The provisions contained in previous parts of this chapter do
not allow for a comprehensive development of a large parcel or tract
of land; therefore, the provisions of this article are established
to:
A.
Permit a flexibility that will encourage innovations in residential
and nonresidential development;
B.
Permit a greater variety in type, design and layout of dwellings
and other buildings and structures and the conservation and more efficient
use of open space ancillary to said dwellings and structures;
C.
Encourage a more efficient use of land and of public services and
to reflect changes in the technology of land development; and
D.
Provide a procedure which can relate the type, design and layout
of residential and nonresidential development to the particular site
and the particular demand for housing existing at the time of development
in a manner consistent with the preservation of the property values
within existing residential and nonresidential areas.
The Slippery Rock Borough Council is designated the body to
administer the provisions of this article and, pursuant to such provisions,
may approve, modify or disapprove any planned residential development
proposed within the Borough, following review and recommendation by
the Borough Planning Commission.
Uses permitted in a planned residential development may include:
A.
Dwelling units of any dwelling type or configuration, or any combination
thereof;
B.
Churches and other places of worship;
C.
Schools, both public and private, if such schools are chartered or
licensed by the commonwealth;
D.
Municipal and public utility service buildings, structures and facilities
to serve the planned development;
E.
Community assembly halls, recreation centers and membership clubhouses
related to the planned residential development;
F.
Real estate sales and rental office serving the planned residential
development only;
G.
Swimming pools and recreation areas serving the planned residential
development only;
H.
Private or group garages and parking areas;
I.
Those nonresidential uses deemed to be appropriate for incorporation
in the design of the planned residential development;
J.
Signs related to all development.
A.
Minimum site size: five acres.
B.
Maximum building coverage of site: 20%.
C.
Minimum distances between multifamily residential buildings on the
site:
(1)
End walls face each other but contain no apartment windows: 20 feet.
(2)
End walls face each other and contain apartment windows: 35 feet.
(3)
End wall of one building faces principal facade (front or rear) of
neighboring building: 45 feet.
(4)
Principal facades (front or rear) of neighboring buildings face each
other: 60 feet.
(5)
Connected groups of abutting buildings shall not exceed in total
length: 300 feet.
(6)
Distances shall be construed as the shortest dimension between any
parts, including projecting balconies, of adjacent buildings.
D.
Minimum setback from property boundary line: a fifty-foot setback
for all structures shall be maintained along the perimeter property
lines of the tract or parcel proposed for development.
E.
Maximum height of buildings, measured between the average finished
grade elevation and the top of the parapet on a flat-roof building
or halfway between eave and ridge on a sloped-roof building: 35 feet
or three stories, whichever is less.
F.
Any lots available for sale and development for single-family buildings
within a planned residential development shall be subject to the same
standards as for single-family lots in the zone in which the development
occurs, if municipal zoning is in force, or the standards of this
chapter. The minimum lot standards may be reduced where the developer
makes provisions for additional common open space held for the common
enjoyment of the residents, beyond that which is required.
An area or areas developed for recreation use totaling 200 square
feet for each dwelling unit shall be provided convenient to the residential
areas by the developer. Recreational areas shall be on land that does
not slope at any point more than 10% and shall be provided with appropriate
play equipment, benches and landscaping by the developer. The developer
may provide a swimming pool and other recreational facilities to be
operated by him or by an association of residents of the planned residential
development.
A.
All improvements shall be installed, at no expense to the Borough
or county, in accordance with the standards of the Borough and in
this article.
B.
Roads, parking areas and sidewalks shall be maintained in a serviceable
condition by the developer or his successors.
C.
All areas of the site not occupied by buildings or paved shall be
either planted in natural materials or left in the state existing
prior to development.
D.
All structures in any planned residential development shall be connected
to public or community sewage disposal and water supply systems.
E.
Each dwelling unit shall be provided with two off-street parking
spaces within 200 feet of the dwelling thus served.
F.
All electric, telephone lines, television cable, etc., within a planned
residential development shall be placed underground.
A.
An application for tentative approval of the development plan for
a planned residential development shall be filed by or on behalf of
the landowner or, if several adjacent parcels are included in the
plan, by the several landowners. The application shall be submitted
to the Slippery Rock Borough Planning Commission no later than 10
days prior to the regular monthly meeting of the commission at which
the development plan is to be considered.
B.
The application shall consist of plans, drawings, data specifications, etc., in conformance with the required information for land developments, § 350-23 of Chapter 350, Subdivision and Land Development.
