This chapter shall be known and may be cited as "The City of
Lancaster Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance."
This chapter is adopted pursuant to the authority provided to
the City of Lancaster under the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning
Code (MPC), Act of 1968, P.L. 805, No. 247,[1] as amended, and shall govern subdivisions and land developments
within the corporate limits of the City of Lancaster.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 10101 et seq.
[Amended 11-10-2020 by Ord. No. 12-2020]
The purpose of this chapter is to protect the public health,
safety and general welfare; to promote and ensure orderly growth and
development; to protect historic resources; to protect and preserve
natural resources; to implement provisions of the Comprehensive Plan;
to ensure consistency with the official map, Stormwater Management
Ordinance, and City Zoning Ordinance; and to encourage innovative
and sustainable land planning and development.
[Amended 11-10-2020 by Ord. No. 12-2020]
A.
The standards for development contained or referenced within this
chapter shall be applicable to any subdivision or land development
project within the City of Lancaster.
B.
Any plan prepared for the purpose of subdivision or land development
for land situated within the corporate limits of the City of Lancaster,
Pennsylvania, shall be submitted in accordance with the provisions
contained herein. These regulations shall apply to any proposed land
development or subdivision of a lot, as defined herein, whether immediate
or future, including the resubdivision or replatting of land or lots.
C.
When a
municipal boundary line divides a lot and municipal property taxes
are paid to the adjoining municipality, the Chief Planner shall have
the discretion to defer subdivision and land development approvals
to the adjoining municipality.
[Amended 11-10-2020 by Ord. No. 12-2020]
D.
No street or alley, sanitary sewer or stormwater sewer systems, water
line, utility line or other public or private facility in connection
with a proposed land development or subdivision or resubdivision of
land shall be laid out, constructed, opened or dedicated for public
use except in accordance with the provisions of this chapter and other
applicable standards and regulations of the City.
E.
Any nonbuilding improvements depicted on an approved preliminary
or final plan may be installed prior to the recording of a final plan;
however, if the owner/developer records a final plan prior to the
improvements having been installed and approved by the City of Lancaster,
an improvement construction guaranty shall have first been submitted
to and accepted by the City as a condition of recording the plan.
F.
No building permit shall be issued nor shall any connection with
or extension to the public water, stormwater and sanitary sewer facilities
operated by the City of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, be made until unconditional
final plan approval of said land development or subdivision has occurred.
Preliminary and final plan filing fees shall be paid by the
applicant at the time of formal plan submission, and review fees to
reimburse the City for reasonable and necessary charges by the City
Engineer or the City's professional consultants, including the City
Solicitor, for the review of plans and reports thereon shall be paid
by the applicant prior to plan approval. Application filing fees and
review fees billed to the applicant shall be based upon a schedule
established by City Council resolution.
A.
Filing fees include the basic review fee, the additional sheet review
fee, supplemental report fees, fees for modifications and waivers,
and planning module processing fee.
B.
Professional consultant or engineer fees shall include reasonable
and necessary charges to review and report to the City of Lancaster
on the plan application and accompanying reports pertaining to stormwater
management, water or sewer main capacities, traffic impacts and improvements,
environmental impacts and mitigation actions, or other studies deemed
necessary by the City.
C.
Legal fees shall include reasonable and necessary charges of the
City Solicitor.
D.
Inspection fees shall include reasonable and necessary expenses incurred
by the City for the inspection of improvements as required prior to
dedication to the City or release from any required financial guaranty.
E.
Fees for public hearings or official map amendments related to an
application filed under this chapter shall include required legal
notices and charges of the City Solicitor and any fees incurred by
the City for legal publications and court reporters.
A.
In the event the applicant disputes the amount of any review fee,
the applicant shall, no later than 100 days after the date of transmittal
of the bill to the applicant, notify the City and the City's professional
consultant that such fees are disputed. A fee dispute shall not delay
or be cause for plan disapproval. Failure of the applicant to dispute
a bill within 100 days shall be a waiver of the applicant's right
to arbitration of that bill under Section 510(g) of the MPC.
B.
In the event the applicant and the City cannot agree on the amount
of review fees which are reasonable and necessary, then the applicant
and the City shall follow the procedure for dispute resolution, as
set forth in Sections 503(1) and 510(g) of the Pennsylvania Municipalities
Planning Code (MPC) provided that the professionals resolving such
dispute shall be of the same profession or discipline as the consultants
whose fees are being disputed.
Subdivisions and land development plans adopted pursuant to
this chapter shall be consistent with the goals and objectives of
the City of Lancaster Comprehensive Plan, as adopted or amended by
City Council.
In their interpretation and application, the provisions of this
chapter shall be minimum requirements. Wherever the requirements of
this chapter are at variance with the requirements of any other lawfully
adopted rules, regulations, ordinances, deed restrictions or covenants,
the most restrictive, or that imposing the highest standards, shall
govern.
The City of Lancaster Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance, Ordinance No. 15-1997, as amended, and referenced in the City Code as Chapter 265, is hereby specifically repealed, as well as all ordinances or parts of ordinances inconsistent herewith; provided that plans currently filed with the Commission or for which permits have been issued shall be processed and reviewed under the 1997 ordinance, as amended. However, the 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, including criminal proceedings, pertaining to any act done which would have constituted a violation of the ordinances or parts of ordinances repealed hereby, or their applicable predecessor ordinances, and all provisions of said repealed ordinances shall remain in full effect and force, and not repealed hereby, as they pertain to said acts.
