[Added 12-28-2000 by Ord. No. 34-2000]
A.
Application escrow.
(1)
All fees other than application fees, inspection escrows
and miscellaneous fees shall be escrow fees to pay for the services
of any professional personnel employed by the Reviewing Board or the
Township Council to process, review, inspect, study or make recommendations
to such reviewing board or the Township Council concerning the nature
and substance of the applicant's application and/or to pay for the
services of any such professional personnel and the costs and expenses
incurred by such professional personnel, the reviewing board and/or
the Township Council to create, amend or modify, including, but not
limited to, the costs and expenses to draft, finalize and publish,
the official Tax Map and/or Zoning Map of the Township, which creation,
amendment and/or modification is necessitated by the approval of the
applicant's application.
(2)
If during the existence of this escrow account the
balance of funds held by the Township shall be insufficient to cover
vouchers submitted by the professionals, the applicant shall deposit
additional sums with the Township to voucher the amount of the deficit
and the anticipated amount to cover all remaining work within 10 days
after receipt of written notice from the Township of the amounts owed.
In the event that an applicant fails to deposit the additional escrow
moneys as required within the time set forth in this subsection, the
Township, through its agents and employees, shall take whatever action
it deems necessary in order to compel the payment of the escrow amount.
In addition, the professional personnel may take any action individually
as they deem necessary to satisfy the vouchers submitted. Notwithstanding
the foregoing, any applicant who does not deposit such additional
escrow moneys within 30 days after receipt of written notice from
the Township of the amounts owed shall be charged a late fee equal
to 10% times the amounts owed from the date such sums were due pursuant
to such notice until paid in full (including all accrued late fees).
No permit, approval or certificate shall be issued to any applicant
or property owner by the reviewing board, Zoning Officer, Township
Council, Township Clerk or any other agency of the Township unless
all amounts owed pursuant to this section by such applicant or owner
or with respect to the subject property are paid in full.
(3)
All excess moneys in the escrow account will be returned,
at the time of final release of maintenance guarantees for improvements
completed as part of the development approval, to the applicant with
a statement of money expended against the account. If at any time
prior to final approval the applicant elects to withdraw his request
for approval and abandon the project, any moneys remaining in the
escrow account, after all proper charges have been paid, will be returned
to the applicant with a statement of money expended against the account.[1]
A.
The Chief Financial Officer of a municipality shall make all of the payments to professionals for services rendered to the municipality or approving authority for review of applications for development, review and preparation of documents, inspection of improvements or other purposes under the provisions of P.L. 1975, c.291 (C.40:55D-1 et seq.). Such fees or charges shall be based upon a schedule established by resolution. The application review and inspection charges shall be limited only to professional charges for review of applications, review and preparation of documents and inspections of developments under construction and review by outside consultants when an application is of a nature beyond the scope of the expertise of the professionals normally utilized by the municipality. The only costs that shall be added to any such charges shall be actual out-of-pocket expenses of any such professionals or consultants including normal and typical expenses incurred in processing applications and inspecting improvements. The municipality or approving authority shall not bill the applicant, or charge any escrow account or deposit authorized under Subsection B of this section, for any municipal, clerical or administrative functions, overhead expenses, meeting room charges, or any other municipal costs and expenses except as provided for in this section, nor shall a municipal professional add any such charges to his bill. If the salary, staff support and overhead for a municipal professional are provided by the municipality, the charge shall not exceed 200% of the sum of the products resulting from multiplying the hourly base salary, which shall be established annually by ordinance, of each of the professionals, by the number of hours spent by the respective professional upon review of the application for development or inspection of the developer's improvements, as the case may be. For other professionals, the charge shall be at the same rate as all other work of the same nature by the professional for the municipality when fees are not reimbursed or otherwise imposed on applicants or developers.
B.
If the municipality requires of the developer a deposit
toward anticipated municipal expenses for these professional services,
the deposit shall be placed in an escrow account pursuant to Section
I of P.L. 1985, c.315 (N.J.S.A. 40:55D-53.1). The amount of the deposit
required shall be reasonable in regard to the scale and complexity
of the development. The amount of the initial deposit required shall
be established by ordinance. For review of applications for development
proposing a subdivision, the amount of the deposit shall be calculated
based on the number of proposed lots. For review of applications for
development proposing a site plan, the amount of the deposit shall
be based on one or more of the following: the area of the site to
be developed, the square footage of buildings to be constructed, or
an additional factor for circulation-intensive sites, such as those
containing drive-through facilities. Deposits for inspection fees
shall be established in accordance with Subsection h of Section 41
of P.L. 1975, c.291 (N.J.S.A. 40:55D-53).
C.
