[Amended 1-8-1990 by Ord. No. 460]
A.
The provisions of this chapter are the minimum standards
for the protection of the public welfare.
B.
One or more provisions of this chapter may be modified
by the Township Council, upon recommendation of the Planning Commission,
if the literal enforcement of the provisions will exact undue hardship
because of peculiar conditions pertaining to the land in question,
provided that such modification will not be contrary to the public
interest and that the purpose and intent of this chapter is observed.
(1)
All requests for a modification shall be in writing
and shall accompany and be a part of the preliminary or final plan
application for subdivision and/or land development. The request shall
state in full the grounds and facts of unreasonableness or hardship
on which the request is based, the provision or provisions of this
chapter involved and the minimum modification necessary.
(2)
The Township shall keep a written record of all action
on all requests for modifications.
(3)
The Township Council may authorize a waiver of these
regulations. In granting any modification, the Township Council shall
prescribe any conditions that it deems necessary to or desirable for
the public interest. In making its findings, the Township Council
shall take into account the nature of the proposed use of land and
the existing use of land in the vicinity, the probable effect of the
proposed subdivision upon traffic conditions and/or fire and police
protection and other utilities and services in the vicinity. No modification
shall be granted unless the Township Council finds that:
(a)
There are special circumstances or conditions
affecting said property such that the strict application of the provisions
of this chapter would deprive the applicant of the reasonable use
of the land.
(b)
The modification is necessary for the preservation
and enjoyment of a substantial property right of the applicant.
(c)
The granting of the modification will not be
detrimental to the public welfare or injurious to other property in
the area in which said property is situated.
Any applicant aggrieved by a finding, decision
or recommendation of the Township Council may request to appear before
the Township Council, present additional relevant information and
request reconsideration of the Township Council's original findings,
decision or reconsideration. The applicant's request shall be in writing
and made within 30 days of notification of the Township Council's
decision. The applicant's request for reconsideration shall not extend
the time for appeal to a court of competent jurisdiction.
Application fees for major and minor subdivisions
and land developments shall be in accordance with the fee schedule
as established by the Township Council.
Nothing herein contained shall be interpreted
to permit any waiver of any of the requirements of the Middletown
Township Building, Electrical, Plumbing, Fire and Zoning Codes, as
each may have been amended or will from time to time be amended.[1]
Township Council may, from time to time, revise,
modify, and amend this chapter by appropriate action taken at a scheduled
public meeting, all in accordance with the applicable provisions of
the Pennsylvania Municipal Planning Code.
[Amended 1-8-1990 by Ord. No. 460]
A.
Preventive remedies.
(1)
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 transformer from such penalties or
from the remedies herein provided.
(2)
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 any ordinance provisions. This authority
to deny such a permit or approval shall apply to any of the following
applicants:
(a)
The owner of record at the time of such violation.
(b)
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.
(c)
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.
(d)
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.
(3)
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.
B.
Jurisdiction. Magisterial District Judges shall have initial jurisdiction in proceedings brought under Subsection C.
C.
Enforcement remedies.
(1)
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 attorneys' 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
Magisterial District Judge. 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 Magisterial
District Judge determining that there has been a violation further
determines that there was a good-faith basis for the person, partnership
or corporation violating the ordinance 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 Magisterial District Judge,
and thereafter, each day that a violation continues shall constitute
a separate violation.
(2)
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.
(3)
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.
The decision of Township Council with respect
to the approval or disapproval of plans may be appealed directly to
court as provided for in the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning
Code, as amended.
Chapter VII, Subdivision Regulations, Article
1, Section 105.D.2.d.(4), which is Ordinance No. 62, approved January
31, 1961, as amended by Ordinance No. 227, approved November 20, 1978,
is not amended by anything stated herein and said section shall remain
in full force and effect.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: This section refers to original
ordinance numbering.
