[Ord. No. 3/29/1990B]
This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "New Hanover
Township Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance of 1980," as amended.
[Ord. No. 3/29/1990B, as
amended by Ord. No. 21-07, 8/5/2021]
[Ord. No. 3/29/1990B, as
amended by Ord. No. 21-07, 8/5/2021]
This chapter contains regulations which include, but are not
limited to, the following:
1.
Provisions for the filing, processing, review, and approval of all
subdivision and land development plans;
2.
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 to promote orderly development
compatible with the Township's Comprehensive Plan;
3.
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 improvements, are properly constructed.
[Ord. No. 3/29/1990B, as
amended by Ord. No. 21-07, 8/5/2021]
The following are the purposes of this chapter:
1.
To ensure the overall health, safety, and general welfare of the
residents of the Township;
2.
To enable the development of the Township in an orderly, efficient,
integrated, and harmonious manner;
3.
To guide the future growth and development of the Township in conformance
with the Township's Comprehensive Plan and with other relevant regulations,
maps, studies, and reports adopted in furtherance thereof;
4.
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;
5.
To require adequate, appropriately located easements or rights-of-way
for existing and future utilities and storm drainage facilities;
6.
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;
7.
To ensure conformance of subdivision and land development proposals
with the availability of municipal services and public facilities,
and the coordination of intermunicipal programs;
8.
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;
9.
To encourage and promote flexibility, economy, and ingenuity in the
layout and design of subdivisions and land developments, including
provisions authorizing the Township 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;
10.
To provide equitable and expeditious handling of all subdivision
and land development proposals by providing uniform procedures and
standards;
11.
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;
12.
To ensure conformance of subdivision and land development plans with
the public improvements of the Township, and coordination of intermunicipal,
county, and Pennsylvania improvement plans and programs;
13.
To provide adequate open space lands and recreation facilities;
14.
To preserve and protect natural resources and to prevent pollution
of air and water so as to maintain the quality of life within the
Township and adjacent lands;
15.
To maintain the character and the social and economic stability of
the Township and to encourage the orderly and beneficial development
of the community;
16.
To provide for the buffering of certain types of land uses to minimize
their impact upon their surroundings.
[Ord. No. 3/29/1990B, as
amended by Ord. No. 21-07, 8/5/2021]
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 statute, ordinance,
or regulations, then the provisions of this chapter 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 statute, ordinance, or regulations shall take precedence.
[Ord. No. 3/29/1990B, as
amended by Ord. No. 21-07, 8/5/2021]
The Township shall, with the recommendation of the Planning Commission, review and act upon, as appropriate, all subdivision and land development plans, as defined below and in Part 2 of this chapter, which are located entirely or in part in the Township.
1.
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.
2.
Sale of Lots, Issuance of Building Permits, or Erection of Buildings.
No lot in a subdivision or land development may be sold, and no permit
to erect, alter, or repair any building 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 Township under
the advice of the Township Engineer and Solicitor, in accordance with
the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
3.
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.
[Ord. No. 3/29/1990B, as
amended by Ord. No. 21-07, 8/5/2021]
The Township may grant a modification of the requirements of
this chapter, through a waiver, if strict application of these requirements
would be unreasonable or cause undue hardship, or when an alternative
standard can be demonstrated to provide equal or better results, provided
that such waiver will not be contrary to the public interest and that
the purpose and intent of the chapter is observed. All requests for
modifications shall be provided in writing and be part of the application
for subdivision and/or land development. In the request for a modification,
the applicant shall:
