An ordinance establishing rules, regulations, and standards governing the subdivision of land and the development of land within the Borough of Langhorne, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, pursuant to authority set forth in the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code,[1] setting forth the procedure to be followed by the Planning Commission and Borough Council in administering and applying these rules, regulations and standards, and providing penalties for the violation thereof.
This chapter shall be known and may be cited as "The Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance of Langhorne Borough."
The regulations are adopted to protect, promote and create conditions favorable to the health, safety, morals and general welfare of all the people, residents and visitors in the Borough of Langhorne by:
A.
Assuring sites suitable for building purposes and human habitation;
B.
Assisting and ensuring the orderly, harmonious, efficient, and integrated development and use of land;
C.
Providing for the coordination of existing streets and public utilities with proposed streets and facilities;
D.
Providing for open space for traffic, natural habitats, recreation, light and air;
E.
Coordinating uses and development to avoid traffic congestion and overcrowding;
F.
Providing for efficient and orderly extension of community services and facilities at minimum cost, maximum efficiency, maximum applicability and maximum convenience;
G.
Ensuring conformance of land utilization with the Borough of Langhorne Comprehensive Plan, most recent edition, the Langhorne Open Space Plan, most recent edition, and Chapter 450, Zoning, of the Code of the Borough of Langhorne;
H.
Protecting and preserving natural, scenic, ecological and historic resources;
I.
Improving stormwater runoff and water quality of watercourses and impoundments; and
J.
Assuring equitable handling of all subdivision and land development plans by providing uniform procedures and standards for observance by subdividers, land developers and municipal officials.
From and after the effective date of this chapter, any subdivision and/or land development shall be in conformity with this chapter and all standards and specifications adopted as part of this chapter.
In interpreting and applying the provisions of this chapter, they shall be held to be the minimum requirements for the promotion of the public health, safety, comfort, convenience, and the general welfare.
A.
Whenever any regulations made under authority of this chapter require a greater width or size of yards, courts or other open spaces, or require a lower height of buildings or smaller number of stories, or require a greater percentage of land be left unoccupied, or impose other more restrictive standards than are required in or under any other statute, law, ordinance or regulation, the provisions of the regulations made under authority of this chapter shall govern.
B.
Whenever the provisions of any other statute, law, ordinance or regulation require a greater width or size of yards, courts or other open spaces, or require a greater percentage of land be left unoccupied, or impose other higher standards than are required by any regulations made under authority of this chapter, the provisions of such statute, law, ordinance or regulation shall govern.
C.
This chapter does not repeal, abrogate, annul or in any way impair or interfere with existing provisions of other laws or ordinances, except those specifically or explicitly repealed by this chapter, or repeal, abrogate, annul or in any way impair or interfere with any private restrictions placed upon property by covenant, deed, or other private agreement unless repugnant hereto.
D.
The provisions of Chapter 230, Historical Districts, Landmarks and Buildings, of the Code of the Borough of Langhorne, shall supersede the provisions of this chapter when conflicts exist.
It is hereby declared to be the intent of Borough Council that:
A.
If a court of competent jurisdiction declares any provisions of this chapter to be invalid or ineffective in whole or in part, the effect of such decision shall be limited to those provisions which are expressly stated in the decision to be invalid or ineffective, and all other provisions of this chapter shall continue to be separately and fully effective.
B.
If a court of competent jurisdiction declares this chapter to be invalid or void in whole, the provisions and standards of the Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance of 1982 shall be applied and shall remain valid.
C.
If a court of competent jurisdiction finds the application of any provision or provisions of this chapter to any lot, building or other structure, or tract of land, to be invalid or ineffective in whole or in part, the effect of such decision shall be limited to the person, property, or situation immediately involved in the controversy, and the application of any such provision to other persons, property, or situations shall not be affected.
A.
All subdivision and land development plats of land situated within the Borough of Langhorne shall be submitted to the Borough for review and recommendation by the Borough of Langhorne Planning Commission and for approval by the Borough Council of the Borough of Langhorne. No subdivision of land or development of any use, lot, structure, boundary line, tract or parcel of land shall be made, no street, sanitary sewer, storm sewer, water main, common amenities or other improvements shall be laid out, constructed, opened or dedicated for public or common use or travel, or for the common use of occupants of buildings abutting thereon, except in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.
