No plan shall be granted final approval until the applicant posts a form of financial security, acceptable to the Township, which shall be of sufficient amount to fully cover the costs of all required improvements in accordance with the terms of approval and the applicable design standards of said improvements. The Board of Supervisors shall retain the discretion in all matters and decisions related to the acceptance and/or approval of the posting of any financial security.
A. 
A financial guarantee which shall be deemed as acceptable financial security for the purposes of this chapter shall include:
(1) 
An unconditional and irrevocable letter of credit with authorization for drawing upon by the Township in the event of default or failure by the developer or applicant to complete the installation of required improvements.
(2) 
A restrictive escrow account.
(3) 
Other types of financial security which the Township may approve, which approval shall not be unreasonably withheld.
B. 
Such financial security shall be with a lending institution which is chartered by the federal government or the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania or with a bonding company which is legally authorized to conduct such business within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
When an applicant proposes to provide a financial security, said financial security shall be submitted to the Township for review not less than 14 days prior to the public meeting of the Board of Supervisors at which the acceptance and/or approval of proposed financial security will be considered by the Board of Supervisors.
The amount of financial security to be posted for the completion of required improvements shall be equal to 110% of the cost of completion, estimated as of 90 days following the scheduled completion date. The amount of the required financial security shall be based upon a written estimated cost of completion of required improvements, submitted by the developer or applicant, and prepared by a professional engineer, licensed as such by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Said engineer shall certify in writing that his estimated cost for the completion of the required improvements is a fair and reasonable estimate. The Board of Supervisors, upon the recommendation of the Township Engineer, may for good cause shown, refuse to accept the applicant's estimated cost. In cases where the Township and the developer or applicant are unable to agree on an estimate, then the estimate shall be recalculated and recertified by another licensed professional engineer, mutually accepted by the Township and the developer or applicant. The estimate certified by the third-party engineer, being presumed fair and reasonable, shall be deemed the final estimate. In the event that the third-party engineer is chosen, the cost of his services shall be paid equally by the Township and the developer or applicant.
A. 
The financial security shall provide for, and secure to the public the completion of the required improvements within one year of the date fixed on the final plan for the completion of such improvements.
B. 
If the applicant in posting the financial security requires more than one year from the date of posting 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 anniversary date from posting of the financial security or to an amount not exceeding 110% of the cost of completing the required improvements as reestablished on or before the expiration of the preceding one-year period.
In the case where development is projected over a period of years, the Planning Commission may authorize the submission of final plans by sections or phases of development subject to such requirements or guarantees as to improvements in future sections or phases of development as it finds essential for the protection of any finally approved section of the development.
The applicant and/or developer shall provide the Township and the Township Engineer with not less than a seventy-two-hour notice prior to the commencement of work at the site.
The Township Engineer shall make periodic inspections to the site during the construction of improvements to insure the work is in conformance with the approved plans. The Township Engineer shall promptly provide the Board of Supervisors with a written report after any such inspection.
A. 
As the work of installing the required improvements proceeds, the party posting financial security may request the Board of Supervisors to 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.
B. 
Any such request shall be in writing addressed to the Board of Supervisors. The Board of Supervisors shall have 45 days from receipt of such request within which to allow the Township Engineer to certify in writing to the Board of Supervisors that such portion of the work upon the improvements has been completed in accordance with the approved plan.
C. 
Upon such certification the Board of Supervisors shall authorize release by the bonding company or lending institution of an amount as estimated by the Township Engineer as fair in representing the value of the completed improvements. Failure of the Board of Supervisors to act within the said forty-five-day period shall be deemed an approval of the release of the funds requested.
D. 
The submission of as-built drawings shall precede the final release of any remaining funds placed as a financial security by the developer.
A. 
Where Dallas Township accepts dedication of all or some of the required improvements following completion, it shall require the posting of financial security to secure the structural integrity of said improvements as well as the functioning of said improvements in accordance with the design and specifications as shown on the final plan for a term not to exceed 18 months from the date of acceptance of dedication.
B. 
Said financial security shall be of the same type as otherwise required in § 77-702 of this chapter with regard to installation of such improvements, and the amount of the financial security shall not exceed 15% of the actual cost of installation of said improvements.
If water mains or sanitary sewer lines, or both, along with apparatus or facilities related thereto, are to be installed under the jurisdiction and pursuant to the rules and regulations of a public utility or municipal authority separate and distinct from the Township, financial security to assure proper completion and maintenance thereof shall be posted in accordance with the regulations of the controlling public utility or municipal authority and shall not be included within the financial security as otherwise required by this article. A copy of any such executed financial security shall be provided to the Board of Supervisors not less than 14 days prior to its next regularly scheduled meeting at which the final plan shall be considered.
If a financial security has been provided, certificates of zoning compliance or occupancy permits for any building or buildings to be erected shall not be withheld following:
A. 
The improvement of the streets providing access to and from existing public roads to such building or buildings to a mud-free or otherwise permanently passable condition; and
B. 
The completion of all other improvements as shown on the approved final plan, either upon the lot or lots beyond the lot or lots in question, if such improvements are deemed necessary for the reasonable use of or occupancy of the building or buildings.
A. 
When the applicant has completed all of the necessary and required improvements, the applicant shall notify the Board of Supervisors in writing, by certified or registered mail, of the completion of the aforesaid improvements and shall send a copy thereof to the Township Engineer.
