[Amended 2-13-1978 by Ord. No. 1978-3; 5-10-1990 by Ord. No.
1990-4]
A. The preliminary plan and all information and procedures
relating thereto shall, in all respects, be in compliance with the
applicable provisions of this chapter. It is the responsibility of
the developer to coordinate his plans pursuant to the provisions of
this chapter with the respective private and public service agencies.
B. In the case of a subdivision plan of no more than
10 lots fronting on an existing street where proposed streets are
not involved, the Borough Council may waive the requirement that a
preliminary plan be submitted and approved prior to consideration
of a final plan.
C. Fifteen copies of the preliminary plan and all other
items listed under plan requirements shall be submitted to the Borough
Manager, who shall forward copies to the Borough Planning Commission
for review prior to review and approval by the Borough Council. If
plans and necessary supporting data are filed less than 10 calendar
days in advance of a regular scheduled meeting, plans will not be
reviewed by the Commission until its next regular meeting. The ninety-day
time period for Borough review and decision as specified in Section
508 of the Municipalities Planning Code, 53 P.S. § 10508,
is hereby defined as beginning 10 calendar days in advance of the
regularly scheduled meeting of the Borough Planning Commission when
the application is to be initially reviewed.
D. Upon filing with the Borough, such plan shall be submitted
by the Borough to the Lancaster County Planning Commission for review
and report. The Borough Council will not approve the preliminary plan
until the county report is received or until the expiration of 45
days from the date said preliminary plan was submitted to the county.
The applicant shall also pay the appropriate filing fee, as designated
by the Borough Council by resolution. The Borough will also charge the applicant as a plan review
fee an amount equal to the engineering or consultation costs incurred
by the Borough in reviewing the plan.
E. The Borough Planning Commission, at its regular meeting,
will discuss the preliminary plan with the developer or his agent
and review the plan to determine if it meets the standards set forth
in this chapter. The preliminary plan shall immediately be submitted
by the Commission, together with its analysis and recommendations,
to the Borough Council for consideration at the next regularly scheduled
meeting of the Borough Council. Any act or recommendation of the Borough
Planning Commission which involves engineering consideration shall
be subject to review and comments of the Engineer, which shall be
incorporated and separately set forth with the analysis and recommendations
of the Borough Planning Commission to the Borough Council.
F. At a regularly scheduled meeting, the Borough Council
shall review the preliminary plan to determine its conformity to the
design standards and requirements contained in this chapter. The Borough
Council shall render its decision not later than seven days after
such application is reviewed by the Council.
(1) The decision shall be in writing and communicated
to the applicant personally or mailed to him at his last known address
not later than 15 days following the decision.
(2) When the application is not approved in terms as filed,
the decision shall specify the defects found in the application and
describe the requirements which have not been met and shall, in each
case, cite the provisions of the ordinance relied upon.
(3) Failure of the Borough Council to render a decision
and communicate it to the applicant within the time and in the manner
required herein shall be deemed an approval of the application in
terms as presented, unless the applicant has agreed, in writing, to
an extension of time or change in the prescribed manner of presentation
of communication of the decision; in which case, failure to meet the
extended time or change in manner of presentation of communication
shall have like effect.
(4) From the time an application for approval of a plat,
whether preliminary or final, is duly filed as provided in this chapter
and while such application is pending approval or disapproval, no
change or amendment of the zoning, subdivision or other governing
ordinance or plan shall affect the decision on such application adversely
to the applicant; and the applicant shall be entitled to a decision
in accordance with the provisions of the governing ordinances or plans
as they stood at the time the application was duly filed. In addition,
when a preliminary application has been duly approved, the applicant
shall be entitled to final approval in accordance with the terms of
the approved preliminary application as hereinafter provided. However,
if an application is properly and finally denied, any subsequent application
shall be subject to the intervening change in governing regulations.
When an application for approval of a plat, whether preliminary or
final, has been approved or approved subject to conditions acceptable
to the applicant, no subsequent change or amendment in the zoning,
subdivision or other governing ordinance or plan shall be applied
to affect adversely the right of the applicant to commence and complete
any aspect of the approved development in accordance with the terms
of such approval within three years from such approval. Where final
approval is preceded by preliminary approval, the three-year period
shall be counted from the date of the preliminary approval. In the
case of any doubt as to the terms of a preliminary approval, the terms
shall be construed in the light of the provisions of the governing
ordinances or plans as they stood at the time the application for
such approval was duly filed.
G. Any modification of the preliminary plan required
by the Borough Council as prerequisite to approval shall be noted
on all copies of the preliminary plan. One copy will be returned to
the developer, one copy will be retained by the Borough Council, and
one copy will be filed with the Borough Planning Commission.
H. Approval of the preliminary plan shall constitute
approval of the development as to the kind of use and intensity and
the arrangement and approximate dimensions of streets, lots and other
planned features but shall not authorize the sale of lots, the lease
of land, buildings or portions of buildings, or the development of
land.
[Amended 5-10-1990 by Ord. No. 1990-4]
A. Within one year after the Borough Council has acted on the preliminary plan, the developer shall submit a final plan for consideration by the Borough. Unless an extension of time has been granted by the Borough Council upon written request, a plan submitted after the one-year period shall be considered a new preliminary plan and shall be required to comply with §
325-14 of this chapter.
