It is the intention of the governing body to exercise, through adoption
of this chapter, the maximum lawful jurisdiction over subdivision and land
development permitted by the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code,[1] its amendments or successors. Without limitation, in the exercise
of this power, the following are subject to the provisions hereof:
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 10101 et seq.
The Borough Council of the Borough of Moosic hereby, through the adoption
of this chapter, delegates the authority granted it under Section 501 of the
Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code to the Planning Commission of the
Borough of Moosic, provided, however, that all powers relating to the provision
of public improvements, including improvement bonds or other guarantees, and
the acceptance of public improvements such as streets, utilities, recreational
facilities, etc., are specifically reserved by the Borough Council.
A.
This chapter shall be enforced by the Code Enforcement
Officer or his designee at the direction of the Planning Commission.
B.
Inspection of actual construction under any approved
subdivision or land development plan shall be the sole responsibility of the
municipality, which shall undertake reasonable measures to provide an adequate
inspection of all projects.
C.
Any action not in accordance with the provisions of this
chapter shall be subject to a cease-and-desist order and other appropriate
measures necessary to obtain or produce compliance with this chapter.
A.
Review fees.
(1)
Borough review fees. Applicants shall furnish an escrow
fund sufficient to pay all fees and costs required by this chapter. The escrow
fund shall be paid when preliminary and final applications are submitted for
review and approval. At the time of filing, the preliminary application and
the final application shall be accompanied by a check payable to the municipality
in the amount specified below. An application shall be deemed incomplete until
all fees are paid and the applications are properly signed. Such fees shall
be treated as a deposit against the final review fee for the preliminary application
and the final application, respectively; provided, however, that no review
fee deposit shall be required for a minor subdivision; but, the Borough reserves
the right to charge the applicant for any applicable costs incurred by the
Borough on behalf of the applicant. Said escrow fund shall be replenished
upon the submission of any revised subdivision or land development plan. The
escrow fund shall be sufficient to guarantee the payment of:
(a)
The services of any Municipal Engineer and the Solicitor
related to the review and consideration of the application, and all other
costs for engineering, traffic surveys, professional certification and other
services deemed necessary by the governing body in reviewing plans.
(b)
The actual cost of all drainage, water and material tests.
(c)
The cost of municipal inspection services.
(d)
Legal fees, advertising and other costs involved in the
dedication of street easements and public improvements to the Borough of Moosic.
(e)
Actual costs of recording.
(4)
Procedure for Borough review fees.
[Amended 6-12-2007 by Ord. No. 11-2007]
(a)
Review fees shall include the reasonable and necessary
charges by the Borough of Moosic's professional consultants and engineer
for review and report to the Borough of Moosic. Such review fees shall be
reasonable and in accordance with the ordinary and customary charges by the
engineer or professional consultant for similar services in the community,
but in no event shall the fees exceed the rate or cost charged by the professional
consultant for comparable services to the Borough for services which are not
reimbursed or otherwise imposed on the applicant.
(b)
The Council of the Borough shall submit to the applicant
an itemized bill showing work performed, identifying the person performing
the services and the time and date spent for each task. Nothing in this subsection
shall prohibit interim itemized billing or municipal escrow or other security
requirements.
(c)
Subsequent to a decision on an application, the Borough
shall submit to the applicant an itemized bill for review fees, specifically
designated as a final bill. The final bill shall include all review fees incurred
at least through the date of the decision on the application. If for any reason
additional review is required subsequent to the decision, including inspections
and other work to satisfy the conditions of the approval, the review fees
shall be charged to the applicant as a supplement to the final bill.
(d)
Charges to the Borough relating to any appeal of the
decision on an application shall not be considered review fees and may not
be charged to an applicant.
(e)
In the event the applicant disputes the amount of any
such review fees, the applicant shall, no later than 45 days after the date
of transmittal of the bill to the applicant, notify the Borough and the Borough's
professional consultant that such fees are disputed and shall explain the
basis of his or her objections to the fees charged. The Borough shall not
delay or disapprove a subdivision or land development application due to the
applicant's request over disputed fees.
(f)
Failure of the applicant to dispute a bill within 45
days shall be a waiver of the applicant's right to arbitration of that
bill under this section.
(g)
In the event the Borough's professional consultant
and the applicant cannot agree on the amount of review fees which are reasonable
and necessary, then the applicant and the Borough shall follow the procedure
for dispute resolution as set forth herein.
(h)
If the Borough's professional consultant and the
applicant cannot agree on the amount of the expenses which are reasonable
and necessary, then the applicant shall have the right, within 45 days of
the transmittal of the final bill or supplement to the final bill to the applicant,
to request another professional consultant to serve as an arbitrator. The
applicant and the professional consultant whose fees are being challenged
shall, by mutual agreement, appoint another professional consultant to review
any bills the applicant has disputed and which remain unresolved and make
a determination as to the amount thereof which is reasonable and necessary.
(i)
The arbitrator shall be of the same profession as the
professional consultant whose fees are being challenged.
(j)
The arbitrator so appointed shall hear such evidence
and review such documentation as the arbitrator, in his or her sole opinion,
deems necessary and shall render a decision no later than 50 days after the
date of appointment.
(k)
After the date of appointment based on the decision of
the arbitrator, the applicant or the Borough's professional consultant
whose fees were challenged shall be required to pay any amount necessary to
implement the decision within 60 days. In the event the Borough has paid the
Borough's professional consultant an amount in excess of the amount determined
to be reasonable and necessary, the Borough's professional consultant
shall, within 60 days, reimburse the excess amount.
