[Ord. 2013-499, 7/10/2013]
All provisions of this Chapter shall be administered by Red
Hill Borough Council or its officially designated representatives.
All matters relating to this Chapter shall be submitted to the Red
Hill Borough Manager or the Red Hill Borough Secretary, who will handle
the matter in accordance with current Red Hill Borough policies, procedures,
and guidelines as established from time to time by resolution of Red
Hill Borough Council.
[Ord. 2013-499, 7/10/2013]
Red Hill Borough shall assign a subdivision application number
to all subdivision and land development applications, and all matters
referring to an application shall be filed in accordance with the
subdivision case number. Red Hill Borough Council shall keep a public
record of its correspondence, findings, recommendations, and actions
relating to plans filed for review, in accordance with the policies,
procedures, and guidelines established by Red Hill Borough Council
and the Red Hill Borough Planning Commission.
[Ord. 2013-499, 7/10/2013]
1.
No application for preliminary or final plan approval shall be accepted
for processing unless accompanied by the required deposit or until
the fees and/or escrow deposit, as set forth below, shall have been
paid.
2.
Subdivision or land development application fees (nonrefundable),
escrow deposits for administrative fees and consultant review fees,
and a consultant professional services agreement on a form provided
by Red Hill Borough shall be signed by the applicant and submitted
with any application for sketch plan, preliminary plan or final plan
approval to cover the costs of plan review and processing.
3.
Red Hill Borough Council shall adopt and amend by resolution a schedule
of fees, payable by the applicant to Red Hill Borough for the filing
of preliminary and final plans and review by Red Hill Borough consultants.
Consultant review fees shall be reasonable and in accordance with
the ordinary and customary charges for similar service in the community,
but in no event shall the fees exceed the rate or cost charged by
the professional consultant for comparable services to Red Hill Borough
for services which are not reimbursed or otherwise imposed on applicants.
4.
Red Hill Borough Council shall adopt and amend by resolution a schedule
of escrow deposits to be paid by the applicant to Red Hill Borough
at the time of the filing of an application, sufficient to pay all
Red Hill Borough expenditures anticipated in the course of its review
and disposition of plans.
A.
Costs incurred by Red Hill Borough in excess of the escrowed amount,
or if the Borough determines that the funds held in escrow are likely
to be exhausted before 1) the work required of the Borough consultants
will be completed or 2) construction of the improvements is completed
and acceptance of dedication has occurred, then additional funds to
replenish the escrow or fully reimburse the Borough shall be paid
by the applicant prior to the granting of approvals or permits.
B.
If costs incurred by Red Hill Borough are less than the escrowed
amount, the difference shall be refunded to the applicant following
disposition of the plans or completion of construction and acceptance
of dedication, as applicable.
5.
Red Hill Borough expenditures subject to escrow as in § 22-702.4
above include but are not limited to the following:
A.
Engineering and other technical services performed by landscape architects,
geologists, planners, and other professionals during the plan review.
B.
Construction inspection and the testing of materials.
C.
Services of the Red Hill Borough Solicitor in reviewing and/or preparing
documents related to the plan reviews.
D.
Actual costs of recording.
E.
An administrative charge of 5% of the total costs described in the
previous four subsections.
[Amended by Ord. No. 2019-561, 10/9/2019]
6.
Escrow accounts for fees to conduct the necessary inspection and review services provided by Red Hill Borough during the construction of improvements approved in the final plan shall be established as part of the developer's agreement required in § 22-502.
7.
Disputes. In the event that the applicant disputes the amount of
any review fees, the applicant shall, within 45 days of the billing
date or the notice of withdrawal by Red Hill Borough of an amount
held in escrow, notify Red Hill Borough and the Borough consultant
that the fees are disputed and explain the basis of the objection
to the fees charged. In such case, Red Hill Borough shall not delay
or disapprove a subdivision or land development due to the applicant's
request regarding disputed fees. The applicant shall within 30 days
after the transmittal date of a bill for inspection services or 45
days of the date of transmittal of a final bill for inspection services
notify Red Hill Borough and its professional consultant that the fees
are disputed.
8.
Failure of the applicant to dispute a bill within the foregoing timelines
shall constitute a waiver of the applicant's right to arbitration
under Section 510(g) of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code.
The fee dispute process shall proceed as established in the Pennsylvania
Municipalities Planning Code, which generally provides for the following:
A.
