This chapter shall be known as and may be cited as the "The
Thornbury Township Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance of 2021,
as amended."
The purpose of this chapter is to support the policies of the
Thornbury Township Comprehensive Plan, as amended, and to support
and complement the provisions of the Thornbury Township Zoning Ordinance,
as amended, and for the following purposes:
A.
To protect and promote public safety, health and welfare.
B.
To secure sites suitable for building purposes and human habitation
while protecting natural and historic resources.
C.
To accomplish a coordinated development of the Township.
D.
To provide for the general welfare by guiding and protecting community
character and amenities while providing for development of future
governmental, economic, practical, social, and cultural facilities,
as well as the improvement of governmental processes and functions.
E.
To guide uses of land and structures, type and location of streets,
public grounds and other facilities.
F.
To permit the Township to minimize such problems as may presently
exist or which may be foreseen.
H.
To provide every effort to protect natural and cultural resources
from disturbance, including steep slopes, wetlands and wetlands margins,
floodplains and floodways, riparian buffers, woodlands, hedgerows,
specimen vegetation, groundwater recharge areas, and historic resources
as defined in this chapter.
I.
To allow innovative, quality subdivision design.
J.
To allow for flexibility in subdivision design.
A.
Subdivision control. No subdivision of a lot, tract, or parcel of
land shall be affected, and no street, sanitary sewer, storm drain,
water main, or other facility in connection therewith shall be laid
out, constructed, opened or dedicated for public use or travel, or
for the common usage of the occupants of buildings abutting thereon,
except in strict accordance with the provisions of this chapter.
B.
Land development control. For all activities defined as land development under Article II, there shall be no excavating, filling or grading of the soil, and no construction, demolition, or installation which directly or indirectly disturbs the soil, except in the process of gardening or farming operations. Activities defined as land development under Article II shall not be affected, nor shall any structure or building, whether prefabricated, precut, preassembled, or otherwise be erected or placed on any lot, tract, or parcel of land, except in strict accordance with the provisions of this chapter.
C.
Sale of lots, issuance of construction or building permits, or erection
of buildings or on-site improvements. In a subdivision, no lot may
be used or sold, no construction or building permit may be issued,
and no building or other structure may be erected, unless and until:
(1)
A plan for such subdivision shall have been approved and fully
recorded;
(2)
A grading plan, including a complete conservation plan for erosion
and sediment control, has been duly approved;
(3)
Until either the required public improvements in connection
therewith from the lot or building to an existing improved street,
or otherwise, shall have been constructed; or
(4)
The Township has been assured, by means of a proper completion
guaranty in the form of an acceptable bond or deposit of funds or
securities in escrow sufficient to cover the cost of all required
public and on-site improvements, as estimated may be established by
the Township Engineer, or authorized representative, that such public
and on-site improvements will subsequently be installed by the subdivider
or owner of the property.
A.
A subdivision or land development shall be in conformity with this
chapter and all standards and specifications adopted as part of this
chapter.
B.
In the interpretation and application of the provisions of this chapter,
the said provisions shall be held to be minimum requirements for the
promotion and protection of the public health, safety, and welfare.
Where the provisions of this chapter impose greater restrictions than
those of any statute, or other ordinance or regulation, the provisions
of this chapter shall prevail.
Should any section or provision of this chapter be declared
by a court of competent jurisdiction to be unconstitutional, illegal,
or invalid, such decision shall not affect the validity of this chapter
as a whole or any other part thereof.
The Board of Supervisors shall have jurisdiction and control
of subdivision and land development within the Township. To ensure
that the actions of the Board of Supervisors in administering this
chapter may be correlated with all relevant data and procedures, the
Board hereby designates the Township Planning Commission as the agency
of the Board for the following purposes:
A.
To which all applications, upon submission, relating to either preliminary
or final approval of subdivision and land development plans shall
be referred.
B.
Which shall make recommendations to the Board of Supervisors concerning
approval, disapproval, modification, granting of waivers, and conditions
of approval of such plans. In making such recommendation, the Planning
Commission shall refer specifically to that section of this chapter
or any statute or other ordinance or regulation applicable to the
recommendation.
A.
In any case in which an applicant demonstrates to the satisfaction
of the Board of Supervisors that literal compliance with any provisions
of this chapter would be unreasonable, would cause undue hardship
as applied to the proposed subdivision or land development, or when
alternative standard(s) can be demonstrated to provide equal or better
results, in accordance with Section 512.1 of the Pennsylvania Municipalities
Planning Code,[1] the Board of Supervisors may grant a modification or waiver
to such provision(s), provided that the spirit and intent of this
chapter is observed and that the public health, safety, and welfare
is assured.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 10512.1
B.
All requests for a waiver shall be in writing and shall accompany
and be a part of the application for subdivision or land development.
The request shall state in full the grounds and facts upon which the
request is based, the provision or provisions of the ordinance involved,
and the minimum modification necessary.
C.
In granting waivers, the Board of Supervisors may impose such conditions
as will, in its judgment, secure substantially the objectives of the
standards and requirements so modified.
D.
In no case shall the amount of escrow and bonding be reduced from
that specified elsewhere herein.
