[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Bedford 3-26-2018 by L.L. No. 2-2018. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Amended 4-7-2020 by L.L. No. 2-2020]
A. 
The Town Board, the Planning Board, the Zoning Board of Appeals, the Wetlands Control Commission, Historic Building Preservation Commission, Bedford Village Historic District Review Commission or Katonah Historic District Advisory Commission, in the review of any application, may refer any such application presented to it to such engineering, planning, legal, technical or environmental consultant or other professional(s) retained by the Town as such Board or Commission shall deem reasonably necessary to enable it to review such application as required by law. In such instances, the applicant shall reimburse the Town for all reasonable and necessary fees and expenses incurred by the Town for such services, in addition to any other fee that may be payable in connection with such matters.
B. 
All charges for consulting services shall be audited by the Planning Director. Reimbursable applicant costs shall be limited to those that are reasonable in amount and are necessary for the Town's review and action on the application in accordance with the law.
(1) 
Fees charged shall be deemed reasonable when in accord with charges usually made for such services in the metropolitan New York region or pursuant to an existing contractual agreement between the Town and such consultant. Charges made by the Town shall be in accord with the hourly rates upon which the consultant's hourly rate is based and fringe benefits and reasonable overhead.
(2) 
Such consulting charges shall be deemed necessarily incurred when the underlying services were performed to protect or promote the health, safety or other interests of the residents of the Town, including, without limitation, services to assure the timely and thorough review of potential adverse environmental impacts; to protect neighboring properties from excessive surface water runoff, nuisance or other harmful impact; to assure the proper and timely construction of roads, drainage facilities, utilities, sidewalks and public spaces; to protect the legal interests of the Town, including receipt by the Town of good and proper title to dedicated roads and other facilities and the avoidance of claims and liability; and to protect such other interests as the Town may deem relevant based upon any of the features, conditions or considerations associated with the application or appeal under review.
C. 
All applicants shall reimburse the Town for the cost of such consultant services upon submission of a copy of the consultant's voucher to the applicant. In the event that an application is required to be reviewed by more than one Board, then, in such event and to the extent practicable, both Boards shall use the same consultant, who shall, in such case, to the extent practicable, prepare one report providing data, information and recommendations requested. In all instances, duplications of consultants' reports or services shall be avoided wherever practicable in order to minimize the cost of such consultants' reports or services to the applicant. Such consultant's fees are in addition to any and all other fees required to be paid by the applicant as set forth in any other law, rule or regulation or the Town Code.
A. 
An escrow account to pay such consultant's fees may be required where determined to be appropriate by the Town Planning Director, in consultation with the chairperson of the approving board, for the following applications:
(1) 
Applications requesting an interpretation of any provision of the Town Code;
(2) 
Site plan applications in accordance with Chapter 125, Article IX;
(3) 
Special use permits in accordance with Chapter 125, Article IX;
(4) 
Variance applications in accordance with Chapter 125, Article XII;
(5) 
Subdivision applications in accordance with Chapter 107;
(6) 
Erosion and sediment control permits in accordance with Chapter 103;
(7) 
Floodplain development permits in accordance with Chapter 62;
(8) 
Steep slopes permits in accordance with Chapter 102;
(9) 
Permits to perform regulated activity in a wetland in accordance with Chapter 122;
(10) 
Tree removal permit or appeal in accordance with Chapter 112;
(11) 
Applications for alterations to historic buildings pursuant to Chapter 71; or
(12) 
Applications in connection with any other application where the Town deems it necessary to retain a consultant regarding the application.
B. 
If the Planning Director determines that an escrow is appropriate, the applicant shall submit a separate check, in an amount to be determined by the Planning Director or Town Engineer, but not less than $250 nor more than $5,000, to be used to establish an escrow account based on an evaluation of the nature and complexity of the application, from which withdrawals shall be made to reimburse the Town for the costs of professional review services. The applicant shall submit the required escrow prior to the Town's review of any application. All costs charged to the applicant shall be those reasonable and necessary to the decisionmaking function of the reviewing board as set defined in § 47-1B. Such a deposit in escrow may be required at any stage in the application process, including but not limited to preapplication discussions with the applicant.
[Amended 4-7-2020 by L.L. No. 2-2020]
C. 
The applicant shall be provided with copies of any Town voucher for such services as they are submitted to the Town.
D. 
The applicant shall be required, from time to time, to deliver additional funds to the Town for deposit in the escrow account if such additional funds are required to pay for professional consultation services rendered to the Town or anticipated to be rendered.
E. 
If such account is not replenished within 30 days after the applicant is notified, in writing, of the requirement for such additional deposit, the reviewing Board may suspend its review of the application. An application shall be deemed incomplete if any amount shall be outstanding.
F. 
In the event that any application before any Board or department is withdrawn prior to any actions being taken, the applicant is nevertheless responsible for any expenses incurred by the Town with regard to said application prior to such withdrawal.
G. 
Escrow funds may be refunded to the applicant only when the applicant formally withdraws the application from consideration by the permitting authority or when the applicant receives a final determination from the permitting authority; in either case, all reimbursable charges incurred by the Town shall be first deducted from the escrow account, leaving an unencumbered balance that is not required by the permitting authority to pay consulting costs attributable to the application.
H. 
A building permit or certificate of occupancy or use shall not be issued unless all professional review fees charged in connection with the applicant's project have been reimbursed to the Town.
All escrow fees required pursuant to this chapter shall be collected by the Clerk or Secretary of the Board or Department having jurisdiction over the application.
Any fee imposed by this chapter which remains unpaid at the time the Town certifies its annual tax roll shall become a lien against the premises for which the application was made. Such unreimbursed fees shall thereupon be levied against the said premises, as if a tax on real property, and in addition to all other taxes, fees, rents or charges which would otherwise be so levied. In the event the affected premises comprise more than one tax lot, then the Town Receiver of Taxes shall distribute such levy equally among each such tax lot without regard to assessed value or any other factor.
This chapter shall be applicable to applications pending at the time it shall become effective, unless the reviewing Board shall determine that its application would be impracticable, unfair or unjust in the particular circumstances. Where this chapter shall be applicable to a pending application, it shall, in such event, require an applicant only to pay for consultant fees for the services rendered after it shall have become effective.