All provisions of this chapter shall be administered by the
Borough Council or their officially designated representatives.
A.
All applications submitted for the review and approval of subdivision
plans and land development plans prepared in preliminary or final
form shall be accompanied by an administrative review fee and a deposit
in accordance with a schedule of fees and charges established, or
to be established, and adopted by resolution of the Borough Council
to defray, or to help defray, any cost that may be incurred by the
Borough and its professional consultants in viewing and inspecting
the site of the subdivision or land development, and reviewing the
application, data, and the plans submitted relative to the same.
(1)
A deposit shall be made at the time of the application for preliminary
and final subdivision or land development approval, with the Borough
of Glen Osborne in order to cover the costs of engineering review
and inspection of proposed improvements, legal fees, and other consultants'
fees whose services are required in order to provide a comprehensive
review of the subdivision or land development application.
(2)
An administrative fee, as established by resolution of the Borough
Council, and fees as charged to the Borough for activities related
to the subdivision or land development application shall be deducted
from the deposit as invoices are received.
(3)
A full accounting of all expenses incurred during the review
and approval of a subdivision or land development application, whether
preliminary or final, shall be kept by the Borough Secretary and made
available to the applicant.
(4)
Upon completion of all improvements to the satisfaction of the
Borough Engineer, and upon a full and complete release of all sureties
posted relative to the improvements proposed, the remaining balance
of the deposit shall be returned to the applicant upon receipt of
a written request to do so.
(5)
The schedule of fees may be amended from time to time by Borough
Council.
B.
The schedule of fees and charges establishes or to be established
may vary, and be regulated in accordance with the scope and complexity
of the plan of subdivision and land development project, such as:
(1)
Number of parcels or lots in a plan;
(2)
Intensity of land development plans submitted;
(3)
Accuracy of utility development plans;
(4)
Applicants' plan of construction and development of the
land, structures, and facilities thereon, and appurtenant thereto;
and
(5)
Number of times that a plan is submitted or resubmitted for
review and request is made for approval of the same.
C.
Where a plan of subdivision or land development for any reason has
been rejected by the Borough Planning Commission and/or Borough Council,
the applicant when resubmitting plans and application for review and
approval of the same shall be required to pay a fee as set forth in
the Borough's schedule of fees and charges for such submittals.
D.
All administrative fees shall be made payable to the Borough of Glen
Osborne. All administrative fees deducted from the original deposit
are nonrefundable, and the approval or rejection for any reason of
any plan of subdivision or land development will not be reason or
cause for the return of any fee so charged.
E.
The applicant shall reimburse the Borough of Glen Osborne for all
costs associated with the review and approval, or denial, of an application
for subdivision or land development approval which exceeds the amount
of the original deposit.
Before acting on an application for approval, the Borough Council,
or Planning Commission, may hold a public hearing pursuant to public
notice as defined by this chapter.
The format and wording of certificates and approvals to appear
on the final plan proposed for recording shall conform to the requirements
of the Allegheny County Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance,
as amended.
No lot in a subdivision shall be sold, no permit to erect, alter,
or repair any building upon land in a subdivision or development shall
be issued, and no building shall be erected in a subdivision or development,
until a final plan has been approved by the Borough and properly recorded,
and until required improvements have been constructed or their construction
guaranteed.
B.
In the event that the applicant disputes the amount of any such review
fee, the applicant shall, within 45 calendar days of the billing date
or the notice of withdrawal by the Borough of an amount held in escrow,
notify the Borough and their consultant that the fees are disputed.
In such case, the Borough shall not delay or disapprove a subdivision
or land development due to the applicant's request regarding
disputed fees. The applicant shall within calendar 30 days after the
transmittal date of a bill for inspection services or 45 calendar
days of the date of transmittal of a final bill for inspection services,
notify the Borough and their professional consultant that the fees
are disputed. The fee dispute process established in the MPC generally
includes the following steps:
(1)
In the event that the Borough and the applicant cannot agree
on the amount of any review fees which are reasonable and necessary,
then the Borough and applicant shall jointly by mutual agreement,
appoint another professional consultant serving as arbitrator to examine
the disputed review fees and make a determination as to the amount
thereof which are fair and reasonable within 50 calendar days.
(2)
Appropriate payments or reimbursements shall be made within
60 calendar days following the decision by the arbitrator.
(3)
If the Borough and applicant cannot agree on an independent
professional consultant to serve as arbitrator within 20 calendar
days of the billing date, then upon application of either party, the
President Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of the judicial district
in which the municipality is located shall appoint an engineer who
shall be neither the Borough Engineer or any professional engineer
who has been retained by, or performed services for the Borough or
applicant within the preceding five years.
(4)
The fee of the appointed arbitrator shall be paid by the applicant
if the amount of payment required in the decision is equal to or greater
than the original bill. If the amount of payment is less than the
original bill by $5,000 or more, the arbitrator may require part of
full payment from the applicant or professional consultant. In all
other cases, the consultant and Borough should each pay 0.5 of the
fees of the professional engineer.
B.
Preventative remedies.
(1)
In addition to other remedies, the Borough may institute and
maintain appropriate actions by law or in equity to restrain, to correct
or abate violations, to prevent unlawful construction, to recover
damages, and to prevent illegal occupancy of a building.
(2)
The Borough may refuse to issue any permit or grant any approval
necessary to further improve any real property which has been developed
or has resulted from a subdivision in violation to this chapter. As
an additional condition for the issuance of any permit or approval,
the Borough may require compliance with the conditions that would
have been applicable to the property at which time the applicant acquired
it. This authority to deny such a permit or approval shall apply to
any applicant as described in § 515.1(b) of the MPC.[2]
[2]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 10515.1(b).
C.
Civil enforcement remedies.
(1)
Any person, partnership, or corporation who or which has violated
the provisions of this SALDO shall, upon being found liable therefor
in a civil enforcement proceeding commenced by the Borough, pay a
judgment of not more than $500 plus all court costs, including the
reasonable attorney fees incurred by the Borough as a result thereof.
(2)
No judgment shall commence or be imposed, levied, or be payable
until the date of the determination of a violation by the District
Justice.
(3)
If the defendant neither pays nor timely appeals the judgment,
the Borough may enforce the judgment pursuant to the applicable rules
of civil procedure.
(4)
Each day that a violation continues shall constitute a separate
violation, unless the district justice determining that there has
been a violation further determines that there was a good faith basis
for the person, partnership, or corporation violating the Ordinance
to have believed that there was no such 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 District Justice and thereafter each day that a violation continues
shall constitute a separate violation.
(5)
All fines collected for such violations shall be paid to the
Borough.
(6)
Nothing contained in this section shall be construed or interpreted
to grant to any person or entity other than the Borough the right
to commence any action for enforcement pursuant to this section.
In the event that any improvements which may be required have
not been installed as provided in this chapter or in accordance with
the approved final plat, the Borough shall pursue remedies provided
for in § 511 of the MPC, 53 P.S. § 10511, as amended.
Any person aggrieved by a decision of the Borough Council concerning an application of approval of a subdivision of land development may appeal the decision in accordance with the procedures specified in Article X-A of the MPC.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. §§ 11001-a through
11006-a.
As per § 508.1 of the MPC, as amended,[1] each month the Borough shall notify in writing the superintendent
of the school district in which a plan for a residential development
was finally approved by the Borough during the preceding month. The
notice shall include, but not be limited to, the location of the development,
the number and types of units to be included in the development, and
the expected construction schedule of the development.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 10508.1.
