Town of Stanford, NY Chapter 90 Fees

[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Stanford as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]

Article I Professional Consultant Expenses

[Adopted 8-10-2006 by L.L. No. 2-2006[1]]

[1] Editor's Note: This local law was adopted with sections numbered 103-1 through 103-9 but was renumbered as §§ 90-1 through 90-9 to maintain the alphabetical organization of the Code.

§ 90-1 Compensation of Town for review costs.

A. Compensation required. In order to conduct a reasonable, full and proper review of an application for a subdivision, site plan, special permit, use variance, zoning interpretation, zoning amendment or rezoning, the reviewing board before which the application is pending shall, pursuant to this article, require the applicant to compensate the Town for the actual cost of professional consultant reviews reasonably necessary to complete the review of the project. The reviews governed by this article shall include review of all land use applications, and all environmental reviews pursuant to law, including review of the proposed action under the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQR).[1]

[1] Editor's Note: See Environmental Conservation Law, § 8-0101 et seq.

B. Review fees covered. The fees governed by this article include those of the professional consultant reviews, including:

(1) Those by the engineer to the Town, the planner to the Town, and attorney to the Town; and

(2) Those by any other professional consultants, as required under the circumstances of a particular application.

C. Exclusion of administrative fees. The professional fees provided for herein are in addition to application or administrative fees required pursuant to other sections of the Town of Stanford Town Code. Funds deposited by applicants pursuant to this section shall not be used to offset the Town's general expenses of professional services for the several boards of the Town nor its general administration expenses.

D. Avoiding duplication. Review fees attributable to environmental reviews under SEQR shall in no event exceed the maximum amounts to be charged pursuant to the SEQR regulations 16 NYCRR Section 617.17 (after January 1, 1996, renumbered to Section 617.13). SEQR reviews and underlying permit reviews shall be combined wherever practicable.

§ 90-2 Definitions.

As used in this article, the following terms have the following meanings:

LAND USE APPLICATION

Any application for a subdivision, site plan, specific permit, use variance, zoning amendment, rezoning or zoning interpretation. The application shall also be deemed to include the SEQR-related environmental documents submitted to evaluate the proposed action.

PROFESSIONAL CONSULTANT

The Town's planning, engineering and legal consultants. The term also includes other specialized consultants in land use and environmental matters retained in individual cases, including title examiners, traffic consultants, and other technical and environmental experts,

PROFESSIONAL REVIEW EXPENSES

All actual expenses incurred by the Town relating to the professional consultant review of the application.

REVIEWING BOARD

The Town Board, the Planning Board or the Zoning Board of Appeals, as the case may be.

§ 90-3 Procedures on applications.

A. Escrow required. No land use application shall be considered complete for review purposes, and no professional reviews shall commence, until this article is complied with and, where required, an escrow account is established and funded.

B. Contracts required. The fees to be paid to the consultants shall be established pursuant to contract authorized by the Town Board, pursuant to the provisions of Town Law § 64, Subdivision 6. The Town Board shall assure that such contractual fees to be charged are consistent with fees for services then prevailing in the surrounding geographical area.

§ 90-4 Funding of escrow account.

A. Sketch plan, discussion or conceptual review. When an applicant files an application for a sketch plan or conceptual review, the applicant shall fund an escrow account in the amount of $250 prior to commencement of review. This amount is intended to cover an informal Board review, which is often requested even prior to the submission of a formal application or the paying of any application fees. The informal sketch, discussion or conceptual review shall not include any formal engineering or other professional review unless the applicant establishes an escrow pursuant to Schedule A.[1]

[1] Editor's Note: Schedule A is included at the end of this chapter.

B. Preliminary plat or site plan review. When an applicant files an application for preliminary subdivision plat or site plan approval, the applicant shall fund an escrow account in an amount set forth in Schedule A, prior to the commencement of review.[2]

[2] Editor's Note: Schedule A is included at the end of this chapter.

C. Custody of accounts. The escrow amount shall be placed in an account established for such purpose. All review fees required pursuant to this article shall be collected by the Clerk/Secretary of the Planning and Zoning Boards. The Town Supervisor and Bookkeeper shall set up escrow funds as part of a trust and agency fund where consultant fees incurred by the Town pursuant to this section shall be audited and paid from such special fund and not the general fund. The Bookkeeper of the Town shall have custody of escrow account records. The secretary to the specific board for which the escrow is established shall coordinate and inform the Bookkeeper of the status of the same, or any request in connection therewith.

D. Adjustment in the required escrow amounts. The Town Board may increase or decrease the amounts of the required escrow deposit, as established in Schedule A herein, from time to time, by resolution.[3]

[3] Editor's Note: Schedule A is included at the end of this chapter.

§ 90-5 Withdrawals from escrow accounts.

