[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the
Town of Deerpark as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted
where applicable.]
[Adopted by L.L. No. 3-2001]
A.
The Town Board hereby finds and determines that in
order to protect and safeguard the Town of Deerpark, its residents
and their property, with respect to certain land developments within
the Town, all buildings, highways, drainage facilities, sanitary sewer
facilities, other utilities and parks within said developments should
be designed and constructed in a competent and workmanlike manner
and in conformity with all applicable governmental codes, rules and
regulations and dedicated and conveyed to the Town in a legally sufficient
manner, that in order to assure the foregoing it is essential for
the Town to have competent engineers retained by the Town to review
and approve plans and designs, make recommendations to the Town Board
and Planning Board, inspect the construction of highways, drainage,
sewer, other facilities and parks to be dedicated to the Town and
to recommend their acceptance by the Town and to have competent attorneys
retained by the Town to negotiate and draft appropriate agreements
with developers, obtain, review and approve necessary securities,
insurance and other legal documents, review proposed deeds and easements
to assure the Town is obtaining good and proper title and to generally
represent the Town with respect to legal disputes and issues with
respect to developments, and that the cost of retaining such competent
engineers and attorneys should ultimately be paid by those who seek
to profit from such developments rather than from general Town funds
which are raised by assessments paid by taxpayers of the Town.
B.
This article is enacted under the authority of subparagraphs
a(12) and d(3) of the Municipal Home Rule Law § 10, Subdivision
1(ii), and Municipal Home Rule Law § 22. To the extent Town
Law §§ 274-a, 276 and 277 do not authorize the Town
Board or Town Planning Board to require the reimbursement to the Town
of legal and engineering expenses incurred by the Town in connection
with the review and consideration of application for subdivision approval
and for the approval, amendment or extension of planning districts
under the Town's Zoning Ordinance,[1] it is the expressed intent of the Town Board to change
and supersede such statutes. More particularly, such statutes do not
authorize the deferral or withholding of such approvals in the event
such expenses are not paid to the Town. It is the expressed intent
of the Town Board to change and supersede Town Law §§ 274-a,
276 and 277 to empower the Town to require such payment as a condition
to such approvals.
As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the meaning indicated:
Any person, firm, partnership, association, corporation,
company or organization of any kind who or which requests the Town
Planning Board or Town Board to approve a development.
Any person, firm, partnership, association, corporation,
company or organization of any kind who or which constructs or proposes
to construct one or more highways, drainage facilities, utilities,
or parks within or in conjunction with a development and to convey
or dedicate same to the Town.
Shall mean and include a subdivision or a planned district.
All surface water drainage facilities, including, but not
limited to, detention and retention basins, storm sewers and their
appurtenances, drainage swales and ditches, and any easements through
or over which said facilities may be constructed or installed in or
in connection with a development.
Includes a street, avenue, road, square, place, alley, lane,
boulevard, concourse, parkway, driveway, overpass and underpass and
also includes all items appurtenant thereto, including but not limited
to bridges, culverts, ditches, shoulders and sidewalks in or in connection
with a development.
An area of land located within a development which is open
to the public and devoted to active or passive recreation.
A planned residential district, planned residential community
district, planned mobile home development district or planned economic
district established under the Zoning Law of the Town,[1] including any site plan review pursuant to the Town (or
any successor provision) or environmental review pursuant to the New
York State Environmental Quality Review Act.
A subdivision of land pursuant to the land subdivision regulations
of the Town,[2] site plan review pursuant to the Zoning Law of the Town
(or any successor provision) or environmental review pursuant to the
New York State Environmental Quality Review Act.
The Town of Deerpark.
All water, sanitary sewer, gas, electric, telephone, cable
television facilities and any easements through or over which said
facilities may be constructed or installed in or in connection with
a development.
A.
Subdivisions.
(1)
The applicant for approval of a subdivision in the
Town shall reimburse the Town of all reasonable and necessary engineering
expenses incurred by the Town in connection with the review and consideration
of such subdivision.
(2)
A developer who constructs, or proposes to construct
one or more highways, drainage facilities, utilities or parks within
or in conjunction with an approved subdivision in the Town shall reimburse
the Town for all reasonable and necessary legal and engineering expenses
incurred by the Town in connection with the inspection and acceptance
by the Town of such highways, drainage facilities, utilities and parks
and the dedication of same to the Town.