B.
Subdivision and land development control. Sketch, concept, preliminary and final plans for subdivision or land development shall have been:
(1)
Prepared, signed, and sealed by a professional engineer or land surveyor duly and currently registered in the State of Pennsylvania;
(2)
Submitted to and approved in writing thereon by the Borough Council; and
(3)
Recorded in the Office of the Recorder of Deeds, Doylestown, Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
C.
All applications for approval of a plan, whether sketch, concept, preliminary or final, shall be acted upon by Borough Council or the Borough Planning Commission within such time limits as may be fixed in this chapter. Except for sketch or concept plans where no time constraints apply, Borough Council and the Borough Planning Commission shall render its decision and communicate it to the applicant not later than 90 days following the date of the regular meeting of Borough Council or the Borough Planning Commission (whichever first reviews the application) next following the date the application is filed, provided that should the said next regular meeting occur more than 30 days following the filing of the application, the said ninety-day period shall be measured from the 30th day following the day the application has been filed.
(1)
The governing body shall render a written decision or, when no decision is called for, make a written findings on the application after the last hearing before the governing body.
(2)
When the application is contested or denied, each decision shall be accompanied by findings of fact and Conclusions based thereon together with the reasons thereof. Conclusions based on provisions of the Municipalities Planning Code,[1] this chapter or other Borough ordinances shall contain a reference to the provision relied upon and the reasons why the conclusion is deemed appropriate in light of the facts found.
(3)
The decision of Borough Council or the Borough Planning Commission shall be communicated to the applicant personally or mailed to him at his last known address not later than 15 days following the decision.
(4)
Failure of Borough Council to render a decision and communicate it to the applicant within the time and in the manner required herein shall be deemed an approval of the application in terms as presented unless the applicant has agreed in writing to an extension of time or to a change in the prescribed manner of presentation of communication of the decision in which case, failure to meet the extended time or the change in manner of presentation of communication shall have like effect.
(5)
Changes in this chapter shall affect plans as follows:
(a)
From the time of submission of an application for review of a sketch or concept plan, any change or amendment of this chapter or Chapter 450, Zoning, shall affect the review of such application and the applicant shall be required to alter the submission to bring the plan into compliance with the change or amendment. Any acceptance or support of a sketch or concept plan by a Borough Council shall not entitle the applicant to approval of preliminary or final plans by a subsequent Borough Council nor shall it permit the applicant to present preliminary or final plans based on the regulations of this chapter as in effect at the time of the submission of the sketch or concept plan.
(b)
From the time an application for approval of a plan, whether preliminary or final, is duly filed as provided in this chapter, and while such application is pending approval or disapproval, no change or amendment of this chapter or Chapter 450, Zoning, shall affect the decision on such application adversely to the applicant and the applicant shall be entitled to a decision in accordance with the provisions of these chapters as they stood at the time the application was duly filed. In addition, when a preliminary application has been duly approved, the applicant shall be entitled to final approval in accordance with the terms of the approved preliminary application as hereinafter provided. However, if an application is properly and finally denied, any subsequent application shall be subject to the intervening change in governing regulations.
(c)
When an application for approval of a plan, whether preliminary or final, has been approved without conditions or approved by the applicant's acceptance of conditions, no subsequent change or amendment in this chapter or Chapter 450, Zoning, shall be applied to affect adversely the right of the applicant to commence and to complete any aspect of the approved development in accordance with the terms of such approval within five years from such approval. The provisions of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code,[2] held to be valid and effective by courts of law of competent jurisdiction, pertaining to the effect of appeals and sewer prohibitions shall be applicable.
(d)
Where final approval is preceded by preliminary approval, the aforesaid five-year period shall be counted from the date of the preliminary approval. In the case of any doubt as to the terms of a preliminary approval, the terms shall be construed in the light of the provisions of this chapter or Chapter 450, Zoning, as they stood at the time when the application for such approval was duly filed.
