[Ord. 3/1/1978, 3/1/1978, § 1001; as amended by
Ord. 1-93, 1/6/1993]
1.
In addition to other remedies, the Township of Lower Oxford may institute
and maintain appropriate actions by law or in equity to restrain,
correct or abate violations, to prevent unlawful construction, to
recover damages and to prevent illegal occupancy of a building, structure
or premises. The description by metes and bounds in the instrument
of transfer or other documents used in the process of selling or transferring
shall not exempt the seller or transferor from such penalties or from
the remedies herein provided.
2.
The Township of Lower Oxford may refuse to issue any permit or grant
any approval necessary to further improve or develop any real property
which has been developed or which has resulted from a subdivision
of real property in violation of this chapter. This authority to deny
such a permit or approval shall apply to any of the following applicants:
A.
The owner of record at the time of such violation.
B.
The vendee or lessee of the owner of record at the time of such violation
without regard as to whether such vendee or lessee had actual or constructive
knowledge of the violation.
C.
The current owner of record who acquired the property subsequent
to the time of violation without regard as to whether such current
owner had actual or constructive knowledge of the violation.
D.
The vendee or lessee of the current owner of record who acquired
the property subsequent to the time of violation without regard as
to whether such vendee or lessee had actual or constructive knowledge
of the violation.
3.
As an additional condition for issuance of a permit or the granting
of an approval to any such owner, current owner, vendee or lessee
for the development of any such real property, the Township of Lower
Oxford may require compliance with the conditions that would have
been applicable to the property at the time the applicant acquired
an interest in such real property.
[Ord. 3/1/1978, 3/1/1978, § 1001; as amended by
Ord. 1-93, 1/6/1993]
1.
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 the Township of Lower
Oxford, pay a judgment of not more than $500 plus all court costs,
including reasonable attorney fees incurred by the Township of Lower
Oxford as a result thereof. No judgment shall commence or be imposed,
levied or payable until the date of the determination of a violation
by the district justice. If the defendant neither pays nor timely
appeals the judgment, the Township of Lower Oxford may enforce the
judgment pursuant to the applicable rules of civil procedure. 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.
2.
The Court of Common Pleas, upon petition, may grant an order of stay,
upon cause shown, tolling the per diem judgment pending a final adjudication
of the violation and judgment.
3.
Nothing contained in this section shall be construed or interpreted
to grant to any person or entity other than the Township of Lower
Oxford the right to commence any action for enforcement pursuant to
this section.
4.
District justices shall have initial jurisdiction in proceedings
brought under this section.
[Ord. 3/1/1978, 3/1/1978; as added by Ord. 1-93, 1/6/1993]
1.
The following are exempt or partially exempt from the provisions
of this chapter:
A.
The conversion of an existing single-family detached dwelling or
single family dwelling semi-detached dwelling into not more than three
residential units, unless such units are intended to be a condominium;
B.
The addition of an accessory building, including farm buildings,
on a lot or lots subordinate to an existing principal building; or
C.
The addition or conversion of buildings or rides within the confines
of an enterprise which would be considered an amusement park. For
the purposes of this subsection, an amusement park is defined as a
tract or area used principally as a location for permanent amusement
structures or rides. This exclusion shall not apply to newly acquired
acreage by an amusement park until initial plans for the expanded
area have been approved by proper authorities.
[Ord. 3/1/1978, 3/1/1978, § 1001; as amended by
Ord. 2-88, 12/21/1988, § 2; and by Ord. 1-93, 1/6/1993]
1.
The Board shall prescribe and make available to applicants a form
upon which all applications for approval of subdivision and land development
plans shall be made.
2.
Every applicant shall, at the time of filing application for approval
of the plan, pay to the Township of Lower Oxford a basic filing fee,
as per a fee schedule adopted by the Board of Supervisors by resolution.
3.
Review Fees.
A.
Review fees shall include the reasonable and necessary charges by
the Township's professional consultants or engineer for review
and report to the Township of Lower Oxford, and shall be set by resolution.
Such review fees shall be reasonable and in accordance with the ordinary
and customary charges by the Township engineer or consultant for similar
service in the community, but in no event shall the fees exceed the
rate or cost charged by the engineer or consultant to the Township
of Lower Oxford when fees are not reimbursed or otherwise imposed
on applicants.
B.
In the event the applicant disputes the amount of any such review
fees, the applicant shall, within 10 days of the billing date, notify
the Township of Lower Oxford that such fees are disputed, in which
case the Township shall not delay or disapprove a subdivision or land
development application due to the applicant's request over disputed
fees.
C.
