[Amended 3-27-2019 ATM by Art. 34; 9-22-2021; 6-28-2022; 8-9-2023]
An administrative fee will be assessed to offset the expense
of review by the Board and Planning Office for all applications.
4.1.1
Submittal. Administrative fees must be submitted at the time of the
submittal of the application unless noted. Failure to submit the fee
is grounds for denial of the application.
4.1.2
Administrative Fee Schedule. The following schedule applies to the
types of applications to the Board:
|
Type of Application
|
Administrative Fee
|
|---|---|
|
Unaccepted street: street adequacy determination (SAD), Section
176-7.0
|
$500
|
|
Special Permit or Site Plan Review, Sections 176-6.0, 176-9.0,
176-11.0, or 176-13.0
| |
|
Minor site plan review
|
$500
|
|
Limited site plan review
|
$800
|
|
Major site plan review or special permit
|
$2,000, plus $0.06 per square foot of gross floor area for each
new or expanded building, with a maximum of $10,000.
|
|
Minor modification to an approved major site plan
review or special permit
|
$500
|
|
Minor modification to an approved minor site plan
review
|
$250
|
|
PD rezoning, Section 176-8.0
| |
|
Sketch plan
|
$900
|
|
Petition and PSDUP
|
$4,000
|
4.1.3
Fee waivers. The Board or Planning Director may waive or reduce any
administrative fee upon a determination that unusual circumstances
exist concerning the subject property.
4.1.4
No refunds. Administrative fees are not refundable. No fees will
be refunded if an application submitted for approval is withdrawn.
4.1.5
Costs of advertising and holding public hearing. The applicant is
responsible for the costs of publishing the legal notice of any public
hearing. If the Board is required to hold the public hearing in a
building other than the Town Office Building and there are costs associated
with meeting in another building, the applicant is responsible for
those costs. Failure to pay for the legal notice or other hearing
costs will be grounds for denial of the application.
4.2.1
Applicability. In addition to an administrative fee, the Board may
impose a project review fee for those applications where, in the judgment
of the Planning Director, review by outside consultants is needed
because of the size, scale, or complexity of a proposed project, the
project's potential impacts, or because the Town lacks the necessary
resources to perform the review work related to the permit or approval.
In hiring outside consultants, the Board may engage engineers, planners,
lawyers, designers, or other appropriate professionals able to help
the Board and to ensure compliance with all relevant laws, ordinances,
bylaws, and regulations. Such support may include, but not be limited
to, analyzing an application, monitoring or inspecting a project or
site for compliance with the Board's decisions or regulations, or
inspecting a project during construction or implementation. Unless
waived by the Planning Director, peer review consulting services will
be required for all new construction projects for major site plan
review applications.
4.2.2
Submittal. Should the Board require outside review, a project review
fee must be submitted to the Planning Office for deposit in a 53G
Account. Failure to make this payment is grounds for denial of the
application.
4.2.3
Peer Review Cost. The amount of the peer review fee will be estimated
by the selected consultant after receipt of the application based
on the submittal. The final peer review cost will depend on the number
of plan reviews, the number of hearings, and complexity of the project.
4.2.4
Replenishment. When the balance in an applicant's 53G Account falls
below 25% of the initial project review fee, as imposed above, the
Board may require a supplemental project review fee to cover the cost
of the remaining project review. Failure to make this payment is grounds
for denial of the application.
4.2.5
Inspection Phase. After the approval of the application, the Board
may require a supplemental project review fee to ensure the availability
of funds for the inspection phase of the review process.
4.2.6
Handling of Project Review Fees. Project review fees must be turned
over to the Town Treasurer by the Planning Office for deposit into
a 53G Account.
1.
Outside consultants retained by the Board to help in the review of
an application must be paid from this account.
2.
The Board must provide the following information in a timely fashion
on request of the applicant:
3.
Remaining funds in the 53G Account, including accumulated interest,
must be returned to the applicant, or the applicant's successor in
interest, at the conclusion of the review process, as defined below.
Any person or entity claiming to be an applicant's successor in interest
must provide the Board with documents showing proof of succession
in interest:
4.2.7
Appeal. The choice of a consultant by the Board for the review of
an application may be appealed by the applicant in writing to the
Select Board as provided in MGL c. 44 § 53G. The required
time limits for action upon an application by the Board are automatically
extended for the duration of the appeal.
4.2.8
Delinquent Accounts. The following rules apply to fees owed to the
Board by applicants:
1.
Due date. Administrative fees are due at the time of submittal of
an application. Project review fees and supplemental project review
fees are due within 14 days from the date that the Planning Director
determines that they are required.
2.
Monthly interest charge. All fees past due by one month from the
date of invoice are subject to a monthly interest charge based upon
an annual interest rate of 14%.
3.
Costs of collection. All costs of collection associated with past
due accounts must be borne by the applicant.
4.
Current delinquents. All applicants owing fees to the Board at the
time of any amendment to these provisions of the regulations must
be sent the following:
5.
Failure to pay. Failure to pay delinquent fees, interest, or costs
of the collection after 30 days' notice is grounds for denial of an
application or rescission of an approved application.
