All applications submitted for approval of a
subdivision or land development shall be subject to the following
fees:
A.
Application filing fees. A schedule of application
filing fees shall be established, from time to time, by resolution
of the Board of Commissioners. The application filing fees shall cover
the administrative costs associated with processing an application
for approval of a subdivision or land development and shall be payable
to the Township at the time of submission of the application.
B.
Application review fees.
(1)
An application review escrow deposit in an amount
established from time to time by resolution of the Board of Commissioners
also shall be payable at the time of submission of the application
to guarantee payment of the estimated application review fees required
by this subsection. The actual amount of the review fees in excess
of the escrow deposit shall be payable within 14 days of the applicant's
receipt of the bill from the Township. Any monies remaining in the
escrow account after all review fees have been paid shall be returned
to the applicant.
(2)
Failure to pay the required escrow deposit or any
additional review fees required by this subsection shall cause the
application to be determined to be incomplete and the application
shall not be scheduled for review by the Planning Commission or the
Board of Commissioners until such fees are paid.
(3)
Application review fees shall include reasonable and
necessary charges by the Township's professional consultants or the
Township Engineer for review and report on the application to the
Township. Such review fees shall be based upon a schedule established
from time to time by resolution of the Board of Commissioners. Such
review fees shall be reasonable and in accordance with the ordinary
and customary charges by the Township Engineer or other professional
consultants for similar service in the community, but in no event
shall the fees exceed the rate or cost charged by the Township Engineer
or other professional consultants to the Township when fees are not
reimbursed or otherwise imposed on applicants.
(4)
In the event the applicant disputes the amount of
any such review fees, the applicant shall, within 14 days of receipt
of the bill from the Township, notify the Township Manager that such
fees are disputed, in which case the Township shall not delay or disapprove
a subdivision or land development application due to the applicant's
request over disputed fees.
C.
Inspection fees.
(1)
The applicant shall reimburse the Township for the
reasonable and necessary expense incurred for the inspection of improvements.
Such reimbursement shall be based upon a schedule established from
time to time by resolution of the Board of Commissioners. Such expense
shall be reasonable and in accordance with the ordinary and customary
fees charged by the Township Engineer or consultant for work performed
for similar services in the community, but in no event shall the fees
exceed the rate or cost charged by the Township Engineer or consultant
to the Township when fees are not reimbursed or otherwise imposed
on applicants.
(2)
An inspection fee escrow deposit in an amount established from time to time by resolution of the Board of Commissioners shall be payable at the time of execution of the development agreement required by § 215-32 of this chapter to guarantee payment of the estimated inspection fees required by this section. Any unused balance remaining in the application review escrow account shall be rolled over into the inspection fee escrow account.
(3)
The actual amount of the inspection fees in excess
of the escrow deposit shall be payable within 14 days of receipt of
the bill from the Township. Any monies remaining in the escrow account
after all inspection fees have been paid shall be returned to the
applicant.
(4)
Disputed fees.
(a)
In the event the applicant disputes the amount
of any such expense in connection with the inspection of improvements,
the applicant shall, within 14 days of receipt of the bill from the
Township, notify the Township Manager that such expenses are disputed
as unreasonable or unnecessary, in which case the Township shall not
delay or disapprove a subdivision or land development application
or any approval or permit related to development due to the applicant's
request over disputed engineer expenses.
(b)
If within 20 days from the date of billing,
the Township and the applicant cannot agree on the amount of expenses
which are reasonable and necessary, then the applicant and the Township
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. 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.
(c)
In the event that the Township and the applicant
cannot agree upon the professional engineer to be appointed within
20 days of the billing date, then upon application of either party,
the President Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of the judicial district
in which the Township is located or if at the time there be no President
Judge, then the senior active judge then sitting shall appoint such
engineer, who, in that case, 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, provided the professionals resolving the dispute shall be of
the same profession or discipline as the consultant whose fees are
being disputed.
(d)
The fees of the appointed professional engineer
for determining the reasonable and necessary expenses shall be paid
by the applicant if the amount of 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,
but otherwise the Township and the applicant shall each pay 1/2 of
the fee of the appointed professional engineer.
The Board of Commissioners may, from time to
time, amend this chapter in accordance with the following provisions:
A.
Planning Commission review. In the case of amendments
other than those prepared by the Township Planning Commission, the
Board of Commissioners shall submit the proposed amendment to the
Planning Commission for recommendations at least 30 days prior to
the date fixed for the public hearing on the proposed amendment.
B.
County Planning Agency review. The proposed amendment
shall be submitted to the Allegheny County Department of Economic
Development for review and recommendations at least 30 days prior
to the Board of Commissioners' public hearing on the amendment.
C.
