[Added 7-10-2017 by Ord.
No. 1679]
This article shall be known as the "Transportation Impact Fee
Ordinance."
The purpose of this article is to establish an impact fee program
to ensure that the transportation system of the Township is available
and adequate to support any new growth and development as well as
the redevelopment of previously used sites. To advance this objective,
there is hereby created a transportation impact fee payable to the
Township at the time of building permit issuance for any new development.
The Land Use Assumptions Report, adopted by the Board of Commissioners
of Upper Moreland Township, as well as the Roadway Sufficiency Analysis
and Transportation Capital Improvements Plan, adopted by the Board
of Commissioners of Upper Moreland Township, are incorporated herein
as fully as though set forth verbatim. Copies of these reports shall
be maintained at the Upper Moreland Township building.
The terms and definitions set forth in § 502-A of
Act 209 of 1990, 53 P.S. § 10502-A, are incorporated herein
as fully as though set forth verbatim, as amended from time to time.
[Amended 11-14-2022 by Ord. No. 1734]
There is hereby enacted an impact fee to be imposed upon new development, as defined in 53 P.S. § 10502-A, for the purpose of off-site public transportation capital improvements authorized by Act 209 of 1990 and described in the Transportation Capital Improvements Plan of Upper Moreland Township. Said impact fee shall apply to all new development within the transportation service area defined in the Roadway Sufficiency Analysis and Transportation Capital Improvements Plan. The amount of the traffic impact fee shall be sum of $2,238 per weekday afternoon peak-hour trip calculated in accordance with § 330-48 below.
Impact fees collected pursuant to this article shall be expended
for costs incurred for improvements attributable to new development
and designated in the Transportation Capital Improvements Plan adopted
by the Board of Commissioners and available for inspection at Upper
Moreland Township for improvements within the transportation service
area. Additionally, such fees may be used for the acquisition of land
and rights-of-way, engineering, legal and planning costs, and all
other costs, including debt service related to road improvements within
the designated service area, and including such proportionate amount
of the Roadway Sufficiency Analysis as is permitted under the provisions
of the Act; provided, however, that the applicant may provide written
consent for the use of its collected impact fees in any other manner,
and provided that the Board of Commissioners may grant an applicant
credit against an applicant's impact fees for specific transportation
projects, off site to any development subject to these provisions,
which are included in the Transportation Capital Improvements Plan,
or are otherwise necessary in the Township.
As part of any application for land development or subdivision,
the Board of Commissioners may require the preparation of a transportation
study to determine the traffic generation or circulation patterns
in a new development, subdivision, redevelopment, or change of land
use.
This article shall be uniformly applicable to all development
that occurs within the transportation service area. The Board of Commissioners
of Upper Moreland Township retains the right to waive collection of
a transportation impact fee when warranted by the total circumstances
of the new development in the public interest.
Reserved for future consideration.
A.
The transportation impact fees for transportation capital improvements
shall be based upon the total costs of the road improvements included
in the adopted Transportation Capital Improvements Plan within the
transportation service area which are attributable to and necessitated
by the new development, redevelopment, subdivision or change of land
use within the transportation service area as calculated in accordance
with Act 209 and herewith, divided by the number of anticipated peak-hour
trips generated by all new development consistent with the adopted
Land Use Assumptions Report and calculated in accordance with the
Trip Generation Manual published by the Institute of Transportation
Engineers as amended from time to time, or other recognized and acceptable
calculation of per-trip costs for transportation improvements within
the transportation service area.
B.
The specific transportation impact fee for a new subdivision, land
development, redevelopment, or change of land use within the transportation
service area for road improvements shall be determined as of the date
of preliminary subdivision or land development approval by multiplying
the per-trip cost established for the transportation service area
by the estimated number of p.m. peak-hour trips to be generated by
the new subdivision, land development, redevelopment, or change of
land use using the Trip Generation Manual published by the Institute
of Transportation Engineers, as amended from time to time, or other
acceptable methodology of calculating the anticipated peak hour trips
for the development.
C.
The Board of Commissioners of Upper Moreland Township may require
the preparation of a special transportation study as part of an application
for land development or subdivision in order to determine the traffic
generation or calculation for a new p.m. peak-hour trip for the development
to assist in the determination of the amount of the transportation
impact fee for any such subdivision or land development.
