This chapter shall be known as the "Jackson Township Subdivision
and Land Development Ordinance." For purposes of the Code of Jackson
Township, Butler County, Pennsylvania, this chapter shall be known
as the "Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance" and/or the "SALDO."
A.
This chapter is adopted for the following purposes:
(1)
To promote and protect the public health, safety, morals and welfare.
(2)
To promote orderly, efficient, integrated and harmonious development
in the Township.
(3)
To require sites suitable for building purposes and human habitation
in keeping with the standards of quality existing in the Township
and to alleviate peril from fire, flood, erosion, excessive noise,
smoke or other menace.
(4)
To coordinate proposed streets and other improvements with existing
or proposed streets, parks or other features of the Comprehensive
Plan and to provide for drainage, water supply, sewage disposal and
other appropriate utility services.
(5)
To encourage preservation of adequate open spaces for recreation,
light and air and maintenance of the natural amenities characteristics
of the Township and its residential, commercial, agricultural, industrial
and public areas.
(6)
To ensure conformance of subdivision and land development plans with the Comprehensive Plan, Zoning Ordinance (Chapter 27) and public improvement plans and to ensure coordination of intergovernmental improvement plans and programs.
(7)
To secure equitable treatment of all subdivision and land development
plans by providing uniform procedures and standards.
(8)
To ensure that developments are environmentally sound by requiring
preservation of the natural features of the areas to be developed
to the greatest extent practicable, to maintain the economic well-being
of the Township and to prevent unnecessary or undesirable blight,
runoff and pollution.
(9)
To secure the protection of water resources and drainageways.
(10)
To establish provisions governing the standards by which streets
shall be granted and improved, and walkways, curbs, gutters, streetlights,
fire hydrants, water and sewage facilities, and other improvements
shall be installed as a condition precedent to final approval of plans.
B.
The objectives of this chapter are to coordinate and implement the
community development objectives of the Township Comprehensive Plan.
The specific objectives are as follows:
(1)
Agricultural preservation objectives:
(2)
Natural and cultural resources protection objectives:
(a)
Preserve the natural features of the Township by encouraging
a low order of development in the more environmentally sensitive portions
of the Township.
(b)
Protect the natural resources of the Township, including air
quality, water quality, stream and wetlands and forests and steep
slopes.
(c)
Protect the Township's cultural, historic, architectural and
archaeological resources.
(3)
Growth and development objectives:
(a)
Maintain the Township's rural/agricultural character despite
the presence of accelerating development pressures.
(b)
Accommodate a fair share of growth rather than encouraging accelerated
development.
(c)
Accommodate new community-based commercial uses (e.g., offices,
services, entertainment and dining) if properly located and buffered
from adjoining neighborhoods.
(d)
Promote small-scale and light industries as the preferred forms
of industrial land use so as to stimulate startup businesses, local
job generation, and tax revenues.
(e)
Transform the scattered residential pattern which presently
exists into more concentrated and identifiable residential developments.
(g)
Limit the intrusion of nonresidential uses into residential
areas.
(h)
Prevent undesirable land use relationships by avoiding the mixing
of incompatible uses.
(i)
Limit the number of new commercial centers and concentrate on
effectively using and developing older commercial centers that are
important to the area.
(j)
Encourage economic diversity by reserving adequate land for
commercial and industrial location in accordance with the Future Land
Use Plan.
(k)
Attract light industrial activities by providing space free
from residential and other nonindustrial intrusion and by providing
an optimum level of public services.
(4)
Housing objectives:
(a)
Allow for a range of housing types at a range of densities on
land sufficient to accommodate the Township's current and projected
fair share housing needs.
(b)
Offer housing opportunities that are flexible and open, permitting
a mixture of people in all areas without reference to ethnic, racial,
cultural, socioeconomic or other backgrounds.
(c)
Enforce uniform building and related codes throughout the Township.
(d)
Eliminate and prevent conditions which contribute to the creation
of and which perpetuate blighted conditions.
(5)
Transportation objectives:
(a)
Encourage and support a Township-wide circulation system which
serves existing and anticipated future land uses, provides maximum
convenience of movement to the population, and shapes the extent and
direction of growth within the Township.
(b)
Encourage the location of new roadway facilities in a manner
which feasibly complements the Future Land Use Plan and improves existing
road patterns in order to handle increased traffic.
(c)
Provide adequate development controls to minimize any adverse
impacts of future development proposals on the transportation system.
(d)
Implement proper design procedures to discourage through traffic
in residential neighborhoods.
(e)
Eliminate strip development and on-street parking; effectively
control access drive entrances/exists on major roads.
