A. 
Title. This article shall be known and may be cited as the "Paradise Township Real Estate and Resort Time-Share Ownership Ordinance."
B. 
Effective date and applicability. This article shall become effective five days after enactment and applies to time-share projects thereafter created, but not to time-share projects which have been offered for sale prior to the effective date. After such effective date, no developer shall offer a new time-share interval to a purchaser unless the project has been approved in accordance with this article.
C. 
Definitions. Except as defined in this Code (see Chapter 1, General Provisions, Article II, Definitions), all words shall carry the customary meaning.
D. 
Applicability of other ordinances. Except as provided in this article, no ordinance or regulation of Paradise Township shall be construed to impose any requirement upon a time-share program which it would not impose upon a similar development under a different form of ownership. To the extent that the zoning, subdivision or other ordinances of Paradise Township are in conflict with this article, this article shall apply to any time-share project; otherwise no provision of this article invalidates or modifies any provision of any other ordinance.
A. 
General procedures. All requests for approval of a time-share project shall be treated as a conditional use application to be allowed or denied by the Board of Supervisors, after recommendation of the Paradise Township Planning Commission, pursuant to the standards and criteria set forth in this article. The Board of Supervisors may deny an application only upon written notice of the manner in which the application fails to meet the standards and criteria of this article or other applicable ordinances of Paradise Township.
(1) 
Eight copies of all applications for time-share project approval shall be submitted to the Administrator, who shall transmit copies thereof to the County Planning Commission, the Township Engineer, the Sewage Enforcement Officer and the Paradise Township Planning Commission.
(2) 
In addition, the Administrator may, in his or her own judgment, transmit copies to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, the County Conservation District and the Township Solicitor.
(3) 
The application and supporting data shall be considered by the Paradise Township Planning Commission at its next regularly scheduled meeting, which should be considered the filing date of the application, provided that said documents are received by the Administrator at least 10 days in advance of the meeting. The applicant or an authorized representative shall attend the Planning Commission meeting in order to present the application.
B. 
Required documents. The developer shall submit the following documents in connection with the request for conditional use approval:
(1) 
Any document or plan required under this article and/or the Township Subdivision Ordinance (Chapter 131, Subdivision and Land Development) or other applicable ordinance, including but not limited to a perimeter plan and a site plan of the time-sharing units. Such site plan shall depict all information required of a major subdivision plan under the Paradise Township Subdivision Ordinance (Chapter 131, Subdivision and Land Development). The developer shall set forth on the site plan the units which are intended for occupancy by time-share purchasers, and such site plan shall include adjacent parking and points of access to the nearest public roads. Roads and other improvements depicted on the plans shall meet the design standards of applicable Paradise Township ordinances (see Chapter 127, Streets and Sidewalks, Article II, Construction Standards).
(2) 
A floor plan, if more than one unit is located or is to be located, within a single structure.
(3) 
If the proposed project includes structural alteration, improvement or a building conversion, the supporting documentation shall include a certification of a registered architect or engineer to the effect that the existing building is structurally sound and that the proposed conversion will not impair structural soundness.
(4) 
Copies of all sales documents or drafts thereof, if they are not in final form.
(5) 
A narrative description of the manner in which responsibility for maintenance and care of the units and common areas will be assured and a proposed operating budget for the maintenance organization. These documents should include a breakdown of the common expenses that will be borne by the maintenance organization.
(6) 
A narrative description of the manner in which the developer proposes to assure maintenance and care of the units and common facilities during the sales program, including any projected financial security or guarantee thereof.
C. 
Planning Commission action. The Paradise Township Planning Commission shall within 45 days of the filing date of the application make its written recommendation to the Board of Supervisors. Upon receipt of such recommendation, the Board of Supervisors shall advertise for a public hearing to be held in connection with all new time-share projects.
D. 
Criteria for consideration. The application for time-share project shall be considered by the Board of Supervisors, at a public hearing, in accordance with the following standards and criteria:
(1) 
Establishment of a proposed maintenance organization and legal documentation for maintenance responsibility, in accordance with the standards of § 160-45 of this article.
(2) 
Establishment of a guarantee of maintenance during the time-share project sales program.
(3) 
Establishment of a waste disposal system, including areas designated as primary and replacement treatment locations if applicable, in accordance with applicable regulations of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection for public sewer disposal systems.
(4) 
Establishment of a central water supply for the units shown on the development plan in accordance with applicable regulations of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection for public water supply facilities.
(5) 
Compliance with the provisions of this article and the Subdivision Ordinance of Paradise Township (Chapter 131, Subdivision and Land Development).
