The following land subdivision principles, standards, and requirements
shall be applied by the Planning Commission in evaluating the plans
for proposed subdivisions and shall be the minimum requirements.
This article sets forth design standards and requirements for
all subdivision and land development proposals. The following standards
and requirements shall be applied by the Township in evaluating the
plans for proposed subdivisions and land developments and shall be
the minimum requirements. Any application fee for development shall
conform to the standards set forth in this article, unless a modification
is granted under the provisions of this chapter.
A. All plans shall be prepared in compliance with any applicable municipal ordinance, including Chapter
400, Zoning, in effect, and in compliance with any requirement imposed by any local, state, or federal entity exercising valid regulatory authority.
B. When other local regulations or state or federal statutes impose
more restrictive standards and requirements than those contained herein,
the more restrictive standards shall be observed.
Land shall be subdivided only for the purposes for which the
subdivision has been approved or proposed.
A. Preservation of natural features. A subdivider or developer shall
make every effort to preserve shade trees, other salient natural features,
keep cut-fill operations to a minimum, and ensure conformity with
topography so as to create the least erosion potential and adequately
handle the volume and velocity of surface water runoff. Whenever possible,
the applicant shall preserve trees, scenic points, historic spots
and other community assets and landmarks. All subdivisions over five
acres in size shall include a comprehensive environmental analysis
prepared by a qualified environmental engineer. Such environmental
analysis shall include:
(1) A description of the project.
(2) A map indicating:
(a)
Limits of the following slope areas:
(b)
All natural watercourses and wetlands.
(c)
Undermined areas with less than 100 feet overburden.
(3) An assessment of the impact of the proposed development on those items identified in Subsection
A(2) above.
(4) A list of steps proposed to mitigate environmental damage to the
site during construction.
(5) Evidence that the analysis was completed by a qualified environmental
engineer.
B. Subsidence. Land subject to subsidence or underground fires shall
either be made safe for the purpose for which it is to be used, or
such land shall be set aside for uses which shall not endanger life
or property or further aggravate or increase the existing menace.
C. Flood-prone areas. Portions of land which are poorly drained or subject to periodic flooding shall not be developed or subdivided for residential occupancy or for any uses which may involve danger to health, safety, and the general welfare of the community. (Refer to Chapter
200, Floodplain Management.)
D. Grading, excavating and filling. No change shall be made in the contour of the land, and no grading, excavating, removal or destruction of the topsoil, trees or other vegetative cover of the land shall be commenced, unless approved in the preliminary and final plat and, where applicable, reviewed and approved by the Allegheny County Conservation District. Such approval shall be based on a plan for minimizing erosion and sedimentation, controls for excessive slope areas, grading regulations, and storm drainage regulations in this chapter and Chapter
208, Grading and Excavation, and as may be required by applicable regulations of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection or other regulatory agencies having jurisdiction thereof.
E. Land subject to hazards of life, health and safety shall not be subdivided
until such hazards have been reviewed or corrected.
F. All portions of a tract being subdivided or developed shall be taken
up in lots, streets, public lands, or other proposed uses so that
remnants and landlocked areas shall be served.
Easements with a minimum width of 20 feet shall be provided
in all subdivisions and land developments for poles, wires, conduits,
storm drains, sanitary sewers, gas, water and heat mains and/or other
utility lines intended to service the abutting lots, tracts, or parcels.
Additional widths may be required if more than one utility is located
in the same easement. Easements shall be centered on or adjacent to
rear or side lot lines. No structures or trees shall be placed within
such easements. The developer shall comply with the Pennsylvania Public
Utility Commission (PUC) order of July 8, 1973, which requires electric
and telephone service in residential developments to be placed underground.
Where a subdivision is traversed by a watercourse, there shall be
provided a drainage easement or right-of-way, conforming substantially
with the line of such watercourse and with such width as will be adequate
to preserve natural drainage and provide sufficient width for maintenance.
Subdividers and land developers shall avail themselves of the facilities
provided by the various authorities or public utility companies in
determining the proper locations for utility line easements.
A. Water supply.
(1) All properties in subdivisions shall connect with an approved public
water supply system, if available. The subdivider shall construct
a system of water mains which are to be connected to the public water
system serving the Township wherever same is available. Subdivisions
of three lots or less, which are located 1,000 feet beyond the existing
system, may be exempted from this requirement by the Board of Commissioners
where individual wells are to be provided and upon consultation and
approving recommendations from the Aleppo Township Authority. Such
wells shall be located so as to minimize the potential of their pollution.
