This chapter shall be known, and may be cited,
as the "East Cocalico Township Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance
of 2003."
The purpose of this chapter is to provide for
the harmonious development of the Township by:
A.
Assisting in the orderly and efficient integration
of land developments within the Township.
B.
Ensuring conformance of land development plans with
the Comprehensive Plan and other municipal documents.
C.
Ensuring the provision of adequate public facilities,
including roadways, walkways, water supply, stormwater facilities,
sanitary sewerage facilities, open spaces, and other improvements
for the public health, safety and welfare.
D.
Ensuring coordination of intermunicipal and intramunicipal
public improvement plans and programs.
E.
Securing the protection of water resources, drainageways
and other environmental resources.
F.
Facilitating the safe and efficient movement of traffic.
G.
Securing equitable handling of all development plans
by providing uniform standards and procedures.
H.
In general, promoting greater health, safety and welfare
of the citizens of the Township.
The Board of Supervisors of East Cocalico Township,
Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, pursuant to the Pennsylvania Municipalities
Planning Code, Act 247 of 1968,[1] reenacted and amended by Act 170 of 1988, and as subsequently
amended, hereby enacts and ordains the following chapter governing
subdivisions and land developments within the limits of East Cocalico
Township.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 10101
et seq.
A.
This chapter shall apply to all subdivision and land
development plans submitted after the effective date of this chapter,
and to all subdivision and land development plans submitted before
the effective date of this chapter, which no longer have protection
from the effect of changes in governing ordinances granted by Section
508(4) of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 10508.
B.
From the time an application for approval, whether
preliminary or final plan, is duly filed, as provided in this chapter,
and while such application is pending approval or disapproval, no
change or amendment of the zoning, other governing ordinance, or plan
shall affect the decision on such application adversely to the applicant,
and the applicant shall be entitled to a decision in accordance with
the provisions of the governing ordinances or plans as they stood
at the time the application was duly filed. In addition, when a preliminary
application has been duly approved, the applicant shall be entitled
to final approval in accordance with the terms of the approved preliminary
application, as hereinafter provided. However, if an application is
properly and finally denied, any subsequent application shall be subject
to the intervening change in governing regulations.
C.
When an application for approval, whether preliminary
or final plan, has been approved without conditions, or approved by
the applicant's acceptance of conditions, no subsequent change or
amendment in the zoning, or other governing ordinance or plan, shall
be applied to affect adversely the right of the applicant to commence
and to complete any aspect of the approved development in accordance
with the terms of such approval within five years from such approval.
D.
The five-year period shall be extended for the duration
of any litigation, including appeals, which prevent the commencement
or completion of the development, and for the duration of any sewer
or utility moratorium, or prohibition which was imposed subsequent
to the filing of an application for preliminary plan approval. In
the event of an appeal filed by any party from the approval or disapproval
of a plan, the five-year period shall be extended by the total time
from the date the appeal was filed, until a final order in such matter
has been entered, and all appeals have been concluded, and any period
for filing appeals or requests for reconsideration have expired; provided,
however, no extension shall be based upon any water or sewer moratorium
which was in effect as of the date of the filing of a preliminary
plan application.
E.
Where final plan approval is preceded by preliminary
plan approval, the aforesaid five-year period shall be counted from
the date of the preliminary approval. In the case of any doubt as
to the terms of a preliminary plan approval, the terms shall be construed
in the light of the provisions of the governing ordinances or plans
as they stood at the time when the application for such approval was
duly filed.
F.
Where the landowner has substantially completed the
required improvements, as depicted upon the final plan within the
aforesaid five-year limit, or any extension thereof as may be granted
by the Board of Supervisors, no change of governing ordinance or plan
enacted subsequent to the date of filing of the preliminary plan shall
modify or revoke any aspect of the approved final plan pertaining
to zoning classification or density, lot, building, street, or utility
location.
G.
In the case of a preliminary plan calling for the
installation of improvements beyond the five-year period, a schedule
shall be filed with the preliminary plan delineating all proposed
sections, as well as deadlines within which applications for final
plan approval of each section are intended to be filed. Such schedule
shall be updated annually on or before the anniversary of the preliminary
plan approval, until final plan approval of the last section has been
granted. Any modification in the aforesaid schedule shall be subject
to approval of the Board of Supervisors in its discretion.
H.
Each section in any residential subdivision or land
development, except for the last section, shall contain a minimum
of 25% of the total number of dwelling units, as depicted on the preliminary
plan, unless a lesser percentage is approved by the Board of Supervisors
in its discretion. Provided the landowner has not defaulted with regard
to, or violated any of the conditions of, the preliminary plan approval,
including compliance with the schedule for submission of final plans,
then the aforesaid protections afforded by substantially completing
the improvements depicted upon the final plan within five years shall
apply, and for any section or sections, beyond the initial section,
in which the required improvements have not been substantially completed
within said five-year period. This extended protection shall apply
for an additional term or terms of three years from the date of final
plan approval for each section.
I.
Failure to adhere to the aforesaid schedule of submission
of final plans for the various sections shall subject any such section
to changes in zoning, subdivision and land development ordinances,
and other governing ordinances or plans enacted by the Township, subsequent
to the date of the initial preliminary plan submission.
J.
This chapter shall not affect any suit or prosecution
pending or to be instituted, to enforce any provision of previous
subdivision and land development ordinances, on an act done, contract
executed, or liability incurred prior to the effective date of this
chapter, nor shall any provisions of this chapter be construed to
waive the obligations imposed upon an applicant to complete a previously
approved preliminary or final plan, including the installation of
all improvements required hereunder, in strict compliance with the
requirements of the effective subdivision and land development ordinance.
K.
No street, sanitary sewer, storm sewer, water main,
or other facilities in connection therewith shall be laid out, constructed,
opened or dedicated for public use or travel, or for the common use
of occupants of buildings thereon, unless and until authorized by
this chapter.
L.
No lot in a subdivision may be sold, no permit to
erect or alter any building upon land in a subdivision or land development
may be issued, and no building may be erected or altered in a subdivision
or land development, unless and until a final subdivision or land
development plan has been approved by the Board of Supervisors and
recorded, and until the improvements required in connection therewith
have been either constructed or guaranteed in a manner prescribed
herein. This chapter does not impose any requirements upon subdivision
or land development plans for which the Township is the applicant.
The Board of Supervisors is the body responsible
for administration and enforcement of this chapter, and does hereby
designate the East Cocalico Township Planning Commission as an agency
of the Board of Supervisors, which makes recommendations to the Board
of Supervisors concerning subdivision plans, land development plans
and waivers.
A.
Word usage. Words and phrases shall be presumed to
be used in their ordinary context, unless such word or phrase is defined
or interpreted differently within this section.
B.
Language interpretation. In this chapter, when not
inconsistent with the context:
(1)
Words in the present tense imply also the future tense;
(2)
The singular includes the plural;
(3)
The male gender includes the female gender;
(4)
The term "person" includes an individual, partnership,
corporation, unincorporated association, estate, or any other legally
recognized entity; and
(5)
The terms "shall," "must," or "will" are always mandatory.
C.