The transportation service area for Upper Moreland Township
is as depicted in the Land Use Assumptions Report and Roadway Sufficiency
Analysis and measures at or less than seven square miles.
A.
Collection of impact fees. Impact fees pursuant to this article shall
be collected by the Township prior to the issuance of any building
permit.
B.
Establishment of fund. Upon receipt of any transportation impact
fees pursuant to this article, where the applicant has not given written
consent waiving the provisions of Act 209 of 1990, the Township Manager
and Director of Finance shall be responsible for the separate and
proper accounting of such fees. All such fees shall be deposited in
an interest-bearing account in a bank authorized to receive deposits
of Township funds. Interest earned by such account shall be credited
to that account and shall be used solely for the purpose specified
for funds of such account.
C.
Establishment and maintenance of accounts. The Township Manager and
Director of Finance shall establish appropriate accounts and shall
maintain records whereby impact fees collected pursuant to this article
can be segregated as required by Act 209.
D.
Maintenance of records. The Township Manager or Director of Finance
shall maintain and keep adequate financial records for each such account
which shall show the source and disbursement of all revenues, which
shall account for monies received and which shall ensure that the
disbursement of funds from any such account shall be used solely and
exclusively for the provision of projects specified in the Transportation
Capital Improvements Plan.
E.
Refunds. Unless an applicant has consented, in writing, otherwise,
impact fees collected pursuant to this article shall be refunded,
together with interest earned thereon, to the payor of the fees under
the following circumstances:
(1)
In the event the Township completes or terminates the Transportation
Capital Improvements Plan and there remain undisbursed funds, the
respective payor shall be entitled to a share of the fund balance
in the same proportion as the payor's impact fee payment, plus interest
earned, bears to the total impact fees collected plus interest;
(2)
In the event any specific road improvement project is completed at
a cost to the Township less than 95% of the budgeted costs of the
road project, the Township shall refund an amount equal to that the
excess budgeted costs over actual costs to the payors, pro rata, plus
accumulated interest;
(3)
In the event the Township fails to commence construction of a project
within three years of the scheduled construction date of the project
as set forth in the Transportation Capital Improvements Plan, the
Township shall refund the portion of the fee paid by any payor making
written request therefor which is attributable to said project, with
accumulated interest, provided no refund shall be paid with respect
to any project actually begun prior to the receipt of such refund
request;
(4)
In the event the development for which the impact fees were paid
has not commenced prior to the expiration of the building permit issued
therefor, the impact fees paid with accumulated interest shall be
refunded to the payor. Further, if a building permit after issuance
is altered in such a way as to reduce the indicated impact fee, the
difference between the amount indicated and the amount actually paid
shall be refunded. The payor, at his option, may roll over impact
fees attributable to an expired building permit to cover fees incurred
by a renewal of said expired permit;
(5)
With respect to refunds arising out of Subsection E(1) and (2) herein, any funds unclaimed within one year after notice as required by law shall be transferred to the general account of the Township and the payor's entitlement to said refund shall lapse. It is the responsibility of the payor to provide the Township with the current address of his place of business; and
(6)
All requests for refunds arising under this article shall be made
no later than four years after the date payment was received by Upper
Moreland Township and shall be preceded by 60 days' notice of the
payor's intention to claim a refund and the reason therefor.
All ordinances, Code sections or parts thereof in conflict herewith
shall be repealed to the extent of such conflict.
Should any sentence, section, clause, part or provision of this
article be declared by a court-competent jurisdiction to be invalid,
the same shall not affect the validity of this article as a whole,
or any part thereof, other than the part declared to be invalid.
Notwithstanding any language to the contrary herein, impact
fees may be imposed on those projects involving developments, redevelopments,
subdivisions and change of land uses for which an application has
been filed on or after the first publication of notice of the Township's
intent to adopt this article; provided, however, that such retroactivity
shall not extend 18 months after the adoption of the resolution that
created the Advisory Committee in connection herewith; and in retroactive
applications, the per-trip fee shall not exceed $1,000 or the actual
calculated fee, whichever is less.
