The purpose of this chapter is to regulate subdivision and land development within the Borough of Pen Argyl, Northampton County, Pennsylvania, while promoting the health, safety and welfare of its watershed through provisions designed to:
A. 
Meet legal water quality requirements under state law, including regulations at 25 Pa. Code Ch. 93 to protect maintain, reclaim, and restore the existing and designated uses of the waters of the commonwealth.
B. 
Preserve natural drainage systems.
C. 
Manage stormwater runoff close to the source, reduce runoff volumes and minim predevelopment hydrology.
D. 
Provide procedures and performance standards for stormwater planning and management.
E. 
Maintain groundwater recharge to prevent degradation of surface and groundwater quality and to otherwise protect water resources.
F. 
Prevent scour and erosion of stream banks and streambeds.
G. 
Proper operation and maintenance of all stormwater best management practices (BMPs) that are implemented within the Borough.
H. 
Provide standards to meet NPDES permit requirements.
This chapter is enacted pursuant to the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code[1] as amended, and the Storm Water Management Act[2] and may be cited as the "Pen Argyl Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance of 2022."
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 10101 et seq.
[2]
Editor's Note: Act of October 4, 1978, P.L. 864 (Act 167), 32 P.S. § 680.1 et seq., as amended.
This chapter shall apply in the following circumstances:
A. 
To all subdivision and land development plans for property located in the Borough of Pen Argyl.
B. 
To all subdivision and land development plans for property located in the Borough of Pen Argyl, previously approved in accordance with any law or regulation then applicable, the development of which has not been completed in accordance with the terms of such approval within three years of such approval.
C. 
A modification to a submitted stormwater management site plan for a proposed development site which involves a change in control methods or techniques, or which involves the relocation or redesign of control measures, or which is necessary because soil or other conditions are not as stated on the stormwater management site plan (as determined by the Borough Engineer) shall require a resubmission of the modified stormwater management site plan consistent with this chapter.
D. 
All regulated activities and all activities that may affect stormwater runoff, including land development and earth disturbance activity, are subject to regulation by this chapter.
Any other ordinance provision(s) or regulation of the municipality inconsistent with any of the provisions of this chapter is hereby repealed to the extent of the inconsistency only.
In the event that a court of competent jurisdiction declares any section or provisions of this chapter invalid, such decisions shall not affect the validity of any of the remaining provisions of this chapter.
Approvals issued and actions taken under this chapter do not relieve the applicant of the responsibility to secure required permits or approvals for activities regulated by any other code, law, regulation or ordinance.
Any permit or authorization issued or approved based on false, misleading or erroneous information provided by an applicant is void without the necessity of any proceedings for revocation. Any work undertaken or use established pursuant to such permit or other authorization is unlawful. No action may be taken by a board, agency or employee of the municipality purporting to validate such a violation.
A. 
No subdivision or land development of any lot, tract or parcel of land shall be made, and no street, sanitary sewer, water main, gas, or electric transmission line, or other improvements in connection therewith shall be laid out, constructed, opened or dedicated for public use or travel or for the common use of occupants of buildings abutting thereon, except in accordance with this chapter.
B. 
No lot in a proposed subdivision or land development may be sold, and no final permit to erect any building upon land in a subdivision or land development may be issued unless and until a final plan has been approved and recorded and either the Borough of Pen Argyl has been assured by means of an improvements agreement acceptable to the Borough that the improvements will subsequently be installed or the required improvements in connection therewith have been constructed.
C. 
Notwithstanding any provisions of this chapter, including waiver provisions, any landowner and any person engaged in the alteration or development of land which may affect stormwater runoff characteristics shall implement such measures as are reasonably necessary to prevent injury to health, safety or other property. Such measures shall include such actions as are required to manage the rate, volume, quality, and direction of resulting stormwater runoff in a manner which otherwise adequately protects health and property from possible injury.
D. 
Borough Council may grant a modification of the requirements of this chapter, through a waiver, if strict application of these requirements would be unreasonable or cause undue hardship, or when an alternative standard can be demonstrated to provide equal or better results, provided that such modification will not be contrary to the public interest and that the purpose and intent of the chapter is observed. All requests for modifications shall:
(1) 
Be in writing and be part of the application for subdivision and/or land development.
(2) 
State the grounds and facts of unreasonableness or hardship on which the request is based.
(3) 
List the provision(s) of the chapter involved.
(4) 
State the minimum modification necessary.
(5) 
Be subject to approval by the Borough Council after receiving advisory recommendations from the Borough Planning Commission.
(6) 
No waiver or modification of any regulated stormwater activity involving earth disturbance greater than or equal to one acre may be granted by the municipality unless that action is approved in advance by the Department of Environmental Protections (DEP) or the delegated county conservation district.