[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the
Town of Chatham 6-18-1998 by L.L. No. 1-1998. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
The responsible operation of government in today's
complex society makes comprehensive, detailed and specialized engineering,
legal and other consultant review of subdivision, zoning, land use
and other permitting applications a necessity. It is hereby determined
that the cost of reasonably required engineering, legal or other special
consultant services to municipal boards, agencies or other permitting
authorities should reasonably be borne by the applicants for permit
approval.
[Amended 8-18-2016 by L.L. No. 3-2016]
A.
Establishment of fee schedule. The Town Board does hereby declare
that a comprehensive schedule of fees to be paid to the Town of Chatham
upon the filing of certain applications for permits or other certificates
for activities taken or approved by the Town Board, Planning Board,
Zoning Board of Appeals, Building Inspector, Town Engineer, and Town
Clerk shall be established by resolution of the Town Board from time
to time.
B.
Land use application fees.
(1)
A schedule of planning, zoning, and building application fees shall
be established by resolution of the Town Board from time to time.
All such fees in effect at the time of adoption of this chapter shall
remain in effect until such time as those application fees are modified
by resolution of the Town Board.
(2)
The application fees established pursuant to Subsection B(1) above shall be deemed to be the minimum fee to be charged, and any additional costs and expenses actually incurred by the Town for professional consultants, inspections (as well as all other nonministerial expenses) shall be paid by the applicant in accordance with Subsection C and other laws, resolutions, provision, regulations, and codes of the Town.
(3)
All reimbursements required by Subsection C shall be in addition to any application, inspection, or other fees as may be required by any other laws, resolutions, provisions, regulations, or codes of the Town and shall not be used to offset the Town's general expenses of engineering, legal, and planning services for the several boards of the Town nor offset the Town's general expenses.
(4)
Any fee established elsewhere in this Code which is not inconsistent
with a fee established pursuant to this chapter shall remain effective.
(5)
This chapter and the schedule of application and other fees shall
be filed with the Town Clerk. The failure to file any fee schedule
revision with the Town Clerk shall not affect the obligation to pay
such fee.
C.
Reimbursement of costs and expenses. The applicant for approval of
any land use or land development proposal shall reimburse the Town
for the reasonable and necessary engineering, legal, and planning
fees and expenses incurred by the Town in connection with the review
and/or approval of the application. Said fees and expenses are referred
to herein as escrow fees or deposits. Reimbursement of the Town's
consultant expenses shall be made in accordance with this chapter.
For the purposes of this chapter, the term "land use or development"
shall include, but not be limited to, designation as an open development
area, a subdivision, lot line change, site plan, special permit, wetlands
permit, variance, interpretation, appeal to the Zoning Board of Appeals,
or any modification or amendment of any of the foregoing.
D.
Exceptions.
(2)
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this chapter,
an applicant shall not be required to reimburse the Town for any part
of a legal or engineering fee incurred by the Town for services performed
in connection with matters, including but not limited to those resulting
from complaints by third parties, as to which the Town Board determines
the applicant or developer had no responsibility or was beyond the
reasonable control of the applicant or developer.
E.
Deposit of funds and payments of fees.
(1)
Initial planning and zoning review escrow deposits shall be delivered
to the Town Clerk as part of the original application submission.
All applicants with matters pending before the Town Board, Planning
Board, and/or Zoning Board of Appeals as of the effective date of
this chapter shall be required to comply with the new escrow account
maintenance provisions contained herein.
(2)
The amount of the initial deposit for the various land uses and developments
covered by this chapter shall be as set forth in a schedule of deposits
established from time to time by resolution of the Town Board. Said
schedule shall remain in effect and shall apply to all applicants
until amended or revised by subsequent resolution. The deposits required
by this chapter shall be in addition to any application fees as may
be required by other laws, rules, regulations, or ordinances of the
Town, and shall not be used to offset the Town's general expenses
of legal and engineering services for the several boards of the Town,
nor its general administration expenses.
(3)
No review shall be undertaken by the consultants on any matter scheduled
before the Town Board, Planning Board, and/or Zoning Board of Appeals
until the initial fee and escrow deposit as set forth herein are paid.
(4)
Amounts deposited pursuant to this chapter shall be placed in a trust and agency liability account to fund expenses incurred by the Town in processing the application as provided for in Subsection C above. The Town shall keep a record of the name of the applicant and project and of all such monies deposited and withdrawn.
