Borough of Red Hill, PA Part 1 TITLE; CONTENTS; PURPOSE; INTERPRETATION; JURISDICTION; WAIVERS

§ 22-100 Title.

[Ord. 2013-499, 7/10/2013]

This Chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Borough of Red Hill Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance."

§ 22-101 Enactment.

[Ord. 2013-499, 7/10/2013]

This Chapter has been enacted in conformance with the provisions of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, Act No. 247 of 1968, and the Pennsylvania Storm Water Management Act, P.L. 864 (Act 167), as amended.[1]

[1] Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 10101 et seq. and 32 P.S. § 680.1 et seq., respectively.

§ 22-102 Contents.

[Ord. 2013-499, 7/10/2013]

1. This Chapter contains regulations which include, but are not limited to, the following:

A. Provisions for the filing, processing, review, and approval of all subdivision and land development plans;

B. Design standards and guidelines for the overall layout, configuration, and placement of lots, roads, open space, parks, public facilities and other physical improvements on property within Red Hill Borough to promote orderly development compatible with the Upper Perkiomen Valley Comprehensive Plan; and

C. Engineering and technical standards, including appropriate financial guarantees, governing the manner by which various improvements, including streets, bridges, common facilities, water supply and sewage facilities infrastructure, stormwater management facilities, walkways, lighting, and other public improvements, are properly constructed.

§ 22-103 Purposes.

[Ord. 2013-499, 7/10/2013]

1. The following are the purposes of this Chapter:

A. To accomplish the coordinated development of Red Hill Borough, thereby ensuring the overall health, safety, and general welfare of the residents of Red Hill Borough;

B. To enable the development of Red Hill Borough in an orderly, efficient, integrated, and harmonious manner;

C. To guide the future growth and development of Red Hill Borough in conformance to the Upper Perkiomen Valley Comprehensive Plan and to other relevant regulations, maps, studies, and reports adopted in furtherance thereof;

D. To ensure that streets in and bordering a subdivision or land development shall be coordinated, and be of such design, and in such locations as deemed necessary to accommodate prospective traffic and parking, and to facilitate fire-protection and other emergency services;

E. To require adequate, appropriately located easements or rights-of-way for existing and future utilities and storm drainage facilities;

F. To ensure that any lands offered for dedication or otherwise reserved for use as public or common grounds shall be of suitable size, configuration, and topographical character for their designated uses;

G. To ensure conformance of subdivision and land development proposals with the availability of municipal services and public facilities and the coordination of intermunicipal programs;

H. To preserve lands subject to inundation or flooding from subdivision or land development which would endanger life or property or further aggravate or increase the existing flooding or inundation conditions;

I. To encourage and promote flexibility, economy, and ingenuity in the layout and design of subdivisions and land developments, including provisions authorizing Red Hill Borough to modify the requirements of this Chapter in accordance with concepts and practices consistent with the modern and evolving, generally accepted principles of site planning, engineering, and land development;

J. To provide equitable and expeditious handling of all subdivision and land development proposals by providing uniform procedures and standards;

K. To encourage subdivision and land development in accordance with principles and practices which conserve energy, both during and after construction, and which encourage the use of alternative energy sources by the layout of the lots and the siting of buildings;

L. To ensure conformance of subdivision and land development plans with the public improvements of Red Hill Borough and coordination of intermunicipal, Montgomery County, and Pennsylvania improvement plans and programs;

M. To provide adequate open space lands and recreation facilities;

N. To preserve and protect natural resources and to prevent pollution of air and water so as to maintain the quality of life within Red Hill Borough and adjacent lands;

O. To maintain the character and the social and economic stability of Red Hill Borough and to encourage the orderly and beneficial development of the community; and

P. To provide for the buffering of certain types of land uses to minimize their impact upon their surroundings.

§ 22-104 Interpretation.

[Ord. 2013-499, 7/10/2013]

The provisions of this Chapter shall be the minimum requirements to meet the above-stated purposes. Where the provisions of this Chapter impose greater restrictions than those of any other applicable statute, ordinance, or regulation, the provisions of this Chapter and its standards and specifications shall prevail unless specifically preempted by a State or Federal statute. Where the provisions of any other statute, ordinance, or regulations impose greater restrictions than those of this Chapter, the provisions of such other statute, ordinance, or regulations shall take precedence.

§ 22-105 Jurisdiction.

[Ord. 2013-499, 7/10/2013]

1. Red Hill Borough Council shall, with the recommendation of the Red Hill Planning Commission, review and act upon as appropriate all subdivision and land development plans as defined below and in § 22-201 of this Chapter which are located entirely in or in part of Red Hill Borough.

A. Subdivision and Land Development. No subdivision or land development of any lot, tract, or parcel of land, as defined in Part 2, shall be made, and no street, alley, sanitary sewer, storm drain, water main, gas, oil or electric line, or other improvements in connection therewith, shall be laid out, constructed, or dedicated for public use, or travel, or for the common use of occupants of a building abutting thereon, except in strict accordance with this Chapter.

B. Sale of Lots, Issuance of Building Permits, or Erection of Buildings or On-Site Improvements. No lot in a subdivision or land development may be sold, and no permit to erect, alter, or repair any building or other improvements upon land in a subdivision or land development will be issued, unless and until a subdivision and/or land development plan has been approved, and, where required, recorded, and until the required improvements in connection therewith have either been constructed or guaranteed for construction in the form of a bond, escrow, or other means approved by Red Hill Borough under the advice of the Red Hill Borough Engineer and Solicitor, in accordance with the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

C. Condominiums. No provision of this Chapter shall be construed to prohibit condominium ownership as permitted by the applicable enabling legislation of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

§ 22-106 Waiver of Requirements.

[Ord. 2013-499, 7/10/2013]

Red Hill Borough Council may grant a modification of the requirements of this Chapter through a waiver where, owing to unusual and specific conditions, the applicant demonstrates to the satisfaction of Red Hill Borough Council that literal compliance with mandatory requirements of this Chapter would be unreasonable or cause undue hardship, or where an alternative standard can be demonstrated to provide equal or better results, subject to such conditions and safeguards as Red Hill Borough Council may impose, provided that such waiver will not be contrary to the public interest and that the purpose and intent of this Chapter is observed. All requests for modifications shall be submitted in accordance with § 22-703 of this Chapter.