[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors of the Township of Weisenberg 11-11-2024 by Ord. No. 2024-5. Amendments noted where applicable.]
A. 
Short title. This chapter shall be known as the "Weisenberg Township Official Map Ordinance."
B. 
Authority. This chapter is enacted and ordained under the grant of powers by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code ("MPC"), Act 247 of 1968 (53 P.S. § 10101 et seq.), Article IV, as amended.
C. 
Purpose. This chapter is enacted for the purpose of serving and promoting the public health, safety, convenience and general welfare; to facilitate adequate provision of public streets and facilities; to improve traffic circulation; to provide for the recreational and open space needs of the community; to protect and enhance water resources; and to facilitate the subdivision of land and the use of land and watercourses.
D. 
Incorporation of the Official Map. The plan attached herein, entitled "Weisenberg Township Official Map" and dated August 15, 2024, including all notations, references and other data shown thereon, is hereby incorporated by reference into this chapter and adopted in accordance with Article IV of the MPC. A copy of the Official Map shall be available at the Weisenberg Township Municipal Building during normal business hours.
E. 
Effect of approved plans on the Official Map. All streets, watercourses, public grounds and elements listed in Section 401 of the MPC on final, recorded plats which are subsequently approved as provided by the MPC shall be deemed amendments to the Official Map.
A. 
The Official Map, as enacted and subsequently amended, may identify the location of the lines of:
(1) 
Existing and proposed public streets, watercourses and public grounds, including widenings, narrowing, extensions, diminutions, openings or closing of same;
(2) 
Existing and proposed public parks, playgrounds and open space reservations;
(3) 
Pedestrian ways and easements;
(4) 
Railroad and transit rights-of-way and easements;
(5) 
Flood control basins, floodways and floodplains; stormwater management areas and drainage easements; and
(6) 
Support facilities, easements and other properties held by public bodies undertaking the elements described in Section 301 of the MPC.
B. 
Adoption of the Official Map shall be subject to all provisions of Article IV of the MPC.
C. 
Unless otherwise specified, all proposed public street rights-of-way and widenings of existing public street rights-of-way shall be subject to review by Weisenberg Township for conformance to applicable subdivision and land development regulations.
D. 
Special encroachment permit.
(1) 
For the purposes of preserving the integrity of the Official Map of Weisenberg Township, no permit shall be issued for any building within the lines of any street, watercourse, or public ground shown or laid out on the Official Map. No person shall recover any damages for the taking for public use of any building or improvements constructed within the lines of any street, watercourse, or public ground after the same shall have been included in the Official Map, and any such building or improvement shall be removed at the expense of the owner. However, when the property of which the reserved location forms a part, cannot yield a reasonable return to the owner unless a permit shall be granted, the owner may apply to the Weisenberg Township Board of Supervisors for the grant of a special encroachment permit to build. Before granting any special encroachment permit authorized in this section, the Board of Supervisors may submit the application for special encroachment permit to the Weisenberg Township Planning Commission and allow the Planning Commission 30 days for review and comment and shall give public notice and hold a public hearing at which all parties in interest shall have an opportunity to be heard.
(2) 
A refusal by the Board of Supervisors to grant the special encroachment permit applied for may be appealed by the applicant to the Zoning Hearing Board in the same manner, and within the same time limitation, as provided by the MPC.
E. 
The Board of Supervisors shall fix the time for which streets and public grounds shown on the Official Map shall be deemed reserved for future acquisition or easement for public use. The reservation for public grounds shall lapse and become void after the owner of such property has submitted a written notice to the Board of Supervisors announcing intentions to build, subdivide or otherwise develop the land covered by the reservation, or made formal application for an official permit to build a structure for private use, unless the Board of Supervisors has acquired the property or begun condemnation proceedings to acquire such property before the end of the following reservation period set by the Board of Supervisors or 90 days, whichever is less.
F. 
Where the Township has decided that it is no longer interested in pursuing the acquisition or easement of property listed on the Official Map, the Township shall notify the owner of such property within 45 days of receipt of the written notice.
G. 
The adoption of any street, street lines, or other public lands as part of the Official Map shall not in and of itself, constitute or be deemed to constitute the opening or establishment of any street nor the taking or acceptance of any land, nor shall it obligate the Township to improve or maintain any such street or land. The adoption of the proposed watercourses or public grounds as part of the Official Map shall not, in and of itself, constitute or be deemed to constitute the taking or acceptance of any land of the Township.
Any appeal from a decision or action of the Board of Supervisors or of any officer or agency of the Township in matters pertaining to this chapter shall be made in the same manner and within the same time limitation as is provided for zoning appeals in the MPC.
A. 
Severability. If any provision, sentence, clause, section, or part of this chapter is for any reason found to be unconstitutional, illegal or invalid, such unconstitutionality, illegality, or invalidity shall not affect or impair any of the remaining provisions of this chapter. It is hereby declared as the intent of Lowhill Township that this chapter would have been adopted had such stricken provisions not been included herein.
B. 
Conflict. All ordinances or parts of ordinances inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed.
C. 
Effective date. This chapter shall become effective five days after adoption thereof.