(6) 
Establishment of a road system and parking areas within the project area to service the anticipated traffic flow, including reasonable estimates for additional traffic during the sales program. All roads and parking areas shall meet the minimum standards set forth in this article or the Township Subdivision Ordinance (Chapter 131, Subdivision and Land Development). The Board of Supervisors may condition approval upon installation of temporary parking facilities to accommodate additional traffic during the sales program.
(7) 
Where the project proposes installation of improvements, the Board of Supervisors may condition approval upon installation of those improvements or, in lieu of completion of the improvement, the Board of Supervisors shall require a performance guaranty, sufficient to assure completion of the improvements, as hereinafter set forth.
(a) 
The performance guaranty shall be in the form of a written instrument which shall provide for the deposit with the Township of financial security in an amount sufficient to cover the costs of any improvements or common amenities, including but not limited to roads, parking facilities, stormwater detention and/or retention basins and other related drainage facilities, recreational facilities, open space improvements or buffer or screen plantings which may be proposed or required.
(b) 
The financial security provided by the developer shall be in the form of an escrow or trust agreement or other similar collateral or surety agreement, executed by the developer, in form acceptable to the Township, supported by collateral or security in the form of cash or certified check payable to the Township, an unconditional guaranty by a corporate surety company authorized and qualified for the issuance of surety bonds in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, an irrevocable unconditional letter of credit from a federal or commonwealth chartered lending institution or a restrictive or escrow account in a federal or commonwealth chartered lending institution.
(c) 
The performance guaranties shall provide for and secure to the public the completion of all proposed or required improvements within one year of the date fixed on the site plan for the completion of such improvement. Any such improvement completion date fixed on the plan shall not extend beyond three years from the date of final plan approval.
(d) 
The amount of financial security provided by a performance guaranty shall be equal to 110% of the cost of the proposed or required improvements for which financial security is being posted. The cost of the improvements shall be established by the submission to the Township of a bona fide bid or bids from the contractor or contractors chosen by the developer to complete the improvements. In the absence of such bona fide bids, the costs shall be established by an estimate prepared by the Township Engineer.
(e) 
If the developer requires more than one year from the date of posting of financial security to complete the required improvements, the amount of financial security may be fixed by either of the following methods:
[1] 
The amount of financial security shall be increased by an additional 10% for each one-year period beyond the anniversary date from posting of financial security; or
[2] 
The amount of financial security for the first one-year period shall be established as set forth in Subsection D(7)(d). On or about the expiration of the preceding one-year period, the developer shall submit to the Township a current bona fide bid or bids for the proposed or required improvements. The amount of financial security for the upcoming one-year period shall be equal to 110% of the cost of completing the improvements.
(f) 
Where the development is projected over a period of years, the Board of Supervisors may authorize submission of final plans by sections or stages of development, subject to such requirements or guaranties as to improvements in future sections or stages as it finds essential for the protection of any finally approved section of the development.
(g) 
The developer may request, from time to time, as work progresses, the release of such portions of the financial security necessary for payment to the contractor performing the work.
(h) 
All such requests shall be in writing, by certified mail, addressed to the Board of Supervisors with a copy thereof sent to the Township Engineer. The Board of Supervisors shall have 45 days from receipt of such request within which to allow the Township Engineer to certify, in writing, to the Board of Supervisors that such portion of the work upon the improvements has been completed in accordance with the approved plan and to act upon such request.
(i) 
Accompanying all requests for the release of financial security, there must be a certification to the Board of Supervisors from the developer's engineer that the subject portion of work has been completed in accordance with the approved plans and to Township standards. The certification must be specific in regards to type, amount and actual location of the work completed. The period of time allocated to the Township for such inspections and action will not begin until such certification has been received by the Township.
(j) 
Upon the Township Engineer's certification, the Board of Supervisors shall authorize the release of an amount of financial security as estimated by the Township Engineer to fairly represent the value of the improvements completed. The Board of Supervisors may, prior to final release at the time of completion and certification by the Township Engineer, require retention of 10% of the estimated cost of the aforesaid improvements.
(k) 
Should the Board of Supervisors fail to act within said forty-five-day period, the Board of Supervisors shall be deemed to have approved the release of funds as requested.
