditions or reject the plan.
(2)
The Board shall take action within 90 calendar days from the
official filing date of the final plan. Failure to do so will be deemed
an approval.
(3)
The decision of the Supervisors shall be made at a regular or
special meeting and shall be communicated, in writing, personally
to the applicant or mailed to his last-known address no later than
15 days following the Supervisors' decision.
(4)
When the application is not approved in terms as filed, the
decision shall specify the defects found in the application and describe
the requirements which have not been met and shall, in each case,
cite the provisions of this chapter relied upon.
(5)
Any extension of the time limits of this section must be consented
to in writing by the applicant, otherwise the same shall be of no
effect.
(6)
A preliminary plan filed hereunder shall be clearly marked as
such and shall not be recorded or employed as a final plan.
A.
All applicants submitting subdivision and land development applications
shall submit a final plan to the Township.
B.
Within one year of the Board of Supervisors approval of the preliminary
plan, a final plan shall be submitted to the Township in conformity
with this chapter. Unless an extension of time, in writing, has been
granted by the Board of Supervisors upon written request, plans submitted
after the one-year period shall be classified as a new preliminary
plan.
C.
The final plan shall consist of two parties, the record final plan
and the improvements construction plan.
D.
The final plan shall conform to the approved preliminary plan and
shall incorporate all modification required by the Township in its
review of the preliminary plan.
F.
Township Planning Commission review. The final plan may be reviewed as required within Article III, § 282-305C for preliminary plans. Should the plan satisfy all the requirements of this chapter and approval recommended, the Planning Commission, by general or special resolution, may authorize the Chairman and Secretary to date and endorse such approval on a minimum of five copies of the final plan. Copies of the final plan with the endorsement of the Township Planning Commission shall be forwarded to the Board of Supervisors.
A.
Such plans shall be required to be submitted to the Board of Supervisors
for classification. Submittals will be treated as sketch plans.
B.
In the event that a plan is determined as an agricultural subdivision,
the plan shall be exempt from both minor and major subdivision review
processes.
C.
Agricultural subdivision plans shall be recorded prior to the sale,
lease or lease purchase of any tract created by the plan. Such agricultural
subdivision plan shall be clearly marked as such and shall not authorize
any construction, improvement or land development as a major or minor
subdivision hereunder.
A.
After the approved plan has been signed by not less than two Supervisors,
attested by the Secretary and signed and approved by the Township
and County Planning Commission pursuant to the requirement of the
Municipalities Planning Code Section 502(b),[1] the applicant shall record the record final plan in the
Office of the Recorder of Deeds, Washington County, Pennsylvania,
within the time set forth below.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 10502(b).
B.
The approved record final plan shall be recorded within 90 days following
the date of the official Township approval of the record final plan.
Should the plan not be recorded within such a period, the record final
plan shall become null and void unless an extension of time is granted
by the Board of Supervisors and endorsed on the record final plan
to be recorded. Recordation will be accomplished consistent with the
Recorder of Deeds procedure.
C.
Prior to recording, a minimum of three copies of the approved record
final plan shall be taken to the Washington County Planning Commission
by the applicant for its endorsement to acknowledge a county review
has been completed. One approved copy shall be retained by the County
Planning Commission and two shall be retained by the Recorder of Deeds
office.
D.
The applicant shall file Recorder of Deeds receipts with the Township
for the record final plan recordation and for any declaration of covenants
required by said plan, showing the date and deed record and/or microfilm
number. If the applicant has elected to provide a corporate bond or
other financial security acceptable to the Board of Supervisors in
an amount sufficient to cover the costs of improvements, in lieu of
constructing the improvements prior to final plan approval, then no
building permits shall be issued until said receipts are filed with
the Township.
Any revision or resubdivision of land which includes changes to a recorded plan shall be considered a subdivision and require a resubmission of the plan in accordance with the applicable provision of this chapter. Any revision or resubdivision of a lot created by a final plan that used the lot averaging option as outlined in Chapter 320, Zoning, if applicable, shall be governed by the lot averaging requirements for the original subdivision.
