In acting upon plats, the Planning Board shall require, among other conditions in the public interest, that the tract shall be adequately drained and the streets shall be of sufficient width and suitable grade and suitably located to accommodate the prospective traffic, to provide access for fire-fighting equipment to buildings and to be coordinated so as to compose a convenient system conforming to the Official Map, or if there is no Official Map, relating properly to the existing street system. Where the Planning Board, after hearing, has adopted portions of the Master Plan with proposals regarding the street system within the proposed subdivision, the Board may require that the streets shown conform in design and in width to the proposals shown on the Master Plan.

The Planning Board shall further require that all lots shown on the plats shall be adaptable for the intended purposes without danger to health or peril from flood, fire, erosion or other menace.

If portions of the Master Plan contain proposals for drainage rights-of-way, schools, parks or playgrounds within the proposed subdivision or in its vicinity, or if standards for the allocation of portions of subdivisions for drainage rights-of-way, school sites, park and playground purposes have been adopted, before approving subdivisions the Planning Board may further require that such drainage rights-of-way, school sites, parks or playgrounds be shown in locations and of sizes suitable to their intended uses. The Planning Board shall be permitted to reserve the location and extent of school sites, public parks and playgrounds shown on the Master Plan or any part thereof for a period of one year after the approval of the final plat or within such further time as agreed to by the applying party. Unless during such one-year period or extension thereof the municipality shall have entered into a contract to purchase or shall have instituted condemnation proceedings according to law for said school site, park or play-ground, the subdivider shall not be bound by the proposals for such shown on the Master Plan. This provision shall not apply to the streets and roads or drainage rights-of-way required for final approval of any plat and deemed essential to the public welfare.

The arrangement of streets not shown on the Master Plan or Official Map shall provide for the logical extension of existing streets and provide for future access for remaining vacant land areas.

Minor streets shall be so designed as to discourage through traffic.

Subdivisions abutting major thoroughfares shall provide a marginal service road or shall front buildings upon a minor street parallel to the major thoroughfare and removed from it by the depth of a lot, with a buffer strip for planting or some other means of separation of through and local traffic as the Planning Board may determine appropriate.

Right-of-way and pavement widths.

No subdivision showing reserve strips controlling access to streets shall be approved except where the control and disposal of land comprising such strips has been placed in the governing body under conditions approved by the Planning Board.

Subdivisions that adjoin or include existing streets that do not conform to the street width requirements of this chapter shall dedicate additional width along either one or both sides of such streets of substandard width. If the subdivision is along one side only, one-half of the required extra width shall be dedicated.

Grades of major thoroughfares and collector streets shall not exceed 4%. Grades on other streets shall not exceed 10%. However, the Planning Board shall have the right to permit grades of more than 10% where special conditions exist, provided that such special conditions are set forth in writing in the minutes of the Board. No street shall have a grade of less than 1/2 of 1%. Within 50 feet of the intersection of any such street with a major thoroughfare, the maximum grade shall be limited to 2%.

Street intersections shall be as nearly at right angles as possible and in no case shall have an acute angle of less than 60°. The block corners at intersections shall be rounded at the curbline with a curve having a radius of not less than 25 feet. In the case of street intersections with major thoroughfares and collector streets, the radius requirement shall be increased according to the recommendation of the Borough Engineer.

A street intersection shall not be less than 125 feet removed from the nearest other street intersection.

The center line of a street shall cross an intersecting street as a straight line.

A tangent at least 200 feet long shall be introduced between reverse curves on major thoroughfares and collector streets, and such tangent shall be at least 100 feet on minor streets.

When connecting street lines deflect from each other at any one point by more than 10° and not more than 45°, they shall be connected by a curve with a radius of not less than 100 feet for minor streets and 300 feet for major thoroughfares and collector streets.

All changes in grade shall be connected by vertical curves of sufficient radius to provide a smooth transition and proper sight distance.

Dead-end streets (culs-de-sac) shall not be longer than 400 feet and shall provide a turnaround at the end with a radius of not less than 50 feet and tangent whenever possible to the right side of the street. If a dead-end street is of a temporary nature, a similar turnaround shall be provided and provisions made for future extension of the street and reversion of the excess right-of-way to the adjoining properties.

No street shall have a name which duplicates the name of an existing street or is so similar to the name of an existing street as to be easily confused with it. The continuation of an existing street shall have the same name.

