[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of the City of Harrisburg
by Ord. No. 23-1990. Amendments noted where applicable.]
A.
No project shall be considered in compliance with this chapter until
the streets, street signs, sidewalks and curbs within street rights-of-way,
buffer planting, storm drainage facilities for dedication or those
which affect adjacent properties and/or street sanitary sewer facilities
for dedication (exclusive of laterals), water supply facilities (exclusive
of laterals), fire hydrants, lot line markers, and survey monuments
have been installed in accordance with this chapter.
B.
No final plan shall be signed by the Commission and/or by City Council
for recording in the office of the Dauphin County Recorder of Deeds
unless an improvement construction guarantee in accordance with this
chapter is accepted by the City of Harrisburg.
As used in this chapter, unless otherwise expressly stated or
clearly indicated by the context, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
One prepared by the developer in the form required by the
City of Harrisburg, which will accept the improvements. The following
are acceptable forms of guarantees. All other forms of guarantees
must be individually approved by the City Solicitor of the City of
Harrisburg.
SURETY PERFORMANCE BONDA security bond from a surety bonding company authorized to do business in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The bond shall be payable to the City of Harrisburg.
ESCROW ACCOUNTA deposit of cash either with the City or in escrow with a financial institution. The use of a financial institution for establishing an escrow account shall be subject to approval by the City Solicitor. In the case of an escrow account with a financial institution, the developer shall file with the City an agreement between the financial institution and the developer guaranteeing the following:
The funds of said escrow account shall be held in trust until
released by the City and may not be used or pledged by the developer
as security in any other matter during that period.
In the case of a failure on the part of the developer to complete
said improvements, then the financial institution shall immediately
make the funds in said account available to the City of Harrisburg
for use in the completion of those improvements.
LETTER OF CREDITA letter of credit provided by the developer from a financial institution or other reputable institution subject to the approval of the City. This letter shall be deposited with the City and shall certify the following:
The amount of credit.
In case of failure on the part of the developer to complete
the specified improvements within the required time period, the creditor
shall pay to the City of Harrisburg immediately, and without further
action, such funds as are necessary to finance the completion of those
improvements, up to the limit of credit stated in the letter.
The letter of credit is irrevocable and may not be withdrawn,
or reduced in amount, until released by the City of Harrisburg.
A.
The amount of financial security to be posted for the completion
of the required improvements shall be equal to 110% of the cost of
completion estimated as of 90 days following the date scheduled for
completion by the developer. Annually, the City may adjust the amount
of the 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 developer shall
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.
B.
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 City Council,
upon the recommendation of the City Engineer, may refuse to accept
such estimate for good cause shown. If the applicant or developer
and the City 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 City
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 applicant
or developer and the City.
C.
If the party posting the financial security requires more than one
year from the date of posting of the financial security to complete
the required improvements, the amount of financial security may be
increased by an additional 10% for each one-year period beyond the
first anniversary date from each posting of financial security or
to an amount not exceeding 110% of the cost of completing the required
improvements as reestablished on or about the expiration of the preceding
one-year period by using the above bidding procedure.
After final plan approval and upon completion of all required
improvements, the developer shall submit as-constructed drawings showing
the location, dimension, and elevation of all improvements. Such drawings
shall indicate that the required grading, drainage structures, and/or
drainage systems and erosion and sediment control practices have been
installed in substantial conformance with the previously approved
final plan. The as-constructed drawings shall specify all deviations
from the previously approved plans. Five copies of the drawings shall
be submitted to the City of Harrisburg.
As the work of installing the required improvements proceeds,
the party posting the financial security may request that the City
of Harrisburg release or authorize the release, from time to time,
of such portions of the financial security necessary for payment to
the contractor or contractors performing the work. Any such request
shall be in writing, addressed to the City, and shall be accompanied
by as-constructed drawings. The City shall have 45 days from receipt
of such request within which to allow the City Engineer to certify
in writing that such portion of the work upon the improvements has
been completed in accordance with the approved final plan. Upon such
certification, the City shall authorize release by the bonding company
or lending institution of an amount fairly representing the value
of the improvements completed. If the City fails to act within said
forty-five-day period, the City shall be deemed to have approved the
release of funds as required. Prior to final release at the time of
completion and certification by the City Engineer, the City shall
require retention of 10% of the estimated cost of the aforesaid improvements.
A.
