Article VII Minor Subdivisions, Minor Land Developments and Lot Line Adjustments

The applicant shall file with the City Staff at least 20 calendar days prior to a regular City Planning Commission meeting (not including a workshop meeting):

(a)

The required fees; and

(b)

The information and plans required under this Article VII.

If a State road is involved, the applicant shall forward the required information to PennDOT and apply for a highway occupancy permit. If such permit is not granted prior to Final Plan approval, then it shall automatically be a condition of Final Plan approval, and the plans shall not be signed or released for recording by the City until the PennDOT permit is granted.

Each Final Plan filed for minor subdivisions shall provide the information required by § 490-38. Plans for Lot line adjustments shall provide the information required by § 490-39.

If the City agrees to forward the plan, the applicant shall provide a copy of the plans to the City for review by the Delaware County Planning Commission with the required County Planning Commission review fees. Otherwise, the applicant shall provide the plans to the County Planning Commission. A soil erosion and sedimentation control plan shall be provided by the applicant to the Delaware County Conservation District.

Initial actions by the staff.

The Staff shall review the Submission items filed against a checklist for completeness and shall report such review to the Commission at its next regularly scheduled meeting.

The Staff shall retain in the City's files one "File Copy" of all materials submitted by the applicant.

The Staff shall forward the applicable submission information to the City Engineer and the City Planning Commission before the next regularly scheduled meeting of the Commission.

Review by City Engineer; determination of completeness.

The City Engineer should review the engineering considerations in the Plan and prepare an initial report on such considerations to the Planning Commission. The City Engineer may make additional reports and recommendations to the Planning Commission during review of the Plan.

If the required fees have not been paid and the escrow account has not been properly funded, a submittal shall not be considered to be complete, and shall not be officially accepted by the City, until such amounts are paid in full.

Based upon an initial review by the City Staff and/or the City Engineer, at the first regular meeting where the submittal is considered, the Planning Commission shall have the authority to determine that a submittal is incomplete. To be complete, the submission shall contain a fully completed application form and all types of documents and plans specified in the checklist. If a submission is determined to not be complete, the applicant and/or representative shall be notified, and the submission shall not be officially accepted by the City. In such case, the official acceptance of the plans shall not occur until the City Staff or City Engineer later certifies that all required information has been submitted.

The time limits of the MPC for action on a submittal shall not begin to apply until a complete submittal has been achieved.

Review and action by Planning Commission. The City Planning Commission shall accomplish the following within the time limitations of the PA Municipalities Planning Code[1] (unless the applicant grants a written time extension).

Review applicable reports received from the appropriate review agencies and officers;

Determine whether the Final Plan Submission meets the requirements of this chapter and other applicable ordinances; and

Approve, conditionally approve or disapprove the Final Plan Submission within the time limits established by the MPC. (As of the adoption date of this chapter, State law requires that the Planning Commission shall act on the application and render its decision and communicate it to the applicant not later than 90 days following the date of the next regularly scheduled meeting of the City Planning Commission next following the date the application is filed (or after a final order of the court remanding an application), provided that should the next regular meeting occur more than 30 days following the filing of the application (or the final order of the court), the said ninety-day period shall be measured from the 30th day following the day the application has been filed.)

County Planning Commission review. No subdivision or land development shall be granted final approval until a report is received from the County Planning Commission or until the expiration of 30 days from the date the application was forwarded to the County Planning Commission, whichever shall occur first.

[1]

Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 10101 et seq.

Decision by Planning Commission.

The decision of the Planning Commission shall be in writing and shall be communicated to the applicant personally or mailed to him/her at the last-known address not later than 15 days following the decision.

Acceptance of dedication.

(a)

The approval of the Final Plan by the Planning Commission shall not by itself constitute an acceptance of the dedication of any street or other proposed public way, space or area, unless such acceptance is specifically made at such time.

(b)

Any such acceptance of dedication shall be specifically stated along with the signatures required for approval.

(c)

If the City elects to accept lands offered for dedication, the Submission shall be accompanied by duly executed instruments of conveyance to the City. Such instruments shall state that the title thereof is free and unencumbered. The City may require an applicant to provide title insurance.

If a Final Plan Submission is disapproved, the decision shall specify defects found in the submission, shall describe requirements which have not been met, and shall cite the provisions of the statute or ordinance relied upon in each case.

