Borough of Clearfield, PA Procedures

The developer is strongly encouraged to meet informally with the staff of Clearfield Borough assigned subdivision administrative responsibility by the Clearfield Borough Council. The staff will advise the developer on procedures and requirements, and suggest professional assistance where appropriate. The developer should be prepared to discuss details concerning the proposed subdivision and be prepared to submit the following:

Sketch plan. The sketch plan should show the proposed layout of streets, lots, existing conditions, and improvements. The sketch plan will be for review and comment purposes only, and shall never be considered as a plan which has been submitted for approval.

Floodplain determination. The developer must be prepared to locate the proposed boundaries of the development on the applicable floodplain map.

After this conference with the developer, the Clearfield Borough staff will indicate the suitability of the plan for further consideration and submittal of a preliminary or final plan to the Clearfield Borough Council.

Step 2: Preparation and submittal of the preliminary plan, supporting data, subdivision application and fee.

The initial plan filed with the Clearfield Borough Council for subdivision review shall be considered as a preliminary plan. However, if the plan and supporting data comply in all aspects with the requirements for both preliminary and final plans, the Clearfield Borough Council may in the case of a minor subdivision involving no new improvements proceed to final action at the first consideration of the plan after review and recommendation by the Clearfield Borough Planning Commission.

The preliminary plan is not intended for recording. Its purpose is to show graphically all facts needed to enable the Clearfield Borough Council to determine whether the proposed subdivision will comply with the objectives and requirements of this chapter. The preliminary plan must comply with all of the standards and requirements outlined in this chapter.

The preliminary plan and supporting data shall comply with the requirements of Article V of this chapter.

Four copies of the preliminary plan shall be submitted to the Clearfield Borough Council by the developer. Four copies of any supporting data must be submitted with the plans. The Clearfield Borough Council may table, until their next meeting, any plan which is not filed at least 10 days in advance of the regular monthly meeting or any special meeting.

Upon receipt of an application for a subdivision or land development, a copy of same shall be forwarded to the Clearfield Borough Planning Commission and the Clearfield County Planning Commission for their review and report. If any fee is charged by the Borough or county for such service, it shall be borne by the developer. The Clearfield Borough Council cannot, by law, approve applications until the County Planning Commission report is received or until the expiration of 30 days from the date the application was forwarded to the county.

(6)

The appropriate application form is available at the Clearfield Borough Municipal Building (and included in the Appendix, Exhibit No. 3[1]), and must be completed and submitted with an application fee. The appropriate fee will be outlined on a Schedule of Fees established and approved by the Clearfield Borough Council. This Schedule of Fees may be revised from time to time by the Borough Council. A copy of the current Schedule of Fees is on file at the Clearfield Borough Municipal Building.

[1]

Editor's Note: The Appendix is on file in the Borough office.

(7)

The application will not be considered complete for review until all plans, supporting data, the application form, and the fees have been submitted to the Clearfield Borough administrative staff. The Clearfield Borough's administrative staff will determine when an application is complete for review by the Planning Commission before submission to the Borough Council for consideration of approval. Review times established herein shall comply with those required by the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, but will not commence until complete applications are submitted.

Step 3: Preliminary plan review.

The Borough Planning Commission will review the preliminary plan and supporting data to determine compliance with this chapter and make its comments and recommendations known to the Clearfield Borough Council, in writing. Before submitting its recommendations to the Council, the Planning Commission may hold a public hearing thereon after proper public notice.

The decision of the Clearfield Borough Council to approve, conditionally approve, or deny approval shall be made at a public meeting and be communicated to the developer within 90 days following the date of the next regular meeting following the filing date of the application. In the event that there is no meeting within 30 days after the date the completed subdivision application was filed, the Clearfield Borough Council must render a decision within 120 days after the filing of the completed application. The decision of the Clearfield Borough Council shall be in writing and be communicated to the developer personally or mailed to him at his last known address no later than 15 days following the decision.

The Clearfield Borough Council may grant approval of a preliminary plan with conditions which are subject to acceptance by the developer. The decision of the Clearfield Borough Council to grant the approval with conditions shall be in writing and communicated to the developer personally or mailed to him at his last known address no later than 15 days following the decision. The written decision must list all conditions which must be satisfied prior to the granting of an unconditional preliminary approval. The developer must accept or reject, in writing, any conditions within 30 days of receipt of the written decision. Approval of the plan shall be automatically rescinded on rejection of the conditions by the developer or failure by the developer to accept or reject such conditions within the thirty-day time period.

When the application, plans, and/or supporting data are not approved by the Clearfield Borough Council, the decision shall specify the defects found in the submittals, describe the requirements which have not been met, and cite the specific provisions of the chapter on which the decision has been made by the Clearfield Borough Council.

