The developer shall obtain required approval(s) by following
the appropriate process as specified in this article.
A.Â
The review process on all applications for approval of a plan,
whether preliminary or final, shall be concluded by the Planning Commission
and the Borough Council not later than 90 days following the date
of the next regular meeting of the Planning Commission following the
date the application is filed or after a final order of court remanding
an application, unless said next regular meeting of the Planning Commission
occurs more than 30 days following the filing of the application.
In such cases said ninety-day period should be measured from the 30th
day following the day the application has been filed, and the Borough
Council shall render its decision and communicate it to the applicant
within such time. The aforementioned decision of the Borough Council
shall be in writing and shall be communicated to the applicant personally
or mailed to him at his last known address not later than 15 days
following the decision and within the overall ninety-day period. When
the application is not approved in terms as filed, the decision shall
specify the defects found in the application and describe the requirements
which have not been met and shall, in each case, cite to the provisions
of the statute or ordinance relied upon. Failure of the Borough Council
to render a decision and communicate it to the applicant within the
time and in the manner required herein shall be deemed an approval
of the application in terms as presented unless the applicant has
agreed in writing to an extension of time or change in the prescribed
manner of presentation of communication of the decision, in which
case failure to meet the extended time or change in manner of presentation
of communication shall have like effect.
B.Â
In the event that a subdivision or land development plan, or
a section thereof, is given final approval and thereafter the landowner
shall abandon such plan or the section thereof that has been finally
approved and shall so notify the Borough Council in writing, or in
the event that the landowner shall fail to commence development within
one year after final approval has been granted, no development or
further development shall take place on the property included in the
development plan until after the Borough is notified of the reasons
for such delay.
A.Â
Each applicant shall confer with the Zoning Officer to schedule a
preapplication conference. It shall be the responsibility of the Zoning
Officer to arrange a conference with other Borough officials, if appropriate.
B.Â
The applicant may request or the Borough Zoning Officer may recommend
a preapplication conference with the Borough Planning Commission.
The preapplication conference with the Planning Commission is voluntary,
and no formal application or fee is required. This opportunity is
afforded to the applicant or his representative to obtain information
and guidance before entering into binding commitments or incurring
substantial expenses for plan preparation. A preapplication conference
with the Planning Commission shall not constitute formal filing of
an application for approval of a subdivision or land development nor
shall it bind the Planning Commission to approve any concept presented
in the preapplication conference and shall not protect the application
from any subsequent changes in ordinance provisions which may affect
the proposed development which may occur between the date of the preapplication
conference and the official date of filing of a formal application
for approval of a proposed subdivision or land development.
C.Â
While no formal application is required for a preapplication conference,
the applicant should provide one copy of a conceptual plan with the
request for the preapplication conference, which will show the location
of the property and any special features such as streams, floodplains,
easements or other conditions that may affect the development of the
property. Resources which may be used to prepare the conceptual plan
may include, but are not limited to, the deed for the property, a
property survey, the block and lot maps prepared by the Allegheny
County Assessor's office, the United States Geological Survey
(USGS) Quadrangle Map showing natural features and topography, the
National Flood Insurance Administration (NFIA) Flood Hazard Boundary
Maps, the Natural Resources Conservation Service maps of soil types
and the United States Bureau of Mines coal mine maps.
Applications for approval of a proposed subdivision or land
development shall be classified according to the categories listed
below and shall be processed according to the requirements of this
chapter for each class of application. Subdivisions and land developments
shall be interpreted as set forth in the definition of the same listed
in § 184-1402.
