East Hanover Township Lebanon County
City Zoning Code
City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XXIV
Planned Residential Development
§ 250-234 Intent.
In order to provide for a wide range of housing types and new design innovations in the field of residential development and at the same time ensure the necessary amenities for residential living as provided for in all residential districts, the following section is included to ensure the necessary ordinance flexibility for this kind of development. This section shall apply only to the RSP, RF, RLD and RHD residential or districts.
§ 250-235 Procedures.
A.
An application for an approval authorizing a modification of the requirements of this chapter for a planned residential development must be made to the Township Supervisors in three copies. This application shall contain the following information:
(1)
A legal description of the property under consideration which shall be a minimum of 15 acres in area.
(2)
A scaled topographic map of the entire parcel with a contour interval of not less than two feet.
(3)
A site plan showing the location of all existing and proposed buildings and structures, parking lots, buffer strips, plantings, streets, public ways, and curb cuts.
(4)
Proposed reservations for parks, parkways, playgrounds, school sites and other open spaces with indication of the organization to own and maintain such open space.
(5)
A location map showing the location of the site in relation to the surrounding area.
(6)
Architectural sketches, at the appropriate scale, showing building height, bulk, interior layout, and proposed use.
(7)
A feasible proposal for sanitary sewers and stormwater control.
(8)
The substance of covenants, grants of easement, or other restrictions proposed to be imposed upon the use of the land, buildings, and structures, including proposed easements of grants for public utilities.
(9)
The required modifications in the land use regulations otherwise applicable to the subject property.
(10)
A schedule showing the proposed times within which applications for final approval of all sections of the planned residential development are intended to be filed if the development plans call for development over a period of years. This schedule must be updated annually until the development is completed and accepted.
B.
Review.
(1)
The Township Supervisors shall refer the application to the Township Planning Commission and the County Planning Department for study and recommendation. The two agencies shall be required to make comment to the Township Supervisors within 30 days or the right to review will be considered forfeited.
C.
Report.
(1)
Within 30 days following the conclusion of the public hearing, the Township Supervisors shall make a written report by certified mail to the applicant. Said report shall:
(2)
Failure to so act within said period shall be deemed to be a grant of tentative approval of the development plan as submitted. If tentative approval is granted subject to conditions, the landowner may, within 30 days after receiving a copy of the official written report, notify the Township Supervisors of his refusal to accept all said conditions, in which case the Township Supervisors shall be deemed to have denied tentative approval of the development plan. If the landowner does not, within said period, notify the Township Supervisors of his refusal to accept all said conditions, tentative approval of the development plan, with all stated conditions, shall stand as granted.
(3)
The official report granting or denying tentative approval shall include conclusions and findings of fact related to the proposal and reasons for the grant, with or without conditions, or the denial. Also contained in the report shall be a statement of the respects in which the development plan is or is not in the public interest, including conclusions on the following:
(a)
In those respects in which the development plan is or is not consistent with the Comprehensive Plan for the development of the Township.
(b)
The extent to which the development plan departs from zoning and subdivision regulations otherwise applicable to the subject property, and the reasons why such departures are or are not deemed to be in the public interest.
(c)
The purpose, location, and amount of the common open space in the planned residential development; the reliability of the proposals for maintenance of the common open space; and the adequacy or inadequacy of the amount and purpose of the common open space as related to the proposed density and type of residential development.
(d)
The physical design of the development plan and the manner in which said design does or does not make adequate provision for public services; provide adequate control over vehicular traffic; and further the amenities of light and air, recreation and visual enjoyment.
(e)
The relationship, beneficial or adverse of the proposed planned residential development to the neighborhood in which it is proposed to be established.
(f)
Application for final approval shall be filed within three months of tentative approval. In the case of a development plan which provides for development over a period of years (phased development), the time between applications for final approval of each phase or part shall not be more than 12 months.
D.
The official written report shall be certified by the secretary of the Township Supervisors and filed in his office. Where tentative approval has been granted, the same shall be noted on the Zoning Map.