Failure of the Clearfield Borough Council to render a decision and communicate it to the developer within the time and in the manner required herein shall be deemed an approval of the application in terms as presented, unless the applicant has agreed, in writing, to an extension of time or change in the prescribed manner of communicating the decision.

Step 4: Other agency revisions and approvals. Following approval of the preliminary plan, and before review of the final plan by the Planning Commission before referral to the Clearfield Borough Council, the developer must coordinate his development activities with other local, state and federal agencies to ensure compliance with other requirements from the respective agencies. The Clearfield Borough staff will provide a list of review agencies to the developer. Neither the Planning Commission nor the Clearfield Borough Council will review any final plan until evidence has been received by them that the developer has complied with all requirements of the review agencies. This evidence must be in the form of a comment letter, approval, permit and/or improvement guarantee. Samples of forms which may be utilized for comments and approvals are contained in the Appendix.[2]

[2]

Editor's Note: The Appendix is on file in the Borough office.

Step 5: Approval from Pennsylvania Department of Transportation/Department of Environmental Protection and/or Clearfield County Sewage Enforcement Officer.

PennDOT. No plan which will require access to a highway under the jurisdiction of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation shall be finally approved unless the plan contains a notice that a highway occupancy permit is required pursuant to Section 420 of the Act of June 1, 1945 (P.L. 1242, No. 428), known as the "State Highway Law,"[3] before driveway access to a state highway is permitted. The plan shall be marked to indicate that access to the state highway shall be only as authorized by a highway occupancy permit. Clearfield Borough shall not be held liable for damages to persons or property arising out of the issuance or denial of a driveway permit.

[3]

Editor's Note: See 36 P.S. § 670-420 et seq.

Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) and/or County SEO. Compliance with Act 537 (Pennsylvania Sewage Facilities Act),[4] as amended, is absolutely essential before final approval of the plan may be rendered by the Clearfield Borough Council. Normally, evidence of compliance with Act 537 will be required before the Planning Commission will complete its review and make its recommendations to the Clearfield Borough Council. The Borough Sewage Enforcement Officer should be contacted for guidance with respect to DEP review of the plan, the need for soil testing and/or a planning module (which must be approved by DEP after appropriate action by the Borough Council to amend/revise the Borough's sewage facilities plan as appropriate).

[4]

Editor's Note: See 35 P.S. § 750.1 et seq.

Step 6: Preparation and submittal of the final plan, supporting data, and subdivision application.

The final plan shall be prepared by a registered surveyor or engineer, comply with the requirements of § 445-19 of this chapter, and conform to the approved preliminary plan.

The developer may submit the plan in phases for final approval. The developer shall submit four copies of the final plan to the Clearfield Borough Council. Four copies of any supporting data must be submitted with the plans. The Borough Council may table until their next meeting any plan which is not filed at least 10 days in advance of the regular monthly meeting or any special meeting. The application will not be considered complete for review until all plans and supporting data have been submitted to the Borough staff designated for administration of this chapter. Staff will determine when an application is complete for review by the Planning Commission.

Step 7: Final plan review.

The Planning Commission will review the final plan and supporting data to determine compliance with this chapter. Before acting on any subdivision plan, the Planning Commission or Clearfield Borough Council, or both, may hold a public hearing thereon after proper public notice. Upon receipt of an application for a subdivision or land development, a copy of same shall be forwarded to the Clearfield County Planning Commission for its review and report. If any fee is charged by the county for such service, it shall be borne by the developer. Clearfield Borough Council cannot, by law, approve applications until the county report is received or until the expiration of 30 days from the date the application was forwarded to the county.

The decision of the Clearfield Borough Council to approve, conditionally approve, or deny approval shall be made at a public meeting and be communicated to the developer within 90 days following the date of the next regular meeting following the filing date of the application. In the event that there is no meeting within 30 days after the date the complete subdivision application was filed, the Clearfield Borough Council must render a decision within 120 days after the filing of the complete application. The decision of the Clearfield Borough Council shall be in writing and communicated to the developer personally or mailed to him at his last known address no later than 15 days following the decision.

The Clearfield Borough Council may grant approval to a final plan with conditions which are subject to acceptance by the developer. The decision of the Borough Council to grant the approval with conditions shall be in writing and communicated to the developer personally or mailed to him at his last known address no later than 15 days following the decision. The written decision must list all conditions which must be satisfied prior to the granting of an unconditional final approval by the Borough Council. The developer must accept or reject, in writing, any conditions within 30 days of receipt of the written decision. Approval of the plan shall be automatically rescinded on rejection of the conditions by the developer or failure by the developer to accept or reject such conditions within the thirty-day time period.

When the application, plans and/or supporting data are not approved by the Clearfield Borough Council, the decision shall specify the defects found in the submittals, describe the requirements which have not been met, and cite the specific provisions of the chapter on which the decision has been made.

