[Ord. No. 109-2004, § 901, 9/8/2004; as amended by Ord. No. 209-2023, 9/13/2023]
1. The Board of Supervisors may grant a modification of the requirements
of one or more provisions of this chapter if the literal enforcement
will exact undue hardship because of peculiar conditions pertaining
to the land in question, provided that such modification will not
be contrary to the public interest and that the purposes and intent
of this chapter are observed.
2. Any request 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 provisions of the ordinance involved,
and the minimum modification necessary.
3. The Board may refer the request for modification to the Township
Planning Commission for advisory comments.
4. In granting modifications, the Board may impose such conditions, acceptable to the applicant, as will, in its judgment, secure substantially the objectives of the standards and requirements so modified. The granting of any conditional approval shall be in accordance with the terms of §§
22-406, Subsection
2F, or
22-408, Subsection
2E, as appropriate.
5. The Township shall keep a written record of all actions on all requests
for modifications.
6. All granted modifications shall be lettered on the plan with the
section reference, modification granted and date of granting.
[Ord. No. 109-2004, § 902, 9/8/2004; as amended by Ord. No. 209-2023, 9/13/2023]
1. The Township shall assign a subdivision application number to all
subdivision and land development applications, and all matters referring
to an application should be filed in accordance with the applicant
name and subdivision case number. The Township shall keep a record
of its findings, decisions, and recommendations relative to all plans
filed with it for review.
2. All such records shall be public records.
[Ord. No. 109-2004, § 903, 9/8/2004; as amended by Ord. No. 209-2023, 9/13/2023]
1. No application for preliminary or final approval shall be deemed
to have been submitted until the fee and escrow deposit, set forth
below, shall have been paid.
2. A subdivision or land development application fee (nonrefundable) and an escrow deposit shall be submitted with any application for preliminary or final plan approval to cover the costs of plan review and processing. Amounts of the application fee and escrow deposit shall be fixed by the Board of Supervisors by resolution. The escrowed funds shall be used to reimburse the Township for actual expenditures incident to these processes, including, but not limited to, fees of the Township Engineer and other reviews authorized under the MPC, 53 P.S. § 10101 et seq. Any costs incurred by the Township in excess of the amount held in escrow shall be fully reimbursed by the applicant prior to the release of signed subdivision or land development plans for recording and prior to issuance of any permits. Any unexpended balance in the escrow deposit shall become part of the second deposit required in Subsection
3, below.
3. As a condition of final plan approval and recording and following
the establishment of any required performance guarantee, a second
escrow deposit shall be established to cover the cost of: A) inspections
of improvements construction; B) materials or site testing; or C)
maintenance costs (e.g., snow removal), prior to the acceptance of
improvements by the Township. Any costs incurred by the Township in
excess of the amount held in escrow shall be fully reimbursed by the
applicant. Any unexpended balance in the escrow deposit following
acceptance of dedication of improvements by the Township shall be
returned to the applicant. The amount of the escrow deposit shall
be fixed by resolution of the Board of Supervisors.
[Ord. No. 109-2004, § 904, 9/8/2004; as amended by Ord. No. 209-2023, 9/13/2023]
1. In addition to other remedies, the Board of Supervisors 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.
2. 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 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.
3. 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.
[Ord. No. 109-2004, § 905, 9/8/2004; as amended by Ord. No. 122-2006, 12/15/2006; and by Ord. No. 209-2023, 9/13/2023]
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 therefor. No judgment
shall commence or be imposed, levied, or be 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
the Part to have believed that there was no 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.
[Ord. No. 109-2004, § 906, 9/8/2004; as amended by Ord. No. 209-2023, 9/13/2023]
Appeals from the actions of the Board with respect to any application
for subdivision or land development approval shall be governed by
the provisions of the Municipalities Planning Code, 53 P.S. § 10101
et seq., as they may be amended from time to time, or any successor
legislation thereto.
[Ord. No. 109-2004, § 907, 9/8/2004; as amended by Ord. No. 209-2023, 9/13/2023]
1. The Board of Supervisors may, from time to time, review, modify,
or amend the terms of this chapter. Except for an amendment proposed
by the Township Planning Commission, the Board shall submit any proposed
amendment to the Township Planning Commission for review and recommendation.
At least 30 days prior to the hearing on the proposed amendment, the
Board shall submit any proposed amendment to the Chester County Planning
Commission for review and recommendation. The Board shall take no
action to approve or deny any proposed amendment until it has received
a report on the proposed amendment from the County Planning Commission,
or until 30 days have been allowed for the receipt of such a report.
2. Notice of the date, time, and place of the public hearing on the
proposed amendment, and the content of such notice, shall be in accordance
with § 506 of the Municipalities Planning Code, 53 P.S.
§ 10506.
3. In the event substantial amendments are made in the proposed ordinance
or amendment, before voting on enactment, the Board, at least 10 days
prior to enactment, shall readvertise a brief summary setting forth
all the provisions in reasonable detail together with a summary of
the amendments.
4. Within 30 days following adoption, the Township shall forward a certified
copy of any amendment to this chapter to the appropriate agencies
required by ordinance or statute.