If the water distribution system cannot be tied in with an approved
public system, an individual well or spring must be installed and
operated in full compliance with the latest Pennsylvania Department
of Environmental Protection specifications covering such facilities.
All land developments of other types must be equipped with a public
water supply system, approved as adequate by the Board of Commissioners,
and be in accordance with the Aleppo Township Authority requirements.
(2) The plans for the installation of the mains of a water distribution
system shall be prepared with the cooperation of the applicable public
water authority and reviewed and approved by its engineer. A statement
of approval from the authority shall be submitted to the Board of
Commissioners.
(3) Upon completion of the water distribution and supply system, one
copy of the plans for the system shall be filed with the Board of
Commissioners. The plan shall also be reviewed and approved by the
Department of Environmental Protection.
(4) Individual on-lot water supply facilities shall not be deemed part
of the required improvements of this chapter.
(5) Fire hydrants. It will be the responsibility of the developer to
provide all subdivisions and land developments with fire hydrants.
Hydrants shall be installed with the installation of the waterlines
or as soon as they become available. The location of the hydrants
shall be approximately every 1,000 feet and shall be subject to approval
by the Township on the final plat.
B. Sanitary sewage disposal.
(1) Each property shall connect with an approved public sewer system,
if accessible. Where the sewer is not yet provided, the developer
shall install the sewer line, including lateral connections as may
be necessary to provide adequate service to each lot when connection
with the sewer system is made. The sewer lines shall be suitably capped
at the limits of the subdivision or development, and the laterals
shall be capped at the street right-of-way line.
(2) All plats submitted for approval must show sanitary drains separated
from all other drains. No stormwater shall be permitted in sanitary
drains.
(3) All plats, designs, and data of any new sewage system or for extension
for tapping into any existing system shall be submitted to the Aleppo
Township Authority for approval and be subject to all their requirements.
(4) The subdivider shall construct the necessary and required sanitary
sewer lines which shall, when possible, be connected to the public
sewer system serving the Township or a portion thereof. Subdivisions
of three lots or less, which are located 1,000 feet beyond the existing
public system, may be exempted from this requirement by the Board
of Commissioners where individually approved septic systems are to
be constructed. Said approval thereof shall be subject to Aleppo Township
Authority recommendations and Allegheny County Health Department approval.
Preliminary plans and a request for sewer service shall receive sewer
authority approval prior to approval of the final plat.
(5) If, in the opinion of the County Health Officer, the Township Engineer
and/or the Board of Commissioners, factors exist which would create
a public health and sanitation problem if a certain area is developed,
the Board shall not in those cases approve the subdivision and platting
of such area until such factors are corrected by an adequate sanitary
sewer system.
C. Propane. All propane installations shall be subject to prior approval
of the Township Engineer or other person designated by the Township
and the Department of Labor and Industry.
A street, whether dedicated to the Township or privately maintained, shall be defined as any right-of-way intended for general public use as access to single-family homes, townhouse or garden apartments, condominiums, commercial centers, industrial centers, or any other land development. All provisions in §
350-38 shall be equally applicable and binding for both dedicated and privately maintained streets, where said streets serve more than one dwelling.
A. General standards.
(1) The location and width of all streets either accepted by the Township
as Township streets or privately maintained shall conform to the "Official
Map," or to such parts thereof, as may have been adopted by the Township.
(2) All streets intended for public use shall be paved to full cartway
width. In all cases, paving materials and workmanship shall conform
to any and all applicable Township standards, including all Pennsylvania
Department of Transportation Standards adopted by the Township. The
proposed street system shall extend existing or recorded streets at
the same width, but in no case at less than the required minimum width,
and be so located as to allow proper development of surrounding properties.
(3) Where a subdivision or land development abuts an existing street
of improper width or alignment, the Township Planning Commission may
require the dedication of land sufficient to widen the street, or
correct the alignment.
(4) Minor streets shall be laid out so as to discourage through traffic.
Connector and collector streets should be provided to adequately provide
for the expected flow of traffic from minor streets.
(5) Streets in and bordering a subdivision or land development shall
be coordinated and be of such widths and grades and in such locations
as deemed necessary to accommodate prospective traffic and facilitate
fire protection.
(6) Proposed streets shall be planned suitable to the contour of the
land, to provide buildable lots, to have a suitable alignment and
grade, and to be able to drain properly in accordance with the standards
established by this chapter or other ordinances.
(7) Partially completed streets shall not be approved in a development
plan, but all streets shall be constructed as soon as feasible under
the construction schedule in accordance with the designations under
the approved final plat.
