[Adopted 5-10-2000 by Ord. No. 912]
The Borough of Emsworth hereby adopts the policy
of accepting existing road and/or streets as is possible into the
road/street system.
In the event a given road/street which has been
heretofore classified or referred to as a "private road/street" is
to be considered for acceptance into the road/street system, an initial
investigation shall be conducted by the Borough of Emsworth by its
agents and/or employees. The investigation is to determine whether
or not the road/street has ever been formally accepted by resolution
of the Borough Council, or whether the road or street is part of a
subdivision which has been recorded in the Recorder's office of Allegheny
County with dedications and/or releases of damages, or whether the
road or street has, in fact, been used on a regular basis by the public,
giving rise to an acceptance by implication and by public use. After
this investigation has been completed, a recommendation shall be made
as to whether or not the road/street can be incorporated into the
road system. Should the investigation establish that legal impediments
exist which prevent the acceptance of the road or street or which
may give rise to damages in the event the road or street is accepted,
the Borough Council may, at its sole discretion, authorize and allocate
funds necessary to acquire the necessary consents, waivers, rights-of-way,
or releases which will alleviate the legal impediments and enable
the Borough of Emsworth to accept the road or street into the road
system.
The Borough of Emsworth shall not consider accepting a private road/street into the road system effectuating the procedure outlined in §
207-16 unless the Borough of Emsworth shall receive a petition which requests the acceptance of the road/street involved into the road system and which was executed by at least a majority of the property owners who abut on the road/street or portion of road/street which is being considered for acceptance.
A. Rules and regulations under Section 1735 of the Borough
Code. Under authority granted to boroughs by Section 1735 of the Borough
Code [1966 P.L. (1965) 1656, No. 581], the Borough adopts the following rules and regulations
relating to construction, dedication and opening road/streets and
drainage facilities in connection with them:
(1) The plans shall be dated and contain the name of the
person preparing the plan and the owner. All plans must include a
stamp of an engineer licensed to practice in Pennsylvania.
(2) The plans shall show courses and distances of all
roads/streets and highways, together with the size of lots and any
building restrictions.
(3) The plans shall show the total area and also the area
of each drainage section.
(4) The plans shall show the profiles of roads, streets,
lanes and alleys, the course, structure and capacity of drainage facilities
and the method of drainage of the adjacent or contiguous territory.
(5) The plans shall show the details whereby the proposed
roads/streets connect to highways adopted by the Borough, and also
show the connecting plans for drainage facilities along the proposed
highways and those of the Borough.
(6) The plans shall show what unusual conditions exist,
either as to grades, obstructions, streams, public utility facilities,
and such further details as Council may require.
(7) Upon application therefor, a public hearing will be
granted by the Borough authorities.
(8) No plans shall be approved by Council until at least
four weeks after presentation at a Council meeting.
B. The above rules and regulations shall be in addition
to and shall apply in conjunction with the provisions and procedure
set out in Section 1735 of the Borough Code, and the penalties prescribed
in Section 1737 of the Borough Code shall apply to violations of those rules and regulations.
Even though the acceptance of private roads/streets
as public roads/streets may ultimately result in the expenditure of
Borough funds, the overall objective is of such importance to the
growth of the Borough of Emsworth that the Borough Council shall be
authorized to allocate from the general funds such amounts as may
be necessary to implement the project, and such funds may be used
to acquire deeds of dedication, easements and rights-of-way, to obtain
releases and waivers of damage in order to remove the legal impediments
preventing the acceptance of a given street, or for any other purpose
so required. The expenditure of municipal funds for acceptance of
private roads/streets, however, shall be at the sole discretion of
the Borough Council, after the investigation of legal and engineering
issues.
The Borough of Emsworth shall treat the proposed
street or road which is to be incorporated into the road system on
an individual basis and shall investigate the facts surrounding the
issue of whether the Borough of Emsworth has a legal basis for accepting
the road and/or street into its road system. The Borough Council shall
then request the Borough Solicitor to make a recommendation as to
the appropriate legal approach which can be utilized to accomplish
this objective, together with an estimate of the possible damages
and costs involved in taking over the specific individual road and/or
street involved. The Borough Solicitor with the approval of Borough
Council may engage the services of a professional to perform these
tasks.
