[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Commissioners of the Township of
Hatfield 11-21-2005 by Ord. No. 544. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Subdivision and land development — See Ch.
250.
This chapter shall be known as the "Hatfield Township Impact Fee Ordinance."
The purpose of this chapter is to establish an impact fee program to
ensure that the transportation system is available and adequate to support
new growth and development. To advance this objective, there is hereby created
an impact fee payable to the Township at the time of building permit issuance.
The Board of Commissioners hereby finds and declares that:
A. The conditions and standards for the determination and
imposition of the impact fee set forth herein are those set forth in Act 209
of 1990, and any and all amendments thereto (hereinafter the "Act"), and consist
of:
(1) The recitals set forth above;
(2) The analysis, advice, and recommendations of the Impact
Fee Advisory Committee;
(3) The land use assumptions as adopted by the Board of Commissioners;
(4) The Roadway Sufficiency Analysis as adopted by the Board
of Commissioners;
(5) The Transportation Capital Improvements Plan, as adopted
by the Board of Commissioners; and
(6) Such other conditions and standards as the Board of Supervisors
may by resolution identify from time to time as being relevant and material
to the imposition of an impact fee and consistent with the provisions of the
Act and any amendments thereto.
B. The collection, disbursement, and accounting of impact
fees shall be administered by the office of the Township Manager.
C. The time, method, and procedure for the payment of impact
fees shall be as set forth in this chapter.
D. The procedure for credits against or refunds of impact
fees shall be as set forth in this chapter.
E. Such exemptions as the Board of Supervisors shall choose
to enact shall be as set forth in this chapter,
The terms and definitions set forth in Section 502-A of the Act are
hereby adopted and incorporated in this chapter by reference.
There is hereby enacted an impact fee to be imposed upon new development for the purpose of off-site public transportation capital improvements authorized by the Act and as described in the program adopted by the Board of Commissioners, in the amount of $1,669.40 per peak-hour trip generated by such new development as determined pursuant to §
158-12 hereof. Said impact fee shall apply to all new developments or subdivisions within the transportation services area identified within the Roadway Sufficiency Analysis and Transportation Capital Improvements Plan, both of which are incorporated herein by reference as if set forth in full, and shall be a condition precedent to final approval of a development or a subdivision plan or issuance of a building permit.
Impact fees collected pursuant to this chapter shall be expended for
costs incurred for improvements attributable to new development and designated
in the Transportation Capital Improvements Plan adopted by the Board of Commissioners
for improvements within each of the transportation service areas in which
the new development will be located. Additionally, such fee may be used for
the acquisition of land and rights-of-way, engineering, legal and planning
costs and all other costs, including debt service related to road improvements,
within the designated service area, and including such proportionate amount
of the Roadway Sufficiency Analysis as is allowed under the provisions of
the Act.
The following are documents, previously adopted by the Board of Supervisors,
which are hereby incorporated by reference in this chapter:
A. Recommendations of the Impact Fee Advisory Committee.
B. Land use assumptions as adopted by Township resolution.
C. Roadway Sufficiency Analysis as adopted by Township resolution.
D. The Transportation Capital Improvements Plan as adopted
by Township resolution.
E. The Impact Fee Schedule as established by Township resolution.
A. Where intended to assist in determining the appropriate
amount of traffic impact fees, the Township may require the preparation of
special transportation studies to determine the traffic generation or circulation
patterns in new nonresidential developments only; provided, however, that
no studies may be required where the proposed development will not require
a deviation from the land use assumptions used to create the Program.
B. Any such studies required by the Township shall be submitted
prior to the imposition of the impact fee and shall be considered in the determination
of the fee.
The chapter shall be uniformly applicable to all development that occurs
within a designated development subarea.
No building permit shall be issued for a development in a designated
transportation district subarea as herein defined, unless the applicant therefor
has paid the impact fee imposed by and calculated pursuant to this chapter.
A. The impact fee for transportation capital improvements
shall be based upon the total costs of the road improvements included in the
adopted Transportation Capital Improvements Plan within a given transportation
service area attributable to and necessitated by new development within the
service area as defined, divided by the number of anticipated peak-hour trips
generated by all new development consistent with the adopted land use assumptions
and calculated in accordance with the Trip Generation Manual published by
the Institute of Transportation Engineers, 4th or subsequent editions, which
is hereby adopted by the Township, to equal a per-trip cost for transportation
improvements within the service area.
B. The specific impact fee for a specific new development
or subdivision within the service area for road improvements shall be determined
as of the date of preliminary land development or subdivision approval by
multiplying the per-trip cost established for the service area by the estimated
number of trips to be generated by the new development or subdivision using
generally accepted traffic engineering standards.
C. The Board of Commissioners may authorize or require the
preparation of a special transportation study in order to determine traffic
generation or circulation for a new nonresidential development to assist in
the determination of the amount of the transportation fee for such development
or subdivision.
A. Additional transportation district subareas or combinations
of transportation district subareas may be designated by the Board of Commissioners
from time to time consistent with the procedure set forth in this chapter
and in consideration of the following factors:
(2) Any standards for adequate public facilities incorporated
in the Program;
(3) The projected build-out and timing of development areas;
(4) The need for and cost of unprogrammed transportation
improvements necessary to support projected development; and
(5) Such other factors as the Board of Commissioners may
deem relevant.
B. Fees collected from development in each of the transportation
district subareas will be used exclusively to fund transportation improvement
projects scheduled for that district.
Prior to making an application for a building permit, an applicant may
request a nonbinding impact fee estimate from the Township, which shall be
based upon the maximum development potential of the site pursuant to existing
zoning regulations, unless the applicant specifies a lesser use of development.
