[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town of Barre Conservation Commission
as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 5-12-2009]
Conservation Commission may impose reasonable fees for the employment
of outside consultants engaged by the Conservation Commission for
specific expert services. Such services shall be deemed necessary
by the Commission to come to a final decision on an application submitted
to the Conservation Commission pursuant to the requirement of the
Wetlands Protection Act (MGL c. 131, § 40), the Town's non-zoning
wetlands bylaw, in the event it applies, Conservation Commission Act
(MGL c. 40, § 8C), or any other state or municipal statute,
bylaw or regulation, as they may be amended or enacted from time to
time. The Conservation Commission may also impose fees for other consultant
services, related to application review, or permit conditioning or
monitoring, under any of the above-referenced laws or regulations.
Funds received pursuant to these rules shall be deposited with
the Town Treasurer who shall establish a special account for this
purpose. Expenditures from this special account may be made at the
direction of the Conservation Commission without further appropriation
as provided in MGL c. 44 § 53G. Expenditures from this account
shall be made only in connection with a specific project or projects
for which a consultant fee has been collected from the applicant.
Expenditures of accrued interest may also be made for these purposes.
Specific consultant services may include but are not limited
to resource area survey and delineation analysis of resource area
values, hydrogeologic and drainage analysis, impacts on municipal
conservation lands, and environmental or land use law. Services may
also include on-site monitoring during construction, or other services
related to the project deemed necessary by the Commission. The consultant
shall be chosen by and report only to the Commission and/or its administrator.
The Conservation Commission shall be given written notice to
the applicant of the selection of an outside consultant. Such notices
shall state the identity of the consultant, the amount of the fee
to be charged to the applicant, and a request for payment of said
fee in its entirety. Such notice shall be deemed to have been given
on the date it is mailed or delivered. No such costs or expenses shall
be incurred by the applicant if the application or request is withdrawn
within five days of the date notice is given.
The fee must be received prior to the initiation of consulting
services. The Commission may request additional consultant fees if
necessary review requires a larger expenditure than originally anticipated
or new information requires additional consultant services. Failure
by the applicant to pay the consultant fee specified by the Commission
within 10 business days of the request for payment, or refusal of
payment, shall be cause for the Commission to deny the application
based on lack of sufficient information to evaluate whether the project
meets applicable performance standards in 310 CMR 10.00 and the Town's
Wetlands Bylaw or its regulations, in the event it applies. An appeal
stops the clock on the above deadline; the countdown resumes on the
first business day after the appeal is either denied or upheld. A
denial for lack of information may be based solely on the lack of
the third party consultant review identified as necessary by the Commission.
The Commission shall specify in its denial the nature of the information
lacking which its chosen consultant would provide, e.g. the questions
it needs answered. Failure by the applicant to pay the consultant
fee specified by the Commission within 10 business days of the request
for payment shall be cause for the Commission to deny the permit application.
[Amended 6-15-2021 ATM, Art. 20]
The applicant may appeal the selection of the outside consultant
to the Select Board, who may only disqualify the outside consultant
selected on the grounds that the consultant has a conflict of interest
or does not possess minimum required qualifications. The minimum qualifications
shall consist of either an educational degree or three or more years
of practice in the field at issue or related field. Such an appeal
must be in writing and received by the Select Board and a copy received
by the Conservation Commission, so as to be received within 10 days
of the date consultant fees were requested by the Conservation Commission.
The required time limits for action upon the application shall be
extended by the duration of the administrative appeal.
When the Commission's review of a project is completed and an
order of conditions issued, any balance in the special account attributable
to that project shall be returned within 30 days. The excess amount,
including interest, shall be repaid to the applicant or the applicant's
successor in interest. For the purpose of this regulation any person
or entity claiming to be an applicant's successor in interest shall
provide the Commission with appropriate documentation. A final report
of said account shall be made available to the applicant or applicant's
successor in interest.
