All provisions of this chapter shall be administered by the Board of Township Supervisors of Haverford Township or by a Township official as designated by the Board (for purpose of clarity, called the "Zoning Officer" herein). All plans, applications, correspondence, complaints, requests for variances or appeals shall be delivered to the Township offices and submitted through the Township Manager's office to the Zoning Officer.
A. 
If any mandatory provisions of the regulations contained in this chapter are shown by the applicant/developer to the satisfaction of the Board of Commissioners to be unreasonable or to cause undue hardship or the applicant/developer shows that an alternate standard can provide equal or better results, the Board of Commissioners may grant a modification to that provision. A modification may be granted, provided that it will not be contrary to public interest and the purpose and intent of this chapter is maintained.
B. 
All requests for modifications shall be in writing and signed by the applicant. The request shall state the reasons and grounds for why the provision is unreasonable or the hardship imposed and shall discuss the minimum modification necessary.
C. 
It is not sufficient proof of hardship to show that greater profit would result if the modification were granted. Furthermore, the hardship complained of cannot be claimed by one who purchases with or without knowledge of restriction; it must be from the application of this chapter; it must be suffered directly by the property in question; and evidence of a modification granted under similar circumstances shall not be considered.
D. 
The Board of Commissioners shall request an advisory opinion on the modification request from the Township Engineer and the Township Planning Commission.
E. 
In granting modifications, the Board of Commissioners may impose such conditions as will, in its judgment, secure substantially the objectives of the standards or requirements so modified.
F. 
The Township shall keep a written record of all requests for modifications.
G. 
If a modification is granted it shall be referenced in the conditions of approval of the plan and shall apply only to that plan.
If, during the course of construction or completion of a subdivision or land development, changes, alterations or modifications of a final plan become necessary, such changes may be approved only after written acceptance by the Township Engineer and written approval of the Board of Commissioners. Substantial revisions to any such final plan shall cause the rerecordation by the Township of the final plan after such approvals are obtained, costs for the same to be borne by the developer.
It is hereby declared to be the legislative intent of Haverford Township that:
A. 
If a court of competent jurisdiction declares any provisions of this chapter to be invalid or ineffective in whole or in part, the effect of such decision shall be limited to those provisions which are expressly stated in the decision to be invalid or ineffective, and all other provisions of this chapter shall continue to be separately and fully effective.
B. 
If a court of competent jurisdiction finds the application of any provision or provisions of this chapter to any lot, building or other structure or tract of land to be invalid or ineffective in whole or in part, the effect of such decision shall be limited to the person, property or situation immediately involved in the controversy, and the application of any such provision to other persons, property or situations shall not be affected.
A. 
Jurisdiction.
(1) 
Subdivision and land development control. It shall be unlawful for the owner of any land in the Township or any other person, firm or corporation to subdivide any lot, tract or parcel of land or to lay out, construct, open or dedicate for public use or travel any street, sanitary sewer, storm sewer, drainage facilities or other facilities in connection therewith or for the common use of occupants of buildings within the subdivision or land development unless and until final plans of such subdivision or development shall have been prepared by a registered professional engineer or registered land surveyor, submitted to and approved in writing thereon by the Township Board of Commissioners and recorded in the Delaware County Recorder of Deeds Office in Media.
(2) 
Sale of lots; issuance of building permits; erection of buildings.
(a) 
No lot in a subdivision may be sold and no permit to erect, alter or repair any building upon land in a subdivision or land development may be issued unless and until the municipal improvements required by the Board of Commissioners in connection therewith have either been constructed or guaranteed as hereinafter provided.
(b) 
No building in a subdivision or land development depending for ingress and egress upon the improvement of any street or streets herein provided for shall be permitted to be occupied before improvements are fully completed from an existing paved street to and across the front of the lot on which the building is located and/or to a sufficient depth along the side of the lot to service any driveway, driveways or parking spaces.
(c) 
No building depending upon public water and sewer facilities shall be permitted to be occupied before such facilities are fully provided and operational.
(3) 
Preventative remedies.
(a) 
In addition to other remedies provided for herein, the Township may institute and maintain appropriate actions in law or in equity to restrain, correct or abate violations, to prevent unlawful construction, 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 transferor from such penalties or from the remedies herein provided.
(b) 
The Township, its Zoning Officer or other officers or officials 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 any provision of this chapter. This authority to deny any such permits or approvals 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 the violation without regard as to whether such vendee or lessee had actual or constructive knowledge of the violation.
(c) 
No permit shall be issued nor shall any approval be granted to any applicant identified in Subsection A(3)(b) above unless such applicant complies with the conditions which would have been applicable to the property at the time the applicant acquired an interest in such real property, unless the Township waives such condition or conditions.
B. 
Penalties.
(1) 
Any person, partnership or corporation who or which, being the owner or agent of the owner of any lot, tract or parcel of land, shall lay out, construct, open or dedicate any street, sanitary sewer, storm sewer, water main or other improvements for public use, travel or for the common use of occupants or buildings abutting thereon or sell, transfer or agree to enter into an agreement to sell any land in a subdivision or land development, whether by reference to or by other use of a plat of such subdivision or land development or otherwise, or erect any building thereon, unless and until a final plat has been prepared in full compliance with the provisions of the regulations adopted hereunder and has been recorded as provided herein, shall be guilty of a summary offense.
(2) 
Enforcement remedies.
(a) 
Any person, partnership or corporation who or which has violated any of the provisions of this chapter, upon being found liable thereof in a civil enforcement proceeding commenced by the Township, shall pay a judgment of not more that $500 plus all court costs plus reasonable attorneys' fees incurred by the Township as a result thereof. No judgment shall commence or be imposed, levied or 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 the violation continues shall constitute a separate violation.
(b) 
The Court of Common Pleas, upon petition of the defendant, 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 herein 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.
(3) 
In addition to the above, the Township may, at its sole discretion, revoke all previously issued building, use and/or occupancy permits and refuse to issue any further permits until such time as the landowner or his agent shall correct any and all violations of this chapter.
When an application for approval of a plat, whether preliminary or final, has been approved or approved subject to conditions acceptable to the applicant, no subsequent change or amendment in the subdivision or other governing ordinance or plan shall be applied to affect adversely the right of the applicant with the terms of such approval within five years from such approval. Where final approval is preceded by preliminary approval, the five-year period shall be counted from the date of the preliminary approval.