[Ord. No. 386, 4/14/2020]
1. No plan of a subdivision or land development proposed in the Township
shall be recorded in any public office unless or until that plan shall
bear the certified approval of the Board of Supervisors.
2. It shall be unlawful for any person to sell, trade or otherwise convey
or offer to sell, trade or otherwise convey any lot or parcel of land
as a part of or in conformity with any plan, plat or replat of any
subdivision or land development unless and until said plan, plat or
replat shall have been first recorded in the Office of the Recorder
of Deeds.
[Ord. No. 386, 4/14/2020]
1. In addition to other remedies, the Township may institute and maintain
appropriate actions by law or in equity to restrain, correct or abate
violations, to prevent unlawful construction, to recover damages and
to prevent illegal occupancy of a building, structure or premises.
The description by metes and bounds in the instrument of transfer
or other documents used in the process of selling or transferring
shall not exempt the seller or transferor from such penalties or from
the remedies herein provided. The Township may refuse to issue any
permit or grant any approval necessary to further improve or develop
any real property which has been developed or which has resulted from
a subdivision of real property in violation of this chapter. The authority
to deny such a permit or approval shall apply to any of the following
applicants:
A. The owner of record at the time of such violation.
B. The vendee or lessee of the owner of record at the time of such violation
without regard as to whether such vendee or lessee had actual or constructive
knowledge of the violation.
C. The current owner of record who acquired the property subsequent
to the time of violation without regard as to whether such current
owner had actual or constructive knowledge of the violation.
D. The vendee or lessee of the current owner of record who acquired
the property subsequent to the time of violation without regard as
to whether such vendee or lessee had actual or constructive knowledge
of the violation.
2. As an additional condition for issuance of a permit or the granting
of an approval to any such owner, current owner, vendee or lessee
for the development of any such real property, the Township may require
compliance with the conditions that would have been applicable to
the property at the time the applicant acquired an interest in such
real property.
[Ord. No. 386, 4/14/2020]
1. Any person, partnership or corporation who or which has violated
the provisions of this chapter shall, upon being found liable therefore
in a civil enforcement proceeding commenced by the Township, pay a
judgment of not more than $500 plus all court costs, including reasonable
attorney fees incurred by the Township as a result thereof. No judgment
shall commence or be imposed, levied or be payable until the date
of the determination of a violation by the Magisterial District Judge.
If the defendant neither pays nor timely appeals the judgment, the
Township may enforce the judgment pursuant to the applicable rules
of civil procedure. Each day that a violation continues shall constitute
a separate violation, unless the Magisterial District Judge determining
that there has been a violation further determines that there was
a good faith basis for the person, partnership or corporation violating
this chapter to have believed that there was no such violation in
which event there shall be deemed to have been only one such violation
until the fifth day following the date of the determination of a violation
by the district justice and thereafter each day that a violation continues
shall constitute a separate violation.
2. The Court of Common Pleas, upon petition, may grant an order of stay,
upon cause shown, tolling the per diem judgment pending a final adjudication
of the violation and judgment.
3. Nothing contained in this section shall be construed or interpreted
to grant to any person or entity other than the Township the right
to commence any action for enforcement pursuant to this section.
[Ord. No. 386, 4/14/2020]
1. The Zoning Officer shall be responsible for the administration and
enforcement of this chapter and shall have all the powers and duties
conferred upon zoning officers by the Pennsylvania Municipalities
Planning Code (53 P.S. § 10101 et seq.).
2. The Zoning Officer shall review proposals for subdivision and land
development plans upon request of the Planning Commission or Board
of Supervisors; shall issue or revoke permits; shall enter upon, at
his discretion, subdivision and land development plans in the process
of construction to evaluate compliance with the terms of approved
applications; shall notify the developer, in writing, regarding any
aspect of the development not in compliance and demand remedial action
to guarantee compliance and avoid revocation of the permit; and shall
otherwise act as the Township's agent in the enforcement of these
regulations.
