[Ord. No. 230, 12/19/2006]
This Part shall be known as the "Amity Township Transportation
Impact Fee Ordinance."
[Ord. No. 230, 12/19/2006]
The purpose of this Part is to establish a transportation capital
impact fee program to ensure that the Township's transportation infrastructure
system is available and adequate to support new growth and development.
To advance this objective, there is hereby created a transportation
capital impact fee (the "fee") for new development payable to the
Township at the time of building permit issuance.
[Ord. No. 230, 12/19/2006;
as amended by Ord. No. 286, 1/21/2015;
and by Ord. No. 320, 11/18/2020]
The Board of Supervisors hereby finds and declares that:
(a)ย The conditions and standards for the determination and imposition
of the fee are set forth herein and otherwise shall follow those set
forth in Act 209 of 1990, as amended (the "Act"), and consist of:
[Amended by Ord. No. 320, 11/18/2020]
(1)ย
The analysis, advice, and recommendations of the Impact Fee
Advisory Committee;
(2)ย
The Amity Township Land Use Assumptions Report, as re-adopted
and re-authorized by the Board of Supervisors per Resolution 20-30
on October 21, 2020, as may be amended from time to time;
(3)ย
The Amity Township Roadway Sufficiency Analysis, as adopted
by the Board of Supervisors per Resolution 20-32 on October 21, 2020,
as may be amended from time to time, and the Amity Township Transportation
Capital Improvements Plan as adopted by the Board of Supervisors per
Resolution 20-31 on October 21, 2020, as may be amended from time
to time;
(4)ย
The Transportation Service Areas Figure 2 of the Land Use Assumptions
Report, as re-adopted and re-authorized by the Board of Supervisors
per Resolution 20-30 on October 21, 2020;
(5)ย
Such other conditions and standards as the Board of Supervisors
may by resolution identify from time to time as being relevant and
material to the imposition of the fee and consistent with the Act,
and any amendments thereto.
(b)ย The collection, disbursement and accounting of the fee shall be administered
by the office of the Township Manager, subject to review, oversight
and control by the Board of Supervisors.
(c)ย The time, method, and procedures for payment of the fee shall be as set forth in ยงยงย
16-105 and
16-108 of this Part.
(d)ย The procedure for credits against or refunds of the fee shall be as set forth in ยงยงย
16-110 and
16-111 of this Part.
(e)ย The calculation of the fee shall be as set forth in ยงย
16-108 of this Part.
(f)ย Such exemptions of the fee as the Board of Supervisors shall chose to enact shall be as set forth in ยงย
16-107 of this Part.
The terms and definitions set forth in Section 502-A of the
Act are hereby adopted and incorporated into this Part by reference.
[Ord. No. 230, 12/19/2006]
The fee is hereby enacted and imposed upon new development for
the purpose of off-site public transportation capital improvements
authorized by the Act and outlined in this Part. Said fee shall apply,
and be uniformly applicable to, all new development and/or subdivisions
within the transportation service area(s) identified herein. The fee
shall be a condition precedent to final approval of a land development/subdivision
plan or the issuance of a building permit.
No building permit shall be issued for new development within
a transportation service area unless the fee, as imposed by and calculated
pursuant to this Part, has been paid. The fee shall apply to an expansion
of an existing use only if that expansion shall increase the number
of PM peak hour trips.
The geographical areas of the Township for which the fee shall be collected is generally characterized as the north and south areas as depicted within the Land Use Assumptions Report. This figure is also found as Figure 3 within the Roadway Sufficiency Analysis and Transportation Capital Improvements Plan, and as more fully set forth in ยงย
16-114 of this Part.
[Ord. No. 230, 12/19/2006]
The fee collected pursuant to this Part shall be expended for
costs incurred for transportation capital improvements attributable
to new development and designated in the Transportation Capital Improvements
Plan within the transportation service area in which the new development
is located. The fee may also be used for the acquisition of land and
rights-of-way, engineering, legal and planning costs, debt service
related to road improvements, and all other costs allowed under the
provisions of the Act.