(8) Streets intended for the interior circulation of traffic in a land
development shall be designed so that no street providing parking
spaces shall be used as a through street. The developer shall be responsible
for installing center-line markings and traffic direction and control
signs on such streets.
(9) Street name signs shall be installed by the developer at each street
intersection in accordance to type of materials, design and standards
established by the Township.
(10)
A streetlighting system shall be installed in all developments
involving multifamily dwellings and at all intersections with existing
Township streets/roads. Streetlights may also be required where a
hazard exists as determined by the Board of Commissioners. The location
and design of light fixtures shall be as approved by the Board of
Commissioners.
B. Street widths.
(1) Minimum street right-of-way and cartway (pavement from curb face
to curb face) widths shall be shown on the "Official Map" or Comprehensive
Plan, or, if not shown on such map or plan, shall be as follows:
|
Street Type
|
Minimum Required Width
|
Feet
|
---|
|
Collector
|
Right-of-way
Cartway
|
50
24
|
|
Minor or local
|
Right-of-way
Cartway
|
50
20
|
|
Permanent cul-de-sac
|
Right-of-way (radius)
Cartway (radius)
|
50
40
|
|
Split street (having a median with a separate lane of traffic
for each direction)
|
Right-of-way
Cartways (each)
|
70
16
|
(2) Additional right-of-way and cartway widths may be required by the
Planning Commission for various reasons, including but not limited
to:
(a)
The type of land development;
(b)
Public safety and convenience;
(c)
Allowance for anticipated traffic volume;
(d)
The size of vehicles frequenting the development;
(f)
The loading of school buses or other public transportation.
C. Street grades.
(1) There shall be a minimum center-line grade of 2%.
(2) Center-line grades shall not exceed the following:
(d)
All street intersections: 4%.
(3) Grades shall be designed for maximum visibility.
D. Horizontal curves. Proper sight distance must be provided with respect
to horizontal alignment. Measured along the center line five feet
above grade, horizontal curves shall be provided to permit the following
minimum sight distances:
(2) Collector and connector streets: 200 feet.
E. Vertical curves. Proper sight distance must be provided with respect
to vertical alignment. Measured along the center line five feet above
minimum sight distances:
(2) Collector and connector streets: 200 feet.
F. Intersection.
(1) Streets shall intersect as nearly as possible at right angles. No
more than two streets shall intersect at the same point. Intersections
with collector streets shall be located not closer than 1,000 feet
apart, measured from the center line of the major street.
(2) Intersections with connector streets shall be at intervals not less
than 800 feet.
(3) Intersections with minor streets shall be at intervals not less than
500 feet.
(4) Staggered intersections shall be provided on collector streets at
a minimum distance of 500 feet; on connector or minor streets, at
not less than 200 feet as measured from center line to center line
along the street common to both intersections.
(5) Intersections shall be rounded by a tangential arc with a minimum
radius of:
(a)
Twenty-five feet for intersections involving only minor streets;
(b)
Thirty feet for all intersections involving a connector or collector
street.
G. Sight distance at intersections and obstructions. Embankments, fences,
hedges, shrubbery, walls, planting (except for trees and grass) or
other obstructions, including signs, shall not be located within the
right-of-way and shall not obscure any intersection. A clear sight
triangle shall be maintained at intersections so that, measured along
the center line, there shall be a clear sight triangle of 75 feet
minimum from the point of intersection. No obstruction to view will
be permitted in this area above the height of 2 1/2 feet and
below 10 feet.
H. Culs-de-sac and temporary dead-end streets.
(1) Cul-de-sac streets, permanently designed as such, shall not exceed
500 feet in length. The center-line grade on a cul-de-sac street shall
not exceed 8%.
(2) Dead-end streets shall be prohibited except for future access to
an adjoining property or because of authorized stage development.
Such streets shall be provided with a temporary, all-weather turnaround,
within the subdivision or development, and the use of such turnaround
shall be guaranteed to the public until such time as the street is
extended. The outer paving radius shall be 20 feet. Temporary dead-end
streets shall not exceed 1,000 feet in length.
I. Street names.
(1) Proposed streets which are obviously in alignment with others already
existing and named shall bear the names of the existing streets.
(2) In no case shall the name of a proposed street duplicate or be phonetically
similar to an existing street name in either the Township or the postal
district in which located. The subdivider or developer shall submit
the proposed street names to the Township at the time the preliminary
discussions are held and prior to filing a preliminary plat.