Block lengths and widths or acreage within bounding roads shall be such as to accommodate the size of lot required in the area by the Zoning Ordinance of the Borough of Lawnside and to provide for convenient access, circulation, control and safety of street traffic.

In blocks over 1,000 feet long, pedestrian crosswalks may be required in locations deemed necessary by the Planning Board. Such crosswalks shall have a right-of-way width of 10 feet. Said walks shall be surfaced so as to be easily maintained and properly illuminated if in use after sunset. The alignment or route of crosswalks shall be visible from a street or other public way. Lots abutting such a crosswalk shall be treated as corner lots.

For commercial, group housing or industrial use, the block size shall be sufficient in the judgment of the Planning Board to meet all area and yard requirements for such use.

All lots created by subdivision shall conform strictly to the requirements of the Zoning Ordinance as to area and dimensions.

Insofar as is practical, side lot lines shall be at right angles to straight streets and radial to curved streets.

Where extra width has been dedicated for widening of existing streets, lots shall begin at such extra-width line and all setbacks shall be measured from such line.

Each lot must front upon a public street at least 50 feet in width, except lots fronting on streets described in § 96-55D of this Article. Unsubdivided parcels of land without street access shall not be permitted as a result of creating lots on existing or new streets.

Where there is a question as to the suitability of a lot or lots for their intended use due to factors such as rock formations, drainage, flood conditions or similar causes, the Planning Board may, after adequate investigation, withhold approval of such areas.

In large-scale developments, easements along rear property lines or elsewhere for utility installations may be required by the Planning Board. Such easements shall be of the width and location determined by the Planning Board after consultation with the public utility companies or municipal departments concerned, but in no case shall the easement width be less than 15 feet.

Where a subdivision is traversed by a watercourse, drainageway, channel or stream, there shall be provided a stormwater easement or drainage right-of-way conforming substantially with the lines of such watercourse, and such further width or construction, or both, as the Planning Board may deem adequate for the purpose.

Natural features such as trees, brooks, hilltops and views shall be preserved whenever possible in designing any subdivision containing such features.

Pedestrian and vehicular traffic movement within and adjacent to the site, with particular emphasis on the provision and layout of parking areas, off-street loading and unloading and the movement of people, goods and vehicles from access roads within the site, between buildings and between buildings and vehicles. The Planning Board shall ensure that all parking spaces are usable and are safely and conveniently arranged. Access to the site from adjacent roads shall be designed so as to interfere as little as possible with traffic flow on these roads and to permit vehicles a rapid and safe ingress and egress to and from the site.

The design and layout of buildings and parking areas shall be reviewed so as to provide an aesthetically pleasing design and efficient arrangement. Particular attention shall be given to safety and fire protection, impact on surrounding development and contiguous and adjacent buildings and lands.

Adequate lighting shall be provided to ensure safe movement of persons and vehicles and for security purposes. Lighting standards shall be a type approved by the Planning Board. Directional lights shall be arranged so as to minimize glare and reflection and ambient light on adjacent properties.

Buffering shall be located around the perimeter of the site to minimize headlights of vehicles, noise, light from structures, the movement of people and vehicles and to shield activities from adjacent properties when necessary. Buffering may consist of fencing, evergreens, shrubs, bushes, deciduous trees or combinations thereof to achieve the stated objectives.

Landscaping shall be provided as part of the overall site plan design and integrated into building arrangements, topography, parking and buffering requirements. Landscaping shall include trees, bushes, shrubs, ground cover, perennials, annuals, plants, sculpture, art and the use of building and paving materials in an imaginative manner.

Signs shall be designed so as to be aesthetically pleasing, harmonious with other signs on the site and located so as to achieve their purpose without constituting hazards to vehicles and pedestrians.

Storm drainage, sanitary waste disposal, water supply and garbage disposal shall be reviewed and considered. Particular emphasis shall be given to the adequacy of existing systems and the need for improvements, both onsite and off-site, to adequately carry runoff and sewage and to maintain and adequate supply of water at sufficient pressure.

Garbage disposal shall be adequate to ensure freedom from vermin and rodent infestation. All disposal systems shall meet municipal specifications as to installation and construction.

Environmental elements relating to soil erosion, preservation of trees, protection of watercourses and resources, noise, topography, soil and animal life shall be reviewed, and the design of the plan shall minimize any adverse impact on these elements.

Such other information as the reviewing Board shall deem necessary in order for it to make a determination pursuant to statutes and ordinances.