§ 490-38 Minor subdivision and minor land development final plan requirements.

Conditions. If conditions are placed upon an approval, it shall be the responsibility of the applicant, in writing, to accept or reject the conditions within a maximum of 30 days after the date of the decision by the Planning Commission. If the applicant fails to accept or reject the conditions within such time period, then it shall be presumed that the applicant has accepted all of the conditions upon the approval. If the applicant rejects any condition, then the approval shall be rescinded, unless a decision of a court determines such condition was not valid.

(a)

The applicant shall be required to show compliance with all the conditions upon the final plan approval within one year after the date of the decision by the Planning Commission, unless a written extension is granted by the Planning Commission.

All of the following information and materials listed in this section are required as part of all minor subdivision and minor land development submissions, other than lot line adjustments or submittals under § 490-39. This list of requirements shall serve as both a list of requirements, and as a checklist for the applicant and the City to ensure completion of submissions. The applicant shall submit completed photocopies of this section as part of the application.

City of Chester
Final Plan Checklist and List of Submittal Requirements for Minor Subdivisions and Minor Land Developments
Project Name/Address:
Contact Person for Questions About Application:
Daytime Phone No(s).: ____________________ Email
Date of Submittal:

*	Place a check in the applicable column, except: 1) insert "NA" in the "Not Submitted" column if not applicable, and 2) insert "W" in the "Not Submitted" column if a waiver is requested from the requirement.

