Part 2
Procedures
§22-201 General Procedure for the Submission of Plans.
1. Subdividers may prepare a sketch plan and submit it to the Planning Commission prior to the submission of a preliminary plan. The sketch plan will enable the Planning Commission to render review of the site plan for general scope and conditions which might affect the plan. Such plans should include the elements listed in §22-301.
2. Subdividers shall submit a preliminary plan and support documents for a proposed subdivision or land development to the Borough Planning Commission for approval prior to the submission of a final plan.
3. Subdivision plans and supporting data submitted to the Planning Commission will be considered at the Commission’s next regularly scheduled meeting, provided that they are received at least 30 calendar days in advance of the meeting. [Ord. 650]
4. Minor Subdivisions. In cases where a proposed subdivision involves lots fronting on an existing public right-of-way, and no new streets, sanitary sewers, storm sewers, water mains, gas mains, or pipes or other improvements are needed, or where the proposed subdivision contains three or fewer new lots and involves a total of 10 acres or less, the requirements of the preliminary plan shall be waived, and the subdivider shall comply with the procedure described in §22-203 for final plan. [Ord. 549]
5. Prior to the granting of either preliminary or final approval to any developer of any proposed subdivision, the Commission shall refer said proposed subdivision plan to the planning agency, if one exists, of each adjoining municipality adjoining the subdivision. [Ord. 549]
(Ord. 465, 1/8/1979, §201; as amended by Ord. 549, 7/8/1985, §I; and by Ord. 650, 11/30/1995, §3(c))
§22-202 Preliminary Plan Procedure.
1. Preliminary plans and supporting data shall comply with submission requirements in §22-302 and design standards in Part 4.
2. Ten copies of the preliminary plan shall be submitted to the Planning Commission by the subdivider.
3. Fees to defray the cost of subdivision review shall be paid (to the order of the Borough) at the filing of the preliminary plan.
A. Review fees shall be as established by a schedule adopted by resolution of the Borough Council, and may include the reasonable and necessary expense incurred for the inspection of improvements and reasonable and necessary charges by the Borough’s professional consultants or engineer for review and report thereon to the Borough. Such expenses and charges shall be in accordance with the ordinary and customary charges therefore and shall not exceed the expenses or charges to the Borough.
B. If an applicant disputes the amount of any review fees, the applicant shall, within 10 days of the later of the billing or of the filing date of the preliminary plan, notify the Borough that the fees are disputed, in which case the review of the preliminary plan shall proceed without regard to the matter of the review fees.
C. If, within 20 days of the date of billing, the Borough and the applicant cannot agree on the amount of expenses which are reasonable and necessary, they shall then jointly, by mutual agreement, appoint another professional engineer, licensed as such in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to review the expenses and determine the amount thereof which is reasonable and necessary. The professional engineer shall hear such evidence and review such documentation as he or she 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.
D. If the Borough and the applicant cannot agree upon the professional engineer to be appointed, then, upon application of either party, the President Judge (or, if none, the senior active judge then sitting) of the Court of Common Pleas of the 17th Judicial District shall appoint the professional engineer, who, in that case, shall be neither the Borough Engineer nor any professional engineer who has been retained by or has performed services for the Borough or the applicant within the preceding 5 years.
E. The fee of the appointed professional engineer deciding the dispute shall be paid by the applicant if the amount of payment required in the decision is equal to or greater than the original bill, by the Borough if the amount is less than the original bill by $1,000 or more, or one-half each by the applicant and the Borough if the amount is otherwise.
[Ord. 650]
4. The Planning Commission Secretary shall transmit copies of the preliminary plan to:
A. Borough Manager–one copy.
B. Borough Council–one copy.
C. Borough Engineer–one copy.
D. Borough Solicitor–one copy.
E. County Planning Commission–two copies and review fee. [Ord. 549]
F. Utility companies–to each company whether public or private.
G. Adjoining municipalities–one copy (pursuant to §22-201.5). [Ord. 549]
5. The Borough Planning Commission may discuss the preliminary plan and supporting material with appropriate officials of local, County and State agencies and utility companies.
6. Within 60 days, the Borough Planning Commission shall review the preliminary plan at a regularly scheduled meeting to determine its conformance with the requirements of these regulations and the Planning Commission shall recommend approval, conditional approval, or disapproval of the preliminary plan.
7. When the Planning Commission has required modifications to be made on the plan, the applicant shall submit four copies of the plan showing the required modifications. [Ord. 549]
8. Following formal action by the Planning Commission, the preliminary plan and any recommendations shall be transmitted to the Borough Council. If the Borough Council does not receive the Planning Commission’s recommendations within 60 days of the initial submission of the preliminary plan, such shall be considered as favorable review by the Planning Commission. [Ord. 650]
9. The Borough Council may take any of the following actions:
A. Approval of the entire plan.
B. Approval of plan in part.
C. Subject the plan to modifications or conditions.
D. Disapprove the plan.
E. Table an incomplete plan. [Ord. 549]
10. The Borough Council shall render its decision and communicate it to the applicant no later than 90 days after the date of the first regular meeting of the Planning Commission following the date the preliminary plan is submitted, provided that if that regular meeting should occur more than 30 days after the submission, the 90-day period shall be measured from the 30th day following the day the plan has been submitted.
Failure of the Borough Council to render a decision and communicate it to the applicant within the 90-day period shall be deemed an approval of the preliminary plan, unless the applicant has agreed in writing to an extension of time or change in manner of communicating the decision, in which case, failure to meet the extended time or change in manner of communication shall have like effect.
[Ord. 650]
11. When the application is not approved in terms as filed the decision shall specify the defects found in the application and describe the requirements which have not been met and shall, in each case, cite to the provisions of the ordinance relied upon.