[Ord. No. 230, 12/19/2006]
The fee shall not be collected for subdivisions or developments
under the following conditions:
(a)ย New growth that has been determined by the Board of Supervisors to
serve an overriding public interest shall be provided a credit against
the fee of up to 100%. Some examples of this could include, but shall
not be limited to, municipal uses, educational uses, or non-profit
uses. To qualify for the credit, applicants shall be required to submit
a exemption request in writing to the Board of Supervisors outlining
their proposed use and describing the overriding public interest served.
(b)ย De minimus applications shall be exempted from the fee. De minimus
applications shall mean those subdivisions and developments that can
be shown to generate less than two additional PM peak hour trips,
without rounding, using the most current version of the Institute
of Transportation Engineers publication, Trip Generation, or mutually
agreed upon traffic study. To qualify for the exemption, applicants
shall be required to place a waiver request on their final plat and
submit information to support their request.
[Ord. No. 230, 12/19/2006;
as amended by Ord. No. 286, 1/21/2015;
and by Ord. No. 320, 11/18/2020]
(a)ย The fee in the Transportation Service Area North is $531.07 per PM
peak hour trip as set forth in the Transportation Capital Improvements
Plan.
(b)ย The fee in the Transportation Service Area South is $836.16 per PM
peak hour trip as set forth in the Transportation Capital Improvements
Plan.
(c)ย The amount of the fee may be amended from time to time by the Board
of Supervisors in accordance with the procedures set forth in the
Act.
(d)ย The fee is hereby imposed upon all new subdivision and development
including expansion and change in use and shall be determined as of
the date of preliminary land development or subdivision approval by
multiplying the per-trip cost established for the designated transportation
service area by the estimated number of PM peak hour trips to be generated
in accordance with the most current version of the Institute of Transportation
Engineers publication, Trip Generation Manual.
(e)ย In the event that the trip generation characteristics of a use are
not sufficiently documented in the Trip Generation Manual, the fee
shall be determined by the information contained in the required Traffic
Impact Study per the Township Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance
as approved by the Township Transportation Engineer.
[Ord. No. 230, 12/19/2006]
(a)ย The Township Manager, or his designee, shall collect the fee prior
to the issuance of a building permit.
(b)ย The Township Treasurer, or his designee, shall establish an impact
fee fund where the fee shall be deposited. This fund shall be deposited
in an interest bearing account(s) in a financial institution authorized
to receive deposits of the Township. Interest earned from this fund
shall be credited to that account and shall be used solely for the
same purpose as the original fee.
(c)ย The Township Manager or Treasurer shall establish appropriate accounts
for each transportation service area. These accounts shall be reflected
in the Township Budget and show expected credits and payments for
each project.
(d)ย The Township Manager or Treasurer shall maintain and keep adequate
financial records for each account that shall show the source and
disbursement of all revenues. He shall ensure that the disbursement
of funds shall be used solely and exclusively for the provision of
projects specified in the Transportation Capital Improvements Plan
for that particular transportation service area.
[Ord. No. 230, 12/19/2006]
Any applicant who shall perform, at his own expense and with
the consent and agreement of the Board of Supervisors, off-site improvements
shall be eligible for a credit towards the fee in the amount of the
actual cost of such improvements as verified by the Township. The
Board of Supervisors shall not be obligated to accept an offer of
improvement construction by an applicant.
(a)ย If an applicant makes such improvements, he must enter into an agreement
with the Board of Supervisors prior to the issuance of any building
permit. The agreement must establish the estimated cost of the improvement,
the schedule for the initiation and completion of the improvement,
a requirement that the improvement shall be completed to Township
and Pennsylvania Department of Transportation standards and criteria
and any other terms and conditions that are deemed necessary by the
Board of Supervisors.
