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Established June 2, 1997
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BOS Letter & FAQ - Proposed Map Ordinance
The following letter and FAQ were mailed to owners of land identified in the Proposed Map Ordinance on November 10, 2005
Dear Neighbor,
On Monday evening November 7, the Board of Supervisors conducted a hearing on proposed amendments to the Official Map Ordinance. The hearing was advertised as required, though the Board was criticized for not providing individual notification to each property owner before the meeting. While this is not a legal obligation, it simply should have been done and as Chairman of the Board that responsibility ultimately falls on me. Please accept my apology and also mark your calendar for Monday, January 23, 2006 when this hearing will continue in room 154 at the Great Valley Middle School at 7:30 P.M. We encourage you input and participation as we move forward with this task.
Monday's meeting was attended by about fifty-five individuals, twenty-four of whom are owners whose properties were identified on the proposed Map. The concerns we heard were generally as follows:
- that the ordinance imposes a financial burden on landowners by impairing the free market in a sale of land;
- that the disposition of private land is not the Township's business;
- that the Township did not have the right to enact such an ordinance;
- that the Township will force a landowner to accept a lower value for the sale of land or development rights than the market would produce;
- that the Ordinance is an example of bad government; and
- that the Ordinance, by stopping the clock for one year while the Township ponders, takes value without compensating the landowner.
Pennsylvania's Municipal Planning Code (MPC) authorizes an "Official Map" for reservations for future roads, utilities, parks, or conservation easements. By including a particular parcel on the Map, a municipality is given time to negotiate with the landowner to either purchase the land outright or purchase, at market value, some or all of the development rights. The property remains in private ownership with all the rights attending that ownership, including the right to sell the land to whomever the landowner chooses at the best price the market will produce. The exception, of course, is that development is not later allowed or is only allowed to the extent reserved by the owner at the time the development rights were sold.
We all realize that Charlestown is under increasing development pressure and though we welcome new neighbors, the very attributes they are moving here to enjoy are rapidly diminishing as our land is being consumed by development. The Board clearly recognizes our residents' right to dispose of their property if and when they desire, and at the best price they can obtain; however, we represent all 4,200 residents in Charlestown. The goal here is not just to perpetuate natural beauty, but to keep taxes down and prevent the inevitable strains of new taxes to meet the service demands brought on by development, such as sewer, fire, ambulance, road up keep and the largest, a municipal police force.
The current Board of Supervisors were all elected based on our commitment to thoughtful preservation. We would be ignoring our responsibility were we to ignore the realities of development, suburban sprawl and tax increases the same as if we ignored your concerns about your land and its value as an asset and what it represents to you. The balance point is what we are seeking. We would be irresponsible if did not use the tools the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has given us to accomplish open space preservation just as we would if in accomplishing preservation, we violated the interests of our landowners. It is our belief that Official Map is one such tool that can honor both interests as long as the language of the Ordinance we enact bears this out.
The Supervisors are taking all comments and suggestions under consideration and will be making revisions to the ordinance to address these concerns. Our intention is to get the revised ordinance mailed out to you thirty days prior to the meeting on January 23. I encourage you to attend that meeting and voice your concerns and we will do our best to address them. It is a challenge to address everyone's concerns and still accomplish the preservation efforts we have been charged with attaining but that is our goal. We need your input now and in January.
Attached is a brief overview of what the Official Map ordinance does and does not do. You may mail your comments to Charlestown Township at P.O. Box 507, Devault, PA 19432-0507 or by email to me at kevin@progsolution.com. Should you wish to meet or discuss prior to our next meeting I would be happy to hear your thoughts and can be reached at 610-917-9960.
Sincerely,
Kevin R. Kuhn
Chairman
Official Map
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Official Map?
The map is a tool granted by the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code (MPC) that allows municipalities to place reservations on land for the future construction of roads, parks, trails, or in the case of Charlestown Township preserve open space. There are restrictions on how long a municipality has to exercise its right under the ordinance. The MPC currently allows for a maximum of one year for the Township to negotiate with a landowner once they have notified us that they wish to develop their property. This is one provision we are currently looking at modifying to shorten the time period.
What things are Exempt from the Official Map ordinance in Charlestown?
The property owner is never affected by the ordinance unless they wish to subdivide their property into more than two building lots. In other words you can sell the property, divide it into two single family lots, or build a single family dwelling. In this case the townships only role is the enforcement the current ordinances governing subdivision and land development.
Our ordinance does not prevent a property owner from building accessory structures such as barns, pools, sheds, tennis courts or additions to their homes.
It does not prevent a property owner from building a home on their property as long as such a building complies with the other Township ordinances governing single family homes.
It does not prevent a property owner from subdividing their property into two lots for single family dwellings.
What restriction is on a property owner whose property is on the Official Map?
The ordinance is only triggered if the property is to be subdivided into more than two lots. At this point the township is given the opportunity to be an active buyer of the property or a buyer of development rights on the property. This opportunity allows the township to work with the property owner to determine a fair market value and that the township has to act within a specific timeframe.
Why is the township interested in having properties on the Official Map?
We face a major challenge by developers who want to pave over the township with no regard to preserving any of the beauty that attracted most of us to Charlestown to begin with. These developers typically have no desire to work with the township to build sensitive developments but are motivated by how many houses they can squeeze onto a property. The official map gives the township an opportunity to play on an equal footing with the developers in an effort to preserve our shrinking landscape.
The Supervisors recognize that once the land is developed it is gone forever. We want the opportunity to be able to put township money on the table and to work with property owners to get a mutually agreeable arrangement.
In recent years there have been properties the township would have had interest in preserving but there was a death in the family and the heirs, having been bombarded with developer offers, cut a deal before the Township even knew the property was available. Had the Township had this ordinance when the Pyle farm was sold there would likely be a very different view as you drive down Yellow Springs Road today. Unfortunately we didn't so the view now is the preserved 75 acre farm the Township purchased from the School District on one side and a 39 home development on the other side.
What are development rights and how do they work?
This is a very positive way for property owners to have a win-win situation. It allows for the owner to receive fair market value for selling or donating the right to future development of their property. If sold the income is typically taxed at the lower capital gains tax rates. If donated the property owner gets a charitable deduction for the value of the development rights.
The property owner still owns the property, can live on the property, and can sell it at any time without any conditions or restrictions from the Official Map ordinance. With the township purchasing the development rights the owner will receive their full value much sooner than they would from the typical developer sale. Additionally the property owner does not have to sell or donate all the development rights. He or she can retain some for future years or to reserve building sites on the property for children and/or grandchildren.
What is the advantage of working with the township on a deal?
If the township is interested they can do a deal faster and get money into the property owner's hands faster. Most developers make contingent offers where the property owner is paid some money up front and the rest is contingent on the developer receiving all their development approvals from the township. Typically the ultimate sale price is a per-lot price times the number of approved lots. These agreements are routinely overly optimistic with respect to the number of lots the property will yield thus setting a false expectation level for the property owner. When the plans are approved by the township the rest of the money is paid and is often less then expected after waiting years for the approval process to be completed.
As an example, when a developer wanted to buy the Jenkins property on Valley Hill Road and build 8 homes the township executed the same deal in less than 6 months with no strings attached. The family was happy and the township is pleased to be able to have preserved open space and build a small community park while limiting the development to no more than four homes.
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