Village of Rye Brook, NY Chapter 47 Professional Fees

[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village of Rye Brook 8-9-1994 by L.L. No. 9-1994; amended in its entirety 10-27-2020 by L.L. No. 9-2020. Subsequent amendments noted where applicable.]

§ 47-1 Charges for consultant services established.

A. The Board of Trustees, the Planning Board or the Zoning Board of Appeals, Board of Architectural Review, Superintendent of Public Works/Village Engineer and Building Inspector may retain the services of a planner, engineer, environmental expert, attorney or other professional or consultant as they deem necessary to ensure the timely and thorough review of any application or appeal that comes before them. In such instances, the applicant shall reimburse the Village all reasonable and necessary fees and expenses incurred for such services, in addition to any other fee that may be payable in connection with such matters.

B. All charges for consulting services shall be audited by the Village Treasurer and/or Superintendent of Public Works/Village Engineer. Reimbursable applicant costs shall be limited to those that are reasonable in amount and are necessary for the Village's review and action on the application in accordance with the law.

(1) Fees charged by such consultants shall be deemed reasonable when in accord with the fees usually charged for such services in the metropolitan New York region and pursuant to a contractual agreement between the Village and such consultant.

(2) Such consulting charges shall be deemed necessarily incurred when the underlying services were performed to protect or promote the health, safety or other interests of the residents of the Village, including without limitation services to assure the timely and thorough review of potential adverse environmental impacts; to protect neighboring properties from excessive surface water runoff, nuisance or other harmful impact; to assure the proper and timely construction of roads, drainage facilities, utilities, sidewalks and public spaces; to protect the legal interests of the Village, including receipt by the Village of good and proper title to dedicated roads and other facilities and the avoidance of claims and liability; and to protect such other interests as the Village may deem relevant based upon any of the features, conditions or considerations associated with the application or appeal under review.

C. The applicant shall reimburse the Village for the cost of such consultant services upon submission of a copy of the invoice. In the event that an application is required to be reviewed by more than one Board, then, in such event and to the extent practicable, both Boards shall use the same consultant, who shall, in such case, to the extent practicable, prepare one report providing data, information and recommendations requested. In all instances, duplications of consultants' reports or services shall be sought to be avoided wherever practicable in order to minimize the cost of such consultants' reports or services to the applicant. The above fees are in addition to any and all other fees required by any other law, rule or regulation or the Village Code.

§ 47-2 Escrow accounts.

A. An escrow account to pay such consultant's fees may be required where the Village deems it necessary to retain a consultant regarding the application for the following applications:

(1) Applications requesting an interpretation of any provision of the Village Code;

(2) Site plan applications in accordance with Chapter 209;

(3) Special use permit applications in accordance with § 250-6H;

(4) Variance applications in accordance with § 250-13;

(5) Subdivision applications in accordance with Chapter 219;

(6) Architectural review in accordance with Chapter 8;

(7) Erosion and sediment control permit in accordance with Chapter 118;

(8) Floodplain development permit in accordance with Chapter 130;

(9) Steep slopes work permit in accordance with Chapter 213;

(10) Permits to perform any regulated activity in a wetland in accordance with Chapter 245;

(11) Tree removal appeal in accordance with Chapter 235; and

(12) Any other application where the Village deems it necessary to retain a consultant regarding the application.

B. The applicant shall submit a separate check in an amount to be determined by the Village Administrator or Superintendent of Public Works/Village Engineer, but not less than $250 nor more than $2,500, to be used to establish an escrow account, from which withdrawals shall be made to reimburse the Village for the costs of professional review services.

C. The applicant shall be provided with copies of any Village invoice for such services as they are submitted to the Village. All costs charged to the applicant shall be those reasonable and necessary to the decisionmaking function of the reviewing board as set/defined in § 47-1B.

D. The applicant shall be required, from time to time, to deliver additional funds to the Village for deposit in the escrow account if such additional funds are required to pay for professional consultation services rendered to the Village or anticipated to be rendered. This amount shall be determined by the reviewing board or the Superintendent of Public Works/Village Engineer based on an evaluation of the nature and complexity of the application.

E. If such account is not replenished within 30 days after the applicant is notified, in writing, of the requirement for such additional deposit, the reviewing Board may suspend its review of the application. An application shall be deemed incomplete if any amount shall be outstanding.

F. In the event that any application before any Board or department is withdrawn prior to any actions being taken, the applicant is nevertheless responsible for any expenses incurred by the Village with regard to said application prior to such withdrawal.

G. A deposit in escrow may be required at any stage in the application process, including but not limited to preapplication discussions with the applicant.

H. The applicant shall be provided with copies of any invoice for consultant fees as they are submitted to the Village and with Village staff time records for services for which reimbursement is sought.

I. Escrow funds shall be refunded to the applicant when the applicant formally withdraws the application from consideration by the permitting authority or when the applicant receives a final determination from the permitting authority; in either case, all reimbursable charges incurred by the Village shall be first deducted from the escrow account, leaving an unencumbered balance that is not required by the permitting authority to pay consulting costs attributable to the application. Fees collected in accordance with the Village Code shall not be refunded. After all pertinent costs have been paid, the Village shall refund to the applicant any funds remaining in the escrow account within 30 days from the date of the final determination issued by permitting authority or from the date the applicant notifies the Village, in writing, of the withdrawal of the application. If the applicant is indebted to the Village for any fees, the amount of money still owed shall be added to the real property Village tax of the property and shall become a lien against the property if not paid within 30 days of written demand.

J. A building permit nor certificate of occupancy or use shall not be issued unless all professional review fees charged in connection with the applicant's project have been paid by the applicant. In no case shall a building permit or certificate of occupancy be issued to the applicant if the applicant is indebted to the Village for any professional review fees in excess of the escrow.

K. The imposition of escrow account fees are in addition to, and not in place of, other fee schedules currently in force.

§ 47-3 Collection of fees.

All fees required pursuant to this chapter shall be collected by the Clerk of the Board having jurisdiction over the application. The current License and Fee Schedule is on file in the Village Clerk's office.

§ 47-4 Applicability.

This chapter shall be applicable to applications pending at the time it shall become effective, unless the reviewing Board shall determine that its application would be impracticable, unfair or unjust in the particular circumstances. Where this chapter shall be applicable to a pending application, it shall, in such event, require an applicant only to pay for professional fees for the services rendered after it shall have become effective.