ATTACHMENTS
Attachment 1 - Disposition of Trees and Shrubbery
[Ord. No. 22, 5/24/1974, § 1; as amended by A.O.]
In accordance with the provisions of Article XXIII, Roads, Streets, Bridges and Highways, of the Second Class Township Code, Act May 1, 1933 (P.L. 103, No. 69), reenacted and amended November 9, 1995 (P.L. 350, No. 60), as amended, becoming effective May 7, 1996,[1] no railroad or street railway shall hereafter be constructed upon any Township road, no shall any railroad or street railway crossings, nor any gas pipe, water pipe, electric conduits or other tipples or any other obstructions be erected upon or in any portion of a Township road except under such conditions, restrictions and regulations relating to the installation and maintenance thereof as may be prescribed in permits granted by the Township for such purpose.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 67301 et seq.
[Ord. No. 22, 5/24/1974, § 2; as amended by A.O.]
The application for a permit shall be on a form prescribed by the Township and submitted to the Township in duplicate. The application shall be accompanied by a fee in accordance with the schedule of fees set forth by the Department of Transportation for highway occupancy permits and restoration charges. In addition, the applicant shall submit three copies of a sketch showing such dimensions as the location of the intended facility, width of the traveled roadway, right-of-way lines and a dimension to the nearest intersecting street.
[Ord. No. 22, 5/24/1974, § 3]
A permit shall be issued to the applicant after all the aforementioned requirements have been filed.
[Ord. No. 22, 5/24/1974, § 5; as amended by A.O.]
Upon completion of the work authorized by the permit, the Township shall inspect the work and, when necessary, enforce compliance with the conditions, restrictions and regulations prescribed by the permit. Where any settlement or defect in the work occurs, if the applicant shall fail to rectify any such settlement or other defect within 60 days after written notice from the Township to do so, the Township may do the work or contract out to a private company the defect or defects to be rectified and shall impose upon the applicant the cost thereof, together with an additional 20% of such cost. In addition to that inspection, the Board of Supervisors or its agents may reinspect the work not more than two years after the completion, and if any settlement or the road surface or other defect appears in the work contrary to the condition restrictions of the Township, it may enforce compliance therewith. If the applicant fails to rectify a defect which presents an immediate or imminent safety or health problem within 48 hours or any other defect within 60 days after written notice from the Board of Supervisors to do so, the Board of Supervisors or its agents may do the work and impose upon the applicant the cost thereof, together with an additional 20% of the cost, which may be recovered by an action in assumpsit in the Court of Common Pleas of the county. All fees received by the Township shall be paid to the Township Treasurer. Nothing in this section shall be construed to require a permit in advance for emergency repairs necessary for the safety of the public or the restoration or continuance of public utility service or other public service, but application for the permit and the fees shall be submitted within four days after completion of the work, after which time the remaining provisions of the section apply. Nothing in this section authorizes a township to regulate or control the operations of any permittee except under this section.
[Ord. No. 22, 5/24/1974; as added by A.O.]
1. 
A driveway shall be located, designed, constructed and maintained in a manner consistent with the design, maintenance and drainage of a Township road. Access driveways shall be permitted as per the applicable regulations of the Chapter 27, Zoning, of the Code of the Township of Sugarloaf.
2. 
The following standards shall apply for the construction of a driveway or the resurfacing of a driveway having access onto a Township road.
A. 
Driveways being constructed may not:
(1) 
Impair drainage within a Township right-of-way.
(2) 
Alter the stability of a Township right-of-way, roadway or shoulder.
(3) 
Divert drainage onto adjoining properties.
B. 
Except when the Zoning Officer, Road Foreman or Township Engineer determines otherwise, driveways may be constructed with a ditch or swale adequate enough to ensure proper drainage.
C. 
If the Zoning Officer, Road Foreman or Township Engineer determines that a drainage ditch or swale may not be adequate, then a pipe not less than 15 inches in diameter shall be installed by the property owners under the driveway. Whenever necessary, the inlet and outlet ends of the pipe shall be properly stabilized with riprap.
D. 
A driveway installation may require the submission of a plan by the property owner. The plan shall be submitted to the Zoning Officer, Road Foreman, Township Engineer and Board of Supervisors for review and comment prior to the issuance of a permit.
E. 
Lots within a development shall be subject to approved driveway pipes and specifications, as shown on approval plans.
F. 
The number of driveways on a residential lot may not exceed two per lot. When an exception applied, one additional driveway may be permitted.
G. 
Surface. Any driveway installed shall be covered with a dust-free surface, such as modified stone, concrete or bituminous paving material, from the Township road to the end of the road right-of-way.
H. 
Side Yard Setback. Residential driveways shall be installed not less than 10 feet from a property line. This rule does not apply to those property lines abutting a Township road.
I. 
Resurfacing. The resurfacing of any driveway will require a permit to be furnished by the Township. Inspection of the improvement will be done by the empowered employees of Sugarloaf Township.
[Ord. No. 22, 5/24/1974; as added by A.O.]
The Zoning Officer may not issue a building permit for any type of construction until a property owner proposing to install ingress and egress to his property has obtained the required permits from the Township, Luzerne County or PennDOT.
[Ord. No. 22, 5/24/1974; as added by A.O.]
The Zoning Officer, Road Foreman, Township Engineer and the Board of Supervisors shall have the power to enforce this Part.
[Ord. No. 22, 5/24/1974; as added by A.O.]
This Part shall apply to any ingress and egress new or repaired after the effective date of this Part for which a permit has not already been issued.
[Ord. No. 22, 5/24/1974; as added by A.O.]
The Sugarloaf Township Supervisors shall establish fees by resolution for the issuance of road occupancy permits, as the need requires, based on the fees established by PennDOT.
[Ord. No. 22, 5/24/1974, § 6; as amended by A.O.]
Any person, firm or corporation who shall violate any provision of this Part, upon conviction thereof in an action brought before a Magisterial District Judge in the manner provided for the enforcement of summary offenses under the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure, shall be sentenced to pay a fine of not more than $1,000, plus costs, and, in default of payment of said fine and costs, to a term of imprisonment not to exceed 90 days. Each day that a violation of this Part continues or each section of this Part which shall be found to have been violated shall constitute a separate offense.
[Res. 13-1996, 5/14/1996]
Removal of shrubs and trees that constitute a hazardous or dangerous condition to the use of the highway by the public or those that impair the maintenance of the public roads or streets.
[Res. 13-1996, 5/14/1996, § 1]
The Township shall, by certified letter, notify the property owner within 15 days of the removal of such trees or shrubs. Forms will accompany the letters requesting a response on the disposition of the shrubs or trees from the property owners. If no response is received by the Township from the property owner in five days of the receipt of the form, the Township and persons in its employ will in no way be held responsible. The Township will make all reasonable effort to contact the property owners.
[Res. 13-1996, 5/14/1996, § 2]
All logs, cordwood, branch wood derived from the destruction or removal of any trees growing along the highway shall be surrendered to and remain the property of the abutting property owners of the right-of-way. The removal by the Township of any wood derived from the removal shall require a release form signed by the property owners holding the Township and persons in their employ harmless.
[Res. 13-1996, 5/14/1996, § 3]
Nothing in this Part prevents the Board of Supervisors or Roadmaster or other person in their employ from removing roadside trees which may be thrown down by wind or lodged in a position as to be a menace to public travel or which may become a source of danger to the public.