(1)
Tentative approval shall not qualify a plat of the planned residential development for recording, development, or the issuance of any building permits. A plan which has received tentative approval shall not be modified, revoked, or otherwise impaired by action of the Township, if the time periods for submission of final application specified in said written reports are being fulfilled, unless the applicant consents to the change or modification.
(2)
In the event tentative approval is granted, but prior to final approval, the applicant elects to abandon said plan and notifies the Township Supervisors in writing or fails to file for final approval within the specified times, the tentative approval shall be deemed to be revoked; and all the area in the development plan which has not received final approval shall be subject to this chapter as otherwise applicable thereto and the same shall be noted on the Zoning Map and in the records of the Township Supervisors.
E.
The application for final approval may be for all the land included in the plan or, to the extent set forth in the tentative approval, for a section thereof. Said application shall be made to the Township Supervisors within the time or times specified by the tentative approval. The application for final approval shall meet all requirements and contain all enclosures specified for the final plan of the subdivision stated within Chapter 185, Subdivision and Land Development. A public hearing on an application for final approval of the development plan or part thereof shall not be required, provided the development or part thereof submitted for final approval is in compliance with the development plan theretofore given tentative approval.
(1)
When the final application has been filed, together with all drawings, specifications, and other documents in support thereof, and as required by this chapter and the official written report of tentative approval the Township Supervisors, within 30 days of such filing, shall grant final approval to said plan.
(2)
When the final application contains variations for the plan given tentative approval, the Township Supervisors may refuse to grant final approval and shall within 30 days of the filing so advise the applicant of said refusal, setting forth the reasons why one or more of the variations are not in the public interest. In the event of such refusal, the applicant may either: refile his application without objected variations or request a public hearing on his application for final approval. Either action shall be taken within the time which the applicant is entitled to apply for final approval or within 30 additional days if the time for applying for final approval has already passed when the applicant was advised of the denial. If no action is taken by the applicant, the plan shall be deemed to be abandoned. If a public hearing is requested, it shall be conducted in the same manner prescribed for tentative approval, but the written report shall either grant or deny final approval in the same form and contain the findings, as required for an application for tentative approval.
F.
A development plan or any part thereof which has received final approval shall be certified by the Township Supervisors and filed within 90 days with the Lebanon County Recorder of Deeds. Should the plan not be recorded within such period, the action of the Township Supervisors shall become null and void. No development shall take place until the plan has been recorded, and from that point of time, no modification of the provisions of said plan or part thereof as finally approved shall be made without the consent of the landowner.
G.
In the event that a 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, the landowner shall so notify the Township Supervisors in writing; or, in the event the landowner shall fail to commence and carry out the planned residential development, no further development shall take place on the property included in the development plan until after said property is resubdivided and is reclassified by enactment of an amendment to this chapter.
H.
Any decision of the Township Supervisors under this article granting or denying tentative or final approval of a development plan shall be subject to appeal to court in the same manner and within the same time limitation provided for zoning appeals.
§ 250-236 Planned development standards.
A.
Dwelling units permitted. The number of dwelling units permitted shall be determined by dividing the net development area by the minimum lot area per family required by the district in which the area is located. Net development area shall be determined by subtracting the area set aside for churches and school use from the gross development area and deducting 15% of the remainder for streets, regardless of the amount of land actually required for streets. The area of land set aside for common open space or recreational use shall be included in determining the number of dwelling units permitted. The Township Supervisors shall determine the appropriate percentage of multifamily dwellings and/or commercial uses permitted in the development depending upon the size of the development and the character of the area in which such development is located; however, in no case shall more than 50% of the net developable land area be developed into multiple dwellings and no more than 6% of the net developable land area shall be developed into commercial uses.
B.
Lot area and frontage. The minimum lot area and minimum lot frontage of dwelling lots established within the development shall not be less than 1/2 of the normal minimum lot area or minimum lot frontage of the district in which the lot is located.
C.
Other requirements. All other applicable provisions of this chapter such as off-street parking regulations and limitations of signs shall apply to the planned unit development. Layout and improvement of streets and driveways shall conform to Chapter 185, Subdivision and Land Development, and other regulations pertaining thereto established by the Township Supervisors.