The City Manager shall assign an application number to all applications for preliminary plan and final plan approval. All matters pertaining to such applications shall be filed in accordance with the subdivision and/or land development application number. In addition, the city shall keep a record of its findings, decisions and recommendations relative to all subdivision and/or land development plans filed with the application for review. All such records shall be public records.
Upon the filing of an application for preliminary and final approval of a subdivision and/or land development plan, the landowner or developer shall pay to the City Manager to the use of the city such fees as the City Council shall from time to time provide by ordinance or resolution in Chapter 108, Fees.
The landowner or developer shall pay to the use of the city and upon invoice rendered by the city the actual cost of all fees incurred by the city in the review of all subdivision and/or land development plans by the City Engineer, consultants, City Solicitor and such other professionals as are engaged by the city to review and evaluate subdivision and land development plans. The need for such professionals and the selection thereof shall be determined solely by the City Council.
A. 
In the event that the applicant disputes the amount of any such review fees, the applicant shall, within 10 days of the billing date, notify the city that such fees are disputed; in which case the city shall not delay or disapprove a subdivision or land development application due to the applicant's request over disputed fees.
B. 
In the event that the city and the applicant cannot agree on the amount of review fees which are reasonable and necessary, then the applicant and city shall follow the procedure for dispute resolution set forth in § 197-81E.
A. 
The landowner or developer shall pay to the use of the city and upon invoice rendered by the city such charges as shall be made by the City Engineer, other city inspector or consultants for the field inspection of improvements in the subdivision or land development; but in the event that, owing to special or unusual conditions, specialized or expert inspections, analyses or tests of improvements shall be required, such inspections, analyses or tests shall be performed by persons or firms selected by the City Council, and the fees and costs of such inspections, analyses or tests shall be paid by the landowner or developer to the use of the city upon invoice rendered by the city, in an amount equivalent to the actual cost thereof to the city.
B. 
All invoices shall be due upon presentation.
C. 
Any landowner or developer who is delinquent in the payment of invoices shall be denied issuance of any further approvals or permits by the city, whether such approvals or permits pertain to the development for which said invoice was rendered or any other land or development within the city.
D. 
A landowner or developer who disputes an invoice as billed within 10 days shall state such objection to the City Manager in writing upon receipt, via certified mail return receipt requested.
E. 
Reimbursement by the applicant to the city shall be based upon a schedule established by ordinance or resolution. Such expense shall be reasonable and in accordance with the ordinary and customary fees charged by the City Engineer or consultant for work performed 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 city when fees are not reimbursed or otherwise imposed on applicants.
(1) 
In the event that the applicant disputes the amount of any such expense in connection with the inspection of improvements, the applicant shall, within 10 working days of the date of billing, notify the city that such expenses are disputed as unreasonable or unnecessary; in which case the city shall not delay or disapprove a subdivision and/or land development application or any approval or permit related to development due to the applicant's request over disputed Engineer expenses.
(2) 
If within 20 days from the date of billing, the city and the applicant cannot agree on the amount of the expenses which are reasonable and necessary, then the applicant and city shall jointly, by mutual agreement, appoint another professional engineer licensed as such in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to review said expenses and make a determination as to the amount thereof which is reasonable and necessary.
(3) 
The professional engineer so appointed shall hear such evidence and review such documentation as the professional engineer, in his or her sole opinion, deems necessary and render a decision within 50 days of the billing date. The applicant shall be required to pay the entire amount determined in the decision immediately.
(4) 
In the event that the city and applicant cannot agree upon the professional engineer to be appointed within 20 days of the billing date, then upon application of either party, the President Judge of the Court of Common Pleas (or if at the time there be no President Judge, then the senior active Judge then sitting) shall appoint such engineer, who, in that case, shall be neither the City Engineer nor any professional engineer who has been retained by or performed service for the city or the applicant within the preceding five years.
(5) 
The fee of the appointed professional engineer for determining the reasonable and necessary expenses shall be paid by the applicant if the amount of payment required in the decision is equal to or greater than the original bill. If the amount of payment required in the decision is less then the original bill by $1,000 or more, the city shall pay the fee of the professional engineer; but otherwise, the city and the applicant shall each pay one-half (1/2) of the fee of the appointed professional engineer.
The landowner or developer shall pay to the use of the city and upon invoice rendered by the city the cost of performing all material tests determined by the City Council to be necessary or desirable in connection with the inspection or approval of all subdivision and/or land development plans or improvements.
The landowner or developer shall pay to the use of the city and upon invoice rendered by the city all fees incurred by the city in the preparation of the subdivision and land development agreements, improvement and maintenance bonds, escrow agreements and other instruments deemed necessary or desirable by the City Council in connection with subdivisions or land developments.
A. 
Preventive remedies.
(1) 
In addition to other remedies, the city 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 transformer from such penalties or from the remedies herein provided.
(2) 
The city 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 provisions. 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 city 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.
B. 
Jurisdiction. District Justices shall have initial jurisdiction in proceedings brought under Subsection C below.
C. 
Enforcement remedies.
(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 city, pay a judgment of not more than $500, plus all court costs, including reasonable attorney fees incurred by the city as a result thereof. No judgment shall commence or be imposed, levied or be 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 city 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 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 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 city the right to commence any action for enforcement pursuant to this section.
All fines collected for violations of this chapter, as provided in § 197-84C, shall be paid over to the city.
A. 
The regulations set forth in this chapter may, from time to time, be amended by the City Council.
B. 
The following requirements shall be observed prior to making any amendment to this chapter:
(1) 
Proposed amendments shall be submitted to the City Planning Commission for their 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 City Planning Commission. In addition, the proposed amendment shall be submitted to the Chester County Planning Commission for their 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 City Council in a written report.
(3) 
Before voting on the enactment of a proposed amendment, the City Council 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 city 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 city shall publish the proposed amendment once in a newspaper of general circulation in the city 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 city 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 City 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 city 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 that substantial charges are made in the proposed amendment, before voting upon enactment, the City Council shall, at least 10 days prior to the enactment, readvertise in a newspaper of general circulation in the city 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 City Council shall forward a certified copy of the amendment to the Chester County Planning Commission.