When reviewing an application for a special permit or subdivision approval, the Board may determine that the assistance of outside professional expertise and/or consultants is warranted due to the size, scale or complexity, potential impact or use of the land and warrants review by outside consultants (such as engineers, planners, landscape architects, lawyers, hydrogeologists, traffic engineers or others). Such consultants shall assist the Planning Board, or any Town board or commission to which a matter is referred for review and comment prior to action by the Planning Board, both in plan review, impact analysis, inspection or other technical assistance necessary to ensure compliance with all relevant laws and regulations. Such assistance may include, but shall not be limited to, analyzing an application, monitoring or inspecting a project or site for compliance with the Board's decisions, conditions or regulations, or inspecting a project during construction or implementation. Such consultants shall be selected and retained by the Planning Board, with the actual and reasonable costs for their services to be paid by the applicant.
In hiring outside professional expertise and/or consultants, the Board may engage engineers, planners, lawyers, urban designers, regional planning agencies or other appropriate professionals who are qualified and capable of assisting the Board in analyzing a project to ensure compliance with all relevant laws, bylaws and regulations.
All consultants selected by the Board must meet minimum qualifications consisting of: a. An education degree in, or related to, the field at issue, from a recognized public or private college or university; or b. Three or more years of practice in the field at issue or related field.
The selection made by the Board shall be recorded with the office of the Town Clerk within five days of the Board's final selection(s).
Consultant review fees shall be submitted upon receipt of notice of estimated consultant review cost. Any application filed without the submittal of review fees shall be deemed incomplete and no review work shall commence until the fee has been paid in full.
A. 
Funds received by the Board pursuant to this Chapter 7 shall be deposited with the Municipal Treasurer, who shall establish a special account for this purpose.
B. 
If review funds charged are insufficient to cover the costs of outside professional expertise and/or consultant review, the applicant shall pay an additional review fee sufficient to cover these costs. Only costs that are reasonable and directly related to this project undergoing review will be charged to the applicant.
C. 
Additionally, the Planning Board may require an additional deposit into the special account when the account falls below 25% of the initial review fee.
D. 
Expenditures from this special account may be made at the direction of the Planning Board without further appropriation. Expenditures from this special account shall be made only in connection with the review of a specific project or projects for which a fee has been, or will be, collected from the applicant.
E. 
Failure of an applicant to pay a review fee shall be considered as an incomplete application and therefore not allow the application to go forward.
A. 
Review fees may only be spent for services rendered in connection with the specific project for which they are collected. These services shall include but not necessarily be limited to: project reviews, document reviews and project-related inspections. Accrued interest may also be spent for this purpose.
B. 
If the outside consultant review begins and expenses are generated prior to the filing of an administrative appeal, all such expenses, up to the time of appeal, shall be paid out of the special account for that particular project.
C. 
At the completion of the Board's review of the proposed project, or at a time determined at the submission of the application, any excess amount in that account, including interest attributable to a specific project, shall be repaid to the applicant or the applicant's successor in interest.
D. 
A final report of the status of said account shall be made available to the applicant or the applicant's successor in interest.
E. 
For the purpose of this regulation, any person or entity claiming to be the applicant's successor in interest shall provide the Board with documentation that legally establishes this succession in interest.
A. 
Any applicant may make an administrative appeal from the selection of the outside professional expert and/or consultant to the Town Board of Selectmen.
B. 
The grounds for such an appeal shall be limited to claims that the consultant selected has a conflict of interest or does not possess the minimum required qualifications.
C. 
Any applicant aggrieved by a selection of an outside consultant may appeal to the Board of Selectman, provided that such appeal is entered within seven days after such selection has been made as recorded in the office of the Town Clerk. An appeal will not be considered valid unless it is formally filed with the office of the Town Clerk and a copy is given to the Board of Selectmen.
D. 
The applicant should notify the Board of its intentions to seek a waiver at the earliest possible time in the review and consultant selection process. If the applicant fails to sign and/or file a formal waiver of appeal, this action will then be viewed as an intention to appeal on the part of the project applicants. Failure to inform the Board of such intention of appeal may result in the delay of the start-up of the Town's outside review services.
E. 
In acting on an administrative appeal, the Board of Selectmen may determine that:
(1) 
A conflict of interest does exist, and/or the consultant does not meet the minimum qualifications, therefore the Board must select another consultant.
(2) 
A conflict of interest does not exist and/or the consultant does meet the minimum qualifications, therefore the selection made by the Board stands.
F. 
The required time limit for action upon an application by the Board shall be extended by the duration of the administrative appeal, beginning from the date of filing such appeal.
G. 
In the event that no decision is made within 30 days following the filing of the appeal, the selection made by the Board shall stand.
Failure of an applicant to pay the consultant review fee determined by the Planning Board, or to replenish the special account when requested, shall be grounds for plan disapproval, denial of the application or permit or refusal to release development security.