Public hearing. Amendments to this chapter shall become
effective only after a public hearing conducted by the Board of Commissioners
and held pursuant to public notice, as defined herein.
D.
Publication, advertisement and availability of ordinance.
(1)
Proposed amendments shall not be enacted unless public
notice, as defined herein, of the proposed enactment is given, including
the time and place of the meeting at which passage will be considered
and a reference to a place within the Township where copies of the
proposed amendment may be examined without charge or obtained for
a charge not greater than the cost thereof.
(2)
The Board of Commissioners shall publish the proposed
amendment once in one newspaper of general circulation in the Township
not more than 60 days nor fewer than seven days prior to passage.
Publication of the proposed amendment shall include either the full
text thereof or the title and a brief summary prepared by the Township
Solicitor and setting forth all the provisions in reasonable detail.
If the full text is not included:
(a)
A copy thereof shall be supplied to a newspaper
of general circulation in the Township at the time the public notice
is published.
(b)
An attested copy of the proposed amendment shall
be filed in the County Law Library or other county office designated
by the County Commissioners who may impose a fee no greater than that
necessary to cover the actual costs of storing said ordinances.
(c)
In the event substantial amendments are made
in the proposed amendment, before voting upon enactment, the Board
of Commissioners shall, at least 10 days prior to enactment, readvertise
in one newspaper of general circulation in the Township, a brief summary
setting forth all the provisions in reasonable detail, together with
a summary of the amendments.
(d)
Subdivision and land development amendments
may be incorporated into official ordinance books by reference with
the same force and effect as if duly recorded therein.
E.
Filing after enactment. Within 30 days after adoption,
the Township Manager shall forward a certified copy of the amendment
to the Allegheny County Department of Economic Development.
Any party aggrieved by the decision of the Board
of Commissioners regarding a subdivision or land development plan
may appeal such decision within 30 days of the date of entry of the
decision of the Board of Commissioners to the Allegheny County Court
of Common Pleas.
A.
In addition to other remedies, the Township may institute
and maintain appropriate actions by law or in equity to restrain,
correct or abate violations, to prevent unlawful construction, to
recover damages and to prevent illegal occupancy of a building, structure
or premises. The description by metes and bounds in the instrument
of transfer or other documents used in the process of selling or transferring
shall not exempt the seller or transferror from such penalties or
from the remedies herein provided.
B.
The Township may refuse to issue any permit or grant
any approval necessary to further improve or develop any real property
which has been developed or which has resulted from a subdivision
of real property in violation of this chapter. The authority to deny
such a permit or approval shall apply to any of the following applicants:
(1)
The owner of record at the time of such violation.
(2)
The vendee or lessee of the owner of record at the
time of such violation without regard as to whether such vendee or
lessee had actual or constructive knowledge of the violation.
(3)
The current owner of record who acquired the property
subsequent to the time of violation without regard as to whether such
current owner had actual or constructive knowledge of the violation.
(4)
The vendee or lessee of the current owner of record
who acquired the property subsequent to the time of violation without
regard as to whether such vendee or lessee had actual or constructive
knowledge of the violation.
C.
As an additional condition for issuance of a permit
or the granting of an approval to any such owner, current owner, vendee
or lessee for the development of any such real property, the Township
may require compliance with the conditions that would have been applicable
to the property at the time the applicant acquired an interest in
such real property.
A.
Any person, partnership or corporation who or which
has violated the provisions of this chapter shall, upon being found
liable therefor in a civil enforcement proceeding commenced by the
Township, pay a judgment of not more than $500 plus all court costs,
including reasonable attorney fees incurred by the Township as a result
thereof. No judgment shall commence or be imposed, levied or be payable
until the date of the determination of a violation by the District
Justice. If the defendant neither pays nor timely appeals the judgment,
the Township may enforce the judgment pursuant to the applicable rules
of civil procedure. Each day that a violation continues shall constitute
a separate violation, unless the District Justice determining that
there has been a violation further determines that there was a good
faith basis for the person, partnership or corporation violating this
chapter to have believed that there was no such violation, in which
event there shall be deemed to have been only one such violation until
the fifth day following the date of the determination of a violation
by the District Justice and thereafter each day that a violation continues
shall constitute a separate violation.
B.
The Court of Common Pleas, upon petition, may grant
an order of stay, upon cause shown, tolling the per diem judgment
pending a final adjudication of the violation and judgment.
C.
Nothing contained in this section shall be construed
or interpreted to grant to any person or entity other than the Township
the right to commence any action for enforcement pursuant to this
section.
Whenever there is a difference between a minimum
standard or dimension specified in this chapter and those contained
in another official regulation, resolution or ordinance of the Township
or any other restriction or covenant, the most restrictive standard
shall apply. If a question of conflict arises between various portions
of this chapter, the most restrictive term shall apply.