[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village of Highland
Falls 6-16-1987 by L.L. No. 6-1987 (Ch.
18 of the 1971 Code). Amendments noted where applicable.]
The Board of Trustees of the Village of Highland Falls hereby finds
that required fees for permits, licenses, certificates, inspections, applications,
filings, hearings and other purposes can be established and administered more
effectively and responsibly if fixed by resolution of the Board of Trustees
rather than by local law.
[Amended 5-5-1992 by L.L. No. 1-1992; 6-1-2005
by L.L. No. 3-2005]
All municipal fees shall be established and amended from time to time
by resolution duly adopted by the Board of Trustees. Fee amounts shall be
sufficient to cover all administrative and review costs, including but not
limited to filing fees, engineering fees, legal fees, planning fees and hearing
notice fees, as required. The fees established pursuant to this chapter shall
be deemed to be minimum fees, and any additional expenses actually incurred
by the Village for professional services, extraordinary costs and other nonministerial
expenses shall be imposed upon the applicant and paid prior to issuance of
the permit, license, certificate or the like. Fee amounts shall be listed
in a schedule of fees available for public inspection in the Village Clerk's
office.
The Board of Trustees is hereby authorized to establish fees for any
activity requiring submission to the Village of an application or issuance
by the Village of a permit, license, certificate or the like.[1]
[Added 6-1-2005 by L.L. No. 3-2005]
A.
Reimbursement required. The applicant for approval of any land use or land development shall reimburse the Village for all of the Village's reasonable and necessary engineering, legal and planning fees and expenses incurred by the Village in connection with the review and/or approval of the application. Said fees and expenses are deemed "application fees." Reimbursement shall be made in accordance with Subsection C of this section. For the purposes of this chapter, the term "land use or development" shall include, but not be limited to, a subdivision, open development area, site plan, special permit, conditional use, variance, interpretation, appeal to the Zoning Board of Appeals, or zoning amendment; any modification or amendment of the foregoing; and compliance with the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQR).[1] With respect to applications to the Consolidated Zoning Board
of Appeals, this section shall apply only to applications concerning property
located in the Village of Highland Falls.
[1]
Editor's Note: See Article 8 of the Environmental Conservation
Law.
B.
C.
Payment of fees and expenses.
(1)
The Village's engineering, legal and/or planning
consultant who renders services pertaining to a land use or development application
shall submit monthly itemized vouchers to the Board of Trustees reasonably
setting forth the services performed and amounts charged for such services.
(2)
The Board of Trustees shall review and audit all such
vouchers and shall determine, in its discretion, the engineering, legal and
planning fees which are reasonable in amount and necessarily incurred by the
Village in connection with the review and/or approval of the land use or development
application.
(a)
A fee or expense or part thereof is reasonable in amount
if it bears a reasonable relationship to the customary fee charged by engineers,
attorneys or planners within the region for services performed on behalf of
applicants or reviewing Boards in connection with applications for land use
or development. The Board of Trustees may also take into account any special
conditions for considerations as the Board of Trustees may deem relevant.
(b)
A fee and expense or part thereof is necessarily incurred
if it was charged by the engineer, attorney or planner for a service which
was rendered in order to assist in the protection or promotion of the health,
safety or welfare of the Village or its residents; to assist in the protection
of public or private property or the environment from potential damage which
otherwise may be caused by the proposed land use or development; to assure
or assist in compliance with laws, regulations, standards or codes which govern
land use and development; to assure or assist in the orderly development and
sound planning of a land use or development; to assure the proper and timely
construction of public improvements, parks and other facilities which affect
the public welfare; to protect the legal interests of the Village; to avoid
claims against and liability of the Village; or to promote such other interests
that the Board of Trustees may specify as relevant.
(3)
After review and audit of such voucher by the Board of
Trustees, the Board shall provide to the applicant a copy of the voucher,
as audited. The applicant shall pay the total fees and expenses determined
reasonable and necessary by the Board within 30 days after mailing or other
delivery of the voucher to the applicant. If the applicant fails to pay the
full amount due within the time prescribed, the reviewing Board may refuse
to further review or consider an application; to hold a public hearing otherwise
required or take any other action in furtherance of the application; and to
render a decision on the application. All time frames for taking Board action,
holding a public hearing or rendering any other determination related to the
application, including time frames which may relate to a default approval,
shall be tolled until such time as the applicant pays the full amount due.
(4)
Notwithstanding the thirty-day time period prescribed
herein, all reasonable and necessary fees and expenses incurred by the Village
with respect to the application shall be paid to the Village either prior
to the Board's decision or in compliance with a condition of approval.
The determination as to the time of such full payment shall be made by the
reviewing Board.
(5)
The reviewing Board may require the applicant to deposit an initial sum of money with the Village, which monies shall be drawn down by the Village to reimburse the Village for the fees and expenses it incurs. Said monies shall be placed in a separate non-interest-bearing account in the name of the Village, and the Village shall keep a record of the name of the applicant and project and of all such monies deposited and withdrawn. Monthly vouchers submitted by the Village's engineer, attorney, and/or planner shall be reviewed and audited by the Board of Trustees and provided to the applicant, and the applicant may appeal said audited amount as provided herein. If at any time during the application review process it reasonably appears to the reviewing Board that the remaining monies on deposit will be insufficient to meet anticipated additional fees and expenses, said Board may require the applicant to deposit additional monies in the account to meet such anticipated fees and expenses. If any required deposit is not made, the provisions of Subsection C(3) shall apply.
(6)
The fees and expenses due and payable under this section,
if not paid in the time required, shall be a lien against the real property
which is or was the subject of the land use or development application review.
The amount of such fees and expenses, if not paid in the time required, may
be assessed and levied against such real property and collected in the same
manner as real property taxes.
D.
Appeals.
(1)
An applicant may appeal in writing to the Board of Trustees
for a reduction in the required reimbursement amount. An appeal must be filed
with the Board of Trustees no later than 30 days after mailing or other delivery
to the applicant of the contested voucher.
(2)
Upon such appeal, the Board of Trustees, in its discretion,
may determine that an applicant is not required to reimburse the Village for
that part of an engineering, legal or planning fee incurred by the Village
for services performed in connection with an application matter for which
the Board of Trustees determines the applicant bears no responsibility and
which was beyond the reasonable control of the applicant. The Board of Trustees's
determination shall be in writing and shall be made no later than 45 days
after receipt of the applicant's appeal.
(3)
An appeal shall not affect the reviewing Board's authority under Subsection C(3) above to refuse to take action due to nonpayment.
(4)
An applicant may pay the full amount due without waiving
its right to appeal.
E.
Other requirements.
(1)
Except as otherwise provided in § 93-4B(1), application, filing and other fees established pursuant to § 93-2 shall be deemed to be the minimum fees, and any additional costs and expenses actually incurred by the Village for professional consultants, inspections and other nonministerial expenses shall be paid by the applicant in accordance with § 93-4 and other laws, resolutions, provisions, regulations and codes of the Village.
(2)
All reimbursement payments required by § 93-4 shall be in addition to any application, filing and other fees as may be required by § 93-2, § 93-3 or any other laws, resolutions, provisions, regulations or codes of the Village and shall not be used to offset the Village's general expenses of engineering, legal and planning services for these Boards of the Village nor to offset the Village's general expenses.
(3)
If any fee established in or authorized by any other
chapter of this Code is inconsistent with a fee established in or authorized
by this chapter, the higher of the fees shall control.
(4)
This chapter and a schedule of application and other
fees shall be filed with the Village Clerk. However, the failure to file any
fee with the Village Clerk shall not affect the validity of the fee or the
obligation to pay such fee.