(l)
In the event that the Borough's professional consultant
and the applicant cannot agree upon the arbitrator to be appointed within
20 days of the request for appointment of an arbitrator, then, upon application
of either party, the President Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Lackawanna
County shall appoint such arbitrator, who, in that case, shall be neither
the Borough's professional consultant nor any professional consultant
who has been retained by, or performed services for, the municipality or the
applicant within the preceding five years.
(m)
The fee of the arbitrator shall be paid by the applicant
if the review fee charged is sustained by the arbitrator, otherwise it shall
be divided equally between the parties. If the disputed fees are found to
be excessive by more than $5,000, the arbitrator shall have the discretion
to assess the arbitration fee in whole or in part against either the applicant
or the professional consultant. The Borough and the consultant whose fees
are the subject of the dispute shall be parties to the proceeding.
(5)
Other review fees. The applicant shall be required to
submit additional fees to all governmental agencies required to review subdivision
and land development plans. An application shall be deemed incomplete until
all fees are paid and the applications are properly signed.
B.
Administrative fees. In addition to any other fees, each
application for a subdivision/land development shall be accompanied by a nonrefundable
fee to cover the cost of administration required to process applications.
Any and all administrative fees required of each applicant shall be separately
established by Borough resolution.
[Amended 3-20-2007 by Ord. No. 8-2007]
C.
Inspection fees. The applicant shall reimburse the Borough
for the reasonable and necessary expenses incurred in connection with the
inspection of improvements. The applicant shall not be required to reimburse
the Borough for any inspection that is duplicative of inspections conducted
by other governmental agencies or public utilities. The burden of proving
that any inspection is duplicative shall be on the objecting applicant.
[Added 6-12-2007 by Ord. No. 11-2007]
(1)
Procedure for inspection fees.
(a)
Reimbursement shall be based upon the schedules established
by resolution. Such expenses shall be reasonable and in accordance with the
ordinary and customary fees charged by the Borough's professional consultant
for work performed for similar services in the community, but in no event
shall the fees exceed the rate or cost charged by the professional consultant
to the Borough for comparable services when fees are not reimbursed or otherwise
imposed on applicants.
(b)
The Council of the Borough shall submit to the applicant
an itemized bill showing work performed in connection with the inspection
of improvements performed, identifying the person performing the services
and the date and time spent for each task.
(c)
Subsequent to the final release of financial security
for completion of improvements for a subdivision or land development, or any
phase thereof, the Borough's professional consultant shall submit to
the Council of the Borough of Moosic a bill for inspection services, specifically
designated as a final bill. The final bill shall include inspection fees incurred
through the release of financial security.
(d)
In the event the applicant disputes the amount of any
such expense incurred with the inspection of improvements, the applicant shall,
no later than 30 days after the date of transmittal of the bill to the applicant
for inspection services, notify the Borough and the Borough's professional
consultant that such inspection fees are disputed as unreasonable and unnecessary
and shall explain the basis of his or her objections to the fees charged.
(e)
Failure of the applicant to dispute a bill within 30
days shall be a waiver of the applicant's right to arbitration of that
bill under this section.
(f)
In the event the Borough's professional consultant
and the applicant cannot agree on the amount of expenses which are reasonable
and necessary, then the applicant and the Borough shall follow the procedure
for dispute resolution as set forth herein.
(g)
If the Borough's professional consultant and the
applicant cannot agree on the amount of the expenses which are reasonable
and necessary, then the applicant shall have the right, within 45 days of
the transmittal of the final bill or supplement to the final bill to the applicant,
to request another professional consultant to serve as an arbitrator. The
applicant and the professional consultant whose fees are being challenged
shall, by mutual agreement, appoint another professional consultant to review
any bills the applicant has disputed and which remain unresolved and make
a determination as to the amount thereof which is reasonable and necessary.
(h)
The arbitrator shall be of the same profession as the
professional consultant whose fees are being challenged.
(i)
The arbitrator so appointed shall hear such evidence
and review such documentation as the arbitrator, in his or her sole opinion,
deems necessary and shall render a decision no later than 50 days after the
date of appointment.
(j)
After the date of appointment based on the decision of
the arbitrator, the applicant or the Borough's professional consultant
whose fees were challenged shall be required to pay any amount necessary to
implement the decision within 60 days. In the event the Borough has paid the
Borough's professional consultant an amount in excess of the amount determined
to be reasonable and necessary, the Borough's professional consultant
shall, within 60 days, reimburse the excess amount.
(k)
In the event that the Borough's professional consultant
and the applicant cannot agree upon the arbitrator to be appointed within
20 days of the request for appointment of an arbitrator, then, upon application
of either party, the President Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Lackawanna
County shall appoint such arbitrator, who, in that case, shall be neither
the Borough's professional consultant nor any professional consultant
who has been retained by, or performed services for, the municipality or the
applicant within the preceding five years.
(l)
The fee of the arbitrator shall be paid by the applicant
if the review fee charged is sustained by the arbitrator, otherwise it shall
be divided equally between the parties. If the disputed fees are found to
be excessive by more than $5,000, the arbitrator shall have the discretion
to assess the arbitration fee in whole or in part against either the applicant
or the professional consultant. The Borough and the consultant whose fees
are the subject of the dispute shall be parties to the proceeding.
D.
If any review fee deposit is depleted to under 40% of
the amount originally held, the Borough, at its option, may request the applicant
and/or the developer to replenish said review fee deposit up to the amount
established by resolution.
[Added 3-20-2007 by Ord. No. 8-2007;
amended 6-12-2007 by Ord. No. 11-2007]
