[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],[1] 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.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 46735.
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[2] shall apply to violations of those rules and regulations.
[2]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 46737.
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.