ACCESS DRIVE
ACT 167 PLAN
AGENT
AISLE PARKING
ALLEY
APPLICANT
BLOCK
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
BUILDING
CARBONATE GEOLOGY
CARTWAY
CLEAR SIGHT TRIANGLE
COMPREHENSIVE PLAN
CONVEYANCE
CUL-DE-SAC
CURB
CURBLINE
DEDICATION
DEED
DENSITY
DESIGN STORM
DETENTION BASIN
DEVELOPER
DRIVEWAY
EASEMENT
ECHO HOUSING
ENGINEER
EROSION
FARM HOUSING
FLOODPLAIN
FOOTCANDLE
FRONTAGE
GRADE
IMPERVIOUS SURFACE
INFILTRATION STRUCTURES
LAND DEVELOPMENT
(1)
(a)
(b)
(c)
(2)
(a)
(b)
(c)
LANDOWNER
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT
LAND SURVEYOR
LATERAL
LOT
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
MOBILE HOME
MOBILE HOME LOT
MOBILE HOME PARK
MOBILE HOME STAND
NATURAL DRAINAGEWAY
ON-SITE SEWER SERVICE
ON-SITE WATER SERVICE
OPEN CHANNEL
OVERSIZE PARKING SPACE
PA DEP
PARKING COMPOUND and PARKING LOT
PARKING SPACE
PEDESTRIAN EASEMENT
PennDOT
PLAN
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
PLANNING COMMISSION
PUBLIC
PUBLIC GROUND
PUBLIC SEWER
PUBLIC UTILITIES
PUBLIC WATER
RETENTION BASIN
RIGHT-OF-WAY
SCREENING
SEDIMENTATION
SEDIMENT BASIN
SEDIMENT POLLUTION
SHEET FLOW
SLOPE
SOIL SURVEY
SOLID WASTE
STORM SEWER
STORMWATER MANAGEMENT FACILITY
STREET
(1)
(2)
(3)
STREET CENTER LINE
STREET GRADE
STREET LINE (RIGHT-OF-WAY LINE)
STREET, PRIVATE
SUBDIVISION
SWALE
TOWNSHIP
TOWNSHIP ENGINEER
TRAVEL TRAILER
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
UNIT OF OCCUPANCY
WAIVER
WATERCOURSE
WATERSHED
WETLAND
ZONING ORDINANCE
Specific terms. The following words and phrases shall
have the particular meanings assigned by this section in the appropriate
sections of this chapter:
An improved cartway designed and constructed to provide for
vehicular movement between a public road and the off-street parking
and/or loading for any use other than one single-family dwelling unit
or farm.
The plan for managing stormwater runoff in the Cocalico Creek
Watershed adopted by Lancaster County, as required by the Storm Water
Management Act,[1] and known as the Cocalico Creek Watershed Act 167 Stormwater
Management Plan.
Any person, other than the developer, who acts for the developer,
submits subdivision and/or land development plans to the Township
for the purpose of obtaining approval thereof.
A private drive intended principally to provide vehicular
access within a vehicular parking compound. Although aisles provide
interior vehicular circulation, their principal function is to provide
entrance and exit for individual parking spaces. Aisles may not be
used to intersect streets.
A minor right-of-way, privately or publicly owned, primarily
for service access to the rear or side of properties.
A landowner or developer, as hereinafter defined, who has
filed an application for subdivision or land development, including
his heirs, successors and assigns.
A tract of land which is entirely bounded by streets, public
parks, cemeteries, railroads, watercourses, or any other barrier to
the continuity of development.
The Board of Supervisors of East Cocalico Township, Lancaster
County, Pennsylvania.
Any structure with a roof intended for the shelter or enclosure
of any persons, animals or property.
Limestone or dolomite bedrock.
The surface of a street, access drive, driveway, or alley
available for vehicular traffic, including travel lanes and on-street
parking lanes, but not including curbs, sidewalks or swales.
An area of unobstructed vision at a street intersection defined
by a line connecting points at center lines.
The most recently adopted version of the Official Comprehensive
Plan, East Cocalico Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, including
any amendments.
The ability of a pipe, culvert, swale, or similar facility
to carry the peak flow from the design storm.
A street with a single common ingress and egress.
The raised edge of a pavement to confine surface water to
the pavement and to protect the abutting land from vehicular traffic.
The front face of curb along the outside edge of the cartway.
The deliberate assignment of land by its owner to another
party.
A written instrument whereby an estate in real property is
conveyed.
The number of dwelling units in relation to the land area
actually in use, or proposed to be used, for residential purposes,
exclusive of exterior public rights-of-way.
The magnitude and temporal distribution of precipitation
from a storm event measured in probability of occurrence (e.g., a
five-year storm) and duration (e.g., 24 hours), used in the design
and evaluation of stormwater management systems.
An impoundment structure designed to manage stormwater runoff
by temporarily storing the runoff and releasing it at a predetermined
rate.
Any landowner, agent of such landowner, equitable owner,
or tenant with the permission of the landowner, for whom subdivision
or land development plans are being or have been made.