(1)
Density of residential development to be allocated to various parts
of the site, such parts to be outlined on the map;
(2)
The form of organization proposed to own and maintain the common
open space;
(3)
The feasibility of proposals for the disposition of sanitary sewage
waste and stormwater as related to existing or proposed public systems;
(4)
The substance of any covenants, grants, easements or other restrictions
to be imposed upon the use of lands or buildings in the development;
(5)
A schedule showing the approximate dates when the developer proposes
to make application for final approval of various segments of the
development, such segments to be outlined on the plan and such schedule
to be updated annually on the anniversary of its initial approval;
(6)
A written statement by the landowner setting forth reasons why, in
his opinion, a planned residential development on his site would be
in the public interest and would be consistent with the Comprehensive
Plan for Slippery Rock Borough;
(7)
An environmental impact analysis for review by the Butler County
Conservation District; and
(8)
Public water. Public water shall be provided to all building lots
proposed in a planned residential development by a municipal authority.
C.
All applications for tentative approval shall be referred to the
Butler County Planning Commission for study and recommendation. The
County Planning Commission shall be required to report to the Borough
within 30 days or forfeit the right to review.
A.
Within 60 days after the filing of an application for tentative approval
of a planned residential development pursuant to this chapter, a public
hearing pursuant to public notice on said application shall be held
by the Planning Commission.
B.
Public notice shall be given and written notice shall be given to
the applicant, the Zoning Officer and to any person who has made timely
request for the same. Written notices shall be given at such time
and in such manner as shall be prescribed by rules of the Borough
Council. In addition to the written notice provided herein, written
notice of said hearing shall be conspicuously posted on the affected
tract of land at least one week prior to the hearing.
C.
The parties to the hearing shall be the Borough, any person affected
by the application who has made timely appearance of record before
the Planning Commission, and any other person, including civic or
community organizations, permitted to appear by the Planning Commission.
The Planning Commission shall have power to require that all persons
who wish to be considered parties enter appearances in writing on
forms provided by the Planning Commission for that purpose.
D.
The Chairman, or Acting Chairman in the absence of the Chairman,
of the Planning Commission shall have power to administer oaths and
issue subpoenas to compel the attendance of witnesses and the production
of relevant documents and papers, including witnesses and documents
requested by the parties.
E.
The parties shall have the right to be represented by counsel and
shall be afforded the opportunity to respond and present evidence
and argument and cross-examine adverse witnesses on all relevant issues.
F.
Formal rules of evidence shall not apply, but irrelevant, immaterial,
or unduly repetitious evidence may be excluded.
G.
The Planning Commission shall keep a stenographic record of the proceedings.
The appearance fee for a stenographer shall be shared equally by the
applicant and the Borough Council. The cost of the original transcript
shall be paid by the Borough Council if the transcript is ordered
by the Borough Council or shall be paid by the person appealing from
the decision of the Planning Commission if such appeal is made, and
in either event the cost of additional copies shall be paid by the
person requesting such copy or copies. In other cases, the party requesting
the original transcript shall bear the cost thereof.
H.
The Planning Commission shall not communicate, directly or indirectly,
with any party or his representatives in connection with any issue
involved except upon notice for all parties to participate, shall
not take notice of any communication, reports, staff memoranda, or
other materials, except advice from their solicitor, unless the parties
are afforded an opportunity to contest the material so noticed, and
shall not inspect the site or its surroundings after the commencement
of hearings with any party or his representative unless all parties
are given an opportunity to be present.
I.
The Planning Commission may continue the hearing from time to time,
provided that, in any event, the public hearing or hearings shall
be concluded within 60 days after the date of the first public hearing.
A.
The Planning Commission, within 60 days following the conclusion
of the public hearing, shall, by official written communication to
the landowner, either:
B.
Failure to so act within said sixty-day period shall be deemed to
be a grant of tentative approval of the development plan as submitted.
In the event, however, that tentative approval is granted subject
to conditions, the landowner may, within 30 days after receiving a
copy of the official written communication of the Planning Commission,
notify such Planning Commission of his refusal to accept all said
conditions, in which case the Planning Commission shall be deemed
to have denied tentative approval of the development plan. In the
event the landowner does not, within said period, notify the Planning
Commission of his refusal to accept all said conditions, tentative
approval of the development plan, with all said conditions, shall
stand as granted.
C.
