A. 
The provisions of this chapter are considered by the Township to be the minimum standards necessary for the protection of the public health, safety and welfare.
B. 
If the literal enforcement of one or more provisions of this chapter is shown by the applicant, to the satisfaction of the Board of Supervisors at a scheduled public meeting, to be unreasonable and to cause undue hardship because of peculiar conditions pertaining to the land in question, or when an alternative standard can be demonstrated to provide equal or better results, the Board of Supervisors may grant a modification in writing to such applicant for such provision so that substantial justice may be done and the public interest secured, provided that such modification will not have the effect of nullifying the intent and purpose of this chapter.
C. 
All requests for a modification shall be in writing and shall accompany and be a part of the application for development. The request shall state in full the grounds and facts of unreasonableness or hardship on which the request is based, the provision or provisions of the ordinance involved and the minimum modification necessary.
D. 
Deferrals must be accompanied with a recorded agreement.
E. 
Any approved waivers, modifications or deferrals must be listed on the cover of the plan.
A. 
Amendments to this chapter shall become effective only after a public hearing held thereon pursuant to public notice in the manner prescribed within Subsection D of this section.
B. 
In the case of an amendment other than that prepared by the Township Planning Commission, the Board of Supervisors shall submit each such amendment to the Township Planning Commission for recommendations at least 30 days prior to the date fixed for the public hearing on such proposed amendment.
C. 
At least 30 days prior to the public hearing on the amendment, the Board of Supervisors shall submit the proposed amendment to the Lancaster County Planning Department for its recommendations.
D. 
Public notice.
(1) 
Proposed amendments to this chapter shall not be enacted unless notice of proposed enactment is given in the manner set forth in this subsection, and shall include the time and place of the meeting at which passage will be considered, a reference to a place within the Township where copies of the proposed amendment may be examined without charge or obtained for a charge not greater than the cost thereof. The Board of Supervisors shall publish the proposed amendment once in one newspaper of general circulation in the Township not more than 60 days nor less than seven days prior to passage. Publication of the proposed amendment shall include either the full text thereof or the title and a brief summary, prepared by the Township Solicitor and setting forth all the provisions in reasonable detail. If the full text is not included:
(a) 
A copy thereof shall be supplied to a newspaper of general circulation in the Township at the time the public notice is published.
(b) 
An attested copy of the proposed amendment shall be filed in the Lancaster County Law Library or other county office designated by the Lancaster County Commissioners, who may impose a fee no greater than that necessary to cover the actual costs of storing said ordinances.
(2) 
In the event substantial amendments are made in the proposed amendment, before voting upon enactment, the Board of Supervisors shall, at least 10 days prior to enactment re-advertise, in one newspaper of general circulation in the Township, a brief summary setting forth all the provisions in reasonable detail together with a summary of the amendments.
E. 
Within 30 days after adoption, the Board of Supervisors shall forward a certified copy of any amendment to this chapter to the Lancaster County Planning Department.
F. 
Subdivision and land development ordinances and amendments may be incorporated into official ordinance books by reference with the same force and effect as if duly recorded therein.
A. 
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 transfer or from such penalties or from the remedies herein provided.
B. 
Issuance of permits.
(1) 
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. This 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.
A. 
Any person, partnership or corporation who or which has violated the provisions of this chapter shall, upon being found liable therefor 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 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 Magisterial District Judge and thereafter each day that a violation continues shall constitute a separate violation.
B. 
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.
C. 
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.
D. 
Magisterial District Judges shall have initial jurisdiction in proceedings brought under this section.
The decision of the Board of Supervisors with respect to the approval or disapproval of plans may be appealed directly to court as provided for in Act 247, the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, as amended.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 10101 et seq.
Should any section, subsection, or provision of this chapter be declared by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such decision shall not affect the validity of this chapter as a whole, or of any part thereof.
Whenever there is a difference between the minimum applicable standards specified herein and those included in other applicable Township regulations, the more stringent requirement shall apply.
This chapter shall become effective five days after its adoption by the Board of Township Supervisors of East Lampeter Township, County of Lancaster, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.