(a) When the developer has completed all of the necessary and appropriate improvements, the developer shall notify Council, in writing, by certified or registered mail, of the completion of the aforesaid improvements and shall send a copy thereof to the City Engineer. Council shall, within ten days after receipt of such notice, direct and authorize the City Engineer to inspect all of the aforesaid improvements. The City Engineer shall, thereupon, file a report, in writing, with Council, and shall promptly mail a copy of the same to the developer by certified or registered mail. The report shall be made and mailed within thirty days after receipt by the City Engineer of the aforesaid authorization from the governing body; and such report shall be detailed and shall indicate approval or rejection of such improvements, either in whole or in part, and if such improvements, or any portion thereof, shall not be approved or shall be rejected by the City Engineer, such report shall contain a statement of reasons for such nonapproval or rejection.
(Ord. 12-1982 §3.70. Passed 11-3-82.)
(b) Council shall notify the developer, within fifteen days of receipt of the Engineer's report, in writing, by certified or registered mail of the action of Council with relation thereto.
(Ord. 19-1991 §7. Passed 7-2-91.)
(c) If Council or the City Engineer fails to comply with the time limitation provisions contained herein, all improvements shall be deemed to have been approved and the developer shall be released from all liability, pursuant to its performance guaranty bond or other security agreement.
(d) If any portion of the improvements shall not be approved or shall be rejected by Council, the developer shall proceed to complete the same, and upon completion, the same procedure of notification, as outlined herein, shall be followed.
(e) Nothing herein, however, shall be construed in limitation of the developer's right to contest or question by legal proceedings or otherwise, any determination of Council or the City Engineer.
(f) Where herein reference is made to the City Engineer, he shall be a duly registered professional engineer employed by the City.
(g) In the event that cash or the equivalent is deposited as an improvement guarantee, it shall be held in an escrow fund.
(Ord. 12-1982 §3.70. Passed 11-3-82.)
(h) The applicant shall reimburse the City for the reasonable and necessary expense incurred for the inspection of improvements. Such reimbursement shall be based upon a schedule established by resolution of Council. Such expense shall be reasonable and in accordance with the ordinary and customary fees charged by the City Engineer for work performed for similar services in the community, but in no event shall the fees exceed the rate or cost charged by the engineer or consultant to the City when fees are not reimbursed or otherwise imposed on applicants.
(1) In the event the applicant disputes the amount of any such expense in connection with the inspection of improvements, the applicant shall, within ten working days of the date of billing, notify the City that such expenses are disputed as unreasonable or unnecessary, in which case the City shall not delay or disapprove a subdivision or land development application or any approval or permit related to development due to the applicant's request over disputed engineer expenses.
(2) If, within twenty days from the date of billing, the City and the applicant cannot agree on the amount of expenses which are reasonable and necessary, then the applicant and the City shall jointly, by mutual agreement, appoint another professional engineer licensed as such in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to review the expenses and make a determination as to the amount thereof which is reasonable and necessary.
(3) The professional engineer so appointed shall hear such evidence and review such documentation as the professional engineer in his or her sole opinion deems necessary and render a decision within fifty days of the billing date. The applicant shall be required to pay the entire amount determined in the decision immediately.
(4) In the event that Council and applicant cannot agree upon the professional engineer to be appointed within twenty days of the billing date, then, upon application of either party, the President Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of the judicial district in which the City is located (or if at the time there be no President Judge, then the senior active judge then sitting) shall appoint such engineer, who, in that case, shall be neither the City Engineer nor any professional engineer who has been retained by, or performed services for, the City or the applicant within the preceding five years.
(5) The fee of the appointed professional engineer for determining the reasonable and necessary expenses shall be paid by the applicant if the amount of payment required in the decision is equal to or greater than the original bill. If the amount of payment required in the decision is less than the original bill by one thousand dollars ($1,000) or more, the City shall pay the fee of the professional engineer, but otherwise the City and the applicant shall each pay one-half of the fee of the appointed professional engineer. (Ord. 19-1991 §7. Passed 7-2-91.)