B.
Planned districts.
(1)
An applicant, for the approval, amendment or extension
of a planned district in the Town, shall reimburse the Town for all
reasonable and necessary legal and engineering expenses incurred by
the Town in connection with the review and consideration of said application.
(2)
A developer who constructs or proposes to construct
one or more buildings, highways, drainage facilities, utilities or
parks within or in conjunction with a planned district in the Town
shall reimburse the Town for all reasonable and necessary legal and
engineering expenses incurred by the Town in connection with the granting
of any building permit and in connection with the inspection and acceptance
by the Town of such highways, drainage facilities, utilities and parks
and the dedication of same to the Town.
B.
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained
in this article, an applicant or developer shall not be required to
reimburse the Town for any part of a legal or engineering fee incurred
by the Town for services performed in connection with matters, including
but not limited to those resulting from complaints by third parties,
as to which the Town Board determines the applicant or developer had
no responsibility or was beyond the reasonable control of the applicant
or developer.
A.
Simultaneously with the filing of an application for approval of a development and prior to the commencement of any construction of buildings, highways, drainage facilities, utilities, or parks therein the applicant or developer, as the case may be, shall deposit with the Town Supervisor a sum of money, as determined in § 136-6 of this article, which sum shall be used to pay the costs incurred by the Town for engineering and legal services as described in § 136-3 of this article.
B.
Upon receipt of such sums, the Town Supervisor shall
cause such monies to be placed in a separate non-interest-bearing
account in the name of the Town and shall keep a separate record of
all such monies so deposited and the name of the applicant or developer
and project for which such sums were deposited.
C.
Upon receipt and approval by the Town Board of itemized
vouchers from an engineer and/or attorney for services rendered on
behalf of the Town pertaining to the development, the Town Supervisor
shall cause such vouchers to be paid out of the monies so deposited,
and shall furnish copies of such vouchers to the applicant or developer
at the same time such vouchers are submitted to the Town.
D.
The Town Board shall review and audit all such vouchers
and shall approve payment of only such engineering and legal fees
as are reasonable in an amount and necessarily incurred by the Town
in connection with the review, consideration and approval of developments
and the inspection and acceptance of highways, drainage facilities,
utilities and parks within or in conjunction with such developments.
For the purpose of the foregoing, a fee or part thereof is reasonable
in amount if it bears a reasonable relationship to the average charge
by engineers or attorneys to the Town for services performed in connection
with the approval or construction of a similar development, and in
this regard the Town Board may take into consideration the size, type
and number of buildings to be constructed, the amount of time to complete
the development, the topography of the land on which such development
is located, soil conditions, surface water, drainage conditions, the
nature and extent of highways, drainage facilities, utilities, and
parks to be constructed and any special conditions or considerations
as the Town Board may deem relevant; and a fee or part thereof is
necessarily incurred if it was charged by the engineer or attorney
for a service which was rendered in order to protect or promote the
health, safety, or other vital interests of the residents of the Town,
protect public or private property from damage from uncontrolled surface
water runoff and other factors, assure the proper and timely construction
of highways, drainage facilities, utilities and parks, protect the
legal interests of the Town, including receipt by the Town of good
and proper title to dedicated highways and other facilities and the
avoidance of claims and liability, and such other interests as the
Town Board may deem relevant.
E.
If at any time during or after the processing of such
application or in the construction, inspection or acceptance of buildings,
highways, drainage facilities, utilities or parks there shall be insufficient
monies on hand to the credit of such applicant or developer to pay
the approved vouchers in full, or if it shall reasonably appear to
the Town Supervisor the such monies will be insufficient to meet vouchers
yet to be submitted, the Town Supervisor shall cause the applicant
or developer to deposit additional sums as the Supervisor deems necessary
or advisable in order to meet such expenses or anticipated expenses.
F.
In the event that the applicant or developer fails
to deposit such funds or such additional funds, the Town Supervisor
shall notify, as applicable, the Chairman of the Planning Board, Town
Board and/or Town's Code Enforcement Officer of such failure, and
any review, approval, building permit or certificates of occupancy
may be withheld by the appropriate Board, officer or employee of the
Town until such monies are deposited.
G.
