[Adopted 9-8-2008 by Ord.
No. 107]
This article shall be known as the "West Nantmeal Township Transportation
Impact Fee Ordinance."
The purpose of this article is to insure that the cost of needed
capital improvements be applied to new developments in a manner that
will equitably allocate the costs of those improvements among property
owners who develop their land by establishing a transportation capital
improvements impact fee and to ensure that the Township's transportation
infrastructure system is available and adequate to support new growth
and development.
The Board of Supervisors hereby finds and declares that:
A. The conditions and standards for the determination and imposition
of the fee (as hereinafter defined) are set forth herein and otherwise
shall follow those set forth in the Act and consist of:
(1) The recitals set forth above.
(2) The analysis, advice and recommendations of the Committee.
(3) The West Nantmeal Township Land Use Assumptions Report dated June
9, 2008, revised August 4, 2008, as adopted by the Board in Resolution
No. 164 on August 11, 2008, as may be amended from time to time.
(4) The West Nantmeal Township Roadway Sufficiency Analysis dated July
1, 2008, revised August 4, 2008, as adopted by the Board in Resolution
No. 165 on August 11, 2008, as may be amended from time to time.
(5) The West Nantmeal Township Transportation Capital Improvements Plan
dated August 19, 2008, as adopted by the Board in Resolution No. 166
on September 8, 2008, as may be amended from time to time.
(6) Such other conditions and standards as the Board 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. The collection, disbursement and accounting of the fee shall be administered
by the office of the Township Treasurer, subject to review, oversight
and control by the Board.
C. The calculation of the fee shall be as set forth in §
111-8 of this article.
D. The time, method, and procedures for payment of the fee shall be as set forth in §
111-9 of this article.
E. The procedure for credits against or refunds of the fee shall be as set forth in §
111-10 of this article.
F. Section
111-7 of this article identifies the conditions whereby a proposed development may be exempt from payment of the fee.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
The terms and definitions set forth in Section 502-A of the
Act are hereby adopted and incorporated into this article by reference.
The following terms, as used in this article, shall have the meanings
indicated in this section:
ACT
Act 209 of 1990, codified in Article V-A of the Pennsylvania
Municipalities Planning Code, 53 PS.§ 10501-A et seq., which
empowers municipalities to provide for transportation capital improvements
through the imposition of impact fees upon approval of new developments
following the enactment of an appropriate impact fee ordinance adopted
pursuant to the provisions of the Act.
BOARD
The West Nantmeal Township Board of Supervisors.
COMMITTEE
The Traffic Impact Fee Advisory Committee established by
Resolution No. 158 of 2006 on August 14, 2006, for the purpose of
developing a transportation impact fee ordinance.
The fee collected pursuant to this article shall be expended
for costs incurred for transportation capital improvements attributable
to new development and designated in the plan within the service area.
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.
The fee shall not be collected for subdivisions or developments
under the following conditions:
A. New growth that has been determined by the Board 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 nonprofit uses. To qualify
for the credit, applicants shall be required to submit an exemption
request, in writing, to the Board outlining their proposed use and
describing the overriding public interest served.
B. 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 seven additional p.m. peak-hour
trips, without rounding, using the most current version of the Institute
of Transportation Engineers publication, Trip Generation, or by reference
to a mutually agreed upon traffic study. To qualify for the exemption,
the applicant must request a waiver from the fee from the Board during
land development or prior to the issuance of a building permit and
must submit a traffic report or other traffic data as approved by
the Township Engineer to evidence that the proposed development is
de minimus.
Any applicant who shall perform, at his own expense and with
the consent and agreement of the Board, 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 shall
not be obligated to accept an offer to construct the improvements
by an applicant.
A. If an applicant makes such improvements, he must enter into an agreement
with the Board 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.
B. Any credit shall not exceed the amount of the fee for each development.
However, provided that the applicant has other developments within
the service area 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. 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. Subject to the Board's approval, an applicant shall be entitled as a credit against the fee owed an 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 Chapter
170, Subdivision and Land Development.
E. An applicant seeking a credit and with the Board's 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
plan that was performed at the applicant's expense.
The fee imposed in this article 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 fee established
herein.