Pursuant to § 277 of the Town Law, the Planning Board, in its discretion, shall require that the applicant complete the installation of, and/or furnish financial guarantees to insure the completion and maintenance of, all improvements required by the Planning Board prior to the approval, or as a condition to the approval, of a final plat prior to development. All required improvements shall be made by the applicant at the applicant's expense, without reimbursement by the Town.
A.
Approval required before construction. During the subdivision application process as described in Articles III through VII, the applicant shall have prepared, at the applicant's expense, construction plans for all improvements required by the Planning Board. The installation of such improvements, development and/or construction work of any kind shall not be commenced until:
(1)
After the applicable construction plans have been approved by the Planning Board or the Town Engineer in accordance with this chapter;
(2)
After the applicable construction plans have been approved and endorsed on such plans or drawings by the appropriate county, state, or other agencies having jurisdiction by law for same; and
(3)
After the applicant has paid to the Town an amount equal to the estimated Town fees for inspecting the construction and work.
B.
Modifications. If, at any time before or during the construction of the required improvements, the applicant and Town Engineer determine that unforeseen conditions make it necessary to modify the location or design of such required improvements, or that additional improvements be provided, the Planning Board or Town Engineer may require such modifications upon written request of the applicant, provided such modifications are within the spirit and intent of the Planning Board's subdivision approval and do not extend or waive or substantially alter the function of any improvement required by the Planning Board. The Town Engineer shall issue any authorization under this section in writing and shall transmit a copy of such authorization to the Planning Board for its records.
C.
Installation. All required improvements shall be installed in accordance with approved construction plans or drawings.
D.
Estimated cost of improvements. The applicant shall submit an engineer or contractor's estimate of the full cost of all required improvements, and the Planning Board shall review the cost estimates for accuracy.
A.
Purpose. The Planning Board may require the full completion of all improvements, or appropriate guarantees for such full performance, or both, prior to its signing of the final plat. Improvement guarantees shall be provided to insure the complete and proper installation and maintenance of required roads, utilities, and other improvements required by the Planning Board. Such guarantees may include actual completion of the required improvements or financial guarantees in proper form. As such, the applicant shall be subject to the procedures set forth in Subsections B, C and/or D of this section, as will be determined by the Planning Board.
B.
Completion of improvements. The Planning Board may require that the applicant shall complete all required improvements to the satisfaction of the Planning Board and/or Town Engineer before the Planning Board signs the final plat and before any building permits are issued. The Planning Board may also require the applicant to file with the Town a financial guarantee, in one of the forms provided in Subsection C below, in an amount determined by the Planning Board to be adequate to assure the preservation of existing topographic and natural assets, pursuant to Article VIII above, as well as continued satisfactory conditions of the subdivision improvements for a period of one year following their completion. Such financial guarantee shall be satisfactory to the Town Attorney and the Town Board as to form, sufficiency and manner of execution. The financial guarantee shall be released only by resolution of the Town Board when all requirements have been satisfactorily met. The construction and completion of improvements may be placed in conjunction with the approval of sections of plats as set forth in § 167-715.
C.
Financial guarantees. Before the Planning Board signs the final plat, or as a condition of approval of the final plat, and before any building permits are issued, the Planning Board may require that the applicant furnish to the Town a financial guarantee for performance of the required improvements within one year from conditional approval of the final plat in one of the forms discussed below. The time allowed for installation of the improvements, for which the performance guarantee has been provided, may be extended by the Planning Board. The following forms of security must be provided pursuant to a written security agreement with the Town, approved by the Town Board. It must also be approved by the Town Attorney as to form, sufficiency, and manner of execution; and if not delivered to the Town, such security shall be held in a Town account at a bank or trust company.
(1)
Performance bond. Such bond shall be in an amount not to exceed 120% of the cost of installation for improvements. Such bond shall be satisfactory to the Town Attorney as to form, sufficiency, and manner of execution and satisfactory to the Town Board as to the surety. The bond shall be released only by resolution of the Town Board when all requirements and completion of improvements have been satisfactorily met by the applicant.