After final approval, acceptance and/or the issuance
of a certificate of occupancy relating to any specific development,
and after payment of all approved vouchers submitted regarding such
development, any sums remaining on account to the credit of such applicant
or developer shall be returned to such applicant or developer, along
with a statement of the vouchers so paid.
The amount of the initial deposit for the various
developments covered by this article shall be as set forth in a schedule
of deposits established from time to time by resolution of the Town
Board. Said schedule shall remain in effect and shall apply to all
applicants and developers until amended or revised by subsequent resolution.
The deposit required by this article shall be
in addition to any application fees as may be required by other laws,
rules, regulations, or ordinances of the Town, and shall not be used
to offset the Town's general expenses of legal and engineering services
for the several Boards of the Town, nor its general administration
expenses.
[Adopted 5-5-2008 by L.L. No. 6-2008[1]]
[1]
Editor's Note: This article also repealed
former Art. II, Recreation Fees, adopted 11-1-2004 by L.L. No. 3-2004.
The Town Board of the Town of Deerpark hereby
finds that there is a present need for park and recreational facilities
in the Town and the maintenance and expansion of existing facilities,
based on projected population growth to which all residential construction
will contribute. The Town Board has determined that a system of parks
and recreational facilities to meet the needs of the residents of
the Town is preferable to a rag-tag collection of scattered and less
usable recreational sites. Therefore, the Town Board determines that
it is a proper case that each residential subdivision contributes
recreational fees calculated on the number of building lots and/or
residential units in the new subdivision. The Town Board determines
that the provisions of this article are consistent with the purposes
of Town Law § 277(4), and that to the extent, if any, this
article may hereinafter be determined to be inconsistent, this article
shall, as provided in Article IX of the NYS Constitution and the Municipal
Home Rule Law supersede such provisions in reference to the Town of
Deerpark.
There is hereby imposed a fee in lieu of parkland
to be assessed upon real property in the Town of Deerpark on which
new building lots and/or residential units are created by a newly
approved or amended subdivision. Such fees shall be levied and collected
in accordance with this article. Such fees shall be called "recreation
fees." The obligation to pay such fees shall be a lien against the
property as of the time of approval of the lots/units by the Town
Planning Board and shall be satisfied as hereinafter provided. All
monies collected pursuant to this section shall be deposited in a
trust fund to be used by the Town exclusively for park, playground
or other recreational purposes, including the acquisition of property
within the Town of Deerpark.
The Town of Deerpark may from time to time establish
the amount of such fees by resolution of the Town Board. At least
once a year, at the time of the reorganizational meeting, the Town
Board shall consider the adequacy, sufficiency and fairness of the
fees to be charged.
A.
Each subdivision plat or site plan hereinafter approved
shall contain a note indicating that any property on which new buildings
may be constructed shall be subject to the lien of recreational fees
to be calculated on the number of building lots or residential units
created.
B.
At the time the subdivision maps or site plan is signed
by the Planning Board Chairman, the applicant shall pay, in addition
to such other fees that may be due, the recreation fees in the amount
of $1,000 per lot or residential unit.
C.
In the event that such fee is not paid as aforesaid,
the maps will not be signed. No Town official shall issue a certificate
of occupancy or other report, certificate, consent or approval concerning
such property unless such official has determined that the fees required
hereby have been paid, that the parcel existed prior to the date of
this article, that the parcel is shown on a plat or site plan approved
prior to the date of this article or that the property is otherwise
exempt from this article.
The Town Board may, by resolution, exempt any
property from payment of the recreation fees required by this article
upon a determination that the property owner has dedicated or donated
to the Town property of equal or greater value than the estimated
recreation fees which would otherwise be payable. The Town Board's
determination shall be final.
The neglect or failure of the Town to collect
such recreational fees at the time when such fees are due shall not
waive the Town's right to collect such fees, together with interest
thereon.
In the event the Town Board determines such
fees are due and owing but have not been paid, the Town Board shall,
after notice to the property owner and the provision of an opportunity
to be heard, assess such recreational fees, together with interest
and costs related to such assessment, against such real property.
Notice by certified mail to the address shown on the Town's latest
assessment roll at least 10 days prior to the date of the hearing
shall be deemed good and sufficient notice. Such assessment shall
be levied on the annual state, county and town real property tax bill.
