[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:
The Town Board and any duly constituted board authorized
by the Town Law of the State of New York.
A duly licensed firm under contract with the Town of Porter
to perform engineering and/or land surveying.
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.
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.
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.
An individual, a corporation, a partnership or firm.
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.
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.
The Town Board for the Town of Porter, New York.
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]
B.
No approval, permit, recommendation or review shall be processed
until the required deposit is paid to the Building Department.
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.
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.