(a) (1) Council, within 60 days following the conclusion of the public hearing provided for in this subchapter, shall, by official written communication to the landowner, either:
A. Grant tentative approval of the development plan as submitted;
B. Grant tentative approval subject to specified conditions not included in the development plan as submitted; or
C. Deny tentative approval of the development plan.
(2) Failure to so act within such period shall be deemed to be a grant of tentative approval of the development plan as submitted. However, if tentative approval is granted subject to conditions, the landowners may, within 30 days after receiving a copy of the official written communication of Council, notify Council of his or her refusal to accept all such conditions, in which case Council shall be deemed to have denied tentative approval of the development plan. If the landowner does not, within such period, notify Council of his or her refusal to accept all such conditions, tentative approval of the development plan, with all such conditions, shall stand as granted.
(b) The grant or denial of tentative approval by official written communication shall include not only conclusions but also findings of fact related to the specific proposal and shall set forth reasons for the grant, with or without conditions, or for the denial. Such communication shall set forth with particularity in what respects the development plan would or would not be in the public interest, including, but not limited to, findings of fact and conclusions on the following:
(1) Those respects in which the development plan is or is not consistent with the Comprehensive Plan for the development of the Municipality;
(2) The extent to which the development plan departs from the Zoning Code and subdivision regulations otherwise applicable to the subject property, including, but not limited to, density, bulk and use, and the reasons why such departures are or are not deemed to be in the public interest;
(3) The purpose, location and amount of the common open space in the planning residential development, the reliability of the proposals for maintenance and conservation of the common open space, and the adequacy or inadequacy of the amount and purpose of the common open space as related to the proposed density and type of residential development;
(4) The physical design of the development plan and the manner in which such design does or does not make adequate provision for public services, provide adequate control over vehicular traffic and further the amenities of light and air, recreation and visual enjoyment;
(5) The relationship, beneficial or adverse, of the proposed planned residential development to the neighborhood in which it is proposed to be established; and
(6) In the case of a development plan which proposes development over a period of years, the sufficiency of the terms and conditions intended to protect the interests of the public and of the residents of the planned residential development in the integrity of the development plan.
(c) If a development plan is granted tentative approval, without or with conditions, Council may set forth in the official written communication the time within which an application for final approval of the development plan shall be filed or, in the case of a development plan which provides for development over a period of years, the periods of time within which applications for final approval of each part thereof shall be filed. Except upon the consent of the landowner, the time so established between the grant of tentative approval and an application for final approval shall be not less than three months, and, in the case of developments over a period of years, the time between applications for final approval of each part of a plan shall be not less than 12 months.
(Ord. 5139. Passed 11-27-13.)