When the developer has completed all of the necessary and appropriate
improvements, the developer shall notify the City in writing, by certified
or registered mail, of the completion of the aforesaid improvements
and shall send a copy thereof to the City Engineer. The City shall,
within 10 days after receipt of such notice, direct and authorize
the City Engineer to inspect the improvements. A copy of the City
Engineer's report shall be mailed by registered or certified
mail to the developer. The report shall contain the City Engineer's
recommendations of approval or rejection, either in whole or in part,
of any improvements proposed for dedication. If any improvement is
not approved by the City Engineer, the City Engineer shall report
to the City the conditions and reasons upon which the disapproval
is based.
B.
The City shall notify the developer within 15 days of receipt of
the City Engineer's report, in writing, by certified or registered
mail, of the decision to accept or not accept the improvements.
C.
If the City 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
the performance guarantee bond or other security agreement.
D.
If any portion of said improvements shall not be approved or shall
be rejected, the developer shall proceed to complete the same, and,
upon completion, the same procedure of notification, as outlined herein,
shall be followed.
A.
The City may require an inspection of the improvement construction
plans for correctness and a resident inspection of the construction
of the improvements. The applicant shall agree to pay the cost of
any such inspection.
B.
If improvements are to be subject to resident inspection with the
cost borne by the applicant in accordance with this chapter, the procedure
for assessing costs shall be submitted to the applicant at the preliminary
plan stage. The developer shall provide at least 48 hours' notice
prior to the start of construction of any improvements that are subject
to resident inspection.
C.
If resident inspection by the City is not required, the developer
shall retain engineering personnel for inspection during all stages
of the construction project. The Bureau of Engineering shall be notified
24 hours prior to final inspection of a date for such so that personnel
can participate if desired.
D.
Upon the completion of all construction, the developer shall submit
to the Bureau of Engineering a set of reproducible as-constructed
drawings prepared by the developer's engineer.
A.
All improvements shall be deemed to be private improvements and only
for the benefit of the specific project until such time as the same
have been offered for dedication and formally accepted by the City
by ordinance, resolution, deed, or other formal document. No improvement
shall be accepted by the City for dedication except upon submission
of as-constructed drawings by the developer and inspection of the
final construction.
B.
The following is the procedure to dedicate improvements to the City:
(1)
The staff of the Commission may accept a request from the landowner
to dedicate improvements to the City if the request has been copied
to the City Clerk. A request shall take the form of a letter and include
a survey/site plan and the deed of dedication which includes the legal
description (six copies each).
(3)
The staff will prepare a case report on the request pursuant
to the requirements of Article XXIX of the Third Class City Code,
Act of 1931, P.L. 932, as amended, and Article IV of the Pennsylvania
Municipalities Planning Code.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 37915 et seq. and 53
P.S. § 10401 et seq., respectively.
(4)
The dedication request is reviewed by the Planning Commission
at a public meeting. The resolution pertaining to the Official Map
change and dedication is forwarded to the City Clerk for review by
City Council. Before voting on the Official Map change, Council shall
hold a public hearing pursuant to public notice.
(5)
Following the adoption of the ordinance and Official Map change,
a copy of the same, verified by the City Clerk, shall be submitted
to the Recorder of Deeds for Dauphin County. The deed shall be recorded
within 60 days of the effective date.
A.
The City, at its discretion, may require the applicant to submit
a maintenance guarantee or other approved performance guarantee to
guarantee maintenance and repair of any improvement shown on the application
for one year after the construction thereof, or until acceptance of
improvements has been consummated.
B.
If improvements are to be subject to a maintenance guarantee in accordance
with this section, the applicant shall be advised of the requirement
at the preliminary plan stage.
The developer shall furnish to the City, at the time of the
City's acceptance of the deed of dedication, a twenty-four-month
maintenance bond, with corporate surety acceptable to the City Solicitor,
to secure the structural integrity of said improvements in accordance
with the design and specifications. The amount of the maintenance
bond or other financial security shall be 15% of the actual cost of
construction.
Prior to the expiration of the twenty-four-month period and
at such other times as are necessary, the developer's engineer,
in conjunction with personnel from the Bureau of Engineering, will
conduct inspections. These inspections will be for the purpose of
determining the existence of any maintenance deficiencies and required
remedial action prior to the release of surety. No sureties will be
released without approval from the Bureau of Engineering.
