§ 395-10. Preliminary plan.

A. 

Submission. Preliminary plans and required supplementary data for all subdivisions and land developments shall be submitted to the Borough for review, unless exempted in § 395-14. Plans shall be submitted by the applicant to the Borough no less than 28 days prior to the regularly scheduled meeting of the Borough Planning Commission at which it is to be considered. The Planning Commission has the right to waive this requirement in its sole discretion. Any revised preliminary plan submitted to the Borough for review shall be submitted by the applicant to the Borough no less than 28 days prior to the regularly scheduled meeting of the Borough Planning Commission at which it is to be considered. The Planning Commission has the right to waive this requirement in its sole discretion.

(1) 

Official submission of a preliminary plan shall include:

(a) 

Five completed application(s) for review of preliminary plan (Form 2).

(b) 

Eleven black-on-white prints on paper of the preliminary plan which shall comply with the requirements of § 395-16.

(c) 

Eight copies of all other information and plans which are required by § 395-16.

(d) 

Payment of the filing fee.

(e) 

An affidavit that the applicant is the landowner of the land proposed to be developed and has the authority to proceed on behalf of all parties claiming any ownership interest therein.

(f) 

In the case of a subdivision or land development adjoining Lehigh Township, the applicant shall submit an additional copy of the preliminary plan to the Township. The Borough may request a review and report from the Township.

(2) 

In the case of a subdivision or land development which proposes vehicular access or stormwater drainage onto a state route, the applicant shall submit the preliminary plan and all supplementary data to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation with a request for review of his proposed access and drainage and shall submit evidence of such submission to the Borough at the time of preliminary plan submission.

(3) 

In the case of a preliminary plan calling for the installation of improvements beyond a five-year period, a schedule shall be filed by the applicant delineating all proposed sections as well as deadlines within which applications for final plan 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 plan approval, until final plan approval of the final section has been granted, and any modification in the aforesaid schedule shall be subject to approval of the Borough Council in its discretion. Each section in any residential subdivision or land development, except for the last section to be developed, 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 Borough Council in its discretion.

(4) 

Failure of the applicant to submit all items required under Subsection A(1), (2) and (3) of this section, or failure of the preliminary plan to comply with the requirements of § 395-16, shall be grounds for the Borough to refuse to accept the preliminary plan for review.

B. 

Review by Borough Planning Commission.

(1) 

When a preliminary plan has been accepted for review by the Borough, the Borough Planning Commission shall review the preliminary plan at one or more regularly scheduled or special meetings.

(2) 

Review and determinations.

(a) 

The Borough Engineer shall review the preliminary plan to determine whether the preliminary plan meets the requirements of this chapter and submit a written report thereon to the Borough Planning Commission.

(b) 

The Borough Zoning Officer shall review the preliminary plan to determine whether the preliminary plan meets the requirements of Chapter 450, Zoning, of the Code of the Borough of Walnutport and other applicable codes and submit a written report thereon to the Borough Planning Commission.

(c) 

The Borough shall review the preliminary plan to determine its conformance to the Borough Public Improvements Requirement Manual and other utility requirements. The Borough shall submit a written report to the Borough Planning Commission and recommend changes, alterations or modifications, as he may deem necessary.

(d) 

After the final meeting at which the preliminary plan is reviewed by the Borough Planning Commission, the Commission shall notify the Borough Council in writing of its comments regarding the preliminary plan. Failure of the Planning Commission to notify the Borough Council in writing of its comments of the preliminary plan shall be deemed a recommendation for denial. The Commission may recommend that the preliminary plan be approved, be approved subject to conditions, or be disapproved. If the Commission recommends that the preliminary plan be disapproved because the provisions of this chapter have not been met, the specific provisions of this chapter which have not been met shall be noted. The Commission will notify Borough Council within 15 days after the final meeting at which it reviews the preliminary plan.

C. 

Review by Borough Council. After a preliminary plan has been reviewed by the Borough Planning Commission and the written comments of the Commission regarding the preliminary plan have been forwarded to the Borough Council, the plan shall be reviewed at one or more regularly scheduled or special meetings by the Borough Council.

(1) 

No official action shall be taken by the Borough Council with respect to a preliminary plan until the Borough has received the written report of the County Planning Commission, provided the report is received within 30 days from the date the preliminary plan was forwarded to the County Planning Commission for review.

(2) 

Before acting on a preliminary plan, the Borough Council may hold a public hearing thereon after public notice.

(3) 

The decision of the Borough Council regarding the preliminary plan shall be in writing and shall be communicated to the applicant personally or mailed to him by mail at his last known address not later than 15 days following the decision.

(4) 

The Borough Council shall render its decision and communicate it to the applicant not later than 90 days following the date of the regular meeting of the Borough Planning Commission next following the date the application is filed, provided that should said next regular meeting occur more than 30 days following the filing of the application, said ninety-day period shall be measured from the 30th day following the day the application has been filed. The applicant may grant an extension of time to the Borough. Failure of the Borough Council to render a decision and communicate it to the applicant within the time and in the manner required herein shall be deemed an approval of the application in terms as presented unless the applicant has agreed in writing to an extension of time.

(5) 

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 relevant provision.

(6) 

Borough Council may approve a preliminary plan subject to conditions acceptable to the applicant, provided that the applicant indicates his written acceptance of those conditions to the Borough Council within 10 days of the date of the written notification from the Borough Council.

(7) 

If the preliminary plan proposes a staging plan calling for the submission of the final plan in sections, the boundaries of the sections as well as the order and timing of submittal of the final plans therefor, shall be subject to the approval of Borough Council. In approving a staging plan, Borough Council, in its discretion, may:

(a) 

Impose conditions to the development of any single stage, phase or section which shall be complied with prior to the commencement of the next or any subsequent stage, phase or section of the subdivision or land development;

(b) 

Impose conditions which shall be met by the applicant within a time period specified by Borough Council, said time period to commence after the completion of any stage, phase or section if development of the subsequent stage, phase or section during which such conditions were to be met is not commenced within said time period;

(c) 

Impose conditions which must be met within a time period specified by Borough Council in the event of a subsequent change in the use of the buildings constructed within the subdivision or land development; and

(d) 

Require any or all conditions imposed by the Borough Council to be set forth and included on the final or recorded plan pertaining to any or all stages, phases or sections of the subdivision or land development prior to the recording of any such final or recorded plan.

(8) 

The approval of a preliminary plan does not authorize the recording of a subdivision or land development plan nor the sale, lease or transfer of lots, nor the construction of dwellings or other buildings.