An improved cartway designed and constructed to provide vehicular
movement between a public street and a tract of land containing one
single-family dwelling unit.
A right granted for limited use of private land for a public
or quasi-public or private purpose, and within which the owner of
the property shall not have the right to make use of the land in a
manner that violates the right of the grantee.
An additional, temporary dwelling unit placed on a property for occupancy by either an elderly or challenged (mentally, physically, emotionally) person related by blood, marriage or adoption to the occupants of the principal dwelling (see § 194-11).
A professional engineer registered as such in the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania.
The movement of soil particles by the action of water, wind,
ice, or other natural forces.
A temporary dwelling placed on a property for one farm laborer of family member (see § 194-11).
An area of land adjacent to the channel of a watercourse
which has been, or is likely to be, flooded, or any area subject to
the unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters from
any source.
A measure of surface illumination equal to one lumen per
square foot.
The horizontal distance shared between a public or private
street, and an adjoining lot.
The slope expressed in a percent that indicates the rate
of change of elevation in feet per 100 feet.
That surface which does not absorb water. All structures,
buildings, parking areas, driveways, roads, sidewalks, and any areas
of concrete, asphalt or packed stone shall be considered impervious
surface. In addition, all other areas, as determined by the Township
Engineer to be impervious within the meaning of this definition, shall
also be considered impervious surface.
A structure designed to direct runoff into the ground (e.g.,
french drains, seepage pits, seepage trench).
Any of the following activities:
A group of two or more residential or nonresidential
buildings, whether proposed initially or cumulatively, or a single,
nonresidential building on a lot or lots regardless of the number
of occupants or tenure;
The division or allocation of land or space,
whether initially or cumulatively, between or among two or more existing
or prospective occupants by means of, or for the purpose of, streets,
common areas, leaseholds, condominiums, building groups, or other
features; or
A subdivision of land.
For the purpose of this chapter, the following
are excluded from the definition of land development:
The conversion of an existing single-family
detached dwelling, or single-family semidetached dwelling, into not
more than three residential units, unless such units are intended
to be a condominium.
The addition of an accessory building, including
farm buildings, on a lot or lots subordinate to an existing principal
building.
The addition or conversion of buildings or rides
within the confines of an enterprise which would be considered an
amusement park. For the purposes of this subsection an "amusement
park" is defined as a tract or area used principally as a location
for permanent amusement structures or rides. This exclusion shall
not apply to newly acquired acreage by an amusement park, until plans
for the expanded area have been approved by the proper authorities.
The legal, beneficial, equitable owner or owners of land,
including the holder of an option or contract to purchase (whether
or not such option or contract is subject to any conditions), a lessee
(if he is authorized under the lease to exercise the rights of the
landowner), or another person having a proprietary interest in land,
shall be deemed to be a landowner for the purposes of this chapter.
A landscape architect registered as such in the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania.
A land surveyor registered as such in the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania.
A utility line between a utility main that is located within
a utility easement, and the single building which the line services.
Any area of land intended as a single unit for purposes of
ownership, transfer of ownership, use, rent, improvement, or development.
The word "lot" includes the word "plot," "parcel" or "tract."
LOT, CORNERA lot at the point of intersection of, and abutting two or more intersecting streets, and which has an interior angle of less than 135° at the intersection of two street lines.
LOT, FLAGA lot whose frontage does not satisfy the minimum width requirements for the respective zone, but that does have sufficient lot width away from the lot's frontage.
LOT, INTERIORA lot other than a corner lot, the sides of which do not abut a street.
LOT, THROUGHAn interior lot having frontage on two parallel or approximately parallel streets.
 |
Any structure intended for, or capable of, permanent human
habitation, with or without wheels, and capable of being transported
or towed from one place to the next, in one or more pieces, by whatsoever
name or title it is colloquially or commercially known, but excluding
transport trucks or vans equipped with sleeping space for a driver
or drivers, and travel trailers. Mobile homes placed in parks shall
meet the requirements for mobile home parks. Mobile homes placed on
individual lots shall be considered "dwellings" and be bound by the
requirements for a dwelling.
