ARTICLE 1

GENERAL PROVISIONS

SECTION 100 TITLE

This Ordinance shall be known and cited as the "Franklin Township Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance."

SECTION 101 AUTHORITY

Franklin Township is empowered to regulate subdivisions and land developments within its municipal limits as provided for under the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, Act 247, as amended. The Planning Commission is hereby designated by the Franklin Township Board of Supervisors to exercise the authority for the approval or disapproval of all subdivision and land development as set forth in this Ordinance, as provided for under Section 501 of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, Act 247, as amended.

SECTION 102 OBJECTIVES

Through the adoption, administration and enforcement of this Ordinance, Franklin Township proposes to create conditions favorable to promote the health, safety, and general welfare of the Township with regulations aimed at achieving the following objectives:

102.1 To guide the future growth and development of the Township in accordance with sound planning practices.

102.2 To provide a standard set of minimum regulations to guide applicants in the design and development of subdivisions and land developments.

102.3 To provide for adequate light, air and privacy, to secure safety from fire, flood, and other danger, and to prevent overcrowding of the land and undue congestion of population.

102.4 To protect and conserve the value of land throughout the Township and the

value of buildings and improvements upon the land, and to minimize the

conflicts among the uses of land and buildings.

102.5 To insure that public facilities are available and will have a sufficient capacity

to serve a proposed subdivision or land development.

102.6 To establish reasonable standards of design and procedures for subdivisions and

resubdivision in order to further the orderly layout and use of land and to insure

proper legal descriptions and monumentation of proposed subdivisions.

102.7 To guide public and private policy and action in order to provide adequate and efficient transportation, water, electrical service and other utilities, sewage, schools, parks, playgrounds, recreation, and other public requirements and facilities.

102.8 To provide the most beneficial relationship between the uses of land and buildings and the circulation of traffic throughout the Township having particular regard to the avoidance of congestion in the streets and highways, and the pedestrian traffic movements appropriate to the various uses of land and buildings, and to provide for the proper location and width of streets and building lines.

102.9 To provide for open spaces through the most efficient design and layout of the land, including the use of average density in providing for minimum width and area of lots, while preserving the density of land as established in the Zoning Ordinance.

102.10 To prevent the pollution of air, streams, and ponds; to assure the adequacy of

drainage facilities; to safeguard the water table; and to encourage the prudent

use and management of natural resources throughout the Township in order to

preserve the integrity and stability of the community and the natural e environmental characteristic of the land.

102.11 To protect and regulate land in critical areas which may be unsuitable for

development.

SECTION 103 APPLICATION OF THE ORDINANCE

103.1 No subdivision or land development of any lot, tract, or parcel of land shall be made, and no street, sanitary sewer, water main, gas, oil, or electric transmission line, or other facilities in connection therewith shall be laid out, constructed, opened, or dedicated for public use or travel or for the common use of occupants of buildings abutting thereon, except in accordance with the Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance regulations adopted herein.

103.2 No lot in a proposed subdivision or land development may be sold, and no zoning

permit to erect any building upon land in a subdivision or land development may

be issued unless and until the following conditions are met:

(a) The plans and application have been granted final approval by the Planning Commission.

(c) all required improvements as set forth in the grant of approval have been constructed or until the applicant posts a form of financial security, acceptable to the Planning Commission, which guarantees that all required improvements shall be subsequently constructed within a defined period of time.

(b) the final plan, as approved, is filed with the Luzerne County Recorder of Deeds.

SECTION 104 STATUS OF PENDING SUBDIVISION AND LAND

DEVELOPMENT APPLICATIONS

From the time an application for approval of a subdivision or land development, whether preliminary or final, is duly filed in accordance with the provisions of this Ordinance and while such application is pending approval or disapproval, an amendment to this Ordinance, the Zoning Ordinance, or any other applicable ordinance, shall not affect the decision on such application adversely to the applicant and the applicant shall be entitled to a decision in accordance with the provisions of all applicable ordinances as they stood at the time the application was duly filed. When an application is, however, properly and finally denied, any subsequent application shall be subject to any amendments to this Ordinance, the Zoning Ordinance and any other applicable ordinance and/or regulations.