Submitted	Not Submitted*
		A.	General submission items (the City staff may require the submission of additional numbers of copies):
_____	_____		1.	Two copies of completed City Application (see Appendix A).
_____	_____		2.	Required City review fee(s).
_____	_____		3.	Required City escrow funds (to fund reviews).
_____	_____		4.	Two copies of the Minor Subdivision Plan Checklist (using the photocopies of the pages in this section).
_____	_____		5.	Nine print copies of the complete Subdivision Plans, with original signatures and seals of Plan Preparers on one "file copy."
_____	_____		6.	Two sets of Supportive Documents.
_____	_____		7.	A receipt or similar notification that a copy of the Plan was delivered by the applicant to the Delaware County Planning Commission, unless the City has agreed to forward the plans.
_____	_____		8.	A PDF copy of the Plans distributed to the City on a flash storage drive (or other method acceptable to the City).
_____	_____		9.	Two copies of a completed Zoning Permit application if applicable.
		B.	Drafting requirements; shall be legibly and accurately presented:
_____	_____		1.	Plans prepared on a standard sized sheet (such as 18"x24," 22"x34," 24"x36," 30"x42" or 36"x48"). Sheets should be folded to approximately 9"x12" size, in such a manner that the title of the sheet faces out.
_____	_____		2.	Plans drawn at a standard scale (such as 1 inch = 50 feet).
_____	_____		3.	All dimensions set in feet and decimal parts thereof, and bearings in degrees, minutes and seconds.
_____	_____		4.	Differentiation between existing and proposed features.
_____	_____		5.	Boundary line of the parcel, clearly differentiated from other lines.
		C.	General information:
_____	_____		1.	Name and location of project (such as the "Smith Subdivision No. 2").
_____	_____		2.	Name of landowner and developer (with addresses).
_____	_____		3.	Names and addresses of abutting property owners, with abutting lot lines.
_____	_____		4.	Notarized Owners Statement of Intent (see Appendix B).
_____	_____		5.	Name, address, signature, and seal of the plan surveyor and plan preparer. (See Appendix B).
_____	_____		6.	Approval/review signature blocks for: City Planning Commission and County Planning Commission staff. (See Appendix B).
_____	_____		7.	Location map at a standard scale (such as 1" = 2000') showing the location of the project and watercourses, municipal borders and existing and proposed streets adjacent to the parcel.
_____	_____		8.	North arrow, graphic scale, written scale.
_____	_____		9.	Date of plan and all subsequent revision dates (especially noting if this is a revision of a previously approved plan).
_____	_____		10.	Property identification number for the parcel being subdivided from County records.
		D.	Existing conditions:
_____	_____		1.	Contour lines shall be:
				a.	Based on a field survey or photogrammetric procedure at an interval of two feet (or other interval pre-approved by the City Engineer) at a scale of 1" = 100' or larger;
				b.	Note: Contours are not required to be shown within areas of lots of 10 acres or more that are clearly not intended to be altered as a result of this proposed subdivision, unless needed for stormwater management.
_____	_____		2.	Identification of any slopes of 15% to 25%, and greater than 25%.
_____	_____		3.	Areas within any hydric soils (see Soil Survey of Delaware County), with a notation that there are none if that is the case.
_____	_____		4.	Watercourses (with any name), natural springs, lakes and wetlands.
_____	_____		5.	Areas of existing mature woods, with areas noted that are proposed to be preserved or removed.
		E.	Layout plan:
_____	_____		1.	Existing and proposed lot lines.
				a.	The boundaries of lots (other than a residual lot of at least 10 acres) shall be determined by accurate field survey, closed with an error not to exceed 1 in 10,000 and balanced.
				b.	The boundaries of any residual parcel which is greater than 10 acres may be determined by deed.:
_____	_____		2.	Location of existing and proposed monuments.
_____	_____		3.	Sufficient measurements of all lots, streets, rights-of-way, easements and community or public areas to accurately and completely reproduce each and every course on the ground.
_____	_____		4.	Sewer lines, stormwater facilities, water lines, bridges and culverts.
_____	_____		5.	Existing and proposed utility easements and restrictive covenants and easements for purposes which might affect development (stating which easements and rights-of-ways proposed for dedication to the municipality).
_____	_____		6.	Proposed (if known) and existing nonresidential building locations and land uses.
_____	_____		7.	Easements/covenants addressing maintenance of stormwater easements.
_____	_____		8.	Applicable zoning district name, zoning district boundaries and minimum lot area.
_____	_____		9.	Minimum setback requirements shown for each lot.
_____	_____		10.	Sufficient information to determine compliance with Chapter 550, Zoning.
_____	_____		11.	Total acreage of site and total proposed number of lots.
_____	_____		12.	Identification number for each lot.
_____	_____		13.	Lot width (at minimum building setback line) and lot area for each lot.
_____	_____		14.	Existing or proposed buffer yards (as may be required by Chapter 550, Zoning), street trees and any other required trees, with initial sizes and species of new trees and buffer plantings.
_____	_____		15.	Existing and proposed storm drainage facilities or structures.
_____	_____		16.	Exact slope across proposed primary and secondary on-lot sewage system sites.
_____	_____		17.	Plan showing proposed street address numbers of proposed lots, as issued by the City.
		F.	Plan notations. The following shall be stated on the Final Plan, if applicable:
				a.	"Any well and sewage disposal systems shall be constructed in accordance with standards of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection."
				b.	"Individual owners of lots must receive approval from the City Sewage Enforcement Officer for a sewage permit prior to undertaking the construction of an on-lot sewage disposal system or building that will need to be served by such a system. Additionally, no development shall occur in the alternative drain field location without the prior written approval of the Zoning Officer and Sewage Enforcement Officer."
				c.	"If applicable the City does not guarantee that any individual lot or location within a lot will be able to sustain any type of well or sewage disposal system."
		G.	Additional information: The Planning Commission may require the submission of any additional information that would be required for the Final Plan of a major subdivision under § 490-34, if needed to determine compliance with this chapter.
_____	_____		1.	Residual Lands Sketch. If the submitted plans do not include all undeveloped or underdeveloped adjacent or abutting lands owned by the same landowner or under control of the same developer, then a sketch shall be submitted at an appropriate scale, on one sheet, covering all such land holdings together with a sketch of a reasonable future road system to demonstrate that the proposed subdivision provides for the orderly development of any residual lands and/or does not adversely affect the potential development of residual lands.
_____	_____		2.	Copy of the DEP Sewage Planning Module application, if applicable, as completed by the applicant, with evidence that the application has been forwarded to the proper review agencies for comments.

§ 490-39 Lot line adjustments, merger or consolidation of lots (also referred to as "reverse subdivisions"), and minor revisions of approved plans.

The reduced submission requirements listed in this section shall apply, together with the procedural requirements of § 490-37, if either of the following apply:

The proposal will meet the definition of a "lot line adjustment";

The proposal only involves a merger or consolidation of lots (also referred to as reverse subdivision) including two or more lots merging into one; and/or