Failure of Clearfield Borough Council to render a decision and communicate it to the developer within the time and in the manner required herein shall be deemed an approval of the application in terms as presented, unless the applicant has agreed, in writing, to an extension of time or change in the prescribed manner of communicating the decision.

(6)

Before approving any final plan with proposed improvements, the Clearfield Borough council shall require strict compliance with the detailed improvement requirements outlined in Article VII.

Step 8: Recording of final plan and deeds.

Within 90 days after approval of the final plan by the Clearfield Borough Council and before conveyance of any deed out of the plan, the developer shall record the approved final plan with the Recorder of Deeds of the County of Clearfield. The developer shall be responsible for the payment of any recording fee.

The Recorder of Deeds shall not accept any plan located in the Borough of Clearfield, Clearfield County, for recording unless such plan officially notes the approval of the Clearfield Borough Council.

The approval action of the Clearfield Borough Council shall become null and void if the plan is not recorded within 90 days. The recorded plan shall include all applicable certifications as noted in Article V and the exhibits of this chapter.

The recording of the final plan shall not constitute grounds for assessment increase until such time as lots are sold or improvements are installed on the land within the approved plan. All deeds of lot(s) conveyed from the recorded subdivision shall identify all infrastructure improvements serving this/these lot(s).

§ 445-13 Effect of plan approval on Official Map.

After a plan has been approved and recorded in accordance with this chapter, all streets and public grounds on the plan shall become a part of the Official Map of Clearfield Borough without a public hearing.

§ 445-14 Effect of amendments on applications for plan approval.

From the time an application for approval of a preliminary or final plan is duly filed as provided in this chapter, and while such application is pending approval or disapproval, no change or amendment of this chapter shall affect the decision on such application adversely for the applicant, and the applicant shall be entitled to a decision in accordance with the provisions of the governing chapter as it stood at the time the application was duly filed. In addition, when a preliminary application and plan have been duly approved, the applicant shall be entitled to final approval in accordance with the terms of the approved preliminary application. However, if an application is properly and finally denied, any subsequent application shall be subject to any intervening change in governing regulations.

When an application for approval of a preliminary or final plan has been approved without conditions or approved by the applicant's acceptance of conditions, no subsequent change or amendment in this chapter shall be applied to affect adversely the right of the applicant to commence and to complete any aspect of the approved development in accordance with the terms of such approval within five years from such approval. Where final approval is preceded by preliminary approval, the five year period shall be counted from the date of the preliminary approval.

In the case of any doubt as to the terms of a preliminary approval, the terms shall be construed in light of the provisions of this chapter as they stood at the time when the application for such approval was duly filed.

In the case of a preliminary plan calling for the installation of improvements beyond the five-year period, a schedule shall be filed by the developer with the preliminary plan delineating all proposed sections as well as deadlines within which applications for final plan approval of each section are intended to be filed. Such schedule shall be updated annually by the applicant on or before the anniversary of the preliminary plan approval, until final plan approval of the final section has been granted, and any modification in the aforesaid schedule shall be subject to approval of the Clearfield Borough Council at its discretion. Each section in any residential subdivision, except for the last section, shall contain a minimum of 25% of the total number of dwelling units as depicted on the preliminary plan, unless a lesser percentage is approved by the Clearfield Borough Council at its discretion. Provided the developer has not defaulted with regard to or violated any of the conditions of the preliminary plan approval, including compliance with landowner's aforesaid schedule of submission of final plans for the various sections, then the aforesaid projections afforded by substantially completing the improvements depicted on the final plan within five years shall apply and for any section or sections, beyond the initial section, in which the required improvements have not been substantially completed within said five-year period, the aforesaid projections shall apply for an additional term or terms of three years from the date of final plan approval for each section. Failure of the developer to adhere to the aforesaid schedule of submission of final plans for the various sections shall subject any such section to any and all changes in this chapter enacted by the Clearfield Borough Council subsequent to the date of the initial preliminary plan submission.

§ 445-15 Amendments to recorded plans.

Proposed amendments to recorded plans must be submitted to the Planning Commission for review and comment before submission to the Clearfield Borough Council for approval. If there are modifications to streets, easements, rights-of-way, sanitary and/or storm sewers, the appropriate agency must be notified and written approval received prior to final approval being granted by the Clearfield Borough Council for the proposed modification(s).

Amendments to a recorded plan can be approved by the Clearfield Borough Council under the following conditions:

The developer shall notify all persons owning lots in the recorded plan by return receipt mail of the nature of the proposed amendment(s), and the date, time, and place the Clearfield Borough Council shall consider the proposed amendment(s). Proof of this notification shall be submitted to the Clearfield Borough Council.

No lot shall be created that is smaller than the minimum lot sizes required by this chapter or the Zoning Ordinance.

No changes may be made to easements reserved for drainage.

