No plan shall be granted final approval until the applicant
posts a form of financial security, acceptable to the Township, which
shall be of sufficient amount to fully cover the costs of all required
improvements in accordance with the terms of approval and the applicable
design standards of said improvements. The Board of Supervisors shall
retain the discretion in all matters and decisions related to the
acceptance and/or approval of the posting of any financial security.
A.
A financial guarantee which shall be deemed as acceptable financial
security for the purposes of this chapter shall include:
(1)
An unconditional and irrevocable letter of credit with authorization
for drawing upon by the Township in the event of default or failure
by the developer or applicant to complete the installation of required
improvements.
(2)
A restrictive escrow account.
(3)
Other types of financial security which the Township may approve,
which approval shall not be unreasonably withheld.
B.
Such financial security shall be with a lending institution which
is chartered by the federal government or the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
or with a bonding company which is legally authorized to conduct such
business within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
When an applicant proposes to provide a financial security,
said financial security shall be submitted to the Township for review
not less than 14 days prior to the public meeting of the Board of
Supervisors at which the acceptance and/or approval of proposed financial
security will be considered by the Board of Supervisors.
The amount of financial security to be posted for the completion
of required improvements shall be equal to 110% of the cost of completion,
estimated as of 90 days following the scheduled completion date. The
amount of the required financial security shall be based upon a written
estimated cost of completion of required improvements, submitted by
the developer or applicant, and prepared by a professional engineer,
licensed as such by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Said engineer
shall certify in writing that his estimated cost for the completion
of the required improvements is a fair and reasonable estimate. The
Board of Supervisors, upon the recommendation of the Township Engineer,
may for good cause shown, refuse to accept the applicant's estimated
cost. In cases where the Township and the developer or applicant are
unable to agree on an estimate, then the estimate shall be recalculated
and recertified by another licensed professional engineer, mutually
accepted by the Township and the developer or applicant. The estimate
certified by the third-party engineer, being presumed fair and reasonable,
shall be deemed the final estimate. In the event that the third-party
engineer is chosen, the cost of his services shall be paid equally
by the Township and the developer or applicant.
A.
The financial security shall provide for, and secure to the public
the completion of the required improvements within one year of the
date fixed on the final plan for the completion of such improvements.
B.
If the applicant in posting the financial security requires more
than one year from the date of posting the financial security to complete
the required improvements, the amount of financial security may be
increased by an additional 10% for each one-year period beyond the
anniversary date from posting of the financial security or to an amount
not exceeding 110% of the cost of completing the required improvements
as reestablished on or before the expiration of the preceding one-year
period.
In the case where development is projected over a period of
years, the Planning Commission may authorize the submission of final
plans by sections or phases of development subject to such requirements
or guarantees as to improvements in future sections or phases of development
as it finds essential for the protection of any finally approved section
of the development.
The applicant and/or developer shall provide the Township and
the Township Engineer with not less than a seventy-two-hour notice
prior to the commencement of work at the site.
The Township Engineer shall make periodic inspections to the
site during the construction of improvements to insure the work is
in conformance with the approved plans. The Township Engineer shall
promptly provide the Board of Supervisors with a written report after
any such inspection.
A.
As the work of installing the required improvements proceeds, the
party posting financial security may request the Board of Supervisors
to release or authorize the release, from time to time, of such portions
of the financial security necessary for payment to the contractor
or contractors performing the work.
B.
Any such request shall be in writing addressed to the Board of Supervisors.
The Board of Supervisors shall have 45 days from receipt of such request
within which to allow the Township Engineer to certify in writing
to the Board of Supervisors that such portion of the work upon the
improvements has been completed in accordance with the approved plan.
C.
Upon such certification the Board of Supervisors shall authorize
release by the bonding company or lending institution of an amount
as estimated by the Township Engineer as fair in representing the
value of the completed improvements. Failure of the Board of Supervisors
to act within the said forty-five-day period shall be deemed an approval
of the release of the funds requested.
D.
The submission of as-built drawings shall precede the final release
of any remaining funds placed as a financial security by the developer.
A.
Where Dallas Township accepts dedication of all or some of the required
improvements following completion, it shall require the posting of
financial security to secure the structural integrity of said improvements
as well as the functioning of said improvements in accordance with
the design and specifications as shown on the final plan for a term
not to exceed 18 months from the date of acceptance of dedication.
If water mains or sanitary sewer lines, or both, along with
apparatus or facilities related thereto, are to be installed under
the jurisdiction and pursuant to the rules and regulations of a public
utility or municipal authority separate and distinct from the Township,
financial security to assure proper completion and maintenance thereof
shall be posted in accordance with the regulations of the controlling
public utility or municipal authority and shall not be included within
the financial security as otherwise required by this article. A copy
of any such executed financial security shall be provided to the Board
of Supervisors not less than 14 days prior to its next regularly scheduled
meeting at which the final plan shall be considered.
If a financial security has been provided, certificates of zoning
compliance or occupancy permits for any building or buildings to be
erected shall not be withheld following:
A.
The improvement of the streets providing access to and from existing
public roads to such building or buildings to a mud-free or otherwise
permanently passable condition; and
B.
The completion of all other improvements as shown on the approved
final plan, either upon the lot or lots beyond the lot or lots in
question, if such improvements are deemed necessary for the reasonable
use of or occupancy of the building or buildings.
A.
When the applicant has completed all of the necessary and required
improvements, the applicant shall notify the Board of Supervisors
in writing, by certified or registered mail, of the completion of
the aforesaid improvements and shall send a copy thereof to the Township
Engineer.