A. Audit of vouchers. All vouchers submitted by professional consultants shall be reviewed and audited by Town officials in the same manner as all other charges. The Town shall approve payment of only such fees as are reasonable in amount and are necessarily incurred by the Town in connection with the review. A fee shall be considered reasonable in amount if it bears a reasonable relationship to fees prevailing in the surrounding geographical area for similar services in similar projects. In determining similarity of services and projects, the Town may consider the size of the project, the topography, soil conditions, drainage conditions, surface water conditions, other site constraints, the nature of the improvements to be constructed, and the nature of the planning, engineering or legal issues arising in the factual context of the application. In determining whether the fees were necessarily incurred, the Town may consider, in addition to the factors listed above, the nature of the materials provided by the applicant, the manner in which the service relates to the issues which must be decided by the Town in reviewing the application, whether the service provided reasonably assists the Board in performing a function required by law or regulation, and such other factors as may be relevant in the factual context of the application. Records shall be maintained showing all amounts deposited and all amounts paid from the escrow account and all bills and vouchers submitted by the Town professional consultants. The applicant shall in no case be billed for more than the Town has actually expended for consultant review fees.

B. Payment of audited vouchers. The Town Supervisor or Bookkeeper shall make withdrawals from the escrow account to pay the cost of consultant review services, as established by itemized voucher to the Town. In no case shall an applicant make direct payment to any of the Town's professional consultants.

C. Town Board review. Within 30 days of receiving any voucher for professional consultant fees, whether it has as yet been paid or not, an applicant may file a written request to the Town Board seeking review of the charges therein, to determine whether such fees are reasonable in amount and are necessarily incurred by the Town in connection with the review, under the standards set forth in this article.

§ 90-6 Procedures upon depletion of escrow accounts.

A. When the balance in such escrow account is reduced to the amount shown on the fee schedule (Schedule A), the applicant shall replenish the amount of the escrow account as shown in Schedule A.[1]

[1] Editor's Note: Schedule A is included at the end of this chapter.

B. If the applicant fails to make the escrow deposit, or fails to promptly replenish the amount in the escrow account within 15 days of the Town's request, professional reviews shall not begin or continue, as the case may be, until such time as the escrow account is funded or replenished. The Board may also consider an application abandoned if nonpayment of escrow fees continues for more than two months, and the Board may deny an application based upon such abandonment.

§ 90-7 Approvals prohibited prior to payment.

Payment by the applicant of professional fees actually incurred in the review of the application shall be required prior to:

A. Any approval of the application by the reviewing board. The Town Board, Planning Board or Zoning Board, as the case may be, shall not take any action or grant approval of any kind on any application until the Clerk/Secretary has certified to the Board that review fees actually incurred to the date of approval under this article have been fully paid and/or reimbursed and that sufficient escrow amounts remain to cover any costs for professional reviews which will be incurred thereafter until the conclusion of the matter, including time spent but not yet billed as of the date of final Planning Board action, costs for review of proposed deeds and offers of cession, and similar matters.

B. Any administrative action in furtherance of an approval. In the event that any approval is granted and professional review fees remain to be paid, the reviewing board shall not take any further administrative action in furtherance of the approval until sufficient provision is made for the payment of these fees. For example, no rezoning amendment at the request of an applicant shall be forwarded for filing with the Secretary of State until the Clerk/Secretary of the Planning Board has certified, in writing, to the Town Clerk that all professional review fees actually incurred to date have been fully paid and/or reimbursed and that sufficient escrow amounts remain to cover any professional review costs which will be incurred thereafter until the conclusion of the matter. Similarly, no site plan or subdivision plat approved by the Planning Board shall be signed unless the Clerk/Secretary has certified, in writing, to the Chair that all professional review fees actually incurred to date have been fully paid and/or reimbursed and that sufficient escrow amounts remain to cover any costs for professional reviews which will be incurred thereafter until the conclusion of the matter.

C. Issuance of building permits and certificates of occupancy. No building permits or certificates of occupancy or use shall be issued unless all professional review fees charged in connection with the project have been paid and reimbursed.

§ 90-8 Return of unexpended funds.

Any balance remaining in the escrow account shall be refunded within a reasonable time upon the applicant's request, upon completion of project review, or upon withdrawal of an application, after all fees already incurred by the Town are first paid and deducted from the escrow account.

§ 90-9 Remedies for failure to reimburse Town.

In the event the applicant fails to reimburse to the Town funds expended to consultants as provided herein, the following remedies may apply:

A. The Town may seek recovery of billed and unpaid fees by bringing an action venued in a court of appropriate jurisdiction, and the applicant shall pay the Town's reasonable attorney fees in prosecuting such action in addition to any judgment.

B. Alternatively, and at the sole discretion of the Town Board, an applicant's failure to comply with this article by paying professional review fees by escrow, or in failing to reimburse the Town for fees expended by the Town for professional review fees, may be remedied by charging such sums, together with any legal or other professional fees incurred in collection efforts, against the real property that is subject to the permit application and by adding that charge to and making it a part of the next annual real property tax assessment roll of the Town. Prior to charging such assessments, the real property owners shall be provided with written notice to the applicant, at its last known address as contained in the permit application and to the property owner, if other than the applicant, at the owner's address of record as contained in the current assessment roll. Such written notice shall be sent certified mail, return receipt requested. Such notice shall inform the owner and applicant of the delinquent amount of fees owed to the Town and shall provide an opportunity to be heard and object, before the Town Board, to the proposed additional real property assessment, at a date to be designated in the notice, which shall be not less than 30 days after the mailing. If and when imposed, such charges shall be levied and collected at the same time and in the same manner as general Town taxes, and such fees shall be applied to reimbursing the account from which the professional review fees were paid.