Each payment charged to the deposit for review of
applications, review and preparation of documents and inspection of
improvements shall be pursuant to a voucher from the professional,
which voucher shall identify the personnel performing the service,
and for each date the services performed, the hours spent to one-quarter-hour
increments, the hourly rate and the expenses incurred. All professionals
shall submit vouchers to the Chief Financial Officer of the municipality
on a monthly basis in accordance with schedules and procedures established
by the Chief Financial Officer of the municipality. If the services
are provided by a municipal employee, the municipal employee shall
prepare and submit to the Chief Financial Officer of the municipality
a statement containing the same information as required on a voucher,
on a monthly basis. The professional shall send an informational copy
of all vouchers or statements submitted to the Chief Financial Officer
of the municipality simultaneously to the applicant. The Chief Financial
Officer of the municipality shall prepare and send to the applicant
a statement which shall include an accounting of funds listing all
deposits, interest earnings, disbursements, and the cumulative balance
of the escrow account. This information shall be provided on a quarterly
basis, if monthly charges are $1,000 or less, or on a monthly basis
if monthly charges exceed $1,000. If an escrow account or deposit
contains insufficient funds to enable the municipality or approving
authority to perform required application reviews or improvement inspections,
the Chief Financial Officer of the municipality 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 a reasonable time period, post a deposit
to the account in an amount to be agreed upon by the municipality
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.
D.
The following closeout procedure shall apply to all
deposits and escrow accounts established under the provisions of P.L.
1975, c.291 (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 Section
41 of P.L. 1975, c.291 (N.J.S.A. 40:55D-53) in the case of improvement
inspection escrows and deposits. The applicant shall send written
notice by certified mail to the Chief Financial Officer of the municipality
and the approving authority, and to the relevant municipal professional,
that the application or the improvements, as the case may be, are
completed. After receipt of such notice, the professional shall render
a final bill to the Chief Financial Officer of the municipality within
30 days, and shall send a copy simultaneously to the applicant. The
Chief Financial Officer of the municipality 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. Any balances
remaining in the deposit or escrow account, including interest in
accordance with Section I of P.L. 1985, c.315 (N.J.S.A. 40:55D-53.1)
shall be refunded to the developer along with the final accounting.
E.
All professional charges for review of an application
for development, review and preparation of documents or inspection
of improvements shall be reasonable and necessary, given the status
and progress of the application or construction. Review fees shall
be charged only in connection with an application for development
presently pending before the approving authority or upon review of
compliance with conditions of approval, or review of requests for
modification or amendment made by the applicant. A professional shall
not review items which are subject to approval by any state environmental
agency and not under municipal jurisdiction except to the extent consultation
with a state agency is necessary due to the effect of state approvals
in the subdivision or site plan. Inspection fees shall be charged
only for actual work shown on a subdivision or site plan or required
by an approving resolution. Professionals inspecting improvements
under construction shall charge only for inspections that are reasonably
necessary to check the progress and quality of the work and such inspections
shall be reasonably based on the approved development plans and documents.
F.
If the municipality retains a different professional
or consultant in the place of the professional originally responsible
for development, application review, or inspection of improvements,
the municipality or approving authority shall be responsible for all
time and expenses of the new professional to become familiar with
the application or the project, and the municipality or approving
authority shall not bill the applicant or charge the deposit or the
escrow account for any such services.
A.
The applicant shall reimburse the Township for all
reasonable inspection fees paid to the Township Engineer for inspection
of improvements, provided that the Township may require of the developer
a deposit for all or a portion of the reasonably anticipated fees
to be paid to the Township Engineer for such inspection.
B.
The applicant shall pay all fees required on the processing
of applications for subdivision of land and site plan review, in addition
to the Township Engineer's inspection fees, as provided herein.
C.
Exemption for disabled persons.
(1)
A municipality may by ordinance exempt, according
to uniform standards, a disabled person, or a parent or sibling of
a disabled person, from the payment of any fee charged under this
act in connection with any application for development which promotes
accessibility to his own living unit.
(2)
For the purpose of this subsection, "disabled person"
means a person who has the total and permanent inability to engage
in any substantial gainful activity by reason of any medically determinable
physical or mental impairment, including blindness, and shall include,
but not be limited to, any resident of this state who is disabled
pursuant to the federal Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. § 416),
or the federal Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 (45 U.S.C. § 231
et seq.), or is rated as having a 60% disability or higher pursuant
to any federal law administered by the United States Veterans' Act.
For purposes of this subsection, "blindness" means central visual
acuity of 20/200 or less in the better eye with the use of a correcting
lens. An eye which is accompanied by a limitation in the fields of
vision such that the widest diameter of the visual field subtends
an angle no greater than 20° shall be considered as having a central
visual acuity of 20/200 or less.
