Union Township City Zoning Code
§ 30-13.6
Improvement Guaranties Required; Surety; Release.
[Ord. No. 85-9, § 1305]
a.
Before recording final subdivision plans or as a condition of final site plan approval, the Planning Board shall require and shall accept, in accordance with the standards adopted herein, for the purpose of assuring the installation and maintenance of on-tract public improvements and landscaping:
1.
The furnishing of a performance guarantee in favor of the Township in an amount not to exceed 120% of the cost of installation of improvements which the Township deems necessary and appropriate including: streets, grading, pavement, gutters, curbs, sidewalks, street lighting, shade trees, surveyor's monuments, water mains, culverts, storm sewers, sanitary sewers or other means of sewage disposal, drainage structures, erosion control and sedimentation control devises, public improvements of open space and, in the case of site plans only, other on-site improvements and landscaping.
(a)
The cost of said improvements shall be determined by the Township Engineer based on documented construction costs for public improvements prevailing in the general area of the Township.
(b)
The Township Engineer shall prepare an itemized cost estimate of the improvements covered by the performance guarantee, which itemized cost estimate shall be appended to each performance guarantee posted by the obliger.
(c)
The developer shall provide 10% of the total amount of the performance guarantee in the form of cash. When the cash guarantee exceeds $5,000, it shall be deposited by the Township in a separate interest bearing escrow account. Interest earned in excess of $100 per year shall be returned to the developer after a 33 1/3% reduction of the total interest has been retained by the Township for administrative and other custodial expenses.
2.
The furnishing of a maintenance guaranty, to be posted with the governing body, for a period of two years after final acceptance of the improvement, in an amount equal to 15% of the cost of the improvement. In the event that other governmental agencies or public utilities automatically will own the utilities to be installed or the improvements are covered by a performance or maintenance guaranty to another governmental agency, no performance or maintenance guaranty, as the case may be, shall be required by the Township for such utilities or improvements.
b.
The time allowed for installation of the improvements for which the performance guaranty has been provided may be extended by the governing body by resolution. As a condition or part of any such extension, the amount of any performance guaranty shall be increased or reduced, as the case may be, to an amount not to exceed 120% of the cost of the installation as determined as of the time of the passage of the resolution.
c.
If the required improvements are not completed or corrected in accordance with the performances guaranty, the obligor and surety, if any, shall be liable thereon to the Township for the reasonable cost of the improvements not completed or corrected, and the Township may, either prior to or after the receipt of the proceeds thereof, complete such improvements.
d.
Upon substantial completion of all required appurtenant utility improvements and the connection of same to the public system, the obligor may notify the Township in writing by certified mail addressed in care of the Township Clerk of the completion or substantial completion of improvements and shall send a copy thereof to the Township Engineer. Thereupon the Township Engineer shall inspect all improvements of which such notice has been given and shall file a detailed report, in writing, with the Township, indicating either approval, partial approval, or rejection of such improvements with a statement of reasons for any rejection. The cost of the improvements as approved or rejected shall be set forth.
e.
The Township shall either approve, partially approve, or reject the improvements on the basis of the report of the Township Engineer and shall notify the obligor, in writing by certified mail, of the contents of the report and the action of the approving authority with relation thereto not later than 65 days after receipt of the notice from the obligor of the completion of the improvements. Where partial approval is granted, the obligor shall be released from all liability pursuant to its performance guaranty, except for that portion sufficient to secure provisions of the improvements not yet approved, provided that 30% of the amount of the performance guaranty posted may be retained to insure completion of all improvements.
f.
If any portion of the required improvement is rejected, the approving authority may require the obligor to complete such improvements, and upon completion, the same procedure of notification as set forth in this subsection shall be followed.
g.
Nothing herein, however, shall be construed to limit the right of the obligor to contest by legal proceedings any determination of the Township or the Township Engineer.
h.
The obligor shall reimburse the Township for all reasonable inspection fees paid to the Township Engineer for the foregoing inspection of the improvements, provided that the Township may require of the developer a deposit for all or a portion of the reasonably anticipated fees to be paid to the Township Engineer for such inspection.