A.Â
The Board of Supervisors shall have the duty and authority for the
administration and general enforcement of the provisions of this chapter,
as specified or implied herein. Officials of the Township having regulatory
duties and authorities connected with or appurtenant to the subdivision,
use, or development of land shall have the duties and authorities
for the controlling enforcement of the provisions of this chapter,
as specified or implied herein or in other ordinances of the Township.
B.Â
Permits required by the Township, for the erection or alteration
of buildings, the installation of sewers or sewage disposal systems,
or for other appurtenant improvements to, or use of, the land, shall
not be issued by any Township official responsible for such issuance
until he or she has ascertained that the site for such building, alteration,
improvement or use is located in a subdivision approved and publicly
recorded in accordance with the provisions of this chapter regulating
the subdivision and development of land.
(1)Â
Also, such permits shall be issued only after it has been determined
that the site for such building alteration, improvement or use conforms
to the site description indicated by the approved and recorded final
plan or other land description acceptable in accordance with the provisions
of this chapter, and that it is in compliance with all applicable
provisions of this chapter. If the building permit is issued erroneously
or prior to proper approval, it is void.
C.Â
The Sewage Enforcement Officer (SEO) shall require that applications
for sewage disposal system permits contain all the information to
ascertain that the site for the proposed system is acceptable in accordance
with the provisions of this chapter, and the regulations of PADEP
and any requirement of the Township pertaining to the issuance of
such permit.
D.Â
Preventive remedies.
(1)Â
In addition to other remedies, the Township may institute and maintain
appropriate actions by law or 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.
(2)Â
The Township 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 this chapter. The Township's authority to deny such
a permit or approval shall apply to any of the following applicants:
(a)Â
The owner of record at the time of such violation.
(b)Â
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.
(c)Â
The current owner of record who acquired the property subsequent
to the time of violation without regard as to whether such current
owner had actual or constructive knowledge of the violation.
(d)Â
The vendee or lessee of the current owner of record who acquired
the property subsequent to the time of the violation without regard
as to whether such vendee or lessee had actual or constructive knowledge
of the violation.
(3)Â
As an additional condition for the 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 Township 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.
Upon submission of the plan, whether preliminary or final, as
specified in this chapter, the developer shall pay to the Township
the required plan fee as follows:
A.Â
Preliminary plan: as established by resolution of the Board of Supervisors.
B.Â
Final plan: as established by resolution of the Board of Supervisors.
The fee shall include the cost for:
(1)Â
Reviewing the development plan engineering details;
(2)Â
Inspecting the site for conformance of survey;
(3)Â
Preparing cost estimates of required improvements;
(4)Â
Inspection of required improvements during installation;
(5)Â
Final inspection upon completion of installation of required improvements;
and
(6)Â
Administrative and legal services necessary for the processing of
the proposed land development plan.
C.Â
Any engineering, legal, and administrative costs in excess of the
amount submitted prior to approval of the final plan shall be paid
by the developer upon being notified of same by the Township. Any
excess paid over the amount actually required to cover such costs
of the final plan shall be returned to the developer upon the completion
of the required improvement.
D.Â
All fees shall be payable to North Codorus Township upon billing
by the Secretary of North Codorus Township.
E.Â
No permits shall be issued until all fees and charges are paid in
full.
Any amendment to this chapter shall only be enacted in full
compliance with the procedures of the Pennsylvania Municipalities
Planning Code.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 10101 et seq., including
Article 5.
A.Â
Jurisdiction. District Justices having territorial jurisdiction over North Codorus Township shall have initial jurisdiction over proceedings brought under Subsection B.
B.Â
Enforcement remedies.