After final plan approval and upon completion of all required
improvements, the developer shall submit an as-built plan, showing
the location, dimension and elevation of all improvements. In addition,
the plan shall indicate that the resultant grading, drainage structures
and/or drainage systems and erosion and sediment control practices
(including vegetative measures) are in substantial conformance with
the previously approved drawings and specifications. The plan shall
note all deviation from the previously approved drawings. Three copies
of the plan shall be submitted to the Secretary of the Board of Supervisors
who shall distribute them as follows:
A.
If the applicant decides to construct the streets shown on the final
plan to a mud-free or otherwise permanently passable condition, or
improved as may be required by this chapter and to construct whatever
other improvements are shown on the final plan prior to submitting
the final plan for final approval, then no lots may be sold until
such approval is granted.
No occupancy permits shall be issued for any building or buildings
until, and unless, the streets providing access to and from existing
roads to such building or buildings are constructed to a mud-free
or otherwise permanently passable condition, as well as all the other
improvements as depicted upon the approved plan, either upon the lot
or lots or beyond the lot or lots in question, if such improvements
are necessary for the reasonable use of or occupancy of the building
or buildings constructed.
From time to time, an application for approval of a plat, whether preliminary or final, is duly filed as provided in this chapter, and while such application is pending approval or disapproval, no change or amendment of Chapter 320, Zoning, this chapter or other governing ordinance or plan shall affect the decision on such application adversely to the applicant and the applicant shall be entitled to a decision in accordance with the provisions of the governing ordinances or plans as they stood at the time the application was duly filed. In addition, when a preliminary application has been duly approved, the applicant shall be entitled to final approval in accordance with the terms of the approved preliminary application as hereinafter provided. However, if an application is properly and finally denied, any subsequent application shall be subject to the intervening change in governing regulations. When an application for approval of plat, whether preliminary or final, has been approved or approved subject to conditions acceptable to the applicant, no subsequent change or amendment in Chapter 320, Zoning, this chapter or other governing ordinance or plan shall be applied to effect adversely the right of the applicant to commence and to complete any aspect of the approved development in accordance with the term of such approval within five years from such approval. Where final approval is preceded by preliminary approval, the terms shall be construed in the light of the provisions of the governing ordinances or plans as they stood at the time when the application for such approval was duly filed. Where the landowner has substantially completed the required improvements as depicted upon the final plat within the aforesaid five-year limit, or any extension thereof as may be granted by the governing body, no change of municipal ordinance or plan enacted subsequent to date of filing of the preliminary plat shall modify or revoke any aspect of the approved final plat pertaining to zoning classification or density, lot, building, street or utility location. In the case of a preliminary plat calling for the installation of improvements beyond the five-year period, a schedule shall be filed by the landowner with the preliminary plat delineating all proposed sections as well as deadlines within which applications for final plat approval of each section are intended to be filed. Such schedule shall be updated annually by the applicant on or before the anniversary of the preliminary plat approval, until final plat approval of the final section has been granted and any modification in the aforesaid schedule shall be subject to approval of the governing body in its discretion. Each section in any residential subdivision or land development, except for the last section, shall contain a minimum of 25% of the total number of dwelling units as depicted on the preliminary plan, unless a lesser percentage is approved by the governing body in its discretion. Provided the landowner has not defaulted with regard to or violated any of the conditions of the preliminary plat approval, including compliance with landowner's aforesaid schedule of submission of final plats for the various sections, then the aforesaid protections afforded by substantially completing the improvements depicted upon the final plat within five years shall apply and for any section or sections, beyond the initial section, in which the required improvements have not been substantially completed within said five-year period, the aforesaid protections shall apply for an additional term or terms of three years from the date of final plat approval for each section. Failure of landowner to adhere to the aforesaid schedule of submission of final plats for the various sections shall subject any such section to any and all changes in Chapter 320, Zoning, this chapter and other governing ordinances enacted by the Township subsequent to the date of the initial preliminary plan submission.
