This Chapter
82 shall be known as the "Professional Services Reimbursement Local Law."
[Amended 8-11-2011 by L.L. No. 3-2011]
The Village of Camillus Village Board hereby finds and determines
that, in order to protect and safeguard the Village, its residents
and their property, with respect to land and improvements, within
the Village, the development and construction thereon and the uses,
operations, businesses, trades, professions and industries conducted
thereon, all should be designed and constructed in a competent and
workmanlike manner and developed, constructed and utilized in conformity
with all applicable governmental laws, codes, rules and regulations
and, where applicable to development, dedicated and conveyed to the
Village in a legally sufficient manner. In order to ensure the foregoing,
it is essential that the Village have available to it all necessary
professional expertise to assist with inspections of the foregoing,
any required legal opinion(s) or actions, including relative to violations
and enforcement of such applicable law, codes, rules and regulations,
the review of legal documents and instruments, plans, designs, applications,
and to make recommendations to the Code Enforcement Officer, Village
Board, Zoning Board of Appeals and Village Attorney. The Village takes
great pride in the skill and professionalism of its land use and zoning
boards, code enforcement and administrative staff; however, from time
to time such boards and staff are called upon to review and evaluate
matters and to consider and take actions outside the range of their
training and/or expertise and/or requiring legal assistance and expertise.
These situations may require the Village to seek out skills not possessed
by such Village boards and Village officials but which are not required
frequently enough to justify the full- or part-time hiring of such
specialized staff. At the same time, the cost of retaining such expertise
should not be borne by the taxpayers of the Village but rather by
those who seek to benefit or profit from the decisions of the Village,
its boards, administrative staff and/or those who are legally responsible
relative to efforts, actions and proceedings addressing violations
and enforcement of such governmental laws, codes, rules and regulations.
Therefore, it is the intent of this chapter to establish a mechanism
whereby the Village may utilize necessary expertise for such matters
without imposing the cost on its taxpayers.
[Amended 8-11-2011 by L.L. No. 3-2011]
This chapter is enacted under the authority of Subparagraphs
(a)(12) and (d)(3) of the Municipal Home Rule Law § 10(1)(iii)
and Municipal Home Rule Law § 22. To the extent that the
Village Law of the State of New York does not authorize the Village
Board or Zoning Board of Appeals to require the reimbursement to the
Village of expenses incurred by the Village in connection with professional
assistance, it is the expressed intent of the Village Board to change
and supersede such statutes. Such statutes likewise do not authorize
the deferral or withholding of approvals in the event such expenses
are not paid to the Village. It is the express intent of the Village
Board to change and supersede the New York State Village Law, including,
without limitation, §§ 7-700, 7-708, 7-712, 7-712-a,
7-712-b, 7-725-a, 7-725-b, 7-728, 7-732 and 7-736, and to the extent
legally permissible, relating specifically to the subject matter hereof
and subject to Executive Law § 383, to supplement New York
Code Rules and Regulations Title 19, Parts 1220 to 1226 and to supplement
New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1224; Executive
Law § 382; the New York State Public Health Law (Article
13) relative to public nuisance abatement; Village Law §§ 4-400,
4-412, 8-802 and 20-2006, to empower the Village to require such payment
as part of any procedures thereunder and in relation to any efforts,
actions or proceedings deemed necessary by the Town Board to address
enforcement and violation issues.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
APPLICANT
Any person, firm, partnership, association, corporation,
company or organization of any kind who or which requests the Code
Enforcement Officer, Zoning Officer or other issuer of building permits,
certificates of completion, occupancy and compliance, or the Village
Board or the Zoning Board of Appeals to approve a municipal application.
[Amended 8-11-2011 by L.L. No. 3-2011]
ENFORCEMENT/VIOLATION EFFORTS
Any efforts, actions or proceedings pursuant to and intending
to address the enforcement or violations of any federal, New York
State law, Onondaga County or Village of Camillus code commenced or
initiated by, at the request of or under policies established by the
Village of Camillus Board of Trustees.
MUNICIPAL APPLICATION
An application or request, formal, informal or otherwise
relative to proposed development, construction, renovation, related
and/or similar within the Village, including without limitation application
or requests for subdivision approval, site plan approval, area variance,
use variance, special permit, zone change(s), utility availability,
capacity or connection, storm drainage or erosion and sedimentation
control, building permit, certificate of compliance, occupancy or
completion (or similar permit) and any additional review for those
as needed to comply with the New York State Environmental Quality
Review Act, Environmental Conservation Law Article 8, and regulations
adopted pursuant thereto, and the Village Code, as amended. The foregoing
notwithstanding, professional fees incurred or to be incurred for
routine applications for utility connections or building permits specifically
covered under the Village Code shall not be considered municipal applications
unless the same involve special, unusual or extraordinary conditions
or circumstances, as solely determined initially by the Mayor, Village
Administrator or Code Enforcement Officer and affirmed by the Board
of Trustees.
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this chapter
in relation to a municipal application, an applicant or developer
shall not be required to reimburse the Village for any part of a fee
incurred by the Village for services performed in connection with
matters, including but not limited to those resulting from complaints
by third parties, as to which the Village Board determined the applicant
had no responsibility or were beyond the reasonable control of the
applicant, such determination to be solely within the Village Board's
discretion.
Upon resolution duly adopted by the Village Board following
a notice of not less than 30 days [addressed to the applicant, individual(s)
or entities subject of a municipal application or agent against whom
enforcement/violation efforts have been conducted and the owner of
the property subject of a municipal application or enforcement/violation
proceeding], advising such persons or entities of amounts owing to
the Village for professional fees incurred hereunder, the Village
may assess the property subject thereof with such costs in the same
manner as with respect to property taxes, such that same may be collected
and the lien of same enforced in the same manner as liens for such
taxes and charges.
The provisions hereof shall be in addition to and not in lieu of any other provisions of the Village of Camillus Code or New York State law providing for the payment, reimbursement or recovery of legal or other professional fees, costs and/or disbursements. Any such other provisions shall, in addition, be deemed to have been incorporated therein by reference, subject to §
82-9 hereof, the provisions of §
82-7 hereof providing for the assessment of such charges on the property subject of the municipal application or enforcement/violation efforts.
If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section or
part of this chapter or the application thereof to any person, individual,
corporation, firm, partnership, entity or circumstances is adjudged
invalid or unconstitutional by any court of competent jurisdiction,
such order or judgment shall be confined in its operation to the clause,
sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section or part of this law or in
its application directly involved in the controversy in which such
judgment shall have been rendered and shall not affect or impair the
validity of the remainder of this chapter or the application thereof
to other persons or circumstances. Further, in adjudging such invalid
provision, the court shall attempt to modify same to a provision which
is not invalid or unconstitutional and which best achieves the intent
of the invalid provision.