3. No developer, owner or agent or employee of them shall block entrance
of the Zoning Officer to any subdivision, land development or mobile
home park plan in the process of development.
[Ord. No. 386, 4/14/2020]
1. Filing Fees.
A. In order to defray a part of the cost incurred by the Township in
processing plans, filing fees shall accompany the filing of each preliminary
and final application. Checks shall be made payable to the Township.
B. The Board of Supervisors shall establish, from time to time, a schedule
of filing fees by resolution. The schedule of fees shall be available
to the public in the Office of the Township Manager.
C. In the event that the developer submits a revised application, the
revised application shall be accompanied by the filing fee required
for an original application. This fee shall apply only to revisions
initiated by the applicant, but shall not apply to revisions required
to complete an application or revisions requested by the Planning
Commission which are not required to complete an application.
2. Application Review Fees.
A. Application review fees shall include reasonable and necessary charges
by the Township's professional consultants or the Township Engineer
for review and report on the application to the Township. Such review
fees shall be based upon a schedule established by resolution by the
Board of Supervisors. Such review fees shall be reasonable and in
accordance with the ordinary and customary charges by the Township
Engineer or other consultants for similar service in the community,
but in no event shall the fees exceed the rate or cost charged by
the Township Engineer or other consultants to the Township when fees
are not reimbursed or otherwise imposed on applicants.
B. In the event the applicant disputes the amount of any such review
fees, the applicant shall, within 10 days of the billing date, notify
the Township Manager that such fees are disputed, in which case the
Township shall not delay or disapprove a subdivision or land development
application due to the applicant's request over disputed fees.
C. In the event that the Township and the applicant cannot agree on the amount of review fees which are reasonable and necessary, then the applicant and the Township shall follow the procedure for resolution of disputes as set forth in Subsection
3 of this section.
3. Inspection Fees.
A. The Township may prescribe that the applicant shall reimburse the
Township for the reasonable and necessary expense incurred for the
inspection of improvements. Such reimbursement shall be based upon
a schedule established by ordinance or resolution. Such expense shall
be reasonable and in accordance with the ordinary and customary fees
charged by the Township Engineer or consultant for work performed
for similar services in the community, but in no event shall the fees
exceed the rate or cost charged by the engineer or consultant to the
Township when fees are not reimbursed or otherwise imposed on applicants.
B. In the event the applicant disputes the amount of any such expense
in connection with the inspection of improvements, the applicant shall,
within 10 working days of the date of billing, notify the Township
that such expenses are disputed as unreasonable or unnecessary, in
which case the Township shall not delay or disapprove a subdivision
or land development application or any approval or permit related
to development due to the applicant's request over disputed engineer
expenses.
C. If within 20 days from the date of billing, the Township and the
applicant cannot agree on the amount of expenses which are reasonable
and necessary, then the applicant and Township shall jointly, by mutual
agreement, appoint another professional engineer licensed as such
in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to review the said expenses and
make a determination as to the amount thereof which is reasonable
and necessary.
D. The professional engineer so appointed shall hear such evidence and
review such documentation as the professional engineer in his or her
sole opinion deems necessary and render a decision within 50 days
of the billing date. The applicant shall be required to pay the entire
amount determined in the decision immediately. In the event that the
Township and applicant cannot agree upon the professional engineer
to be appointed within 20 days of the billing date, then upon application
of either party, the President Judge of the Court of Common Pleas
of the judicial district in which the Township is located or if at
the time there be no President Judge, then the senior active judge
then sitting shall appoint such engineer who, in that case, shall
be neither the Township Engineer nor any professional engineer who
has been retained by, or performed services for, the Township or the
applicant within the preceding five years.
E. The fees of the appointed professional engineer for determining the
reasonable and necessary expenses shall be paid by the applicant if
the amount of payment required in the decision is equal to or greater
than the original bill. If the amount of payment required in the decision
is less than the original bill by $1,000 or more, the Township shall
pay the fee of the professional engineer, but otherwise the Township
and the applicant shall each pay 1/2 of the fee of the appointed professional
engineer.