A.
The Township aims to conserve, enhance, and promote the use and retention
of common open space, including active and passive open space, to
develop a network of recreation, parks, trails, and interconnected
natural areas.
B.
The Township also aims to protect environmentally sensitive areas
including steep slopes and wetlands as a natural resource and integral
part of open space.
A.
All developers of major residential subdivisions or land developments,
excluding those creating five or less dwelling units, shall dedicate
open space commensurate with the number of dwelling units proposed
and in a manner meeting the standards of this article and the North
Versailles Comprehensive Park, Recreation, and Open Space Plan.
B.
A deed for the dedication of land required for a particular phase
of a plan shall be provided prior to the release of the plat for recordation,
not withstanding the Board's right to accept alternative instruments
guaranteeing the reservation of required land for public dedication
or the developer's reservation of all open space in a preliminary
plan as subsequently authorized herein.
C.
Preliminary plans. Where open space is dedicated in a phased plan,
the first phase shall include all such space required on the preliminary
plat or the developer shall ensure the reservation of the remaining
land through deed covenants or reservations acceptable to the Township
Solicitor.
D.
Open space shall be dedicated at a minimum rate of 0.0223 acres per
dwelling unit proposed.
E.
Where the aforesaid rate of dedication does not provide at least
an area equal to the minimum lot size for a single-family home in
the respective zoning district in which the development is located,
the developer shall provide the remaining amount as the minimum required.
The Board may waive this additional requirement when the location
and size of the additional land on the site is undesirable for the
purposes recommended in the Comprehensive Park, Recreation, and Open
Space Plan.
F.
The Parks and Recreation Department and Recreation Board shall provide
a recommendation to the Board within the time allotted for review
by the Planning Commission. The Board shall consider said recommendation
in its implementation of the Comprehensive Park, Recreation, and Open
Space Plan through the evaluation of the open space proposed and consideration
of any mutual agreement with the developer regarding alternatives
described in this article, including but not limited to fee-in-lieu
and construction of facilities.
G.
While the Board may require public dedication of land to the Township,
the Board and developer may mutually agree to dedicate the required
land to a homeowners' association. In such a case, the Township
Solicitor, prior to final approval, shall approve easements, covenants,
homeowners' association documents or condominium declarations.
The aforesaid instruments shall ensure the availability of the land
to the residents of the subject plan, long-term maintenance with provisions
guaranteeing such in favor of the Township wherein properties within
the Township may equitably lien properties within the plan for work
completed where the related association defaults on such maintenance,
preservation of wooded areas and other natural resources, and the
perpetual usage of the land for the intended open space or recreational
purposes.
A.
The land offered for dedication shall be accessible to residents
in a manner commensurate with National Recreation and Park Association
(NRPA) standards, in terms of service radius. The land shall bear
at least 50 feet or the minimum lot frontage required for single-family
homes within the zoning district in which the plan is constructed,
whichever is greater, unless portions of the land are accepted for
the use of trails by the Board.
B.
At least 25% of the land dedicated shall be active recreational land
and shall be comprised of one contiguous tract area averaging 50 feet
in width.
C.
No more than 25% of the land required to be dedicated shall include
areas of wetlands, watercourses, and floodplains, unless the Board
finds that additional dedication of such land provides an integral
asset to active or passive recreational interests and furthers the
objectives of the Comprehensive Park, Recreation, and Open Space Plan.
D.
Public sewer and water shall be available to land dedicated.
E.
Land provided shall not be unduly burned by utility easements and
rights-of-way, slide-prone soils, and undermining such that active
and passive recreational uses commensurate with the Comprehensive
Park, Recreation, and Open Space Plan are unreasonably inhibited.
F.
The configuration of dedicated land shall consider open space corridors,
trails, and connections noted in the Comprehensive Park, Recreation,
and Open Space Plan, Official Map, and other applicable plans as formally
recognized by the Township.
A.
Fee in lieu of land dedication.
(1)
The developer, upon mutual agreement with the Township, where
each finds that the provision of adequate recreational facilities
for the future residents of the subject subdivision or land development
are better served by the acquisition or expansion of recreational
facilities developed directly by the Township, may provide a fee in
lieu of land dedication otherwise required.
(2)
The fee, charged on a unit basis, shall be reasonably commensurate
with the average value of undeveloped residentially zoned land throughout
the Township on a per acre basis divided by 0.223 acres required with
reasonable consideration for the additional costs of grading improvements
required to provide proper active recreational areas. The per-unit
fee in lieu of land dedication shall be $800 per dwelling unit.
(3)
The fee shall be allocated to a specific park accessible to
the future residents of the plan per NRPA Standards, to be utilized
in the purchase of additional land, development thereof, or installation
of additional facilities. The fee shall be deposited in an interest-bearing
account clearly identifying the recreational facility or project for
which the fee was received. Interest earned shall become a fund of
that account.
(4)
Upon request of any person who paid any fee under this subsection,
the Township shall refund such fee, plus interest accumulated thereon
from the date of payment, if the Township has failed to utilize the
fee paid for the purposes set forth in this section within three years
from the date such fee was paid.
(5)
The developer shall consent to the allocation of the fee in
lieu to a particular park or project through the acceptance of a specific
condition noted such in the Board's approval of the respective
subdivision or land development.
(6)
The fee-in-lieu authorized by this chapter shall, upon receipt
by the Township, be deposited in an interest-bearing account, clearly
identifying the specific recreation facilities for which the fee was
received. Interest earned on such accounts shall become funds of that
account. Funds from such accounts shall be expended only in properly
allocable portions of the cost incurred to construct the specific
recreation facilities for which the funds were collected.
(7)
Upon request of any person who paid any fee under this article,
the Township shall refund such fee, plus interest accumulated thereon
from the date of payment, if the Township has failed to utilize the
fee paid for the purposes set forth in this article within three years
from the date such fee was paid.
B.
Construction of facilities.
(1)
Where the developer proposes the construction of recreational
facilities accessible to the residents of the proposed plan, the Board
may accept the value of these facilities as a fulfillment of the requirements
of this section if the value meets of exceeds the fee in lieu otherwise
required for the development.
(2)
The facilities shall meet applicable safety and construction
standards, including the Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code and
NRPA standards.
(3)
The Board shall find that the proposed facilities equate to
the needs of the anticipated residents of a plan and provide the types
of recreation and open space recommended in the Comprehensive Park,
Recreation, and Open Space Plan.
C.
The Board, upon mutual agreement with the developer, may accept a
combination of land, fees, and facilities where the value of all land,
fees, and facilities equal or exceed the value of the fee in lieu
of land dedication required for the site. The land value assigned
shall equal the per unit fee-in-lieu for every 0.223 acres of land
offered, or fraction thereof.
A.
The Board shall require the posting of security necessary to guarantee
the construction of facilities or grading of active recreational land
as public improvements.
B.
Said dedication shall be required for construction and improvements
to land that is approved to be publicly dedicated and that land that
shall be privately owned and maintained.
