A. 
Long title. This chapter shall be entitled "An Ordinance Establishing Rules, Regulations and Standards Governing the Subdivision and Land Development Within the Township of Tobyhanna, Monroe County, Pennsylvania, Setting Forth the Procedures to be Followed by the Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors in Applying and Administering These Rules, Regulations and Standards, and Setting Forth the Penalties for the Violation Thereof."
B. 
Short title. These regulations shall be known and shall be cited as "The Township of Tobyhanna Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance of 1999, as amended."
The Board of Supervisors of the Township of Tobyhanna by authority granted to them as specified in the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, Act of 1968 P.L. 804, Number 247, as reenacted and as amended by Act 170 of 1988,[1] hereby repeals the Tobyhanna Township Subdivision Regulations of 1965 enacted October 25, 1965, as amended, and hereby adopts the Township of Tobyhanna Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance of 1999, as amended, enacted on September 3, 2002, by Ordinance No. 427.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 10501 et seq.
The purpose of these regulations shall be to provide rules, standards and regulations to assure and guide subdivisions and land development within the Township of Tobyhanna, Monroe County, in order to create conditions promoting the general health, safety, and welfare of the citizens of the Township by:
A. 
Ensuring sites are suitable for building purposes and human habitation.
B. 
Providing for the orderly, efficient and integrated development of land.
C. 
Securing adequate sites for recreation, conservation, historic, scenic and other open space purposes.
D. 
Providing for proper distribution of population.
E. 
Facilitating the efficient movement of traffic.
F. 
Encouraging well-planned subdivisions by establishing adequate standards for design and improvement.
G. 
Improving land records by establishing standards for surveys and plans.
H. 
Safeguarding the interests of the public, the homeowner, and the subdivider.
I. 
Securing equitable handling of all subdivision plans by providing uniform procedures and standards.
J. 
Providing for the submittal and processing of plats and specifications for such plats, including provisions for preliminary and final approval and for processing of final approval by stages or sections of development.
K. 
Providing regulations for insuring that the layout or arrangement of the subdivision or land development conforms to the Comprehensive Plan and to regulations or maps adopted in furtherance thereof; streets in and bordering a subdivision or land development shall be coordinated, and be of such width and grades and in such locations as deemed necessary to accommodate prospective traffic and facilities fire protection; adequate easements or right-of-way shall be provided for drainage and utilities; reservations, if any, by the developer of any area designated for use as public grounds shall be of suitable size and location for their designated uses; and land which is subject to flooding, subsidence, or peril from fires shall be made safe for the purpose for which such land is proposed to be used or that such land shall be set aside for uses which shall not endanger life or property or further aggravate or increase an existing menace.
L. 
Providing regulations governing the standards by which streets shall be designed, constructed, and improved; the walkways, curbs, gutters, streetlights, fire hydrants, water and sewerage facilities and other improvements shall be installed according to the final approval of plats.
M. 
Insuring the preservation of natural resources, the recreational character and the proper provision for recreation and open spaces, the proper location of sites for future public buildings, community facilities, commercial, industrial, research, administrative and residential areas.
Should any part or provision of these regulations be declared by any court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such decision shall not affect the validity of these regulations as a whole, or of any other part thereof.
[Amended 11-7-2022 by Ord. No. 574]
In interpreting the language of the ordinances to determine the extent of the restriction upon the use of the property, the language shall be interpreted, where doubt exists as to the intended meaning of the language written and enacted by the governing body, in favor of the property owner and against any implied extension of the restriction.