1. Parties to proceedings authorized in this Part and by the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code may utilize mediation as an aid in completing such proceedings. In no case shall the Board initiate mediation or participate as a mediating party. Mediation shall supplement, not replace, those procedures in this Part.
2. Participation in mediation shall be wholly voluntary. The appropriateness of mediation shall be determined by the particulars of each case and the willingness of the parties to negotiate. The Township shall assure, that, in each case, the mediating parties, assisted by the mediator, as appropriate, develop terms and conditions for:
A. Funding mediation.
B. Selecting mediators who at a minimum, shall have a working knowledge or municipal zoning and subdivision procedures and demonstrated skills for mediation.
C. Completing mediation, including time limits for such completion.
D. Suspending time limits otherwise authorized in this Chapter and in the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, provided there is written consent by the mediating parties, and by the applicant or municipal decision-making body if either is not a party to the mediation.
E. Identifying all parties and affording them the opportunity to participate.
F. Subject to legal restraints, determining whether some or all of the mediation sessions shall be open or closed to the public.
G. Assuring that mediated solutions are in writing and signed by the parties, and become subject to review and approval by the appropriate decision-making body pursuant to the authorized procedures set forth in the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code.
3. No offers or statements made in the mediation sessions, excluding the final written mediated agreement shall be admissible as evidence in any subsequent judicial or administrative proceedings.
(Ord. 3/9/1993B, § 1006)