The grant or denial of tentative approval by official written communication
shall include not only conclusions but also findings of fact related
to the specific proposal and shall set forth the reasons for the grant,
with or without conditions, or for the denial, and said communication
shall set forth with particularity in what respects the development
plan would or would not be in the public interest, including, but
not limited to, findings of fact and conclusions on the following:
(1)
In those respects in which the development plan is or is not consistent
with the Comprehensive Plan for the development of the Borough;
(2)
The extent to which the development plan departs from zoning and
subdivision regulations otherwise applicable to the subject property,
including but not limited to density, bulk and use, and the reasons
why such departures are or are not deemed to be in the public interest;
(3)
The purpose, location and amount of the common open space in the
planned residential development, the reliability of the proposals
for maintenance and conservation of the common open space, and the
adequacy or inadequacy of the amount and purpose of the common open
space as related to the proposed density and type of residential development;
(4)
The physical design of the development plan and the manner in which
said design does or does not make adequate provision for public services,
provide adequate control over vehicular traffic, and further the amenities
of light and air, recreation and visual enjoyment;
(5)
The relationship, beneficial or adverse, of the proposed planned
residential development to the neighborhood in which it is proposed
to be established; and
(6)
In the case of a development plan which proposes development over
a period of years, the sufficiency of terms and conditions intended
to protect the interests of the public and of the residents of the
planned residential development in the integrity of the development
plan.
D.
In the event a development plan is granted tentative approval, with
or without conditions, the Planning Commission may set forth in the
official written communication the time within which application for
final approval of the development plan shall be filed or, in the case
of a development plan which provides for development over a period
of years, the periods of time within which applications for final
approval of each part thereof shall be filed. Except upon the consent
of the landowner, the time so established between grant of tentative
approval and an application for final approval shall not be less than
three months, and, in the case of development over a period of years,
the time between applications for final approval of each part of a
plan shall be not less than 12 months.
A.
The official written communication shall be certified by the Borough
Administrator/Secretary and shall be filed in the Borough office,
and a certified copy shall be mailed to the landowner. Where tentative
approval has been granted, it shall be deemed an amendment to the
Zoning Map, effective upon final approval, and shall be noted on the
Zoning Map.
B.
Tentative approval of a development plan shall not qualify a plat
of the planned residential development for recording nor authorize
development or the issuance of any building permits. A development
plan which has been given tentative approval as submitted, or which
has been given tentative approval with conditions which have been
accepted by the landowner (and provided that the landowner has not
defaulted nor violated any of the conditions of the tentative approval),
shall not be modified or revoked nor otherwise impaired by the action
of the Borough pending an application or applications for final approval
without the consent of the landowner, provided an application or applications
for final approval are filed, or, in the case of development over
a period of years, provided applications are filed, within the periods
of time specified in the official written communication granting tentative
approval.
C.
In the event that a development plan is given tentative approval
and thereafter, but prior to final approval, the landowner shall elect
to abandon said development plan and shall so notify the Borough Council
in writing, or in the event the landowner shall fail to file application
or applications for final approval within the required period of time
or times, as the case may be, the tentative approval shall be deemed
to be revoked, and all that portion of the area included in the development
plan for which final approval has not been given shall be subject
to those ordinances otherwise applicable thereto as they may be amended
from time to time, and the same shall be noted on the Zoning Map and
in the records of the Borough Administrator/Secretary.
An application for final approval may be for all the land included
in a development plan or, to the extent designated in the tentative
approval, for a portion of the land.
A.
An application for final approval shall be submitted to the Secretary
of the Slippery Rock Borough Planning Commission at least 10 days
prior to the regular Planning Commission meeting at which the application
is to be considered.
B.
The application shall contain, for the area for which final approval
is sought, all requirements of the proposed plan and the written reports
necessary to obtain tentative approval and, in addition:
(1)
Construction documents for the building of streets, sidewalks, parking
areas, sanitary sewer lines, waterlines, storm drainage systems, erosion
and sedimentation control facilities and recreation areas; and
(2)
Certificate from either the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental
Protection or the Butler County Conservation District stating that
the erosion and sedimentation control plan has been approved and that
a land disturbance permit has been issued for an earthmoving activity
by the Department or by the Butler County Conservation District;
(3)
A certified performance bond, improvement bond, or other acceptable
security, to the benefit of the Borough, the amount of bond being
equal to 100% of the estimated cost for installation of all public
improvements, such amount to be established by the engineer designing
the facilities, subject to the Borough Engineer's approval;
(4)
Any covenants and rights of easement, in the form in which they will
be filed as legal documents, affecting development; and
(5)
A written description indicating changes made in the tentative plan
required to secure tentative approval.
