Jackson Township Lebanon County, PA Zoning Ordinance

Jackson Township Lebanon County
City Zoning Code

PART 12

PLANNED RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT

§ 27-1201 Intent.

[Ord. 8, 5/3/1972, § 12.1; as amended by Ord. 6/4/1984, 6/4/1984, § 17.01]

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 assure the necessary amenities for residential living as provided for in all residential districts, the following §§ 27-1202 and 27-1203 are included to assure the necessary ordinance flexibility for this kind of development. This Section shall apply only to residential or agricultural districts.

§ 27-1202 Procedure.

[Ord. 8, 4/3/1972, § 12.2; as amended by Ord. 6/4/1984, 6/4/1984, § 17.02; by Ord. 1-1991, 8/5/1991]

An application for an approval authorizing a modification of the strict requirements of this Chapter 27 for a planned residential development must be made to the Township Supervisors in three copies. This application shall contain the following information:

A legal description of the property under consideration which shall be a minimum of 15 acres in area.

A scaled topographic map of the entire parcel with a contour interval of not less than two feet.

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.

Proposed reservations for parks, parkways, playgrounds, school sites, and other open spaces with indication of the organization to own and maintain such open space.

A location map showing the location of the site in relation to the surrounding area.

Architectural sketches, at the appropriate scale, showing building height, bulk, interior layout and proposed use.

A feasible proposal for sanitary sewers and storm water control.

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.

The required modifications in the land use regulations otherwise applicable to the subject property.

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.

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 Board within 30 days, or the right to review will be considered forfeited.

Public Hearings.

Within 60 days after the filing of an application for tentative approval of a planned residential development pursuant to this Chapter, a public hearing pursuant to public notice on said application shall be held by the Township Supervisors.

Public notice shall be given and written notice shall be given to the applicant, the Zoning Officer and to any person who has made timely request for the same. Written notices shall be given at such time and in such manner as shall be prescribed by rules of the Township Supervisors. In addition to the written notice provided herein, written notice of said hearing shall be conspicuously posted on the affected tract of land at least one week prior to the hearing.

The parties to the hearing shall be the Township, any person affected by the application who has made timely appearance of record before the Township Supervisors, and any other person including civic or community organizations permitted to appear by the Township Supervisors. The Township Supervisors shall have power to require that all persons who wish to be considered parties enter appearances in writing on forms provided by the Township Supervisors for that purpose.

The chairman, or acting chairman in the absence of the chairman, of the Township Supervisors shall have power to administer oaths and issue subpoenas to compel the attendance of witnesses and the production of relevant documents and papers, including witnesses and documents requested by the parties.

The parties shall have the right to be represented by counsel and shall be afforded the opportunity to respond and present evidence and argument and cross-examine adverse witnesses on all relevant issues.

Formal rules of evidence shall not apply, but irrelevant, immaterial, or unduly repetitious evidence may be excluded.

The Township Supervisors shall keep a stenographic record of the proceedings. The appearance fee for a stenographer shall be shared equally by the applicant and the Township Supervisors. The cost of the original transcript shall be paid by the Township Supervisors if the transcript is ordered by the Township Supervisors or shall be paid by the person appealing from the decision of the Township Supervisors if such appeal is made, and in either event the cost of additional copies shall be paid by the person requesting such copy or copies. In other cases the party requesting the original transcript shall bear the cost thereof.

The Township Supervisors shall not communicate, directly or indirectly, with any party or his representatives in connection with any issue involved except upon notice for all parties to participate, shall not take notice of any communication, reports, staff memoranda, or other materials, except advice from their solicitor, unless the parties are afforded an opportunity to contest the material so noticed and shall not inspect the site or its surroundings after the commencement of hearings with any party or his representative unless all parties are given an opportunity to be present.

The Township Supervisors may continue the hearing from time to time, and may refer the matter back to the Planning Commission for a report, provided, however, that in any event, the public hearing or hearings shall be concluded within 60 days after the date of the first public hearing.

Within 60 days following the conclusion of the public hearing, the Board of Supervisors shall make a written report by certified mail to the applicant. Said report shall:

Grant tentative approval of the development plan as submitted.

Grant tentative approval subject to specified conditions not included in the development plan as submitted.

Deny tentative approval to the development plan.

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.

The official report granting or denying tentative approval shall include conclusions and findings of fact related to the proposal and the 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:

(1)

In those respects in which the development plan is or is not consistent with the Comprehensive Plan for the development of the Township.

(2)

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.

(3)

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.

(4)

The physical design of the development plan and the manner in which said design does or does not make adequate provisions for public service; provide adequate control over vehicular traffic; and further the amenities of light and air, recreation, and visual enjoyment.

(5)

The relationship, beneficial or adverse, of the proposed planned residential development to the neighborhood in which it is proposed to be established.

(6)

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, the periods (phased development), the time within between applications for final approval of each phase or part shall not be more than 12 months.

The official written report shall be certified by the Secretary of Township Supervisors and filed in his office. Where tentative approval has been granted, the same shall be noted on the Zoning Map.

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, nor otherwise impaired by action of the Township, if the time periods for submission of final application specified in said written report are being fulfilled, unless the applicant consents to the change or modification.

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 27 as otherwise applicable thereto, and the same shall be noted on the Zoning Map and in the records of the Township Supervisors.

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 the Lebanon County Subdivision and Land Ordinance. 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.

When the final application has been filed, together with all drawings, specifications and other documents in support thereof, and as required by this Chapter 27 and the official written report of tentative approval, the Township Supervisors, within 30 days of such filing, shall grant final approval to said plan.

When the final application contains variations from 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 the objected variations, or request a public hearing on his application for final approval. Either action shall be taken within the time which the applicant was entitled to apply for final approval or within 30 additional days if the said time 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 while in the form and contain the findings required for an application for tentative approval.

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.

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, 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 the development plan until after said property is resubdivided and is reclassified by enactment of an amendment to this Chapter 27.

Any decision of the Township Supervisors under this Part 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.

§ 27-1203 Planned Development Standards.

[Ord. 8, 4/3/1972, § 12.3; as amended by Ord. 4-1975, 12/15/1975, § 13; by Ord. 6/4/1984, 6/4/1984, § 17.03; by Ord. 1-1991, 8/5/1991]

Dwelling Units Permitted. The number of dwelling units permitted shall be determined by dividing the new 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 church 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.

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. Planned developments in agricultural districts may be designed according to R-1 standards.

Other Requirements. All other applicable provisions of this Chapter 27 such as off-street parking regulations and limitation of signs shall apply to the planned unit development. Layout and improvement of streets and driveways shall conform to the Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance [Chapter 22] and other regulations pertaining thereto established by the Township Supervisors.

Water Supply. If water is to be provided by means other than by private wells owned and maintained by the individual owners of lots within the planned residential development, applicants shall present evidence to the Board of Supervisors that the planned residential development is to be supplied by a certified public utility, a bona fide cooperative association of lot owners, or by a municipal corporation, authority or utility. A copy of a Certificate of Public Convenience from the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission or an application for such certificate, a cooperative agreement, or a commitment or agreement to serve the area in question, which ever is appropriate, shall be acceptable evidence.

§ 27-1204 Enforcement Remedies.

[Ord. 1-1991, 8/5/1991]

Any person, partnership or corporation, who or which has violated the planned residential development provisions of this Chapter 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 Township 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 may enforce the judgment pursuant to the appropriate 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 these provisions 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 5th 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. All judgments, costs and reasonable attorney fees collected for the violation of planned residential development provisions of this Chapter shall be paid over the Township.

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.

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.

District justices shall have initial jurisdiction over proceedings brought under this Section.