A sketch plan for any proposed subdivision and/or land development,
at the option of the landowner or developer, may be submitted to the city
for review. The submission of a sketch plan does not constitute submission
of an application for approval of a subdivision and/or land development plan.
However, it does represent a basis for an informal discussion between the
city and the landowner or developer which may prove to be valuable to the
prospective applicant in formulating plans, documents and other submissions
for preliminary plan approval. In the event that the landowner or developer
submits a sketch plan, the following shall apply:
A. The applicant shall submit the required fees, a sketch
plan checklist and 13 copies of the sketch plan to the City Manager at least
14 days prior to the Planning Commission meeting at which the plan may be
reviewed. The City Manager shall forward the required number of the properly
submitted sketch plan and required application form and checklist to the agencies
as designated below:
(1) One copy shall be retained by the City Manager for city
files.
(2) One copy shall be forwarded to the City Engineer for
review and comment.
(3) One copy shall be forwarded to the City Council.
(4) Seven copies of the plan(s), documents and other submissions
and one copy of the application form shall be used for informal review purposes
by the Planning Commission.
(5) One copy shall be forwarded to the City Fire Marshal.
(6) One copy of the plan(s), documents and other submissions
shall be forwarded to the City Code Administrator and one copy of the same
to the Building Inspector for review and comment.
(7) One copy shall be available for referral to other planning
agencies or consultants.
B. In addition to furnishing copies of the sketch plan,
the landowner or developer shall identify the name, address and telephone
number of the holder of legal title to the land involved, the nature of the
landowner's interest in the land (whether holder of legal or equitable title
or otherwise) and the name, address and telephone number of the agent, if
any. Such information shall be provided in writing.
C. The city may submit a copy of the sketch plan to the
Chester County Planning Commission, which may provide an advisory recommendation
to the City Planning Commission.
D. The Planning Commission shall review the sketch plan
and shall indicate any and all review comments pertaining to the plan to the
landowner or developer by written correspondence.
E. The Planning Commission's review shall take into consideration the requirements of this chapter and Chapter
224, Zoning, and pay particular attention to the following: the arrangement, location and width of streets and alleys and their relation to the topography of the site; the arrangement, size and location of lots and proposed structures, if any; drainage; sewage disposal and water supply; the relation of the subdivision and/or land development to the natural features of the site; the potential further development of adjoining lands which may not yet be subdivided; the compatibility of the sketch plan with the Comprehensive Plan; and the requirements set forth in Article
IV pertaining to the sketch plan submission.
F. Neither the Planning Commission, City Council nor the
applicant shall be bound by the sketch plan.
The preliminary subdivision and/or land development plan shall be prepared in accordance with this chapter, including this Article and Articles
V and
VII. When a preliminary plan is filed, the following shall apply:
A. The applicant shall complete and sign the application
form provided by the city and shall accompany such application form with the
type and number of plans, preliminary plan checklist, documents and other
submissions required and the appropriate filing fee(s). The applicant must
identify the name, address and telephone number of the record holder of legal
title to the land involved (if different from the applicant), the nature of
the applicant's interest in the land (whether holder of legal or equitable
title or otherwise) and the name, address and telephone number of the agent,
if any. No application shall be deemed filed unless all requirements have
been met and all fees therefor paid in full.
B. Sixteen black-line or blue-line prints of the plans forming
the preliminary plan and 14 neatly bound, clear and legible copies of all
required documents and other submissions shall be submitted to the City Secretary
to be distributed along with copies of the application form as follows:
(1) One copy of the application form and other documents
and one copy of the plan(s) and profiles shall be retained by the City Manager
for city files.
(2) One copy of the application form and other documents
and one copy of the plan(s), documents and other submissions shall be forwarded
to the City Engineer for review and comment.
(3) One copy of the plan(s), documents and other submissions
shall be forwarded to the City Council.
(4) Seven copies of the plan(s) and seven copies of documents
and other submissions shall be used for review purposes by the Planning Commission.
(5) One copy of the plan and documents shall be forwarded
to the City Fire Marshal.
(6) One copy of the plan(s), documents and other submissions
and one copy of the application form shall be forwarded to the Chester County
Planning Commission for review and comment.
(7) One copy of the plan(s), documents and other submissions
shall be forwarded to the City Code Administrator and one copy of the same
to the Building Inspector for review and comment.
(8) Two copies of the plan and other documents and submissions
shall be available for referral to other planning agencies or consultants.
C. Where any one or a combination of the following items
is involved, additional sets of plans shall be required and submitted for
the City Engineer and to the city:
(3) Public water supply systems.
