An applicant appearing before the Planning Board or the Zoning Board
of Adjustment shall deposit all escrow funds called for in the within chapter
before said appearance. No meeting or hearing with the applicant shall be
held by said Boards or committees until all escrow funds and required fees
have been deposited in accordance with this subsection. The escrow sums must
be in the form of cash, certified check or money order. All deposits of escrow
funds shall be made to the Chief Financial Officer of the Borough.
Additional escrow funds may be required when the escrow has been depleted
to 20% of the original escrow amount or when, in the opinion of the escrow
official or administrative officer, additional funds are necessary. If an
escrow account contains insufficient funds to enable the Borough or approving
authority to perform required application reviews or improvement inspections,
the Chief Financial Officer of the Borough shall provide the applicant with
a notice of the insufficient escrow or deposit balance. In order for work
to continue on the development or the application, the applicant shall, within
14 days, post a deposit to the account in an amount to be agreed upon by the
Borough or approving authority and the applicant. In the interim, any required
health and safety inspections shall be made and charged back against the replenishment
of funds.
Escrow deposits shall be placed in an interest-bearing account by the
Chief Financial Officer of the Borough and the same shall be administered
in accordance with the requirements of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-53.1.
All disbursements to consulting professionals and applicable charges
from Borough-employed professionals for services involved in processing an
application which requires the deposit of escrow funds shall be charged against
the escrow account.
A.
The Chief Financial Officer of the Borough shall make
all payments to professionals for services rendered pursuant to the formal
procedures prepared. All vouchers submitted by consulting professionals relative
to said application shall specify the name of the person performing the service,
the actual hours spent on the project (to one-quarter hour increments), the
services performed, the name of the project, the hourly rate being charged
and the date the work was performed.
B.
All consulting professionals shall submit billing vouchers
on a monthly basis in accordance with the schedules developed by the Chief
Financial Officer. The professional shall send an informational copy of the
voucher to the applicant simultaneously with submission to the Borough. Any
vouchers submitted 30 days or longer from date of the signing of the plats
or subdivision plans may be void.
The Chief Financial Officer of the Borough shall prepare and send to
the applicant a monthly statement which shall include an accounting of funds
listing all deposits, interest earnings, disbursements and the cumulative
balance of the escrow account.
All charges by Borough-employed professionals, enumerated hereinabove,
shall be submitted on a voucher by the Borough employee to the Chief Financial
Officer of the Borough containing the same information as required on a voucher,
on a monthly basis. The charge for Borough-employed professionals shall not
exceed 200% of the sum of the products resulting from multiplying the hourly
base salary of each of the professionals by the number of hours spent by the
respective professionals on review of the application for development or the
developer's improvements, as the case may be. For other professionals,
the charge to the deposit shall be at the same rate as all other work of the
same nature by the professional for the Borough when fees are not reimbursed
or otherwise imposed on applicants or developers.
The following close-out procedures shall apply to all deposits and escrow
accounts established under the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq. and
shall commence after the approving authority has granted final approval and
signed the subdivision plat or site plan, in the case of application review
escrows and deposits, or after the improvements have been approved as provided
in N.J.S.A. 40:55D-53, in the case of improvement inspection escrows and deposits.
A.
The applicant shall send written notice by certified
mail to the Chief Financial Officer of the Borough and the approving authority,
and to the relevant Borough professional, when the application or the improvements,
as the case may be, are completed.
B.
After receipt of such notice, the professional shall
render a final bill to the Chief Financial Officer of the Borough within 30
days and shall send a copy simultaneously to the applicant.
C.
The Chief Financial Officer of the Borough shall render
a written final accounting to the applicant on the uses to which the deposit
was put within 45 days of receipt of the final bill.
D.
Any balances remaining in the deposit or escrow account,
including interest, shall be refunded to the developer along with the final
accounting.
No resolution approving any development application which is subject
hereto shall be passed by either the Planning Board or the Zoning Board of
Adjustment until all fees and escrow sums required hereunder have been paid
in full.
In the event that an applicant disputes the charges made by a professional
for services rendered to the Borough in reviewing applications (or development,
review and preparation of documents, and inspection of improvements or any
other charges made pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq.), the applicant shall
notify, in writing, the Borough Council with copies to the Chief Financial
Officer, the approving authority and the professional. The governing body
or its designee shall, within a reasonable time period, attempt to remediate
any disputed charges.
A.
If the matter is not resolved to the satisfaction of
the applicant, the applicant may appeal to the County Construction Board of
Appeals established under N.J.S.A. 52:27D-127 any charge to an escrow account
or a deposit by any municipal professional or consultant, or the cost of the
installation of improvements estimated by the Borough Engineer pursuant to
N.J.S.A. 40:55D-53.4.
B.
An applicant or its authorized agent shall submit the
appeal in writing to the County Construction Board of Appeals. The applicant
or its authorized agent shall simultaneously send a copy of the appeal to
the Borough, approving authority, and any professional whose charge is the
subject of the appeal.
C.
The County Construction Board of Appeals is required
by law to hear the appeals, render a decision thereon and file its decision
with a statement of the reasons therefor with the Borough or approving authority
not later than 10 business days following the submission of the appeal, unless
such period of time has been extended with the consent of the applicant. The
decision may approve, disapprove or modify the professional charges appealed
from and a copy of the decision shall be forwarded by certified or registered
mail to the party making the appeal, the Borough, the approving authority
and the professional involved in the appeal.
D.
During the pendency of any appeal, the Borough or approving
authority shall continue to process, hear and decide the application for development
and to inspect the development in the normal course and shall not withhold,
delay or deny reviews, inspections, signing of subdivision plats or site plans,
the reduction or the release of performance or maintenance guarantees, the
issuance of construction permits or certificates of occupancy or any other
approval or permit because an appeal has been filed or is pending under this
section.
E.
The Chief Financial Officer of the Borough may pay charges
out of the appropriate escrow account or deposit for which an appeal has been
filed.
F.
If a charge is disallowed after payment, the Chief Financial
Officer of the Borough shall reimburse the deposit or escrow account in the
amount of any such disallowed charge or refund the amount to the applicant.
G.
If the charge is disallowed after payment to a professional
or consultant who is not in the employee of the Borough, the professional
or consultant shall reimburse the Borough in the amount of any such disallowed
charge.