(l) 
When the developer has completed all of the proposed or required improvements, the developer shall notify the Board of Supervisors, in writing, by certified mail, of the completion of the aforesaid improvements and shall send a copy thereof to the Township Engineer. The Board of Supervisors shall, within 10 days after receipt of such notice, direct and authorize the Township Engineer to inspect all of the aforesaid improvements. The Township Engineer shall, thereupon, file a report, in writing, with the Board of Supervisors and shall promptly mail a copy of the same to the developer by certified mail. The report shall be made and mailed within 30 days after receipt by the Township Engineer of the aforesaid authorization from the Board of Supervisors, and said report shall be detailed and shall indicate approval or rejection of said improvements, either in whole or in part, and if said improvements or any portion thereof shall not be approved or shall be rejected by the Township Engineer, said report shall contain, by reference to sections of this article, a statement of reasons for such nonapproval or rejection.
(m) 
A certification, as specified in Subsection D(7)(i), must be submitted with all requests for the release of financial security.
(n) 
The Board of Supervisors shall notify the developer, in writing, by certified mail, of the action of said Board of Supervisors with relation thereto.
(o) 
If the Board of Supervisors or the Township Engineer fails to comply with the time limitation provisions contained herein, all improvements will be deemed to have been approved and the developer shall be released from all liability, pursuant to its performance guaranty.
(p) 
If any portion of the improvements are not approved or are rejected by the Board of Supervisors, the developer shall proceed to complete the same and, upon completion, the same procedure of notification, as outlined herein, shall be followed.
(q) 
In the event that any improvements which may be required have not been installed as provided in this article or in accord with the approved plan, the Board of Supervisors may enforce any corporate bond or other security by appropriate and equitable remedies. If proceeds of such bond or other security are insufficient to pay the cost of installing or making repairs or corrections to all the improvement covered by said security, the Board of Supervisors may, at its option, install part of such improvements in all or part of the project and may institute appropriate legal or equitable action to recover the moneys necessary to complete the remainder of the improvements. All of the proceeds, whether resulting from the security or from any legal or equitable action brought against the developer, or both, shall be used solely for the installation of the improvements covered by such security and not for any other municipal purposes.
(8) 
Assurance that purchasers of a time-share lease or time-share use will obtain a nondisturbance agreement from the holder of any lien on the premises.
E. 
Hearing. The hearing on the application for development as a time-share project shall be in accordance with the requirements for a hearing on a conditional use application established in this article.
A. 
General requirement. Maintenance of a time-share project shall be vested in an association or other legal entity, organized prior to the first offer of a time-share unit, the membership of which includes all of the time-share owners; or a manager, who may be the developer or a person designated by the developer before the developer offers a time-share unit for sale; or the time-share owners themselves, if the number of time shares is not more than 25.
B. 
Upkeep of time-share project.
(1) 
The maintenance organization shall be required to keep and maintain insurance in an amount sufficient to replace the buildings and personal property in the event of fire or other insurable casualty. The maintenance organization shall also be required to keep and maintain comprehensive general liability insurance.
(2) 
Where applicable, the maintenance organization shall be responsible for the collection of the purchaser's pro rata share of real estate taxes and the remittance of such taxes to the Local Tax Collector on a timely basis.
(3) 
The sales documents and, where applicable, the project instruments shall specify the expenses which the maintenance organization may incur and collect from the purchaser as a maintenance fee. Unless otherwise provided in the sales documents, the developer shall pay the maintenance fee for all unsold time-share intervals of completed units.
(4) 
Upon request of the Board of Supervisors, the maintenance organization shall provide evidence that the provisions of this section are currently being met.
A. 
Enforcement penalties. Any person, partnership or corporation who or which violates the provisions of this article shall, upon conviction thereof in a summary proceeding, be sentenced to pay a fine of not more than $500. In default of payment of the fine, such person, the members of such partnership or the officers of such corporation shall be liable to imprisonment for not more than 60 days. Each day that a violation is conducted shall constitute a separate offense. All fines collected for the violation of this article shall be paid over to Paradise Township.
B. 
Enforcement remedies. In addition to the enforcement penalties as provided for in Subsection A above, the Board of Supervisors may institute in the name of the Township any appropriate action or proceeding to prevent, restrain, correct or abate the use or occupancy of any building or structure or the operation of any business in violation of this article.
C. 
Fees. Any developer seeking approval of a time-share program under this article shall pay a fee in such amount as may be established by resolution duly adopted by the Board of Supervisors of Paradise Township.[1] The Supervisors may provide for the inspection of required improvements during and after construction to ensure the satisfactory completion and the developer shall be required to pay the cost of any such inspection. All of the above fees shall be due and payable to the Township of Paradise.
[1]
Editor's Note: The current Fee Schedule is on file in the Township offices.