Borough v. Township of Maxatawny

123 A.3d 347, 2015 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 310
CourtCommonwealth Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedJuly 13, 2015
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 123 A.3d 347 (Borough v. Township of Maxatawny) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Borough v. Township of Maxatawny, 123 A.3d 347, 2015 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 310 (Pa. Ct. App. 2015).

Opinion

OPINION BY

President Judge DAN PELLEGRINI.

Lyons Borough (Borough) and Lyons Borough Municipal Authority (LBMA) appeal the order of the Berks County Court of Common Pleas (trial court) denying their appeal of the Township of Maxataw-njfs (Township) approval of the Final Land Development Plan (Final Plan) submitted by Apollo Point, L.P. (Apollo Point) and Saucony Creek, L.P. (Saucony Creek) (collectively, Landowners) under the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code (MPC)1 and the Township’s Subdivision [349]*349and Land Development Ordinance (SAL-DO). We reverse.

This is the latest in a series of actions in which the Borough and LBMA are contesting Landowners’ attempt to develop a 192-unit apartment complex on two contiguous parcels of property in the Township totaling approximately 37.7 acres zoned for multi-family housing. In December 2012, a Preliminary Land Development Plan (Preliminary Plan) was filed with the Township’s Board of Supervisors (Board) to construct the complex composed of four buildings with two and four bedroom units, as well as a clubhouse. The plan included a sewage flow estimated by a consulting engineer of 26,942.96 gallons per day at full occupancy.

LBMA, the Township and the Township’s Municipal Authority (Authority) entered into agreements under which the Authority would provide sanitary sewage collection and treatment and the Township purchased a total of 50,000 gallons of average daily flow into LBMA’s treatment plant. At the time of preliminary approval, the Township was using a peak sewage flow of 21,150 gallons per day with a remaining available capacity of 28,850 gallons of flow per day. In December 2012, Landowners entered into an agreement with the Authority to use its remaining sewage flow capacity for the development.

In March 2018, the Board granted conditional approval of the Preliminary Plan subject to 161 conditions relating to: compliance with the sections of the SALDO relating to storm water management; sanitary sewer system and water distribution system requirements; and compliance with additional zoning ordinance and SALDO requirements as well as additional required approvals by the Berks County Planning Commission (Planning Commission), the Berks County Conservation District (BCCD), the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), the Department of Transportation (DOT), and the Township’s Solicitor.

LBMA appealed the Board’s conditional approval to the trial court, alleging that the Board erred in approving the Preliminary Plan because there was insufficient sewage for the development and there is no agreement to purchase increased capacity. LBMA also alleged that there is no agreement for connection to the sewer main; no easement across neighboring property for the connection to the sewage system; no provision for connection to its public water system; and there is no agreement with LBMA for connection to that system. The trial court dismissed LBMA’s appeal and affirmed the Board’s decision and this Court affirmed on further appeal. See Lyons Borough Municipal Authority v. Township of Maxatawny, 2014 WL 3396538 (Pa.Cmwlth. No. 1961 C.D.2013, filed July 10,2014).

In June 2013, while the appeal from the Preliminary Plan approval was pending, the Board approved Landowners’ Final Plan2 conditioned on demonstrating com[350]*350pliance with comments in three review letters from: the Township’s Zoning Enforcement Officer, Christopher Paff (Paff);3 the .Township Representative with Keystone Consulting Engineers, Inc., Roy J. Stewart (Stewart);4 and a Planner II [351]*351with the Planning Commission, Jamie L. Passon (Passon).5 In June 2013, the [352]*352Township’s Manager acknowledged that Landowners had already submitted or may submit future revised plans concerning these comments.6

The Borough and LBMA appealed the conditional approval of the Final Plan to the trial court, arguing that the conditions attached to the Preliminary Plan approval had not been satisfied and that the Final Plan as submitted does not comply with the requirements of the Township’s SAL-DO and Zoning Ordinance.7 The trial court found that the Township approved the Final Plan with the same conditions cited in the Preliminary Plan approval, and that Landowners had already complied with some of the conditions and agreed to comply with the remaining conditions. The trial court concluded that, as a result, the Township correctly conditionally approved the Final Plan. See Weiser v. Latimore Township, 960 A.2d 924, 930 (Pa.Cmwlth.2008), appeal denied, 601 Pa. 705, 973 A.2d 1008 (2009) (final approval of a subdivision plan is automatic unless the final plan is different from the preliminary plan). (Trial Court 10/24/14 Opinion at 4). The trial court also found that the Borough’s and LBMA’s calculation of the necessary sewage capacity was not based on facts as they exist. The trial court denied the appeal and affirmed the Board’s order because this is an issue between the Borough and LBMA and the Township which may be the subject of a contract dispute, but it is not a basis to reject Landowners’ Final Plan.

The Borough and LBMA then filed this appeal again, arguing that the Township erred in approving the Final Plan because Landowners have not met the conditions imposed on Landowners in the Preliminary Plan approval.8

A conditional approval of a final plan has been expressly recognized by the MPC. Section 503(9) of the MPC, provides:

[353]*353The subdivision and land development ordinance may include, but need not be limited to:
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(9) Provisions for the approval of a plat, whether preliminary or final, subject to conditions acceptable to the applicant and a procedure for the applicant’s acceptance or rejection of any conditions which may be imposed, including a provision that approval of a plat shall be rescinded automatically upon the applicant’s failure to accept or reject such conditions within such time limit as may be established by the governing ordinance.

53 P.S. § 10503(9) (emphasis added).

As evidenced by this provision, the conditions must be agreed to by the applicant and involve such things as road improvement and open space as well. See Graham, 555 A.2d at 81 (“[Section] 508(4) does permit the governing body to place conditions upon the approval of either the preliminary or final plan with the applicant’s acceptance ....”) (emphasis in original).9 Attaching a “condition” that they must have approvals as required by law are in a sense not a “condition” that the municipality imposes because it has no discretion to change or waive that requirement.

While the Township may impose conditions on the approval of a Final Plan, that power is not unlimited. In Bloom v. Lower Paxton Township, 72 Pa.Cmwlth. 532, 457 A.2d 166

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123 A.3d 347, 2015 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 310, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/borough-v-township-of-maxatawny-pacommwct-2015.