In the event that the Township of Lower Oxford and the applicant
cannot agree on the amount of review fees which are reasonable and
necessary, then the fees shall be recalculated and recertified by
another professional engineer licensed as such in this commonwealth
and chosen mutually by the Township of Lower Oxford and the applicant
or developer. The estimate certified by the third engineer shall be
presumed fair and reasonable and shall be the final estimate. In the
event that a third engineer is so chosen, fees for the services of
said engineer shall be paid equally by the Township of Lower Oxford
and the applicant or developer.
[Ord. 3/1/1978, 3/1/1978, § 1001]
1.
The Board may, from time to time, revise, modify, and amend this Chapter 22 by appropriate action taken at a scheduled public meeting. The Board shall submit such modifications or amendments to the Planning Commission for review and recommendation.
2.
Notice of the date, time and place of such a public meeting, together
with the brief summary setting forth the principal provisions of the
proposed revisions, modifications or amendments, shall be in accordance
with the requirements of public notice.
[Ord. 3/1/1978, 3/1/1978; as added by Ord. 1-93, 1/6/1993]
Changes in this chapter shall affect plats as follows:
1.
From the time an application for approval of a plat, whether preliminary
or final, is duly filed as provided in this chapter, and while such
application is pending approval or disapproval, no change or amendment
of this chapter, zoning or other governing ordinance or plan shall
affect the decision on such application adversely to the applicant
and the applicant shall be entitled to a decision in accordance with
the provisions of the governing ordinances or plans as they stood
at the time the application was duly approved. The applicant shall
be entitled to final approval in accordance with the terms of the
approved preliminary application as hereinafter provided. However,
if an application is properly and finally denied, any subsequent application
shall be subject to the intervening change in governing regulations.
2.
When an application for approval of a plat, whether preliminary or
final, has been approved without conditions or approved by the applicant's
acceptance of conditions, no subsequent change or amendment in this
chapter, zoning or other governing ordinance or plan shall be applied
to affect adversely the right of the applicant to commence and to
complete any aspect of the approved development in accordance with
the terms of such approval within five years from such approval.
3.
Where final approval is preceded by preliminary approval, the aforesaid
five-year period shall be counted from the date of the preliminary
approval. In the case of any doubt as to the terms of a preliminary
approval, the terms shall be construed in the light of the provisions
of this chapter or the governing ordinance or plans as they stood
at the time when the application for such approval was duly filed.
4.
Where the landowner has substantially completed the required improvements
as depicted upon the final plat within the aforesaid five-year limit,
or any extension thereof as may be granted by the Board of Supervisors,
no change of any ordinance or plan enacted subsequent to the date
of filing of the preliminary plat shall modify or revoke any aspect
of the approved final plat pertaining to zoning classification or
density, lot, building, street or utility location.
5.
In the case of a preliminary plat calling for the installation of
improvements beyond the five-year period, a schedule shall be filed
by the landowner with the preliminary plat delineating all proposed
sections as well as deadlines within which applications for final
plat approval of each section are intended to be filed. Such schedule
shall be updated annually by the applicant on or before the anniversary
of the preliminary plat approval, until final plat approval of the
final section has been granted and any modification in the aforesaid
schedule shall be subject to approval of the Board of Supervisors
in its discretion.
6.
Each section in any residential subdivision or land development,
except for the last section, shall contain a minimum of 25% of the
total number of dwelling units as depicted on the preliminary plan,
unless a lesser percentage is approved by the Board of Supervisors
in its discretion. Provided the landowner has not defaulted with regard
to or violated any of the conditions of the preliminary plat approval,
including compliance with landowner's aforesaid schedule of submission
of final plats for the various sections, then the aforesaid protections
afforded by substantially completing the improvements depicted upon
the final plat within five years shall apply and for any section or
sections, beyond the initial section, in which the required improvements
have not been substantially completed within said five-year period
the aforesaid protections shall apply for an additional term or terms
of three years from the date of final plat approval for each section.
7.
Failure of landowner to adhere to the aforesaid schedule of submission
of final plats for the various sections shall subject any such section
to any and all changes in this chapter, zoning, and other governing
ordinance enacted by the Township of Lower Oxford subsequent to the
date of the initial preliminary plan submission.
[Ord. 3/1/1978, 3/1/1978, § 1003; as amended by
Ord. 1-93, 1/6/1993]
1.
The Board of Supervisors may grant a modification of the requirements
of one or more provisions of this chapter if the literal enforcement
will exact undue hardship because of peculiar conditions pertaining
to the land in question, provided that such modification will not
be contrary to the public interest and that the purpose and intent
of this chapter is observed.
2.
All requests for a modification shall be in writing and shall accompany
and be a part of the application for development. The request shall
state in full the grounds and facts of unreasonableness or hardship
on which the request is based, the provision or provisions of this
chapter involved and the minimum modification necessary.
3.
The request for modification shall be referred to the Planning Commission
for advisory comments.
4.
The Board of Supervisors shall keep a written record of all action
on all requests for modifications.