D. The preliminary plan and application for subdivision
and/or land development shall be submitted at least 10 calendar days prior
to the regular monthly public meeting of the City Council. If deemed a complete
application, the preliminary plan shall be formally accepted by the City Council
and the ninety-day review period shall commence at the next regularly scheduled
Planning Commission meeting following the City Council meeting where formal
acceptance was granted.
E. The City Engineer shall submit review comments on said
plan by letter or memorandum to the Planning Commission with copies to the
City Manager and the City Council.
F. The applicant shall notify the abutting owners that a
preliminary plan proposed for the subject tract has been filed. Such notification
shall occur at least 10 days prior to the meeting at which time the preliminary
plan is to be presented to and discussed by the Planning Commission. Evidence
of such notification in the form of a certified mail receipt shall be presented
to the Planning Commission at said meeting.
G. The city shall request the Chester County Planning Commission
to review the preliminary plan and submit an advisory recommendation report
to the City Planning Commission.
H. The City Planning Commission may perform the following:
(1) Review all applicable reports from the Chester County
Planning Commission, City Engineer, City Planning Consultant, City of Coatesville
Authority, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, Chester County Conservation
District and other reviewing agencies.
(2) Discuss the submission with the applicant.
(3) Recommend revisions so that the plan will conform to
city ordinances.
I. The City Planning Commission shall perform the following:
(1) Determine whether the preliminary plan meets the requirements of this chapter, Chapter
224, Zoning, and the Comprehensive Plan of the city; and
(2) Recommend approval, approval with conditions or disapproval
of the preliminary plan and communicate such by letter to the City Council
and the applicant. In the case of a recommended disapproval, the Planning
Commission shall indicate the specific deficiencies and the ordinance provisions
which have not been met.
J. The City Planning Commission may not be prepared to review
the application at its scheduled public meeting first following the date of
filing, in which case the discussion of the application may be scheduled for
a subsequent meeting.
K. During the course of the Planning Commission's review of the preliminary plan and prior to any action by the City Council within the required ninety-day period, the preliminary plan may be revised by the applicant as requested by the city. The submittal of a revised plan which involves change(s) requiring an additional review shall restart the required ninety-day period. Sixteen copies of any revised preliminary plan and accompanying data shall be submitted, which shall note the dates of any and all revisions and a summary of the nature thereof. The revised preliminary plan shall be submitted to the City Manager at least 10 calendar days prior to the regular monthly public meeting of the City Council. The revised preliminary plan shall be distributed by the City Manager on the basis as set forth in §
197-12B.
L. After a report on the preliminary plan has been submitted
to the City Council by the Planning Commission, the City Council shall place
such preliminary plan on its agenda for review and action.
M. Before acting on any preliminary plan, the City Council
or the Planning Commission may hold a public hearing thereon after public
notice.
N. City Council review.
(1) The City Council shall, within the review period:
(a) Review the recommendation of the City Planning Commission
and other reviewing agencies.
(b) Determine whether the preliminary plan meets the objectives
and requirements of this chapter, other ordinances of the City of Coatesville
and other applicable regulations.
(c) Approve or disapprove the preliminary plan.
(2) The City Council may make its decision to grant approval
of a preliminary plan subject to conditions, changes or additions.
(3) Whenever the City Council approves a preliminary plan
subject to conditions, the applicant shall indicate, in writing, whether such
conditions are accepted or rejected within 15 days of notification of the
decision by the City Council. Any approval by the City Council subject to
conditions which is not accepted or rejected by the applicant within the fifteen-day
period shall be rescinded automatically.
(4) In the case where the Planning Commission has concluded
that the preliminary plan meets all requirements of a final plan, then, upon
the recommendation of the Planning Commission, the City Council may consider
the preliminary plan as a final plan and may act thereupon accordingly.
O. Approval of the preliminary plan shall constitute approval
of the subdivision and/or land development as to the character and intensity
but shall not constitute approval of the detail required of the final plan
or authorize the sale of lots or construction of buildings.
P. If the preliminary plan is disapproved, the applicant,
if he or she desires to proceed, shall file a revised preliminary plan following
the same submission and review procedures required for the previous preliminary
plan submission.
Q. The City Council shall render a decision on every preliminary
plan and communicate it to the applicant not later than 90 days following
the date of the regular monthly public meeting of the Planning Commission
next following the date of the meeting of the City Council where formal acceptance
of the complete application was granted, provided that should the Planning
Commission meeting occur more than 30 days following the filing of such application,
said ninety-day period shall be measured from the 30th day following the day
the complete application has been filed.
R. The decision of the City Council shall be in writing
and shall be communicated to the applicant personally or mailed to the applicant
at the address shown on the application form not later than 15 days following
the decision or at the end of the above-mentioned ninety-day period, whichever
shall occur first.
S. In the event that the preliminary plan is not approved
in terms as filed, the decision shall specify the defects found in the preliminary
plan for subdivision and/or land development and describe the requirements
which have not been met and shall, in each case, cite to the provisions of
the statute or ordinance relied upon.
T. If the preliminary plan is approved by the City Council, the applicant may proceed to submit a final plan for approval as set forth in §
197-13 and Article
VI.
U. A preliminary minor subdivision and/or land development
plan, upon recommendation of the Planning Commission, may be permitted to
proceed to a final minor plan submission in accordance with the comments of
the Planning Commission and the City Council.
The procedure for approval of final subdivision and/or land development plans shall be identical to the procedure as outlined for preliminary plans in §
197-12, except that:
A. Within one year after the date of approval of the preliminary
plan, the applicant shall file a final plan and all supplementary information,
data and documents, together with a completed and signed application form
provided by the city and the appropriate filing fees, at least 10 calendar
days prior to the regularly monthly public meeting of the City Council. No
such application shall be deemed filed unless all requirements have been met
and all fees therefor paid in full.
B. Unless an extension of time has been granted by the City
Council upon written request of the applicant, a final plan filed after the
one-year period shall be considered a new preliminary plan, which shall be
required to comply with all preliminary plan application procedures of this
chapter and shall be subject to a preliminary plan application fee.
C. The City Council may authorize submission of the final
plan in sections, each covering approximately one-third (1/3) of the entire
area proposed for subdivision and/or land development or one-third (1/3) of
the number of buildings or other structures proposed for land development
as shown on the approved preliminary plan, provided that the first final plan
section shall be submitted within the aforementioned one-year period and the
last final plan section shall be submitted within three years after the date
of preliminary plan approval.
D. The final plan shall conform in all respects to the preliminary
plan.
E. Sixteen copies of the plans, including the final plan checklist, documents and other submissions comprising the final plan shall be filed with the City Manager, who shall distribute copies of the final plan along with copies of the application form to those who also received the preliminary plan as set forth in §
197-12B, provided that the required fees and financial security associated with the completion guaranty have been filed therewith.
F. The applicant shall prepare a planning module for land
development as required by Chapter 71 of the Pennsylvania Sewage Facilities
Act.
G. The applicant shall submit a final plan that includes all the requirements set forth in Article
VI.
H. As per §
197-9K, all final plan submissions must include the following plans:
(2) Conservation plan (required).
(3) Improvements construction plan (required).
(4) Profile(s) plan (required).
(5) Construction detail plan (required).
(6) Stormwater management report.
(7) Impact assessment report (as required in §
197-77).
I. Highway occupancy permits.
(1) No plan which will require access onto a street or highway
under the jurisdiction of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT)
shall be finally approved unless the plan contains a notice that a highway
occupancy permit is required and has received preliminary approval from PennDOT
pursuant to § 420 of Act 428 (P.L. 1242, No. 428), (36 P.S. § 670-420),
as amended, known as the "State Highway Law," before access to a state road
is permitted. The Department of Transportation shall, within 60 days of the
date of receipt of an application for a highway occupancy permit:
(a) Approve the permit, which shall be valid thereafter unless,
prior to commencement of construction thereunder, the geographic, physical
or other conditions under which the permit is approved change, requiring modification
or denial of the permit; in which event, the Department shall give notice
thereof in accordance with regulations.
(c) Return the application for additional information or
correction to conform with Department regulations.
(d) Determine that no permit is required; in which case,
the Department shall notify the city and the applicant in writing.
(2) If the Department shall fail to take any action within
the sixty-day period, the permit will be deemed to be issued. The plan shall
be marked to indicate that access to the state street or highway shall be
only as authorized by a highway occupancy permit. The Department shall not
be liable in damages for any injury to persons or property arising out of
the issuance or denial of a permit or for failure to regulate any access.
Further, the city shall not be held liable for damages to persons or property
arising out of the issuance or denial of a permit by the Department.
J. The City Council shall, within the review period:
(1) Review the recommendations of the City Planning Commission
and other reviewing agencies.
(2) Determine whether the final plan meets the requirements
of this chapter, other ordinances of the city and other applicable regulations.
(3) Review the recommendations of the Department of Environmental
Protection, if any, and determine whether the plan is in conformance with
the city's Official Sewage Facilities Plan.
(4) Approve or disapprove the final plan. Approval of the
final plan may include certain conditions of approval. Whenever the final
plan is approved subject to conditions, the applicant shall indicate, in writing,
whether such conditions are accepted or rejected within 15 days of notification
of the decision by the City Council. Any approval by the City Council subject
to conditions which is not accepted or rejected by the applicant within the
fifteen-day period shall be rescinded automatically.
K. The decision of the City Council shall be in writing
and shall be communicated to the applicant personally or mailed to the applicant
at the address shown on the application form not later than 15 days following
the decision or at the end of the above-mentioned ninety-day period, whichever
shall occur first.