(e)
Where the applicant has substantially completed the required improvements as depicted upon the final plan within the aforesaid five-year limit, or any extension thereof as may be granted by Borough Council, no change of this chapter or Chapter 450, Zoning, enacted subsequent to the date of filing of the preliminary plan shall modify or revoke any aspect of the approved final plan pertaining to zoning classification or density, lot, building, street or utility location.
(f)
In the case of a preliminary plan calling for the installation of improvements beyond the five-year period, a schedule shall be filed by the applicant with the preliminary plan delineating all proposed sections as well as deadlines within which applications for final plan approval of each section are intended to be filed. Such schedule shall be updated annually by the applicant on or before the anniversary of the preliminary plan approval, until final plan approval of the final section has been granted and any modification in the aforesaid schedule shall be subject to approval of Borough Council in its discretion.
(g)
Each section in any residential subdivision or land development, except for the last section, shall contain a minimum of 25% of the total number of dwelling units as depicted on the preliminary plan, unless a lesser percentage is approved by Borough Council in its discretion. Provided the applicant has not defaulted with regard to or violated any of the conditions of the preliminary plan approval, including compliance with the applicant's aforesaid schedule of submission of final plans for the various sections, then the aforesaid protections afforded by substantially completing the improvements depicted upon the final plan within five years shall apply and for any section or sections, beyond the initial section, in which the required improvements have not been substantially completed within said five-year period the aforesaid protections shall apply for an additional term or terms of three years from the date of final plan approval for each section.
(h)
Failure of the applicant to adhere to the aforesaid schedule of submission of final plans for the various sections shall subject any such section to any and all changes in zoning, subdivision and other governing ordinances enacted by the Borough subsequent to the date of the initial preliminary plan submission.
(6)
Before acting on any subdivision, land use or development plan, Borough Council or the Borough Planning Commission, as the case may be, shall hold a public hearing thereon after public notice.
(7)
No plan which will require access to a highway under the jurisdiction of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation shall be finally approved unless the plan contains a notice that a highway occupancy permit is required pursuant to Section 420 of the Act of June 1, 1945 (P.L. 1242, No. 428), known as the "State Highway Law," as amended and in effect at the time of application,[3] before driveway access to a state highway is permitted. The Department shall, within 60 days of the date of receipt of an application for a highway occupancy permit, i) approve the permit, which shall be valid thereafter unless, prior to commencement of construction thereunder, the geographic, physical or other conditions under which the permit is approved change, requiring modification or denial of the permit, in which event the department shall give notice thereof in accordance with regulations, ii) deny the permit, iii) return the application for additional information or correction to conform with department regulations, or iv) determine that no permit is required in which case the department shall notify the Borough and the applicant in writing. If the department shall fail to take any action within the sixty-day period, the permit will be deemed to be issued. The plan shall be marked to indicate that access to the state highway shall be only as authorized by a highway occupancy permit. Neither the department nor the Borough shall be liable in damages for any injury to persons or property arising out of the issuance or denial of a permit, or for failure to regulate any access point. Furthermore, the Borough shall not be held liable for damages to persons or property arising out of the issuance or denial of a permit by the department.
D.
Before the approval of a plan by the Borough, a copy shall be transmitted to the Bucks County Planning Commission, and the County Commission shall make a report thereon to the Borough. Pending the receipt and consideration of such report, the Borough shall defer action thereon; but if such a report is not received by the Borough within 45 days from the submission of the plan to the County Commission, or within such further time as may be agreed upon by the Borough, the Borough may proceed to final action thereon.
A.
In addition to other remedies, the Borough 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. The description by metes and bounds in the instrument of transfer or other documents used in the process of selling or transferring shall not exempt the seller or transferor from such penalties or from the remedies herein provided.
B.
The Borough 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 a subdivision of real property in violation of any governing ordinance. This authority to deny such a permit or approval shall apply to any of the following applicants:
(1)
The owner of record, his heirs, successors or assigns, at the time of such violation.
(2)
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.
(3)
The current owner of record, his heirs, successors or assigns, who acquired the property subsequent to the time of violation without regard as to whether such person had actual or constructive knowledge of the violation.
(4)
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.
(5)
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 Borough 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.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
This chapter is intended to implement the policy goals of the Borough of Langhorne and the community development objectives of the Borough of Langhorne Comprehensive Plan, most recent edition.