A parcel of land in a mobile home park, improved with the
necessary utility connections and other appurtenances necessary for
the erection thereon of a single mobile home, which is leased by the
park owner to the occupants of the mobile home erected on the lot.
A parcel or contiguous parcels of land which have been so
designated and improved to contain two or more mobile home lots for
the placement thereon of mobile homes.
A concrete pad used to anchor a mobile home within a mobile
home park, including all necessary utility connections.
An existing channel for water runoff that was formed by natural
forces.
The disposal of sewage by use of septic tanks, or other safe
and healthful means within the confines of the lot on which the use
is located, as approved by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental
Protection.
The provision of a safe, adequate and healthful supply of
water to a single user from a private well.
A drainage element in which stormwater flows with an open
surface. Open channels include, but shall not be limited to, natural
and man-made drainageways, swales, streams, ditches, canals, and pipes
flowing partly full.
An off-street parking space designed to accommodate a vehicle
with one or more of the following characteristics:
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.
An area on a lot utilized for the parking of vehicles.
An area, sized according to § 194-30, available for the parking of one motor vehicle and having usable access to a street or alley.
A right-of-way, municipally or privately owned, which cuts
across a block to furnish access for pedestrians to adjacent streets
or properties.
Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.
The map representing a tract of land including all supplementary data specified in Article III of this chapter. The following are the types of plans specified by this chapter:
PLAN, AS-BUILTA plan that is prepared, according to § 194-23, showing the actual location, dimension and elevation of all improvements that have been installed as authorized by the previously approved final plan.
PLAN, FINALA subdivision and/or land development plan prepared for official recording, as required by statute to define property rights, proposed streets and other public improvements.
PLAN, PRELIMINARYA complete and exact subdivision and/or land development plan, the purpose of which is to authorize the preparation of final plans.
PLAN, SKETCHAn informal plan, not necessarily to exact scale, indicating salient existing features of a tract and its surroundings, with the general layout of a proposal for consideration prior to the formal submission of a plan.
The Planning Commission of East Cocalico Township.
Owned, operated or controlled by a governmental agency (federal,
state or local, including a corporation created by law for the performance
of certain specialized governmental functions, not including the Board
of Education).
Public parks, playgrounds, open space, and other public areas;
sites for schools, sewage treatment, refuse disposal, and other publicly
owned or operated facilities.
A municipal sanitary sewer facility approved and permitted
by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. Such systems
are capable of serving multiple users.
Use or extension thereof which is operated, owned or maintained
by a municipality or municipal authority, public water supply, storage
and/or treatment; or for the purpose of providing the transmission
of energy or telephone service.
A municipal water supply system, or a comparable common water
facility approved and permitted by the Pennsylvania Department of
Environmental Protection. Such systems are capable of serving multiple
users.
A reservoir designed to retain stormwater runoff with its
primary release of water being through the infiltration of said water
into the ground.
A corridor of publicly owned land for purposes of maintaining
primary vehicular and pedestrian access to abutting properties, including,
but not limited to, roads, streets, highways, and sidewalks.
An assemblage of materials that are arranged to block the
ground level views between grade and a height of six feet. Suitable
screening materials include trees, shrubs, hedges, berms, walls, sight-tight
fences, other similar type materials, or any combination thereof.
No wall or fence shall be constructed of plywood, corrugated metal,
fiberglass, or sheet metal. Landscape screens must achieve the required
visual blockage within two years of installation.
The process by which mineral or organic matter is accumulated
or deposited by the movement of water.
A barrier, dam, retention, or detention basin located and
designed to retain rock, sand, gravel, silt, or other material transported
by water.
The placement, discharge or any other introduction of sediment
into the waters of the commonwealth occurring from the failure to
design, construct, implement, or maintain control measures and control
facilities in accordance with the requirements of this chapter.
Runoff that flows over the ground surface as a thin, even
layer, not concentrated in a channel.
The degree of deviation of a surface from the horizontal.
Slope is expressed in a percentage that indicates the rate of elevation
change in feet per 100 feet.
