This chapter shall be known as "Professional Services Reimbursement
Local Law."
The Village of Minoa Village Board hereby finds and determines
that in order to protect and safeguard the Village, its residents
and their property, with respect to land, and improvements within
the Village, the development and construction thereon and the uses,
operations, businesses, trades, professions and industries conducted
thereon should all be designed and constructed in a competent and
workmanlike manner and developed, constructed and utilized in conformity
with all applicable governmental laws, codes, rules and regulations
and, where applicable to development, dedicated and conveyed to the
Village in a legally sufficient manner. In order to ensure the foregoing,
it is essential that the Village have available to it all necessary
professional expertise to assist with inspections of the foregoing,
any required legal opinion(s) or actions, including, relative to violations
and enforcement of such applicable laws, codes, rules and regulations,
the review of legal documents and instruments, plans, designs, applications
and to make recommendations to the Codes Enforcement Officer, Village
Board, Planning Board, Zoning Board of Appeals, Village Attorney and
Building Inspector. The Village takes great pride in the skill and
professionalism of its land use and zoning boards, code enforcement
and administrative staff; however, from time to time, such boards
and staff are called upon to review and evaluate matters and to consider
and take actions outside the range of their training and/or expertise
and/or requiring legal assistance and expertise. These situations
may require the Village to seek out skills not possessed by such Village
boards and Village officials but which are not required frequently
enough to justify the full- or part-time hiring of such specialized
staff. At the same time, the cost of retaining such expertise should
not be borne by the taxpayers of the Village, but rather by those
who seek to benefit or profit from the decisions of the Village, its
boards, administrative staff and/or those who are legally responsible
relative to efforts, actions and proceedings addressing violations
and enforcement of such governmental laws, codes, rules and regulations.
Therefore, it is the intent of this chapter to establish a mechanism
whereby the Village may utilize necessary expertise for such matters
without imposing the cost on its taxpayers.
This chapter is enacted under the authority of Subparagraphs
(a)(12) and (d)(3) of the Municipal Home Rule Law § 10(1)(iii)
and Municipal Home Rule Law § 22. To the extent that the
Village Law of the State of New York does not authorize the Village
Board, Village Planning Board or Zoning Board of Appeals to require
the reimbursement to the Village of expenses incurred by the Village
in connection with professional assistance, it is the expressed intent
of the Village Board to change and supersede such statutes. Such statutes
likewise do not authorize the deferral or withholding of approvals
in the event such expenses are not paid to the Village. It is the
express intent of the Village Board to change and supersede the New
York State Village Law, including, without limitations, §§ 7-700,
7-708, 7-712, 7-712-a, 7-712-b, 7-725-a, 7-725-b, 7-728, 7-732 and
7-736, and to the extent legally permissible, relating specifically
to the subject matter hereof and subject to Executive Law § 383,
to supplement New York Code Rules and Regulations Title 19, Parts
1220 through 1226, and to supplement New York State Vehicle and Traffic
Law § 1224, Executive Law § 382, the New York
State Public Health Law (Article 13) relative to public nuisance abatement,
and Village Law §§ 4-400, 4-412, 8-802 and 20-2006,
to empower the Village to require such payment as part of any procedures
thereunder and in relation to any efforts, actions or proceedings
deemed necessary by the Town Board to address enforcement and violation
issues.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
APPLICANT
Any person, firm, partnership, association, corporation,
company or organization of any kind who or which requests the Codes
Enforcement Officer, Zoning Officer or other issuer of building permits,
certificates of completion, occupancy and compliance or the Village
Board, the Planning Board or the Zoning Board of Appeals to approve
a municipal application.
ENFORCEMENT/VIOLATION EFFORTS
Any efforts, actions or proceedings pursuant to and intending
to address the enforcement or violations of any federal, New York
State or Onondaga County law or of the Village of Minoa Code commenced
or initiated by, at the request of or under policies established by,
the Village of Minoa Board of Trustees.
MUNICIPAL APPLICATION
An application or request, formal, informal or otherwise
relative to proposed development, construction, renovation, related
and/or similar within the Village, including, without limitation,
application or requests for subdivision approval, site plan approval,
area variance, use variance, special permit, zone change(s), utility
availability, capacity or connection, storm drainage or erosion and
sedimentation control, building permit, certificate of compliance,
occupancy or completion (or similar permit) and any additional review
for those as needed to comply with the New York State Environmental
Quality Review Act, Environmental Conservation Law, Article 8, and
regulations adopted pursuant thereto, and the Village Code, as amended.
The foregoing notwithstanding, professional fees incurred or to be
incurred for routine applications for utility connections or building
permits specifically covered under the Village Code shall not be considered
municipal applications unless the same involve special, unusual or
extraordinary conditions or circumstances as solely determined initially
by the Mayor, Village Administrator or Codes Enforcement Officer and
affirmed by the Board of Trustees.
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this chapter
in relation to a municipal application, an applicant or developer
shall not be required to reimburse the Village for any part of a fee
incurred by the Village for services performed in connection with
matters, including but not limited to those resulting from complaints
by third parties, as to which the Village Board determined the applicant
had no responsibility or were beyond the reasonable control of the
applicant, such determination to be solely within the Village Board's
discretion.
Upon resolution duly adopted by the Village Board, following a prior written notice of not less than 30 days (addressed to the applicant, individuals or entities subject of a municipal application or against whom enforcement/violation efforts have been conducted and the owner of the property subject of a municipal application or enforcement/violation proceeding) advising such persons or entities of amounts owed to the Village for professional fees incurred hereunder and providing such person(s) an opportunity to be heard at the Village Board meeting whereat such resolution is adopted, the Village may consider and make the determination(s) required at §
115-5E hereof (if not previously made) and assess the property subject thereof with such costs in the same manner as with respect to property taxes, such that same may be collected and the lien of same enforced in the same manner as liens for such taxes and charges.
The provisions hereof shall be in addition to and not in lieu of any other provisions of the Village of Minoa Code or New York State law providing for the payment, reimbursement or recovery of legal or other professional fees costs and/or disbursements. Any such other provisions shall, in addition, be deemed to have incorporated therein by reference, subject to §
115-9 hereof, the provisions of §
115-7 hereof, providing for the assessment of such charges on the property subject of the municipal application or enforcement/violation efforts.
If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section or
part of this chapter or the application thereof to any person, individual,
corporation, firm, partnership, entity or circumstances is adjudged
invalid or unconstitutional by any court of competent jurisdiction,
such order or judgment shall be confined in its operation to the clause,
sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section or part of this chapter
or in its application directly involved in the controversy in which
such judgment shall have been rendered and shall not affect or impair
the validity of the remainder of this chapter or the application thereof
to other persons or circumstances. Further, in adjudging such invalid
provision, the court shall attempt to modify same to a provision which
is not invalid or unconstitutional and which best achieves the intent
of the invalid provision.