B. The final plan shall conform in all important respects with the preliminary plan previously reviewed by the Borough Council and shall incorporate modifications and revisions specified by the Borough Council in its conditional approval of the preliminary plan. Otherwise, the plan shall be considered as a revised preliminary plan and shall be required to comply with §
325-14 of this chapter.
C. The final plan may be submitted in sections, each
covering a portion of the entire subdivision or land development shown
on the preliminary plan, if the relationship of the part to the whole
is clearly shown.
D. No plan shall be considered by the Planning Commission unless it complies with the provisions of Article
IV of this chapter and until all procedures outlined in §
325-8F(1) through
(4) of this article have been followed.
E. After the final plan has been reviewed and commented
upon by both the Borough Planning Commission and the Borough Engineer,
these recommendations, along with the final plan, shall be submitted
by the Borough Planning Commission to the Borough Council for consideration
at the next regularly scheduled meeting of the Borough Council.
F. At the regularly scheduled meeting, the Borough Council shall review the final plan to determine its conformity to this chapter. The Council shall render its decision not later than seven days after said review of the final plan. The decision shall be communicated to the applicant in the manner expressed in §
325-8F(1) through
(4).
G. Guaranty of improvements.
(1) The developer shall agree to complete such improvements listed in Article
VI of this chapter as the Borough Council may require in the public interest as a prerequisite for approval of the final plan. In effect, no final plan will receive approval by the Borough Council unless the developer has completed all required improvements at the standards specified in this chapter or has given other assurance acceptable to the Council that the improvements will be completed. This assurance shall be in an acceptable form of financial guaranty equal to 110% of the cost of completing the improvements as of 90 days after the projected date of completion, which the developer/applicant shall designate. Furthermore, the date of completion shall be specified in the improvement agreement. Annually, the Borough may adjust the amount of financial security by comparing the actual cost of the improvements which have been completed and the estimated cost for the completion of the remaining improvements as of the expiration of the 90th day after either the original date scheduled for completion or a rescheduled date of completion. Subsequent to said adjustment, the Borough may require the developer to post additional security in order to assure that the financial security equals said 110%. Any additional security shall be posted by the developer in accordance with this subsection.
(2) The amount of financial security required shall be
based upon an estimate of the cost of completion of the required improvements
submitted by an applicant or developer and prepared by a professional
engineer licensed as such in this commonwealth and certified by such
engineer to be a fair and reasonable estimate of such cost. The Borough,
upon the recommendation of the Borough Engineer, may refuse to accept
such estimate for good cause shown. If the applicant or developer
and the Borough are unable to agree upon an estimate, then the estimate
shall be recalculated and recertified by another professional engineer
licensed as such in this commonwealth and chosen mutually by the Borough
and the applicant or developer. The estimate certified by the third
engineer shall be presumed fair and reasonable and shall be the final
estimate. In the event that a third engineer is so chosen, fees for
the services of said engineer shall be paid equally by the Borough
and the applicant or developer.
H. If the Borough Council or the Borough Engineer fails
to comply with the time limitation provisions contained herein, all
improvements will be deemed to have been approved, and the developer
shall be released from all liability pursuant to its performance guaranty
bond or other security agreement.
I. If any portion of said improvements is not approved
or is rejected by the Borough Council, the developer shall proceed
to complete or correct the same; and upon completion, the same procedure
of notification outlined herein shall be followed.
J. Nothing herein, however, shall be construed in limitation
of the developer's right to contest or question, by legal proceedings
or otherwise, any determination of the Borough Council.
K. In the event that any improvements which may be required
have not been installed as provided in this chapter or in accordance
with the approved final plan, the Borough Council has the power to
enforce any corporate bond or other security by appropriate legal
and equitable remedies. If proceeds of such bond or other security
are insufficient to pay the cost of installing or making repairs or
corrections to all the improvements covered by said security, the
Borough Council may, at its option, install part of such improvements
in all or part of the subdivision or land development and may institute
appropriate legal or equitable action to recover the monies necessary
to complete the remainder of the improvements. All of the proceeds,
whether resulting from the security or any legal or equitable action
brought against the developer, or both, shall be used solely for the
installation of the improvements covered by such security and not
for any other purposes.
L. Where land is being conveyed solely for the purpose
of increasing the size of an existing lot, the following note shall
be placed on the plan: "The lot is to be used for additional yard
area only and will not be used for building purposes except extensions
of existing building(s) or additional drainage requirements."
For any replatting or resubdivision of land,
the same procedure, rules and regulations shall apply as prescribed
herein for an original subdivision, except that lot sizes may be varied
on an approved plan after recording, provided that:
A. No lot or tract of land shall be created or sold that
is smaller than the size shown on the approved plan.
B. Drainage easements or rights-of-way shall not be changed.
C. Street alignment and block sizes shall not be changed.
D. The property lines between the backs of the lots shall
not be changed.
E. The rear portion of the lots shall not be subdivided
from the front part.
F. The character of the area shall be maintained.