In the event that the consultant for Red Hill Borough and the applicant
cannot agree on the amount of review fees which are reasonable and
necessary, then Red Hill Borough and the applicant shall jointly,
by mutual agreement, appoint another professional consultant of the
same profession or discipline as the professional consultant whose
fees are being disputed to serve as arbitrator to examine the disputed
review fees and make a determination as to the amount thereof which
are fair and reasonable within 50 days after the date of appointment.
B.
Appropriate payments or reimbursements shall be made within 60 days
following the decision by the arbitrator.
C.
If Red Hill Borough and the applicant cannot agree on the arbitrator
to be appointed within 20 days of the request for appointment, then
upon application of either party, the President Judge of the Court
of Common Pleas of the judicial district in which the municipality
is located shall appoint such arbitrator, who shall be neither Red
Hill Borough's professional consultant nor any professional consultant
who has been retained by or performed services for Red Hill Borough
or the applicant within the preceding five years.
9.
The fee of the appointed arbitrator 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 is less than the
original bill by $5,000 or more, the arbitrator may require part of
full payment from the applicant or professional consultant. In all
other cases, the consultant and Red Hill Borough shall each pay 1/2
of the fees of the professional consultant.
[Ord. 2013-499, 7/10/2013]
1.
Upon review and recommendation by the Red Hill Borough Planning Commission,
Red Hill Borough Council may grant a modification or waiver of the
requirements of one or more provisions of this Chapter, provided that
the applicant demonstrates to the satisfaction of Red Hill Borough
Council that the literal enforcement or strict application of one
or more provisions of this Chapter would be unreasonable and exact
undue hardship because of peculiar conditions pertaining to the land
in question, provided that such modification(s) or waivers will not
be contrary to the public interest and the purpose and intent of this
Chapter are observed.
2.
In granting modifications and waivers, Red Hill Borough Council may
impose such conditions as will, in its judgment, secure substantially
the objectives of the standards and requirements so modified.
3.
All requests for modification(s) or waivers shall:
A.
Be in writing in the form of a letter addressed to the Borough, which
shall accompany and be a part of the application for preliminary subdivision
and/or land development plan approval;
B.
State fully the grounds and facts of unreasonableness or resulting
hardship to the applicant if the minimum requested relief is not granted
or the public benefit of an alternative design standard;
C.
List the specific provision(s) of the Chapter from which a modification
or waiver is sought; and
D.
State fully the minimum modification necessary and the alternatives
being proposed.
4.
If modification or waiver approval is granted by Red Hill Borough
Council, the approved modifications or waivers shall be listed on
the first sheet of the final approved plans. Borough Council shall
keep a written record of all action taken on all requests for modification
or waiver.
[Ord. 2013-499, 7/10/2013]
1.
Preventative Remedies.
A.
In addition to other remedies, Red Hill Borough may institute and
maintain appropriate actions by law or in equity to restrain, to correct
or abate violations, to prevent unlawful construction, to recover
damages and to prevent illegal occupancy of a building or other structure.
B.
Red Hill Borough may refuse to issue any permit or grant any approval
necessary to further improve or develop any real property which has
been developed or has resulted from a subdivision in violation of
this Chapter. As an additional condition for the issuance of any permit
or approval, Red Hill Borough may require compliance with the conditions
that would have been applicable to the property at the time the applicant
acquired an interest in it.
2.
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 Red Hill Borough, pay
a judgment of not more than $500 plus all court costs, including the
reasonable attorney fees incurred by Red Hill Borough as a result
thereof.
A.
No judgment shall commence or be imposed, be levied, or be payable
until the date of the determination of a violation by the District
Justice.
B.
If the defendant neither pays nor timely appeals the judgment, Red
Hill Borough may enforce the judgment pursuant to the applicable rules
of civil procedure.
C.
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.
D.
All fines collected for such violations shall be paid to Red Hill
Borough.
3.
In the event that any required improvements have not been installed
in accordance with this Chapter and the approved final plan, Red Hill
Borough Council shall have the right to enforce the financial security
provided by the applicant by appropriate legal and equitable remedies.
If proceeds of such financial security are insufficient to pay the
cost of installing, constructing or making repairs or corrections
to all of the improvements covered by said financial security, Red
Hill Borough Council may, at its option, install part of such improvements
in all or part of the subdivision or land development and may institute
appropriate legal or equitable action to recover the moneys necessary
to complete the remainder of the improvements. All proceeds shall
be used solely for the installation of the improvements covered by
such financial security and not for any other municipal purpose.
