The applicant/owner shall provide a financial guarantee to the Township of Falls for the timely installation and proper construction of all stormwater management facilities as required by this chapter equal to 110% of the full construction cost of the required facilities.
A. 
The drainage plan for the development site shall contain an operation and maintenance (O&M) plan prepared by the applicant/owner and approved by the Township Engineer. The O&M plan shall outline required routine maintenance actions and schedules necessary to ensure proper operation of the stormwater management facility(ies).
B. 
The drainage plan for the development site shall establish responsibilities for the continuing operating and maintenance of all proposed stormwater management facilities, consistent with the following principles:
(1) 
If a development consists of structures or lots which are to be separately owned and in which streets, sewers and other public improvements are to be dedicated to the Township of Falls, the management of stormwater management facilities (detention or retention basins) shall remain the responsibility of the applicant/owner.
(2) 
If a development site is to be maintained in a single ownership or if sewers and other public improvements are to be privately owned and maintained, then the operation and maintenance of stormwater management facilities shall be the responsibility of the owner or private management entity.
(3) 
The Board of Supervisors, upon recommendation of the Township Engineer, shall make the final determination on the continuing maintenance responsibilities prior to final approval of the drainage plan. The Board of Supervisors reserves the right to accept the ownership and operating responsibility for any or all of the stormwater management facilities.
C. 
The stormwater control and BMP operations and maintenance plan for the project site shall establish responsibilities for the continuing operation and maintenance of all permanent stormwater controls and BMPs, as follows:
(1) 
If a plan includes structures or lots which are to be separately owned and in which streets, sewers, and other public improvements are to be dedicated to the Township, stormwater controls and BMPs may also be dedicated to and maintained by the Township;
(2) 
If a plan includes operations and maintenance by a single ownership or if sewers and other public improvements are to be privately owned and maintained, then the operation and maintenance of stormwater controls and BMPs shall be the responsibility of the owner or private management entity.
D. 
The Township shall make the final determination on the continuing operations and maintenance responsibilities. The Township reserves the right to accept or reject the operations and maintenance responsibility for any or all of the stormwater controls and BMPs.
(1) 
The Township shall review the stormwater control and BMP operations and maintenance plan for consistency with the purposes and requirements of this chapter and any permits issued by DEP.
(2) 
The Township shall notify the applicant in writing whether or not the stormwater control and BMP operations and maintenance plan is approved.
(3) 
The Township shall make the final determination on the continuing operations and maintenance responsibilities. The Township reserves the right to accept or reject the operations and maintenance responsibility for any and all of the stormwater controls and BMPs.
E. 
It shall be unlawful to alter or remove any permanent stormwater control and BMP required by an approved stormwater control and BMP operations and maintenance plan or to allow the property to remain in a condition which does not conform to an approved stormwater control and BMP operations and maintenance plan.
F. 
No person shall modify, remove, fill, landscape, or alter any existing stormwater control or BMP unless it is part of an approved maintenance program without the written approval of the Township.
G. 
No person shall place any structure, fill, landscaping, or vegetation into a stormwater control or BMP or within a drainage easement which would limit or alter the functioning of the stormwater control or BMP without the written approval of the Township.
A. 
The applicant shall sign an operations and maintenance agreement with the Township covering all stormwater controls and BMPs that are to be privately owned. The maintenance agreement shall be transferred with transfer of ownership. The agreement shall be substantially the same as the agreement in Appendix C[1] of this chapter.
[1]
Appendix C is included as an attachment to this chapter.
B. 
Other items may be included in the agreement where determined necessary to guarantee the satisfactory operation and maintenance of all permanent stormwater controls and BMPs. The agreement shall be subject to the review and approval of the Township.
C. 
The owner of any land upon which permanent stormwater controls and BMPs will be placed, constructed, or implemented, as described in the stormwater control and BMP operations and maintenance plan, shall record the following documents in the Office of the Recorder of Deeds for Bucks County within 15 days of approval of the stormwater control and BMP operations and maintenance plan by the Township:
(1) 
The operations and maintenance plan or a summary thereof;
(2) 
Operations and maintenance agreements under § 187-32; and
(3) 
Easements under § 187-10F and G.
D. 
The Township may suspend or revoke any approvals granted for the project site upon discovery of failure on the part of the owner to comply with this section.
A. 
If stormwater management facilities are accepted by the Township of Falls for dedication, persons installing said facilities shall be required to pay a specified amount to the Township Stormwater Maintenance Fund to help defray costs of periodic inspections and maintenance expenses. The amount of the deposit shall be determined as follows:
(1) 
If the stormwater management facility is to he owned and maintained by the Township of Falls, the deposit shall cover the estimated costs for maintenance and inspections for 10 years. The Township Engineer will establish the estimated costs utilizing information submitted by the applicant/owner.
(2) 
The amount of the deposit to the fund shall be converted to present worth of the annual series values. The Township Engineer shall determine the present worth equivalents, which shall be subject to the approval of the Township.
B. 
If a stormwater management facility is proposed that also serves as a recreation facility (e.g., ball field, lake), the Township of Falls may reduce or waive the amount of the maintenance fund deposit based upon the value of the land for public recreation purpose.
C. 
If, at some future time, a stormwater management facility (whether publicly or privately owned) is eliminated due to the installation of storm sewers or another facility, the unused portion of the maintenance fund deposit will be applied to the cost of connecting to the storm sewer system or other facility.
[Amended 12-18-2018 by Ord. No. 2018-11]
A. 
Stormwater management facilities shall be inspected by the applicant or owner or responsible entity (including the Township Engineer for dedicated facilities) in accordance with the Township's stormwater management operations and maintenance agreement.