SECTION 105 STATUS OF APPROVED SUBDIVISION OR LAND

DEVELOPMENT APPLICATIONS

105.1 When an application for approval of a subdivision or land development,

whether preliminary or final, has been approved, no subsequent

amendment to this Ordinance, the Zoning Ordinance, or any other

applicable ordinance, shall be applied to adversely affect the right of the

applicant to commence and to complete any aspect of the approved

development in accordance with the terms of such approval within five (5)

years from such approval. If final approval is preceded by preliminary

approval, the five (5) year period shall be counted from the date of the

preliminary approval. In the case of any doubt as to the terms of a

preliminary approval, the terms shall be construed in the light of the

provisions of the governing ordinances or plans as they stood at

the time when the application for such approval was duly filed.

105.2 Where the applicant has substantially completed the required improvements

as depicted upon the final plat within the aforesaid five (5) year limit, or

any extension thereof as may be granted by the Planning Commission, no

change of municipal ordinance or plan enacted subsequent to the date of

filing of the preliminary plat shall modify or revoke any aspect of the

approved final plat pertaining to zoning classification or density, lot,

building, street or utility location.

SECTION 106 PHASED DEVELOPMENT EXCEEDING FIVE YEARS

In the case of a preliminary plat calling for the installation of improvements beyond the five year period, a schedule shall be filed by the landowner with the preliminary plat delineating all proposed sections as well as deadlines within which applications for final plat approval of each section are intended to be filed. Such schedule shall be updated annually by the applicant on or before the anniversary of the preliminary plat approval, until final plat approval of the final section has been granted and any modification in the aforesaid schedule shall be subject to approval of the Planning Commission in its discretion.

Each section in any residential subdivision or land development, except for the last section, shall contain a minimum of 25% of the total number of dwelling units as depicted on the preliminary plan, unless a lesser percentage is approved by the Planning Commission in its discretion. Provided the landowner has not defaulted with regard to or violated any of the conditions of the preliminary plat approval, including compliance with landowner's aforesaid schedule of submission of final plats for the various sections, then the protections afforded by substantially completing the improvements depicted upon the final plat within five years, as contained in Section 105, shall apply and for any section or sections, beyond the initial section, in which the required improvements have not been substantially completed within said five year period the aforesaid protections shall apply for an additional term or terms of three years from the date of final plat approval for each section.

Failure of landowner to adhere to the aforesaid schedule of final plats for the various sections shall subject any such section to any and all changes in zoning, subdivision and other governing ordinance enacted by the municipality subsequent to the date of the initial preliminary plan submission.

SECTION 107 RESUBDIVISION OF LAND

A revision or resubdivision of a plan of record shall be considered as a new subdivision and shall come under the jurisdiction of this Ordinance.

SECTION 108 INTERPRETATION

In the interpretation and application, the provisions of the Ordinance shall be held to the minimum requirements for the promotion of the public health, safety and general welfare. When provisions, standards and specifications of this Ordinance differ from those of any other ordinance, statute or regulation, the more restrictive or higher standards shall apply.

The provisions of this Ordinance are not intended to abrogate any private easement, covenant or any other restriction of record, provided that where the provisions of this Ordinance are more restrictive or impose higher standards or regulations than such easement, covenant, or other restriction, the applicable provisions of this Ordinance shall govern.

SECTION 109 MODIFICATION OF REQUIRED STANDARDS

109.1 The Planning Commission may grant a modification of requirements of one or

more provisions if the literal enforcement will exact undue hardship because of

peculiar conditions pertaining to the land in question, provided that such

modification will not be contrary to the public interest and that the purpose and

intent of this Ordinance is observed.

109.2 Any request for a modification shall be submitted in writing and shall accompany and be a part of the application for development. The request shall state in full the grounds and facts of unreasonableness or hardship on which the request is based, the provisions or requirements of this Ordinance in question, and the minimum modification or modifications necessary.

109.3 All proposals for modification of provisions or requirements of this Ordinance

shall require approval by the Planning Commission.

109.4 Upon rendering a final decision for any proposed modification, the Planning Commission shall provide a record of their action within the minutes of their meeting.

SECTION 110 FEES

110.1 MUNICIPAL FEES

The Franklin Township Board of Supervisors shall establish by resolution, a fee schedule for subdivision and land development applications.

110.2 COUNTY FEES

The applicant shall also be required to submit all required fees for review and comment by the Luzerne County Planning Commission.

110.3 FILING DATE AND PAYMENT OF FEES

A completed application and plans for any proposed subdivision or land development shall not be considered as filed until all fees are paid and all applications are properly signed.

