Subdivision and Land Development in Pennsylvania: Review, Conditions and Security

Two different ordinances

Municipalities adopt a zoning ordinance and, separately, a subdivision and land development ordinance. Zoning governs use and dimension. Land development governs the engineering of the site.

A project can be permitted under zoning and still fail land development review, and confusing the two is a common source of delay and cost.

The sequence

1. Sketch plan, informal and optional, and usually the cheapest hour you will spend.
2. Preliminary plan, the substantive review, before the planning commission and then the governing body, with county planning comment.
3. Final plan, addressing conditions from preliminary approval.
4. Recording, within the required period after approval.

Some municipalities allow a combined preliminary and final process for simpler plans, which is worth asking about.

What review actually covers

• Street layout, access, sight distance and, where a state road is involved, a highway occupancy permit.
• Stormwater management, which is frequently the largest engineering cost and the most common source of revision.
• Sewage and water, including planning module approval.
• Lot layout, easements and rights of way.
• Landscaping, buffering, lighting and open space.
• Erosion and sedimentation control through the conservation district.

Conditions, improvements and financial security

Approvals routinely require public improvements: roads, stormwater facilities, sidewalks, sometimes offsite work. Municipalities generally require financial security to guarantee completion, released as work is completed and inspected.

Two things to watch. Whether required improvements are proportionate to the impact of your development, since disproportionate exactions are challengeable. And the release process, because security tied up long after work is complete is a real cost.

Time limits protect you

Pennsylvania imposes deadlines for deciding plans and communicating decisions, with deemed approval as a consequence of failure. The provisions are technical and strictly construed. Track every submission date, every extension you grant, and get any extension request in writing, because informally agreeing to wait can quietly surrender the protection.