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Town of Porter, NY
Niagara County
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Code
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[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Porter as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 5-13-2006 by L.L. No. 1-2006]
A. 
This article shall be known and may be cited as the "Engineering Cost Recovery Law."
B. 
The Town of Porter, under the Authority of §§ 10 and 11 of the Municipal Home Rule Law of the State of New York, hereby enacts this article.
C. 
This article shall apply within the jurisdiction of the Town of Porter.
The Town Board makes the following findings:
A. 
The Town of Porter Master Plan and local laws and ordinances previously adopted by the Town of Porter Board, require an engineering review by the Town's Engineer or consulting engineers prior to approval of certain permits and authorizations.
B. 
The Town has further established, through local legislation, a process of approval for site plan review, the creation of subdivisions, the dedication of roads, easements and procedure for drainage, water and sewerage facilities, the rezoning of property for the benefit of applicants for such improvements.
C. 
Existing revenue sources are not sufficient to fund engineering costs for such developments and improvements, and such development should contribute its fair share of the costs attributable to the specific improvement, project, site or plan being proposed.
D. 
The engineering cost recovery fee shall be set at a rate which is fair and just to the applicant and does not represent a means to correct deficiencies in the Town's current budget for planning.
E. 
The engineering cost recovery fee shall pay the costs of engineering for the Town and SEQR review, as allowed by the cost recovery purposes of the SEQR regulations.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
BOARDS
The Town Board and any duly constituted board authorized by the Town Law of the State of New York.
CONSULTING ENGINEER OR ENGINEERING FIRM
A duly licensed firm under contract with the Town of Porter to perform engineering and/or land surveying.
ENGINEER or ENGINEERING
The practice or profession of a licensed professional engineer in performing the following: consultation, investigation, evaluation, planning, design or supervision of construction or operation in connection with any utilities structures, sites, buildings, machines, equipment, processes, works or projects wherein the safeguard of life, health and property is concerned, when such work requires the application of engineering principals and data.
IMPROVEMENT
The alteration of land, the construction of a structure or utility, either public or private, the laying out of a subdivision, plat or parcel as defined by Town local law, the construction of a road, curb, sewer line, water line, drainage facility, landfill, sidewalk or other activity authorized by Town local laws.
LAND SURVEYOR
The branch of the engineering profession and applied mathematics which includes the measuring and plotting if the dimensions and areas of any portion of the earth, currently licensed by the State of New York.
PERSON
An individual, a corporation, a partnership or firm.
SEQR
The implementing regulations of the State Environmental Quality Review Act (New York State Environmental Conservation Law § 8-0111) as set forth under Title 6 of the New York Compilation of Rules and Regulations (6 NYCRR 617) which provide for incorporating environmental review within the decisionmaking of any agency of any governmental unit in the State of New York.
SQUARE FOOT or SF
Refers to gross square feet, the sum of enclosed areas on all floors of a building or structure, including areas used for storage or access above or below grade, including lobbies, stairways, porches, balconies and garages.
TOWN BOARD
The Town Board for the Town of Porter, New York.
TOWN PUBLIC WORK ENGINEER
Whenever the terms "engineer," "engineering," "Town Engineer," "Engineer of Record," or "consulting engineers" are used in this article or amendments, those terms shall be defined as including the Town Public Works Engineer, whose hourly time reimbursement for cost recovery shall be established from time to time by resolution of the Town Board.
A. 
Any person who applies to the Town of Porter or its duly constituted boards for the issuance of any permit, recommendation, rezoning, approval and review shall be required to pay a fee as set from time to time by resolution of the Town Board in the manner set forth in this article for each improvement proposed.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
B. 
No approval, permit, recommendation or review shall be processed until the required deposit is paid to the Building Department.
C. 
Such fee shall be in addition to all other fees required by law.[2]
[2]
Editor's Note: Original § 807-5, Deposit and fee schedule, which immediately followed this section, was repealed at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
A. 
In addition to the engineering deposit and fee schedule established by the Town Board, where the Town incurs additional engineering, administrative and legal costs pursuant to the State Environmental Quality Review Act, the Town shall recover the actual costs for preparing or reviewing all EIS or DEIS, including costs for scoping, when the Town is the lead agency and requires a DEIS or EIS.
B. 
Additional fees for residential projects shall not exceed 2% of the total cost, as estimated by the developer and verified by the Town. The total project cost shall be the cost of the land, plus the cost of all site improvements required, not including the cost of buildings and structures.
C. 
Additional fees for nonresidential construction projects shall not exceed 1/2% of the total project cost. The total project cost shall be the cost of supplying utility service to the project, the cost of site preparation and the cost of labor and materials as determined with reference to a current construction cost data publication in common usage, such as building construction cost data by means. All costs shall include any legal expenses, engineering and administrative costs according to contract that are incurred by the Town.
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
A. 
The fee paid hereunder shall be deposited in a trust account in the name of the Town of Porter.
B. 
The applicant or person paying the fee shall be entitled to the same rate of interest on the excess fees that are paid and returned hereunder, if any, as is earned by the Town on the trust account.
C. 
Procedure upon completion.
(1) 
Within 120 days of final action by the Town or board(s) or the issuance if a certificate of occupancy, whichever is later, on an application for the improvement or SEQR review, the Building Department shall report to the Town Board the actual cost to the Town for engineering.
(2) 
The Town Board shall determine whether the Town costs exceed the total engineering fee charged. If the fee paid by the Town to its consulting engineers exceeds the fee paid by the applicant, the moneys deposited shall become the property of the Town of Porter.
(3) 
In the event that the deposit paid by the developer is more than the actual amount paid by the Town to its consulting engineers or its attorney, then the excess shall be returned with interest, as provided above. SEQR review fees shall be billed to the applicant and paid prior to approval.
In no event shall the Town charge against or utilize a fee paid hereunder for deficiencies in Town-owned improvements, routine maintenance or matters not directly related to the engineering cost for the specific improvement proposed.