SECTION 111 PENALTIES

111.1 PREVENTIVE REMEDIES

In addition to other remedies, the Township may institute and maintain appropriate actions by law or equity to restrain, correct or abate violations, to prevent unlawful construction, to recover damages and to prevent illegal occupancy of a building, structure or premises. The description by metes and bounds to the instrument of transfer or other documents used in the process of selling or transferring shall not exempt the seller or transferor from such penalties or from the remedies herein provided.

The Township may refuse to issue any permit or grant any approval necessary to further improve or develop any real property which has been developed or which has resulted from a subdivision of real property in violation of this Ordinance. The authority to deny such a permit or approval shall apply to any of the following applicants:

1. The owner of record at the time of such violation.

2. The vendee or lessee of the owner of record at the time of such violation without regard as to whether such vendee or lessee had actual or constructive knowledge of the violation.

3. The current owner of record who acquired the property subsequent to the time of violation without regard as to whether the current owner had actual or constructive knowledge of the violation.

4. The vendee or lessee of the current owner of record who acquired the property subsequent to the time of violation without regard as to whether such vendee or lessee had actual or constructive knowledge of the violation.

As an additional condition for the issuance of a permit or granting of an approval to any

such owner, current owner, vendee or lessee for the development of any such real

property, the Township may require compliance with the conditions that would have

been applicable to the property at the time the applicant acquired an interest in such real

property.

111.2 JURISDICTION

District Justices shall have initial jurisdiction in proceedings brought under Section 111.3

of this Ordinance.

111.3 ENFORCEMENT REMEDIES

Any person, partnership or corporation who or which has violated the provisions of this Ordinance, shall upon being found liable therefor under civil enforcement proceedings, commenced by the municipality, pay a judgment of not more than $500.00 plus all court costs, including reasonable attorney fees incurred by the municipality as a result of such proceedings. No judgment shall be commenced 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 municipality may enforce the judgment pursuant to the applicable 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 this Ordinance to have believed that there was no such violation. Under such circumstances, there shall be deemed to have been only one such violation until the fifth day following the date of the termination of a violation by the District Justice and thereafter each day that a violation continues shall constitute a separate violation.

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 within this Section shall be construed or interpreted to grant any person or entity other than the municipality the right to commence action for enforcement pursuant to this Section.

SECTION 112 AMENDMENT PROCEDURE

The regulations set forth in this Ordinance may, from time to time, be amended by the Franklin Township Board of Supervisors. The following requirements shall be observed prior to enacting any amendments to this Ordinance.

A. A public hearing on the proposed amendment shall be held by the Board of

Supervisors pursuant to public notice.

B. In the case of an amendment other than that prepared by the Planning Commission,

the Board of Supervisors shall submit such amendment to the Planning

Commission not less than thirty days prior to the public hearing.

C. The proposed amendment shall be submitted to the Luzerne County Planning

Commission not less than thirty days prior to the public hearing.

D. The proposed amendment shall not be enacted unless public notice is given which

shall include the time and place of the meeting at which passage will be considered

and a reference to a place within the municipality where copies of the proposed

amendment may be examined without charge or obtained for a charge not greater

than the cost of reproduction.

E. Public notice of the proposed amendment shall include the full text thereof or the

title and a brief summary, prepared by the municipal solicitor, setting forth all the

provisions in reasonable detail. If the full text is not provided, a copy shall be

supplied to the newspaper in which the public notice is placed and an attested copy

shall be placed on file at the Luzerne County Law Library.

F. Within thirty days following the adoption of an amendment to this Ordinance, the

Board of Supervisors shall forward a certified copy of the amendment to the

Luzerne County Planning Commission.

SECTION 113 APPEALS TO COURT

Decisions rendered by the Planning Commission may be appealed to a Court of proper jurisdiction in accordance with the procedures, provisions and time limitations as contained in Article X-A of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, Act 247, as amended.

SECTION 114 CONFLICT WITH OTHER ORDINANCES

All Ordinance, or any parts thereof, which are inconsistent or in conflict with this Ordinance, including but not limited to the Franklin Township Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance of November 2, 1992 and any amendments thereto are hereby repealed.

SECTION 115 SEVERABILITY

The provisions of this Ordinance are severable. If any part of this Ordinance is declared to be unconstitutional, illegal or invalid, the validity of the remaining provisions shall be unaffected thereby. It is the intention of Franklin Township that this Ordinance would have been adopted had such unconstitutional, illegal or invalid part not been included.

SECTION 116 EFFECTIVE DATE

This Ordinance shall be in force and effect from and after its enactment as provided for by law.

APPROVED AND ENACTED BY THE FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ON THIS DAY OF , 1994.