Section 10709 - The findings(a) The governing body, or the planning agency, within 60 days following the conclusion of the public hearing provided for in this article or within 180 days after the date of filing of the application, whichever occurs first, shall, by official written communication, to the landowner, either:(1) grant tentative approval of the development plan as submitted;(2) grant tentative approval subject to specified conditions not included in the development plan as submitted; or(3) deny tentative approval to the development plan. Failure to so act within said period shall be deemed to be a grant of tentative approval of the development plan as submitted. In the event, however, that tentative approval is granted subject to conditions, the landowner may, within 30 days after receiving a copy of the official written communication of the governing body notify such governing body of his refusal to accept all said conditions, in which case, the governing body shall be deemed to have denied tentative approval of the development plan. In the event the landowner does not, within said period, notify the governing body of his refusal to accept all said conditions, tentative approval of the development plan, with all said 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 the reasons for the grant, with or without conditions, or for the denial, and said 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) in 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 zoning 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 planned 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 said 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) In the event a development plan is granted tentative approval, with or without conditions, the governing body 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 grant of tentative approval and an application for final approval shall not be 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.1968, July 31, P.L. 805, No. 247, art. VII, § 709. Amended 1978, Oct. 5, P.L. 1067, No. 249, § 3, imd. effective. Reenacted and amended 1988, Dec. 21, P.L. 1329, No. 170, § 74, effective in 60 days. Amended 2002, Jan. 11, P.L. 13, No. 2, § 3, effective in 90 days.