(5)
Each of the Town's engineering, legal, and/or other consultants
who render services pertaining to a land use or development application
shall submit monthly itemized vouchers to the Town Board (through
the Clerk to the Planning Board) reasonably setting forth the services
performed and amounts charged for such services. Copies of said itemized
vouchers shall be transmitted to the applicant simultaneously with
their delivery to the Town Board, together with a notice notifying
the applicant that the failure to object to payment of the amount
of the charges contained in said itemized voucher out of escrow funds
within 15 days of the sending of said notice shall constitute an agreement
by the applicant as to the reasonableness of the charges.
(6)
The Planning Board and/or Zoning Board of Appeals shall review vouchers
for services rendered to each and shall communicate its approval of
same to the Town Board. The Town Board shall review and audit all
such vouchers and shall determine, in its discretion, the engineering,
legal, and/or other consultant fees which are reasonable in amount
and necessarily incurred by the Town in connection with the review
and/or approval of the land use or development application. A fee
or expense or part thereof is reasonable in amount if it bears a reasonable
relationship to the customary fee charged by engineers, attorneys
and/or other consultants within the region for services performed
on behalf of applicants or reviewing boards in connection with applications
for land use or development. The Town Board may take into account
any special conditions for considerations as the Town Board may deem
relevant. A fee and expense or part thereof is necessarily incurred
if it was charged by the engineer, attorney, and/or other consultant
for a service which was rendered in order to assist in the protection
or promotion of the health, safety, or welfare of the Town or its
residents; to assist in the protection of public or private property
or the environment from potential damage that otherwise may be caused
by the proposed private land use or development; to assure or assist
in compliance with laws, regulations, standards or codes which govern
land use and development; to assure or assist in the orderly development
and sound planning of a land use or development; to assure the proper
and timely construction of public improvements, parks, and other facilities
which affect the public welfare; to protect the legal interests of
the Town; to avoid claims against and liability of the Town; or to
promote such other interests that the Town Board may specify as relevant.
(7)
After review and audit and approval of such voucher by the Town Board,
that Board shall authorize payment of such vouchers out of the monies
deposited by the applicant, and shall provide to the applicant a copy
of the voucher as audited.
(8)
If at any time during or after the review of an application the escrow
account falls below 80% of the initial deposit, the applicant shall,
unless the requirement is waived by the Chairman of the Planning Board
and/or Zoning Board of Appeals (as appropriate), pay additional funds
into the escrow account to maintain that account at 80% of the initial
deposit. In the event that the applicant fails to deposit such funds,
any review, approval, building permit, or certificate of occupancy
may be withheld until such monies are deposited. The applicant shall
remain responsible to reimburse the Town for its costs and expenses
in reviewing the applicant's land use or development application
notwithstanding the escrow account may be insufficient to cover such
approved vouchers.
(9)
The Town Board, Planning Board, and/or Zoning Board of Appeals are
hereby authorized, at the time of action on any project, to make payment
of any amount then overdue or likely to be later incurred a condition
of approval. No plat or plans will be signed and no building permit
or other permit shall be issued until such time as all reimbursement
of costs and expenses, determined by the Town Board to be due, have
been fully paid.
(10)
In the event that an applicant shall withdraw his application
at any stage of the proceedings or when the application review and
approval process has been completed, the balance of funds in the applicant's
account shall be either remitted to the applicant when reimbursement
has been completed and within 60 days of final action by the Planning
Board or, if so directed by the applicant, shall remain on deposit
as the applicant's initial payment toward post-approval inspection
requirements.
(11)
After final approval, acceptance, and/or the issuance of a certificate
of occupancy relating to any specific land use or development, and
after payment of all approved vouchers submitted regarding such land
use or development, any sums remaining on account to the credit of
such applicant shall be returned to such applicant, along with a statement
of the vouchers so paid.
F.
Appeals. An applicant may appeal, in writing, to the Town Board for
a reduction in the required reimbursement amount. An appeal must be
filed with the Town Board no later than 15 days after mailing or other
delivery to the applicant of the contested voucher. Upon such appeal,
the Town Board, in its discretion, may determine that an applicant
is not required to reimburse the Town for that part of an engineering,
legal, and/or other consultant fee incurred by the Town for services
performed in connection with an application matter for which the Town
Board determines the applicant bears no responsibility and which was
beyond the reasonable control of the applicant. The Town Board's
determination shall be in writing and shall be made no later than
45 days after receipt of the applicant's appeal.
The provisions of this chapter shall be in addition
to the provisions of any other general or special law authorizing
the imposition of fees or charges on applicants for municipal approvals,
but shall repeal, amend and supersede any inconsistent provisions
of the Town Law, Environmental Conservation Law, or regulations adopted
thereunder, or any existing provision of any town local law, ordinance
or resolution.