(b)ย Any credit shall not exceed the amount of the fee for each development.
However, provided that the applicant has other developments within
the transportation service areas that are in the same ownership and
have received preliminary approval, credits calculated to be greater
than the fee due may be applied to the fee for the applicant's other
developments.
(c)ย Applicants shall be required to post financial security, sufficient
in the judgment of the Township Engineer, to cover the cost of any
improvements installed by the applicant for which a credit is sought.
(d)ย An applicant, seeking a credit and with Board of Supervisors approval,
shall be entitled as a credit against the fee in the amount equal
to the fair market value of land dedicated by the applicant and accepted
by the Township for future right-of-way, realignment, or widening
of existing roadways provided that any on-site land dedication shall
not be counted unless it exceeds the requirements of the Township
Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance.
(e)ย An applicant, seeking a credit and with Board of Supervisors approval,
shall be entitled as a credit against the fee in the amount equal
to the construction value of any road improvement that is contained
in the Transportation Capital Improvements Plan that was performed
at the applicant's expense.
[Ord. No. 230, 12/19/2006]
Fees collected pursuant to this Part shall be refunded, together
with earned accrued interest thereon, to the payor of the fee under
the following circumstances:
(a)ย In the event that the Township completes or terminates an adopted
capital improvements plan for a transportation service area and there
remains at the time of termination or completion undispersed funds
in the accounts established for that purpose, the Township shall provide
written notice by certified mail to those persons who previously paid
the fees which remain undispersed of the availability of said funds
for refund of the person's proportionate share of the fund balance.
(b)ย If the Township fails to commence construction of any transportation
service area road improvements within three years of the scheduled
construction date set forth in a transportation capital improvements
plan, any person who paid the fee pursuant to that transportation
capital improvements plan shall, upon written request to the Township,
receive a refund of that portion of the fee attributable to the contribution
for the uncommenced road improvement, plus the interest accumulated
thereon from the date of payment. However, no refund shall be paid
for any improvement project actually begun prior to the receipt of
such refund request.
(c)ย If, upon completion of any road improvements project contained in
the Transportation Capital Improvements Plan by the Township, the
actual expenditures of the capital project are less than 95% of the
costs properly allocable to the fee paid, the Township shall, upon
written request to the Township, refund the pro rata difference between
the budgeted costs and the actual expenditures, including interest
accumulated thereon from the date of payment, to the applicant.
(d)ย If the development for which the fee was paid is not commenced prior
to the expiration of building permits the fee with accumulated interest
shall be refunded, upon written request to the Township, to the applicant.
If the building permit as issued for the development is altered and
the alteration results in a decrease in the amount of the fee due,
the difference between the new fee and fee previously paid shall be
refunded, upon written request to the Township, to the applicant.
The applicant, at his option, may roll over the fee paid to cover
a renewal of, or new building permit.
The allocation of refunds shall be determined by generally accepted
accounting practices. In the event that any of the funds remain unclaimed
following one year after the notice, which notice shall be provided
to the last known address provided by the payor of the fees to the
Township, the Township shall transfer any funds so remaining to the
Township Capital Fund without any further obligation to refund said
funds. It is the responsibility of the payor to provide the Township
with, and to maintain, his current address of his place of business.
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[Ord. No. 230, 12/19/2006]
The fee is additional and supplemental to, and not in substitution
of, any other requirements or fees imposed by the Township on land
development and building permit issuance. Nothing herein contained
shall alter or affect the Township's existing ordinances and regulations
regarding on-site improvements. However, in no event shall an applicant
be required to pay for off-site transportation capital improvements
in addition to, or in excess of, the required fee.
[Ord. No. 230, 12/19/2006]
Should any sentence, section, clause, part or provision of this
Part be declared by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid,
the same shall not affect the validity of the Part as a whole, or
any part thereof, other than the part declared to be invalid.
[Ord. No. 230, 12/19/2006;
as amended by Ord. No. 286, 1/21/2015]