Upon receipt of the information, secured pursuant to §
207-19 above, the Emsworth Borough Council shall make a definitive decision whether, in light of the legal problems and the estimated costs involved, the road and/or street shall be further considered for acceptance. If an affirmative decision is reached, the Emsworth Borough Council shall establish the procedure to be followed and shall authorize the expenditure of such funds as may be necessary to carry out this procedure.
In arriving at its decision, the Borough Council
may authorize the Borough Engineer and the Borough Solicitor to review
each proposed road/street, considering, among other things, the costs
of improving the street and/or road and of acquiring the necessary
deeds of dedication, easements, rights-of-way, releases and waivers
of damages.
Whenever appropriate, all of the costs and fees
of accepting the road and/or street into the road system, including,
but not necessarily limited to, the legal fees, the engineering charges,
the costs of securing and recording appropriate deeds of dedication,
easements, rights-of-way, releases and waivers of damages, together
with such other administrative expenses as may result, shall be apportioned
equitably against all involved property owners pursuant to law and
consistent with the Borough of Emsworth's established policy. If this
is not possible because of legal impediments or otherwise not feasible,
then and in that event, such amounts as may be necessary may be appropriated
out of the general fund to accomplish these objectives, with the approval
of Borough Council.
When the acceptance of a particular road and/or
street may be based upon an implied acceptance by public user, the
appropriate municipal officials shall determine such facts as are
available and the Borough Council may either hold a public hearing
or place the matter on the agenda of one of its regular meetings,
at which time documentation and evidence may be introduced into the
record on the issues. Emsworth Borough residents and interested parties
may offer such evidence as appropriate, and an overall determination
shall be made as to whether there has been an implied dedication of
acceptance by public user which will authorize legal acceptance of
the road and/or street into the road system.
The procedure which shall be adopted for considering
whether to accept a particular street and/or road into the road system
shall conform in all respects, except as otherwise specifically outlined
herein, to the procedure utilized in considering curative amendments
submitted to the Borough of Emsworth pursuant to § 609.1
of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, 53 P.S. § 10609.1
et seq., as far as hearings, the production of documents, the taking
of testimony and the submission of evidence are concerned.
In the event a hearing is held, or the matter
is placed on the agenda, a verbatim record will be made of all testimony
and comments, and all documentation shall be appropriately marked
as exhibits and kept in a separate file pertaining to the road and/or
street involved.
Any street, road or part thereof, dedicated
for acceptance under this article into the road system, shall comply
with the minimum requirements of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation
covering the allocation of liquid fuel tax receipts and the standards
promulgated therewith and the specification set forth in local Borough
ordinances as they relate to road/street composition.
The Borough of Emsworth, upon appropriate action
by the Borough Council, may grade, curb, gutter, pave or otherwise
improve with suitable materials any public street, road, or part thereof,
laid out and opened in the Borough of Emsworth, accepted by formal
resolution or declared in appropriate proceeding to be a public road/street
by virtue of public user. Such work may be done by Emsworth Borough
employees or by contract, as the Borough Council shall determine.
No street, road, or any part thereof shall be improved under the provisions
of this article except by petitions of at least a majority of the
owners of property abutting on the street or road, or part thereof
proposed to be improved.
The costs and expenses of any such improvement
may be collected from the owners of the real estate abutting on such
street, road, or part thereof by an equal assessment on the feet front.
Such assessment shall be estimated by the Borough Engineer. If this
standard of assessment is impracticable, or for any reason inequitable,
the Borough Engineer shall adopt such other method of assessment as
may be legally acceptable and equitable in the premises.
Prior to improving any street, road, or part
thereof, an investigation shall be conducted by the Borough Engineer
to determine the possible existence of utility lines under the street,
road, or part thereof proposed to be improved, and the said street,
road, or part thereof shall not be improved unless or until appropriate
steps are taken to either remove the utility lines or to otherwise
alleviate the problem in a manner satisfactory to the Borough Engineer.
The Borough of Emsworth shall also establish
such other procedures and adopt such regulations as may be appropriate
in the premises to effectuate the general intent of this article.
In all ways, the construction standards established by Emsworth Borough
by Borough ordinance shall be adhered to by all parties.