(1)Â
Any person, partnership, or corporation who or which has violated
or permitted the violation of the provisions of this chapter shall,
upon being found liable therefor in a civil enforcement proceeding
commenced by the Township, pay a judgment of not more than $500 plus
all court costs, including reasonable attorney fees incurred by the
Township as a result thereof. No judgment shall commence or be imposed,
levied or be payable until the date of the determination of a violation
by the District Justice. If the defendant neither pays nor timely
appeals the judgment, the Township may enforce the judgment pursuant
to the applicable Rules of Civil Procedure. 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 chapter 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. All judgments, costs and reasonable
attorney fees collected for the violation of the chapter shall be
paid over to the Township.
(2)Â
The Court of Common Pleas of York County, upon petition, may grant
an order of stay, upon cause shown, tolling the per diem fine pending
a final adjudication of the violation and judgment.
(3)Â
Nothing contained in this section shall be construed or interpreted
to grant any person or entity other than the Township the right to
commence any action at law and/or at equity for enforcement pursuant
to this section.
The procedures for securing review of any ordinance, decision,
or determination is set forth in Article X-A of the Pennsylvania MPC,
Act of July 31, 1968, P.L. 805, as amended.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 11001-A et seq.
A.Â
Parties to proceedings authorized in this chapter may utilize mediation
as an aid in completing such proceedings. Mediation shall supplement,
not replace, those procedures in this chapter once they have been
formally initiated. Nothing in this section shall be interpreted as
expanding or limiting municipal police powers or as modifying any
principles of substantive law.
B.Â
Participation in mediation shall be wholly voluntary. The appropriateness
of mediation shall be determined by the particulars of each case and
the willingness of the parties to negotiate. The Township shall assure
that, in each case, the mediating parties, assisted by the mediator
as appropriate, develop terms and conditions for:
(1)Â
Funding mediation.
(2)Â
Selecting a mediator who, at a minimum, shall have a working knowledge
of municipal zoning and subdivision procedures and demonstrated skills
in mediation.
(3)Â
Completing mediation, including time limits for such completion.
(4)Â
Suspending time limits otherwise authorized in this chapter and the
MPC, provided there is written consent by the mediating parties, and
by an applicant or municipal decision-making body if either is not
a party to the mediation.
(5)Â
Identifying all parties and affording them the opportunity to participate.
(6)Â
Subject to legal restraints, determining whether some or all of the
mediation sessions shall be open or closed to the public.
(7)Â
Assuring that mediated solutions are in writing and signed by the
parties, and become subject to review and approval by the appropriate
decision-making body pursuant to the authorized procedures set forth
in the MPC.
C.Â
No offers or statements made in the mediation sessions, excluding
the final written mediated agreement, shall be admissible as evidence
in any subsequent judicial or administrative proceedings.
A.Â
The preexisting Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance of the
Township of North Codorus, as amended, is hereby repealed in total;
provided, however, that this repeal shall in no manner be construed
as a waiver, release, or relinquishment of the right to initiate,
pursue, or prosecute, as the case may be, any proceeding at law or
in equity pertaining to any act done which would have constituted
a violation of the preexisting North Codorus Township Subdivision
and Land Development Ordinance, as amended.
B.Â
All provisions of the preexisting North Codorus Township Subdivision
and Land Development Ordinance, as amended, shall remain in full force
and effect, and are not repealed hereby, as they pertain to such acts
and to the processing of such plans filed prior to the effective date
of this chapter which are protected from the effect of intervening
ordinances by Section 508(4) of the MPC.
The provisions of this chapter shall be held to be minimum requirements
to meet the purposes of this chapter. When provisions of this chapter
impose greater restrictions than those of any statute, other ordinances
or regulations, the provisions of this chapter shall prevail. When
provisions of any statute, or ordinance or regulation impose greater
restrictions than those of this chapter, the provisions of such statute,
ordinance, or regulation shall prevail.
Nothing contained in this chapter shall relieve the owner or
developer from complying with the applicable provisions of the Township
Zoning Ordinance.[1] It is the express intent of the Board of Supervisors that
this Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance and the Zoning Ordinance
shall be enforceable and together foster the stated planning goals
and objectives of the Township.