A.
Inspection revealing noncompliance with plans submitted
under the provisions of this chapter, including all supplementary
data required, shall be sufficient grounds for withdrawal of building
permits by the Township until correction thereof, or other penalties
or remedies, including injunctive relief, as may be provided by law.
B.
Preventive remedies.
(1)
In addition to other remedies, the Township 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 transferrer from such penalties or
from the remedies herein provided.
(2)
A Township 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 any ordinance adopted pursuant to
this article. 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
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.
C.
Enforcement remedies.
(1)
Any person, partnership or corporation who or which
has violated the provisions of any subdivision or land development
ordinance enacted under this act or prior enabling laws shall, upon
being found liable therefor in a civil enforcement proceeding commenced
by the Township, pay a judgment of not more than $500 plus all court
costs, including reasonable attorney fees incurred by the municipality
as a result thereof. No judgment shall commence or be imposed, levied
or be payable until the date of determination of a violation by the
Magisterial District Judge. If the defendant neither pays nor timely
appeals the judgment, the municipality 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 Magisterial
District Judge determining that there has been a violation further
determines that there was a good faith basis for the person, partnership
or corporation violating the ordinance 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 business day following
the date of the determination of a violation by the Magisterial District
Judge and thereafter each day that a violation continues shall constitute
a separate violation.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
(2)
The Court of Common Pleas, upon petition, may grant
an order of stay, upon cause shown, tolling the per-diem judgement
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
the right to commence any action for enforcement pursuant to this
section.
A.
The Township shall assign a subdivision application
number to all subdivision and land development applications, and all
matters referring to an application should be filed in accordance
with the subdivision case number. The Township shall keep a record
of its findings, decisions, and recommendations relative to all plans
filed with it for review.
B.
All such records shall be public records.
A.
No application for preliminary or final approval shall
be deemed to have been submitted until the fee and escrow deposit,
as set forth below, shall have been paid.
B.
A subdivision or land development application fee (nonrefundable) and an escrow deposit shall be submitted with any application for preliminary or final plan approval to cover the costs of plan review and processing. Amounts of the application fee and escrow deposit shall be fixed by the Board of Supervisors by resolution. The escrowed funds shall be used to reimburse the Township for actual expenditures incidental to these processes, including, but not limited to, fees of the Township Engineer and legal fees in excess of the fee for review of the Township's standard forms. Any costs incurred by the Township in excess of the amount held in escrow shall be fully reimbursed by the applicant prior to the issuance of any permits. Any unexpended balance in the escrow deposit shall become part of the second deposit required in Subsection C.
C.
Following final plan approval and recording and the
establishment of any required performance guarantee, a second escrow
deposit shall be established to cover the cost of inspections of improvements
construction; materials or site testing; or maintenance costs prior
to the acceptance of improvements by the Township. Any costs incurred
by the Township in excess of the amount held in escrow shall be fully
reimbursed by the applicant. The amount of the escrow deposit shall
be fixed by the Board of Supervisors by resolution.
A.
In any case in which an applicant demonstrates to
the satisfaction of the Board of Supervisors that strict application
of any provisions of this chapter would be unreasonable and would
cause unnecessary hardship as applied to the proposed subdivision
or land development, the Board may grant a modification from the mandatory
provision to grant relief from the unnecessary hardship; provided,
however, that such modifications shall not be granted if it would
be contrary to the public interest and have the effect of nullifying
the intent and purpose of this chapter.
B.
In granting modifications, the Board of Supervisors
may impose such conditions as will, in its judgment, secure substantially
the objectives of the standards and requirements so modified.
C.
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, provision or provisions
of the ordinance involved and the minimum modification necessary.
D.
The request for modification may be referred by the
Board of Supervisors to the Planning Commission for advisory comments.
The Board of Supervisors shall keep a written record of all action
on all requests for modification.
Appeals from the actions of the Board of Supervisors
with respect to any application for subdivision or land development
approval shall be governed by the provisions of Act 247 as they may
be amended from time to time, or any successor legislation thereto.
A.
Power to amend. The regulations set forth in this
chapter may from time to time be amended by the Board of Supervisors.
B.
Procedure. The following requirements shall be observed
prior to making any amendment to this chapter:
(1)
Proposed amendments shall be submitted to the Township
Planning Commission for its findings and recommendations at least
30 days prior to the date fixed for the public hearing on such proposed
amendment if the amendment has been prepared by an agency other than
the Township Planning Commission. In addition, the proposed amendment
shall be submitted to the County Planning Commission for its recommendations
at least 30 days prior to the date fixed for the public hearing on
the amendment.
(2)
The findings of the Planning Commission shall be submitted
to the Board of Supervisors in a written report.
(3)
Before voting on the enactment of a proposed amendment,
the Board of Supervisors shall hold a public hearing thereon pursuant
to public notice as defined by this chapter, at which time the parties
in interest and citizens shall have an opportunity to be heard. A
brief summary setting forth the principal provisions of the proposed
amendment and a reference to the place within the Township where copies
of the proposed amendment may be secured or examined shall be incorporated
into the public notice.
(4)
Prior to the enactment of proposed amendments, the
Township shall publish the proposed amendment once in a newspaper
of general circulation in the Township not more than 60 days and not
less than seven days prior to passage. Publication of the proposed
amendment shall include the time and place of the meeting, the place
within the Township where copies of the proposed amendment can be
obtained, and either the full text thereof or the title and a brief
summary prepared by the Township Solicitor, setting forth all the
provisions in reasonable detail. If the full text is not included:
(a)
A copy thereof shall be supplied to a newspaper
of general circulation in the Township at the time the public notice
is published.
(b)
An attested copy of the proposed amendment shall
be filed in the County Law Library.
(c)
In the event substantial changes are made in
the proposed amendment, before voting upon enactment, the Board of
Supervisors shall, at least 10 days prior to enactment, readvertise
in a newspaper of general circulation in the Township, a brief summary
setting forth all the provisions in reasonable detail together with
a summary of the changes.
(5)
Within 30 days after enactment, the Board of Supervisors
shall forward a certified copy of the amendment to the County Planning
Commission.
[Amended 1-17-2006 by Ord. No. 06-01]
If, in the opinion of the Township Engineer,
the nature of any land disturbance work is such that it may create
a hazard to human life or endanger adjoining property or property
at a higher or lower elevation, or any street or street improvement,
or any other public property, then the Township Engineer may require
that such an applicant file a certificate of insurance showing that
he is insured against claims for damages for personal injury and property
damage (including damage to Upper Uwchlan Township by deposit or washing
of material onto municipal streets or other public improvements),
which may arise from or out of the performance of the work, whether
such performance be by himself, his subcontractor, or any person directly
or indirectly employed by him. The amount of such insurance shall
be prescribed by the Township in accordance with its determination
of the risks involved in an amount not less than $1,000,000 per occurrence.
Such insurance shall be written by a company licensed to do business
in Pennsylvania and approved by the Township. Neither issuance of
a permit nor compliance with the provisions thereto or any condition
imposed by the Township shall relieve any person from any responsibility
for damage to persons or property otherwise imposed by law, nor shall
it impose any liability upon the Township for damages to persons or
property.