(2)
Letter of credit. An irrevocable letter of credit from a bank located and authorized to do business in the State of New York may be accepted in lieu of a performance bond. Such letter of credit shall be satisfactory to the Town Attorney as to form, sufficiency, manner of execution, and institution.
(3)
Escrow account. The deposit of cash, by the applicant, in, or a certificate of deposit issued by, a bank or trust company located and authorized to do business in the State of New York, to be held in escrow pursuant to an escrow agreement. The escrow agreement shall be satisfactory to the Town Attorney as to form, sufficiency, manner of execution, and financial institution.
(4)
Obligations. Obligations of the United States of America or any obligations fully guaranteed as to interest and principal by the United States of America, having a market value at least equal to the full cost of such improvements.
D.
Maintenance guarantee. The Planning Board may also require the applicant to provide a maintenance guarantee for a period not to exceed two years after final acceptance of the improvements, in an amount not to exceed 15% of the costs of such improvements. Such maintenance guarantee may be in one of the forms described in Subsection C above, as the Planning Board may prescribe.
E.
Other agencies. In the event that other governmental agencies or public utilities will own the utilities or improvements simultaneously with the completion of installation of such utilities or improvements, or the improvements are covered by performance and maintenance guarantees to another governmental agency, no performance and/or maintenance guarantee shall be required by the Planning Board for such utilities or improvements so covered.
F.
Applicant's responsibility.
(1)
If the Town Engineer or other authorized inspector finds, upon inspection, that any of the required improvements have not been constructed or installed in accordance with approved construction plans, the applicant shall be responsible for the completion of such improvements to the satisfaction of the Planning Board. Wherever the cost of improvements is covered by a performance bond, the applicant and the bonding company shall be jointly and severally liable for completing said improvements to the satisfaction of the Planning Board.
(2)
For subdivisions for which no performance bond has been posted, if the improvements are not completed within the period specified by the Board in its resolution approving the plat, the approval shall be deemed to have expired. In cases where a performance bond has been posted and required improvements have not been completed within the term of such bond, the Town Board may thereupon declare said performance bond to be in default.
A.
General requirements. The Planning Board shall provide for the inspection of required improvements during construction to ensure satisfactory completion of the required improvements. The applicant shall pay to the Town an inspection fee in accordance with a fee schedule or fee estimate, if such inspection is to be performed by an engineer retained by the Town for that purpose, that will be provided to the applicant by the Planning Board. The final plat shall not be signed by the Planning Board until such fee has been paid.
B.
Timing of inspection. In order to facilitate inspection of required improvements during construction, the applicant shall notify the Town Engineer at least three days before he proceeds with each of the following stages of construction:
C.
Copy of contract specifications. Prior to the start of construction of any required improvements, the applicant shall furnish to the Planning Board and/or Town Engineer a copy of the specifications included in any contract entered into by the applicant for such construction.
D.
Supervision of construction. The construction of all required improvements shall be supervised by a licensed professional engineer, employed by the applicant. After completion of construction, the said engineer shall certify to the Planning Board that all required improvements have been constructed as required and approved by the Planning Board, or as such requirements have been modified under § 167-902B above.
E.
Reports. The Town Engineer or representative of the Town and the applicant's engineer shall make reports to the Planning Board after each inspection. If the Engineer or an authorized inspector finds, upon inspection, that any of the required improvements have not been constructed in accordance with the approved construction plans, he shall inform the applicant and the Board in writing.
F.
Responsibility for completion. The applicant is solely responsible for completion of required improvements in accordance with the approved plans.
G.
Certificates of completion. The Planning Board shall not give final approval of required improvements, nor recommend to the Town Board the release of a bond or other performance guarantee, until the Engineer has submitted a report stating that all required improvements have been satisfactorily completed and until the applicant's engineer or surveyor has furnished a statement certifying that all improvements conform to such record drawings and the standards and specifications of the agency having jurisdiction.