Municipality of Murrysville, PA Article XIII Fees

§ 201-145 Application filing fees.

A schedule of application filing fees shall be established, from time to time, by amendment to Chapter 112, Fees, established by Council. The application filing fees shall cover the administrative costs associated with processing an application for approval of a subdivision or land development and shall be payable to the Municipality at the time of submission of the application.

§ 201-146 Application review fees.

A. An application review escrow deposit in an amount established from time to time by resolution of Council or through Chapter 112, Fees, also shall be payable at the time of submission of the application to guarantee payment of the estimated application review fees required by this article. The actual amount of the review fees in excess of the escrow deposit shall be payable within 10 days of billing by the Municipality. Any monies remaining in the escrow account after all review fees have been paid shall be returned to the applicant.

B. Failure to pay the required escrow deposit or any additional review fees required by this article shall cause the application to be determined to be incomplete and the application shall not be scheduled for review by the Planning Commission or Council until such fees are paid.

C. Application review fees shall include reasonable and necessary charges by the Municipality's professional consultants, Municipal Engineer or by the Municipal Solicitor, to the extent permitted by law, for review and report on the application to the Municipality. Such review fees shall be based upon a schedule established from time to time by resolution of Council. Such review fees shall be reasonable and in accordance with the ordinary and customary charges by the Municipal Engineer or other professional consultants for similar service in the community, but in no event shall the fees exceed the rate or cost charged by the Municipal Engineer or other professional consultants to the Municipality when fees are not reimbursed or otherwise imposed on applicants.

D. In the event the applicant disputes the amount of any such review fees, the applicant shall, within 10 days of the billing date, notify the Director of Community Development that such fees are disputed, in which case the Municipality shall not delay or disapprove a subdivision or land development application due to the applicant's request over disputed fees.

E. In the event that the Municipality and the applicant cannot agree on the amount of review fees which are reasonable and necessary, then the applicant and the Municipality shall follow the procedure for resolution of disputes as set forth below in § 201-147 of this chapter, provided that the professionals resolving such dispute shall be of the same profession or discipline as the consultants whose fees are being disputed.

§ 201-147 Inspection fees.

A. The applicant shall reimburse the Municipality for the reasonable and necessary expense incurred for the inspection of improvements. Such reimbursement shall be based upon a schedule established from time to time by resolution of Council. Such expense shall be reasonable and in accordance with the ordinary and customary fees charged by the Municipal Engineer or 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 Municipal Engineer or consultant to the Municipality when fees are not reimbursed or otherwise imposed on applicants.

B. An inspection fee escrow deposit in an amount established from time to time by resolution of Council shall be payable at the time of execution of the development agreement required by § 201-62 of this chapter to guarantee payment of the estimated inspection fees required by this section. The actual amount of the inspection fees in excess of the escrow deposit shall be payable within 10 days of billing by the Municipality. Any monies remaining in the escrow account after all inspection fees have been paid shall be returned to the applicant.

C. In the event the applicant disputes the amount of any such expense in connection with the inspection of improvements, the applicant shall, within 10 working days of the date of billing, notify the Director of Community Development that such expenses are disputed as unreasonable or unnecessary, in which case the Municipality shall not delay or disapprove a subdivision or land development application or any approval or permit related to development due to the applicant's request over disputed engineer expenses.

D. If within 20 days from the date of billing, the Municipality and the applicant cannot agree on the amount of expenses which are reasonable and necessary, then the applicant and the Municipality shall jointly, by mutual agreement, appoint another professional engineer licensed as such in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to review the said expenses and make a determination as to the amount thereof which is reasonable and necessary.

E. The professional engineer so appointed shall hear such evidence and review such documentation as the professional engineer in his or her sole opinion deems necessary and render a decision within 50 days of the billing date. The applicant shall be required to pay the entire amount determined in the decision immediately.

F. In the event that the Municipality and the applicant cannot agree upon the professional engineer to be appointed within 20 days of the billing date, then upon application of either party, the Chairman Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of the judicial district in which the Municipality is located or, if at the time there be no Chairman Judge then, the senior active judge then sitting shall appoint such engineer, who, in that case, shall be neither the Municipal Engineer nor any professional engineer who has been retained by, or performed services for, the Municipality or the applicant within the preceding five years.

G. The fees of the appointed professional engineer for determining the reasonable and necessary expenses shall be paid by the applicant if the amount of payment required in the decision is equal to or greater than the original bill. If the amount of payment required in the decision is less than the original bill by $1,000 or more, the Municipality shall pay the fee of the professional engineer, but otherwise the Municipality and the applicant shall each pay 1/2 of the fee of the appointed professional engineer.