B.
The Board of Supervisors shall, within 10 days after receipt of such
notice, direct and authorize the Township Engineer to inspect all
the aforesaid improvements. The Township Engineer shall thereupon
file a report, in writing with the Board of Supervisors, and shall
promptly mail a copy of the same to the applicant. The report by the
Township Engineer shall be made and mailed within 30 days from the
aforesaid authorization from the Board of Supervisors.
C.
The report shall be detailed and shall indicate approval or rejection
of said improvements, either in whole or in part. If said improvements,
or any portion thereof be rejected, said report shall contain a statement
of the reasons for such rejection.
D.
The Board of Supervisors shall notify the applicant, in writing,
within 15 days of receipt of the Township's Engineer's report,
by certified or registered mail of the action of the Board of Supervisors
with relation thereto.
E.
If the Board of Supervisors or the Township Engineer fails to comply
with the time limitation provisions contained herein, all improvements
will be deemed to have been approved, and the applicant shall be released
from all liability, pursuant to its performance guarantee bond or
other security agreement.
If any portion of the said improvements shall not be approved or shall be rejected by the Board of Supervisors, the applicant shall proceed to complete the same and, upon completion, the same procedure of notification, as outlined in § 77-713 shall be followed.
Nothing herein, however shall be construed in limitation of
the applicant's right to contest or question by legal proceedings
or otherwise any determination of the Board of Supervisors or Township
Engineer.
A.
In the event that in the opinion of the Township Engineer, any improvements
which may be required have not been installed as provided in this
chapter or in accordance with the approved final plan, the Township
can enforce any corporate bond or other security by appropriate legal
and equitable remedies.
B.
If the proceeds of such bond or other security are insufficient to
pay the cost of installing or making repairs or corrections to all
the improvements covered by said security, the Township may, at its
option, install part of such improvements in all or part of the subdivision
or land development, and/or may institute appropriate legal or equitable
action to recover the moneys necessary to complete the remainder of
the improvements.
C.
All of the proceeds, whether resulting from the security or from
any legal or equitable action, or from both, brought against the applicant
shall be used solely for the installation, repairs or corrections
of the improvements covered by such security, and not for any other
municipal purpose.
In addition to the fees noted in § 77-108 of this chapter, the applicant shall be responsible for payment of all fees by professional consultants, as defined in Article II, which the Township may incur as related to the review, enforcement and/or administration of this chapter as related to a proposed subdivision and/or land development. The applicant shall also be required to fully reimburse the Township for any professional consulting fees which the Township may incur for the review of any required studies and/or reports within the context of an impact analysis, as so defined in Article II of this chapter. Upon notification by the Township of such costs, the applicant shall provide a certified check or money order to the Township to fully reimburse the Township for said professional consulting fees, within 30 days from the billing date from Dallas Township. An approved plan shall not be signed by the Planning Commission nor shall any permits related to the development of the site be issued until all fees are paid in full. The Board of Supervisors shall also have the discretion to require the applicant deposit funds into an escrow account to be drawn upon by the Township for the payment of the above fees. In such cases, the amount of funds to be deposited into such account shall be determined by the Township with input from its professional consultants. Any funds deposited in said account at the conclusion of payment of all required reimbursable professional consulting fees shall be returned to the applicant. If the initial amount of funds deposited into said account appears to be insufficient to cover such costs, the Township shall notify the applicant of any additional amount of funds required to be deposited for such purposes.
A.
An applicant may contest the amount to be reimbursed to the Township
for consulting fees. The applicant shall notify the Township, in writing,
within 10 working days of the billing date, as to which consulting
fees are disputed as being unreasonable and/or unnecessary. The applicant
shall forfeit any right to contest the amount to be reimbursed to
the Township for consulting fees, if written notification is not submitted
within the prescribed 10 working days of the date of the billing.
B.
In such cases, the Planning Commission shall not delay or disapprove
a subdivision or land development application or any permit related
to development due to the applicant's written request to contest
certain consulting expenses.
C.
If, within 20 days from the date of billing, the Township and the
applicant cannot agree on the amount of consulting expenses which
are reasonable and necessary, then the applicant and the Planning
Commission shall jointly, by mutual agreement, appoint another professional
engineer, licensed as such in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, to
review the said expenses and make a determination as to the amount
thereof which is reasonable and necessary.
D.
The professional engineer so appointed shall hear such evidence and
review such documentation as the professional engineer in his or her
sole opinion deems necessary and render a decision within 50 days
of the billing date. The applicant shall be required to pay the entire
amount determined in the decision immediately.
E.
In the event that the Township and applicant cannot agree upon a
professional engineer to be appointed within 20 days of the billing
date, then, upon application of either party, the President Judge
of the Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas (or if at the time there
be no President Judge, then the senior active judge then sitting)
shall appoint such engineer, who shall be neither the Township engineer
nor any professional engineer who has been retained by or performed
services for the Township or the applicant within the preceding five
years.
F.
The fee of the appointed professional engineer for determining the
reasonable and necessary consulting expenses shall be paid by the
applicant if the amount of the payment required in the decision is
equal to or greater than the original bill. If the amount of payment
required in the decision is less than the original bill by $1,000
or more, the Township shall pay the fee of the professional engineer.
If neither of the aforementioned cases apply, the Township and the
applicant shall each pay 1/2 of the fee of the appointed professional
engineer.
