This article contains the construction and engineering standards
for required improvements, survey detail, utilities, grading and erosion
control, utility location, easements and right-of-ways, curbing, roadways,
emergency accessways, driveways, sidewalks, crosswalks, pathways and
trails, bicycle facilities, bridges and culverts, stormwater management
controls, plant materials, water supply, wastewater disposal, solid
waste storage, and outdoor lighting.
Widths and locations of easements and rights-of-way shall be
determined by the Borough Engineer or the appropriate authority or
utility company for all utilities, including stormwater facilities.
The location and design of the utilities shall be governed by the
requirements herein.
A. General standards.
(1) Easements and required front, side or rear yards may occupy the same
land as utilities.
(2) Nothing shall be permitted to be placed, planted, set or put within
the areas of an easement unless it is a portable or removable object.
The area shall be kept as lawn.
(3) The owner of any lot, upon written request by the Borough and at
the owner's sole expense, shall remove anything placed, planted,
set or put, (with or without knowledge of these regulations) within
the area of any easement.
(4) To the fullest extent possible, easements shall be adjacent to rear
or side lot lines, and occupying only a portion of one lot (not centered
on two lots).
B. No right-of-way or easement for any purpose whatsoever shall be recited
or described in any deed unless the same has been shown on the approved
plan. Any error found in a deed shall be immediately corrected and
re-recorded in the Office of the Recorder of Deeds for Montgomery
County at Norristown, Pennsylvania, at the sole expense of the applicant.
C. Utility easements. A minimum width of 20 feet shall be provided for
common utilities and drainage when provided in undedicated land for
one use. Multiple utility uses within one easement require additional
easement width.
D. Public utilities. All water, sewer, and gas mains and other underground
facilities shall be installed prior to street paving at locations
approved by the Borough Engineer.
E. Underground utilities. All water, sewer, and gas mains shall be installed
underground. All electric, telephone and communication services, both
main and service lines, shall be provided by underground cables, installed
in accordance with the prevailing standards and practices of the utility
or other companies providing such services, except where it is demonstrated
to the satisfaction of the Borough Council that underground installations
herein required are not feasible because of physical conditions of
the lands involved. All main underground cables which are within the
right-of-way of a street shall be located as specified by the utility
company, subject to approval by the Borough Council, upon recommendation
of the Borough Engineer.
(1) In order to promote and facilitate the underground installation of
utility distribution lines, a letter of endorsement shall be required
from the suppliers of utility service (not limited to electrical,
telephone, or cable television) of the developer's choice wherein
the applicant acknowledges that underground utilities are feasible
and shall be consummated as part of the improvement plan.
(2) A statement relative to the intent of the developer to provide underground
utility service shall be placed on the final plan requisite to final
approval of the plan.
(3) The provisions in this ordinance shall not be construed as to limit
or interfere with the construction, installation, operation, and maintenance
of public utility structures or facilities which may hereafter be
located within public easements or rights-of-way designated for such
purposes.
(4) Light standards are to be placed as required by ordinance. Power
source for such standards shall be placed underground as required.
(5) For arterial and collector roads, all new electrical service should
be placed underground.
Concrete sidewalks shall be constructed as follows:
A. Sidewalk construction shall conform with standards developed under
the Americans with Disabilities Act.
B. Sidewalks shall be four inches thick and made with 4,000 psi compression
strength concrete, placed upon a minimum four-inch layer of AASHTO
#57 stone bedding.
C. The sidewalk shall be built as to discharge drainage to the street,
the grade of which shall be 1/4 inch per foot. The finished grade
between the outside of the sidewalk to the curbline (edge of the cartway)
shall never exceed a total vertical elevation change of one foot.
Expansion joints shall be placed every 30 feet, with contraction joints
every five feet at a minimum of one inch in depth. Additional expansion
materials shall be placed between any curb and driveway apron and
in the sidewalk at driveway limits. A contraction joint shall be cut
between the sidewalk and apron.
D. All sidewalks shall receive a broom finish unless otherwise approved
by East Greenville Borough.
E. An access ramp for physically disabled persons shall be placed at
all sidewalk intersections with roads.
The following specifications shall apply to all plants and landscaping
provided in subdivisions and land developments regulated by this chapter,
and shall be demonstrated on the required landscape plans, which shall
be prepared, signed and sealed by a registered landscape architect
licensed by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
A. General requirements.
(1) The location, dimensions, and spacing of required plantings shall
be adequate for their proper growth and maintenance taking into account
the sizes of such plantings at maturity and their present and future
environmental requirements and tolerances including wind, moisture,
and sunlight.
(2) Plantings shall be selected and located where they will not contribute
to conditions hazardous to public safety. Such conditions include,
but are not limited to, public street rights-of-way, underground and
aboveground utilities, and sight triangle areas required for unobstructed
views at street intersections.
(3) Tree species shall be selected from the tree listing in the list
of approved plants in Appendix A.
B. Plant specifications.
(1) All plants shall meet the minimum standards for health, form, and
root condition as outlined in AmericanHort's American Standard
for Nursery Stock (ASNS), 2014 or as later amended.
(2) All plant material shall be hardy and within the USDA Hardiness Zone
6b applicable to East Greenville Borough.
(3) Shade trees shall reach a minimum height and spread of 30 feet at
maturity as determined by the ASNS standards and shall be deciduous.
New trees shall have a minimum caliper of 2 1/2 inches at planting.
New shade trees shall be a minimum of eight feet in height at the
time of planting. Larger size trees may be required as street trees
in commercial areas.
(4) Understory trees shall reach a typical minimum height and spread
of 15 feet at maturity, based upon ASNS standards. Such trees may
be deciduous or evergreen and shall have a distinctive ornamental
characteristic such as prominent flowers, fruit, habitat, foliage
or bark. New understory trees shall have a minimum height of six feet
and a minimum of 1 1/2 inch caliper at the time of planting.
(5) Evergreen trees shall reach a typical minimum height of 20 feet at
maturity based upon ASNS standards for that species and shall remain
evergreen throughout the year. New evergreens shall have a minimum
height of six feet at the time of planting.
(6) Deciduous or evergreen shrubs shall have a minimum height at maturity
of 24 inches. New shrubs shall have a minimum height of 18 inches
at the time of planting.
C. Maintenance.
(1) Safety. All sight triangles shall remain clear, and any plant materials
that could endanger safety such as unstable limbs shall be removed
and the plant materials shall be replaced if necessary. It shall be
the responsibility of all property owners to maintain all plantings
and architectural elements to insure a safe environment.
(2) Maintenance guidelines for the plantings shall be developed by the
planting plan designer to be used by grounds maintenance personnel.