12. Approval of the preliminary plan, subject to conditions, revisions, and modifications as stipulated by Borough Council, shall constitute conditional approval of the subdivision as to the character and intensity of the development and the general layout and approximate dimensions of streets, lots, and other proposed features.
(Ord. 465, 1/8/1979, §202; as amended by Ord. 549, 7/8/1985, §II; and by Ord. 650, 11/30/1995, §3(d))
§22-203 Final Plan Procedure.
1. A final plan with supporting data shall be submitted to the Planning Commission for final approval within 5 years after approval of the preliminary plan; provided, that an extension of time may be granted for cause shown, by the Planning Commission upon written request. Otherwise, the plan submitted shall be considered as a new preliminary plan. [Ord. 549]
2. The final plan shall conform in all important respects with the preliminary plan as previously approved by the Borough Council and shall incorporate all modifications and revisions specified by the Council in its conditional approval of the preliminary plan.
3. The Planning Commission may permit submission of the final plan in sections each covering a portion of the entire proposed subdivision as shown on the preliminary plan, thereby extending for an additional year preliminary plan approval of the remaining portion of the proposed subdivision.
4. The final plan and supporting data shall comply with the provisions of Parts 4 and 5 of this Chapter. Failure to do so shall be cause for disapproval of plans.
5. Ten copies of the final plan with supporting data and the appropriate County Review Fee shall be submitted to the Planning Commission. (No charge will be made for a final plan submitted after preliminary plan has been submitted and approved.) The Planning Commission Secretary shall transmit copies of the plan to:
A. Borough Manager–one copy.
B. Borough Council–one copy.
C. Borough Engineer–one copy.
D. Borough Solicitor–one copy.
E. County Planning Commission–two copies.
F. Utility companies–one to each company whether public or private.
G. Adjoining municipalities–one copy (pursuant to §22-201.5).
[Ord. 549]
6. The Borough Planning Commission may discuss the final plan and supporting material with appropriate officials of local, County, and State agencies and utility companies.
7. Within 60 days, the Borough Planning Commission shall review the final plan at a regularly scheduled meeting to determine its conformance with the requirements of these regulations, and the Planning Commission shall recommend approval, conditional approval, or disapproval of the final plan.
8. Upon receipt of the final plan with the recommendations of the Planning Commission attached thereto, the Borough Council shall review the final plan for compliance with the provisions of this Chapter. If the Borough Council does not receive the Planning Commission’s recommendations within 60 days of the initial submission of the final plan, such shall be considered a favorable review by the Planning Commission. [Ord. 650]
9. The action taken by the Borough Council shall be recorded on all copies of the final plan which were retained by the Planning Commission following the initial application, two copies being returned to the subdivider. [Ord. 549]
10. At the time of approval by the Borough Council, the original drawing showing the final plan shall be made available for signature by the Council.
11. The Borough Council shall render its decision and communicate it to the applicant no later than 90 days after the date of the first regular meeting of the Planning Commission following the date the final plan is submitted, provided that if that regular meeting should occur more than 30 days after the submission, the 90-day period shall be measured from the thirtieth day following the day the plan has been submitted.
Failure of the Borough Council to render a decision and communicate it to the applicant within the 90-day period shall be deemed an approval of the final plan, unless the applicant has agreed in writing to an extension of time or change in manner of communicating the decision, in which case, failure to meet the extended time or change in manner of communication shall have like effect.
[Ord. 650]
12. The decision of the Borough Council shall be in writing and shall be communicated to the applicant personally or mailed to him at his last known address no later than 15 days following the decision.
The Borough Council may issue a conditional approval to a final plan. The conditions shall specify the defects in the plan and describe the requirements which must be met. The applicant shall have 10 days from the date of the Borough Council’s communication in writing of the conditional approval in which to accept or reject the conditions. Failure by the applicant to indicate acceptance or rejection within the 10 days shall cause the conditional approval to be automatically rescinded, and the final plan shall be deemed to be disapproved. A rejection of the conditions shall cause the plan to be deemed to have been disapproved.
Upon acceptance of the conditional approval, the applicant shall have 30 days in which to resubmit the corrected final plan.
[Ord. 650]
13. When the application is not approved in terms as filed the decision shall specify the defects found in the application and describe the requirements which have not been met and shall, in each case, cite the provision of the ordinance relied upon.
14. Required modifications to the final plan, if any, shall be noted on five prints of the plan. The prints marked for modification, together with the official notification of the Borough Council’s action, shall be distributed as follows:
A. One copy to the Borough Planning Commission files.
B. One copy to the subdivider.
C. One copy to Borough Council files.
D. One copy to the Borough Engineer, if one has been appointed.
[Ord. 549]
15. The subdivider shall record the final plan in the office of the Recorder of Deeds of Snyder County within 20 days after the date of approval by the Council. [Ord. 549]
(Ord. 465, 1/8/1979, §203; as amended by Ord. 549, 7/8/1985, §III; and by Ord. 650, 11/30/1995, §3(e))
§22-204 Conveyances Between Adjoining Property Owners.
In cases where a land owner desires to convey a parcel of land as an addition to an existing adjoining tract, the subdivider shall submit to the Borough Planning Commission a survey plan with seal and a letter outlining his or her intentions. After receiving the Planning Commission’s recommendation, the Borough Council shall determine whether more information will be required. If more information is required, the applicant shall provide it before the Borough Council takes final action under §22-203. Upon receiving final approval under §22-203, the adjoining tract and the parcel added to it shall be deemed one lot for all purposes, and the plan to be recorded shall state that the added parcel shall hereafter be deemed a part of the adjoining lot for all purposes.
(Ord. 465, 1/8/1979, §204; as added by Ord. 549, 7/8/1985, §IV)