A. Collection of impact fee. Impact fees due pursuant to
this chapter shall be collected by the Township in the manner or manners prescribed
herein prior to the issuance of a building permit.
B. Establishment of fund. Upon receipt of impact fees, the
Township Manager shall be responsible for the separate and proper accounting
of such fees. All such fees shall be deposited in interest-bearing accounts
in a bank authorized to receive deposits of the Township funds. Interest earned
by each account shall be credited to that account and shall be used solely
for the purpose specified for funds of such account.
C. Establishment and maintenance of accounts. The Township
Manager shall establish appropriate trust fund accounts and shall maintain
records whereby impact fees collected can be segregated for each transportation
district subarea.
D. Maintenance of records. The Township Manager shall maintain
and keep adequate financial records for each such account which shall show
the source and disbursement of all revenues, which shall account for all monies
received, and which shall ensure that the disbursement of funds from each
account shall be used solely and exclusively for the provision of projects
specified in the Program for the particular transportation district subarea.
Payment of the transportation capital improvements impact fee shall
be made by the traffic generator prior to the issuance of a building permit
by the Township to the traffic generator for development on the applicable
site.
Any applicant who shall perform, at his own expense and with the consent
and agreement of the Board of Commissioners, off-site improvements, as herein
defined, shall be eligible for a credit from the impact fee otherwise due
in the amount of the actual cost of such off-site improvements as approved
by the Township Engineer. Such credit shall not exceed the amount of the impact
fee.
A. If the applicant makes such improvements, he must enter
into an agreement with the Board of Commissioners prior to the issuance of
any building permit. The agreement must establish the estimated cost of the
improvement, the schedule for initiation and completion of the improvement,
a requirement that the improvement is to be completed to Township and Pennsylvania
Department of Transportation standards and design criteria and such other
terms and conditions as deemed necessary by the Board of Commissioners. The
Board of Commissioners must review the improvement plan, verify costs, and
time schedules, determine if the improvement is an eligible improvement, and
determine the amount of the applicable credit for such improvement to be applied
to the otherwise applicable impact fee prior to issuance of any building permit.
In no event shall the Board of Commissioners provide a credit which is greater
than the applicable impact fee. If, however, the amount of the credit is calculated
to be greater than the amount of the impact fee due, the applicant may use
such excess credit toward the impact fee imposed on other building permits
for development on the same site and in the same ownership, provided any such
applicant shall be required to supply financial security sufficient in the
judgment of the Township to cover the cost of any such improvement installed
by the applicant for which credit is sought.
B. An applicant shall be entitled as a credit against impact
fees an amount equal to the fair market value of land dedicated by the applicant
and accepted by the Township for future right-of-way, realignment, or widening
of existing roadways.
C. An applicant shall be entitled as a credit against impact
fees an amount equal to the value of any road improvement construction which
is contained in the Transportation Capital Improvements Plan and which was
performed at the applicant's expense.
Impact fees collected pursuant to this chapter shall be refunded, together
with interest earned thereon, to the payor of the fees under the following
circumstances:
A. In the event the Township completes or terminates the
capital improvements plan and there remain undisbursed funds, the respective
payors shall be entitled to a share of the fund balance in the same proportion
as the payor's impact fee payment plus interest earned bears to the total
impact fees collected plus interest.
B. In the event any specific road improvement project is
completed at a cost to the Township less than 95% of the budgeted cost of
the road project, the Township shall refund an amount equal to the excess
budgeted cost over actual cost to the payors, pro rata, plus accumulated interest.
C. In the event the Township fails to commence construction
within three years of the scheduled construction date of the project as set
forth in the Transportation Capital Improvements Plan, the Township shall
refund the portion of the fee paid by any payor making written request therefor
which is attributable to said project, with accumulated interest, provided
no refund shall be paid with respect to any project actually begun prior to
the receipt of such refund request.
D. In the event the development for which impact fees were paid has not commenced prior to the expiration of the building permit issued therefor, the impact fees paid, with accumulated interest, shall be refunded to the payor. Further, if a building permit after issuance is altered in such a way as to reduce the indicated impact fee, the difference between the amount indicated and the amount actually paid shall be refunded. The payor, at his option, may roll over the impact fees attributable to an expired building permit to cover fees incurred by a renewal of said expired permit. With respect to refunds arising out of Subsections
A or
B hereof, any funds unclaimed within one year after notice as required by law shall be transferred to the general account of the Township, and the payor's entitlement to said refund shall lapse. It is the responsibility of the payor to provide the Township with the current address of his place of business.
This chapter shall not affect, in any manner, the permissible use of
property, density of development, previously adopted design and improvement
standards and requirements or any other aspect of the development of land
or provision of public improvements which remain subject to applicable zoning,
subdivision, and PRD regulations of the Township, which shall be operative
and remain in full force and effect without limitation with respect to all
such development.
The impact fee is additional and supplemental to, and not in substitution
of, any other requirements imposed by the Township on the development of land
or the issuance of building permits. Nothing herein contained shall be deemed
to alter or affect the Township's existing ordinances and regulations
regarding on-site improvements. In no event shall a property owner be obligated
to pay for transportation capital improvements in an amount in excess of the
amount calculated pursuant to this chapter; provided, however, that a property
owner may be required to pay, pursuant to Township ordinances, regulations
or policies, for other public facilities in addition to the impact fee for
transportation improvements as subdivided herein.
The provisions of this chapter shall be liberally construed to effectively
carry out its purposes, which are hereby found and declared to be in furtherance
of the public health, safety, and welfare and convenience.
This chapter shall take effect immediately upon its passage. Notwithstanding
this effective date, impact fees in the amount of $1,000 per trip shall be
imposed on those projects involving developments, subdivisions and/or PRDs
for which an application has been filed on or after the first publication
of notice of the Township's intent to adopt this chapter.