The latest published version of the United States Department
of Agriculture's Soil Survey for Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
Garbage, refuse and other discarded materials, including, but not limited to, solid and liquid waste materials resulting from municipal, industrial, commercial, agricultural, and residential activities. Such wastes shall not include biological excrement nor hazardous waste materials, as defined in the Code of Federal Regulations, Title 40, Chapter 1, Part 261, dated July 1, 1984, or as amended.
A system of pipes and/or open channels that convey intercepted
runoff and stormwater from other sources, but excludes domestic sewage
and industrial wastes.
Any structure, natural or man-made, that, due to its condition,
design, or construction, conveys, stores, or otherwise affects stormwater
runoff. Typical stormwater management facilities include, but are
not limited to, detention and retention basins, open channels, watercourses,
road gutters, swales, storm sewers, pipes, and infiltration structures.
A strip of land, including the entire right-of-way (i.e.,
not limited to the cartway) intended to be used by vehicle traffic
or pedestrians. The word "street" includes avenue, boulevard, road,
highway, freeway, lane, viaduct, and any strip of land over which
there is a public or private right-of-way intended to serve as a means
of vehicular and/or pedestrian access to, and frontage for, abutting
properties. Streets are classified as follows:
ARTERIALA street that provides for intercommunity travel connecting population centers and carrying large volumes of traffic at speeds higher than desirable on other types of streets. The secondary function of an arterial street is to provide access to frontage lots; therefore, the intensity of driveway access is limited. Existing arterial streets are identified in Chapter 220, Zoning.
LOCALA street that provides for access to lots and carries traffic to and within the neighborhood.
The horizontal line paralleling the street that bisects the
street right-of-way into two equal widths. In those instances where
the street right-of-way cannot be determined, the street center line
shall correspond to the center of the cartway.
The elevation of a street along the center line of the cartway.
A line defining the edge of a street right-of-way and separating
the street from abutting properties or lots. The street line shall
be the same as the legal right-of-way line currently in existence.
A street not offered for dedication or which dedication was
not accepted by the municipality.
The division or redivision of a lot, tract or parcel of land
by any means into one, two or more lots, tracts, parcels, or other
divisions of land, including changes in existing lot lines for the
purpose, whether immediate or future, of lease, partition by the court
for distribution to heirs or devisees, transfer of ownership, or building,
or lot development; provided, however, that the subdivision by lease
of land for agricultural purposes into parcels of more than 10 acres,
not involving any new streets or easements of access or residential
dwelling shall be exempted.
A wide, shallow ditch which gathers or carries surface water.
East Cocalico Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
A duly registered professional engineer, licensed as such
by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, employed by the Township, or
engaged as a consultant thereto.
A portable structure, primarily designed to provide temporary
living quarters for recreation, camping or travel purposes. In addition
to the above, any of the following attributes are characteristic of
a travel trailer:
The unit is of such size or weight as not to
require a special highway movement permit from the Pennsylvania Department
of Transportation when self-propelled, or when hauled by a standard
motor vehicle on a highway.
The unit is mounted, or designed to be mounted,
on wheels.
The unit is designed to be loaded onto, or affixed
to, the bed and/or chassis of a truck.
The unit contains, or was designed to contain,
temporary storage of water and sewage.
The unit contains some identification by the
manufacturer as a travel trailer.
A unit the use of which is not subordinate or customarily
incidental to a principal unit. A unit of occupancy can be an independent
unit within a building or a separate, detached building.
A permanent or intermittent stream, river, brook, creek,
channel, or swale, pond, lake, or other body of surface water carrying
or holding surface water, whether natural or artificial.
All the land from which water drains into a particular watercourse.
Those areas that are inundated or saturated by surface or
ground water at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and
that, under normal circumstances, do support a prevalence of hydrophites
typically adapted for life in hydric soil conditions, including swamps,
marshes, bogs, and similar areas. The term includes, but is not limited
to, wetland areas listed in the State Water Plan, the United States
Forest Service Wetlands Inventory of Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania
Coastal Zone Management Plan, and any areas designated as wetlands
by the United States Army Corps of Engineers, a river basin commission,
or the Township.
The current version of the East Cocalico Township Zoning
Ordinance.[2]