C.
Provided that all conditions of the tentative and final approvals
have been met to the satisfaction of the Planning Commission, Slippery
Rock Borough shall grant final approval within 45 days after the filing
of the final approval application.
D.
If the Planning Commission finds variations in the application for
final approval when compared with the plan given tentative approval,
the Planning Commission may refuse to grant final approval and shall
so notify the landowner in writing not later than 45 days after the
filing of the final approval application, setting forth the reasons
why one or more of said variations are not in the public interest.
E.
The landowner may either:
(1)
Refile his application for final approval within 60 days after the
date of the meeting at which his application was refused, without
the variations noted by the Planning Commission; or
(2)
File a written request with the Slippery Rock Planning Commission
for a public hearing to consider the final approval application as
submitted, such hearing to be, pursuant to public notice, within the
time limit specified in the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code,
Act 247, as amended; or
(3)
Take no action, in which case the development plan shall be deemed
to have been abandoned.
F.
If the landowner requests a public hearing, the Planning Commission
shall, within 30 days, hold such hearing, by official written communication,
in the manner required for tentative approval, and either grant or
deny final approval.
G.
A development plan, or any part thereof, given final approval shall
be certified immediately by the Planning Commission and Borough Council
and shall be filed within 15 days after grant of final approval in
the office of the Butler County Recorder of Deeds, after which development
of the site area for which final approval has been granted may proceed.
Each structure in the development will require a separate building
permit.
H.
Upon filing of the development plan with the Recorder of Deeds, all
zoning and subdivision regulations otherwise applicable to the area
recorded shall cease to apply to that area.
I.
If the landowner abandons his development plan after final approval and so informs the Slippery Rock Planning Commission in writing, or fails to carry out the development within the time period agreed upon in the final approval, no further applications for final approval shall be considered by the Planning Commission for subsequent portions of the same site, and no further development of such subsequent portions of the site shall be permitted until that area complies with Chapter 350, Subdivision and Land Development, of the Code of the Borough of Slippery Rock.
J.
When a sequence of development of a site takes place over a period
of years, the time between applications for final approval of each
part of the plan shall be not more than 30 months.
A.
The landowner shall satisfy the Planning Commission at the time of
application for final approval that all areas for which the final
approval is sought will be adequately maintained in perpetuity so
as not to cause a public nuisance.
B.
If the landowner provides for establishment of an association of
residents of the planned residential development to own and maintain
common open spaces on the site, he shall indicate the organization
of such association, including bylaws, and the legal mechanism that
will bind such association to perpetual maintenance of the common
open space.
C.
In the event that the organization established to own and maintain
common open space, or any successor organization, shall fail to maintain
the common open space in reasonable order and condition, the Slippery
Rock Borough Council may serve written notice upon the organization
or upon the residents of the planned residential development setting
forth the deficiencies in maintenance, demanding that they be corrected
within 30 days and stating the time and place of a public hearing
to be held, pursuant to public notice, to consider the deficiencies,
at which time the deficiencies noted may be modified or the time period
for correction extended.
D.
If the deficiencies are not corrected within 30 days, Slippery Rock
Borough Council may enter the common open space containing the deficiencies
and maintain the area for a period of 12 months, at the expiration
of which the Borough Council shall call a second public hearing, with
notice to the organization and residents of the planned residential
development, at which the organization or the residents shall show
cause why Slippery Rock Borough Council should cease maintenance based
on the ability of the organization or the residents to again discharge
such maintenance responsibility. Public hearings shall be called thereafter
or less frequently than once per year to consider termination of Borough
maintenance until such termination occurs.
E.
The decision to continue or cease maintenance shall lie with Slippery
Rock Borough Council.
F.
The period during which Borough Council shall maintain common open
space shall not constitute a taking of land nor entitle the public
to use of such common open space unless as provided in the conditions
establishing the common open space.
G.
The cost of maintenance of common open space by Borough Council shall
be assessed ratably against the properties within the planned residential
development that have rights to common open space and shall become
a lien on the properties, to be filed by Borough Council with the
Prothonotary of Butler County at time of entrance into the common
open space.
Any decision of the Borough Council in granting or denying tentative
or final approval of a planned residential development plan shall
be subject to appeal to court in the manner as provided for in the
Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, Act 247, as amended.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 10101 et seq.