L. In the event that the final plan is not approved in terms
as filed, the decision shall specify the defects found in the final plan and
describe the requirements which have not been met and shall, in each case,
cite to the provisions of the statute or ordinance relied upon.
M. The applicant, if he or she desires to proceed, shall
file a revised final plan with the City Manager, following the same submission
and review procedures required for the initial final plan submission.
N. If the final plan is approved:
(1) Approval shall not be final until entry into contract and production of completion and maintenance guaranty as set forth in Article
IX.
(2) Six exact copies of the approved final plan shall be signed in accordance with §
197-15.
O. Approval of the final plan shall not authorize the sale or transfer of lots or the development of land until construction is permitted to commence in accordance with §
197-16, nor shall such approval constitute a waiver or release or assumption by the city of any requirements of any city ordinances, codes, regulations, plans or maps.
P. Every final plan approval shall be subject to the following
conditions:
(1) The applicant shall execute a subdivision and land development agreement in accordance with §
197-14, unless exempted as a minor plan submission.
(2) The applicant shall execute a completion guaranty in accordance with Article
IX where deemed applicable by the City Council.
(3) The applicant shall tender a deed of dedication to the
city, if requested by the City Council for public improvements, easements
and other appurtenances and improvements thereto after such improvements are
completed and such completion is certified as being satisfactory by the City
Engineer.
(4) The applicant shall be responsible for the filing with
the city of copies of all required permits, approvals, agreements, clearances
and the like from all required governmental agencies (such as the Pennsylvania
Department of Transportation, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental
Protection and/or the city), authorities and companies which may provide water
supply or sewage disposal facilities and pipeline easement holders or others.
(5) The applicant shall pay any fees which may be outstanding in accordance with Article
XI, prior to the time when the final plan is signed by City Council.
(6) The applicant shall be provide proof of recording the final plan in accordance with §
197-15.
Every applicant who seeks to obtain final plan approval, unless exempted as a minor plan, shall execute an agreement satisfactory to the City Solicitor before the final plan is signed by the City Council and recorded in accordance with §
197-15 respectively. The agreement shall include but need not be limited to the following:
A. That the applicant agrees that he or she will accurately lay out and properly construct all improvements and follow all practices according to the plans, profiles, notes and other forms of documentation filed as part of the final plan as approved or where any or all of these improvements or practices are required as conditions of approval; and that the applicant will file an as-built plan in accordance with §
197-17 to confirm the same.
B. That the applicant shall complete the improvements and engage in the practices as referenced in §
197-14A within the time or times specified by the City Council and in accordance with §
197-16.
C. That the applicant guarantees completion and maintenance of all improvements by means of acceptable forms of financial security to the city as set forth in Article
IX.
D. That the applicant agrees to tender a deed of dedication
to the city if requested by the City Council for public improvements, easements
and other appurtenances and improvements thereto, except that the city shall
not accept any offer of dedication of the same by ordinance or resolution
until their completion is certified as being satisfactory by the City Engineer
and an as-built plan is submitted and approved by the city.
E. That the applicant shall pay the city all of its costs
in connection with snow removal from the streets in the subdivision or land
development that are to be offered for dedication until such time as such
dedication is duly accepted by the City Council.
F. That the applicant shall comply fully with all of the
terms and conditions of this chapter as the same relate to the subdivision
or land development and all other city codes, ordinances, regulations, plans
and maps.
G. That the applicant shall pay the city plan review fees,
establish a three-party agreement and account for the creation, maintenance
and/or inspection of improvements and pay the City of Coatesville Authority
security and fees in lieu of or the park and recreational facilities required
by this chapter.
H. That the applicant shall obtain all necessary permits
as applicable, such as those from DEP, from PennDOT, building permit and from
the Zoning Hearing Board.
I. That the applicant, in the event that any proposed street
not be intended to be offered for dedication or not accepted by the City Council,
shall accept stipulations which shall be noted on the final plan, such as
the following:
(1) That the city shall not be responsible for repairing
or otherwise maintaining any undedicated streets.
(2) That the method of assessing repair and maintenance costs
of undedicated streets shall be established in recorded deed restrictions
so as to be binding on all successors, assigns or grantees.
(3) That, if dedication shall be sought at any time, the
street shall conform in its entirety to city design standards for the same
in all respects; or that the owners of the lots shown on the approved final
plan, at their own expense, shall restore the street to conform with or otherwise
render the street in conformance with such standards.
J. The subdivision and land development agreement shall
be structured by the City Solicitor to include provisions relating to the
above, as well as other matters pertaining to certificates of insurance, water
and sewer availability, emergency access, a three-party escrow agreement and
the like.