(f)
Provide for adequate off-street parking facilities and safe
pedestrian access.
(g)
Provide for safe driveway, access drive, and street intersections
by developing standards for safe site distances, proper drainage and
construction standards.
(h)
Recognize the patterns of weight-restricted roadways and bridges
and plan for commercial and industrial use appropriately.
(i)
Encourage the increased coverage and frequency of public transportation
service in the Jackson area.
(6)
Community facilities and services objectives:
(a)
Develop a maximum relationship between the development of land
and the provision of adequate public facilities.
(b)
Insure all new development with adequate stormwater management
facilities.
(c)
Provide police protection to assure the welfare and safety of
the residents' community.
(d)
Support adequate fire protection and medical and emergency service
to the community.
(e)
Continually review police and fire needs and coordinate the
provision of these services with adjoining municipalities.
(f)
Maximize the efficient use of the Township's public utility
systems.
(g)
Encourage the extension of public utility lines to future development
areas as depicted in the Comprehensive Plan at the developer's expense.
(h)
Identify means to assure that adequate water quality and quantity
is provided for domestic use and firefighting purposes.
(i)
Discourage sizable residential development in areas that are
not served by public utilities.
(j)
Promote the use of gravity-flow sewage systems over pressurized
systems.
(k)
Support educational, recreational and cultural opportunities
for all age groups.
(l)
Provide adequate recreational facilities with residential neighborhoods
based upon need.
(m)
Encourage cooperative planning and financing of recreational
sites and facilities among the communities of the region.
A.
The land development or subdivision of any lot, tract or parcel of
land and the laying out, constructing, opening and dedicating of any
street, sanitary sewer, storm sewer, water main or other improvements
in connection therewith shall be in accordance with the provisions
of this chapter and all other provisions of the Code of Jackson Township,
Butler County, Pennsylvania, and other Township ordinances, resolutions
and regulations, and all other applicable federal, state and county
laws, statutes, ordinances, resolutions and regulations.
B.
Prior to commencing or undertaking any site development, earth disturbance, grading and/or construction activity in the Township, an applicant shall apply for and obtain all necessary federal, state, county and Township permits and approvals, including, but not limited to, any highway occupancy permits and other permits required by the Township under Chapter 21, Streets and Sidewalks, of the Code of Jackson Township, Butler County, Pennsylvania, as amended, Butler County under its applicable regulations and PennDOT under the State Highway Law, 36 P.S. § 670-420, as amended, PennDOT's regulations or otherwise. The subject site development, earth disturbance, grading and/or construction activity shall comply with all such federal, state, county and Township permits and approvals.
C.
The authority for the control and regulation of subdivision and land
development within the Township shall be as follows:
(1)
Approval by the Board of Supervisors. The Board of Supervisors shall be vested with authority to approve or disapprove all subdivision and land development plans, except as otherwise provided in § 22-308 of this chapter.
(2)
Review by the Township Planning Commission. Plans for subdivision and land development shall be submitted to the Township Planning Commission for review and recommendation, except as otherwise provided in § 22-308 of this chapter. Said submission shall take place before approval of any plans by the Board of Supervisors. However, if such a recommendation is not received from the Township Planning Commission within 30 days after submission, the Board of Supervisors may proceed without the report.
(3)
Review by the Butler County Planning Commission. Plans for subdivision
and land development located within the Township shall be submitted
to the Butler County Planning Commission for review and report. Said
submission shall take place before approval of any plans by the Township.
However, if a report is not received from the County Planning Commission
within 30 days after submission, the Township may proceed without
the report.
D.
Any replotting or resubdivision of land, including a change of recorded
plan, shall be considered a new subdivision or land development and
shall comply with the provisions of this chapter.
E.
All provisions of the Jackson Township Subdivision and Land Development
Ordinance, Ordinance LS-2 of 1985, as amended, are hereby repealed,
and the provisions of this chapter shall substitute for the former.
F.
Any replotting or resubdivision of land, including a change of a
recorded deed, shall be considered a new subdivision or land development
and shall comply with the provisions of this chapter. A change of
a recorded deed shall include:
(1)
The removal or redescription of any portion of land described on
the deed, where the deed contains a single boundary description, for
the purpose of constructing a new additional deed.
(2)
The removal of any land described on the deed, where the deed is
comprised of multiple tracts, lots, parcels, purparts and the like,
for the purpose of constructing a new additional deed.
(3)
The elimination of any deed covenant required to provide or demonstrate
compliance with the provisions of this chapter.
(4)
The addition of any deed covenant which conflicts, whether directly
or indirectly, with the provisions of this chapter.