No lot shall be created which does not abut on an approved public or private street.

There shall be no negative impact on the character of the development.

Where the proposed amendment involves the changing of lot and/or street lines, easements or other improvements, the developer shall prepare a plan amendment in accordance with § 445-19 of this chapter, and submit the proposed plan amendment with supporting data for review by the Clearfield Planning Commission, the developer shall record the plan amendment in accordance with § 445-12H. All such amended plans shall provide a reference to the Plan Book number and page, and date of the recording of the originally approved plan.

§ 445-16 Minor subdivision procedure.

A subdivision plan shall be considered as a minor subdivision if the proposed plan meets the following conditions:

The proposed subdivision contains more than five lots and less than 10 lots (including the residual tract), and if the subdivision is more than five lots, all of said lots shall have direct and sufficient frontage on an existing public street; and

No new construction or extension of public sewer and/or water lines is required to serve any or all of the lots.

At the discretion of the Clearfield Borough Council, a developer seeking approval of a minor subdivision under this section may disregard the preliminary plan preparation and review procedures, and proceed directly to final plan review after compliance with §§ 445-18 and 445-19 of this chapter. All applicable steps in the final plan procedure shall apply to a minor subdivision under this section.

Any subdivision plan which does not meet the conditions of a minor subdivision shall be considered a major subdivision except as provided in § 445-17. A developer seeking approval of a major subdivision shall comply with all steps in this article.

§ 445-17 Minor subdivision procedure for five lots or less.

A subdivision plan shall be considered a minor subdivision-A if the proposed plan meets the following conditions:

The proposed subdivision contains five lots or less (including the residual tract); and

No prior subdivisions have been granted as to the property or properties involved;

The application for a minor subdivision-A shall be limited to the following:

A survey of the tract to be subdivided shall be prepared by a certified surveyor or engineer containing the following items:

The preliminary plan shall be prepared at a scale of no less than 50 feet to the inch and no more than 200 feet to the inch unless Clearfield Borough Council, in their discretion, permits a different scale to be used;

Subdivision name or identifying title;

(c)

Municipality and county in which the subdivision is located (Clearfield Borough, Clearfield County);

(d)

North arrow, graphic scale and the date of the plan;

(e)

Name and address of the owner of the property;

(f)

Name of the person who prepared the survey;

(g)

Total number and use of all lots;

(h)

Zone district in which the subdivision is located and evidence of its compliance with Clearfield Borough Zoning Ordinance No. 1192;

(i)

Tract boundaries with total acreage of the property;

(j)

A "key" map showing the location of the property;

(k)

All existing property lines, easements or rights-of-way and the purpose for which the easements or rights-of-way have been established;

(l)

Any protective covenants applied by the developer to the plan of lots shall be placed directly on the final plan drawings or as an attachment for recording with the Recorder of Deeds; and

(m)

Sufficient space for necessary certifications, dates, and signatures. The sheet size must be acceptable to the Clearfield County Recorder of Deeds for recording purposes.

The application submitted with the survey shall include:

Location and width of all proposed streets and right-of-way easements;

At the discretion of the Clearfield Borough Council, a proposed layout of water distribution, sewage collection, and stormwater drainage systems;

(c)

Minimum building setback lines;

(d)

Availability of water, electricity, sewage, and CATV at the site;

(e)

An agreement to provide water services from a cooperative association of lot owners, or a written agreement from a municipal authority or utility that a community water supply is available;

(f)

Where the subdivision lies partially or completely in the floodplain area or where the development borders on the floodplain area, the application shall include detailed information giving the location and elevation of proposed roads, public utilities and building lots; the plan shall also accurately identify the boundaries of the one-hundred-year floodplain;

(g)

Evidence of compliance with Pennsylvania Sewage Facilities Act, County Sewage Enforcement Officer evaluation and DEP approved planning module;

(h)

Stormwater management plan;

(i)

The presence of any wetlands within the subdivision; and

(j)

Certification that party submitting the application is the owner of the properties involved or has power of attorney to act in the owner's behalf.

Private drives.

Private drives shall be permitted under this section where the original tract or lots to be subdivided have no other access to a public road.

The right-of-way width of a private drive shall be at least 20 feet. All private drive rights-of-way must be surveyed, and bearings and distances must be shown on the survey submitted under Subsection C(1). The survey must note that the street(s) is/are private and that Clearfield Borough has no present or future obligations for maintenance.

(c)

The applicant shall provide written evidence of the existence of a right-of-way that crosses other property to a public road.

(d)

No private drive having a right-of-way of less than 50 feet in width will be taken into the Clearfield Borough road system.

Sheet size for plans shall be not less than 18 inches by 24 inches in size and not more than 24 inches by 36 inches in size for all subdivisions. At the Clearfield Borough Council's discretion, other sheet sizes may be accepted.