B. 
The Board of Supervisors shall, within 10 days after receipt of such notice, direct and authorize the Township Engineer to inspect all the aforesaid improvements. The Township Engineer shall thereupon file a report, in writing with the Board of Supervisors, and shall promptly mail a copy of the same to the applicant. The report by the Township Engineer shall be made and mailed within 30 days from the aforesaid authorization from the Board of Supervisors.
C. 
The report shall be detailed and shall indicate approval or rejection of said improvements, either in whole or in part. If said improvements, or any portion thereof be rejected, said report shall contain a statement of the reasons for such rejection.
D. 
The Board of Supervisors shall notify the applicant, in writing, within 15 days of receipt of the Township's Engineer's report, by certified or registered mail of the action of the Board of Supervisors with relation thereto.
E. 
If the Board of Supervisors or the Township Engineer fails to comply with the time limitation provisions contained herein, all improvements will be deemed to have been approved, and the applicant shall be released from all liability, pursuant to its performance guarantee bond or other security agreement.
If any portion of the said improvements shall not be approved or shall be rejected by the Board of Supervisors, the applicant shall proceed to complete the same and, upon completion, the same procedure of notification, as outlined in § 77-713 shall be followed.
Nothing herein, however shall be construed in limitation of the applicant's right to contest or question by legal proceedings or otherwise any determination of the Board of Supervisors or Township Engineer.
A. 
In the event that in the opinion of the Township Engineer, any improvements which may be required have not been installed as provided in this chapter or in accordance with the approved final plan, the Township can enforce any corporate bond or other security by appropriate legal and equitable remedies.
B. 
If the proceeds of such bond or other security are insufficient to pay the cost of installing or making repairs or corrections to all the improvements covered by said security, the Township may, at its option, install part of such improvements in all or part of the subdivision or land development, and/or may institute appropriate legal or equitable action to recover the moneys necessary to complete the remainder of the improvements.
C. 
All of the proceeds, whether resulting from the security or from any legal or equitable action, or from both, brought against the applicant shall be used solely for the installation, repairs or corrections of the improvements covered by such security, and not for any other municipal purpose.
In addition to the fees noted in § 77-108 of this chapter, the applicant shall be responsible for payment of all fees by professional consultants, as defined in Article II, which the Township may incur as related to the review, enforcement and/or administration of this chapter as related to a proposed subdivision and/or land development. The applicant shall also be required to fully reimburse the Township for any professional consulting fees which the Township may incur for the review of any required studies and/or reports within the context of an impact analysis, as so defined in Article II of this chapter. Upon notification by the Township of such costs, the applicant shall provide a certified check or money order to the Township to fully reimburse the Township for said professional consulting fees, within 30 days from the billing date from Dallas Township. An approved plan shall not be signed by the Planning Commission nor shall any permits related to the development of the site be issued until all fees are paid in full. The Board of Supervisors shall also have the discretion to require the applicant deposit funds into an escrow account to be drawn upon by the Township for the payment of the above fees. In such cases, the amount of funds to be deposited into such account shall be determined by the Township with input from its professional consultants. Any funds deposited in said account at the conclusion of payment of all required reimbursable professional consulting fees shall be returned to the applicant. If the initial amount of funds deposited into said account appears to be insufficient to cover such costs, the Township shall notify the applicant of any additional amount of funds required to be deposited for such purposes.
A. 
An applicant may contest the amount to be reimbursed to the Township for consulting fees. The applicant shall notify the Township, in writing, within 10 working days of the billing date, as to which consulting fees are disputed as being unreasonable and/or unnecessary. The applicant shall forfeit any right to contest the amount to be reimbursed to the Township for consulting fees, if written notification is not submitted within the prescribed 10 working days of the date of the billing.
B. 
In such cases, the Planning Commission shall not delay or disapprove a subdivision or land development application or any permit related to development due to the applicant's written request to contest certain consulting expenses.
C. 
If, within 20 days from the date of billing, the Township and the applicant cannot agree on the amount of consulting expenses which are reasonable and necessary, then the applicant and the Planning Commission shall jointly, by mutual agreement, appoint another professional engineer, licensed as such in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, to review the said expenses and make a determination as to the amount thereof which is reasonable and necessary.
D. 
The professional engineer so appointed shall hear such evidence and review such documentation as the professional engineer in his or her sole opinion deems necessary and render a decision within 50 days of the billing date. The applicant shall be required to pay the entire amount determined in the decision immediately.
E. 
In the event that the Township and applicant cannot agree upon a professional engineer to be appointed within 20 days of the billing date, then, upon application of either party, the President Judge of the Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas (or if at the time there be no President Judge, then the senior active judge then sitting) shall appoint such engineer, who shall be neither the Township engineer nor any professional engineer who has been retained by or performed services for the Township or the applicant within the preceding five years.
F. 
The fee of the appointed professional engineer for determining the reasonable and necessary consulting expenses shall be paid by the applicant if the amount of the payment required in the decision is equal to or greater than the original bill. If the amount of payment required in the decision is less than the original bill by $1,000 or more, the Township shall pay the fee of the professional engineer. If neither of the aforementioned cases apply, the Township and the applicant shall each pay 1/2 of the fee of the appointed professional engineer.