[Adopted 1-15-2008 by L.L. No. 2-2008]
A reviewing board may require an applicant to
deposit an initial sum of money into an escrow account in advance
of the review of an application for a special permit, site plan or
subdivision approval, zoning amendment, variance, or other appeal
or application. Said sum shall be in an amount estimated to cover
the reasonable and necessary costs to the Town in obtaining professional
review of the application, taking into the Town's experience in similar
applications or the experience of neighboring municipalities. Costs
may include staff costs and consultant fees for planning, engineering,
legal and other professional and technical services required for the
proper and thorough review of an application.
The review fees provided for herein are in addition
to application or administrative fees required pursuant to other sections
of the Red Hook Town Code. Monies deposited by applicants pursuant
to this section shall not be used to offset the Town's general expenses
of professional services for the several boards of the Town or its
general administrative expenses.
The reviews governed by this section shall include
all environmental review pursuant to law, including review of the
proposed action under the State Environmental Quality Review Act ("SEQRA").
Fees charged strictly as a result of a SEQRA review shall in no event
exceed the maximum amounts that can be charged pursuant to the SEQRA
regulations by the lead agency.
Upon receipt of monies requested for an escrow
account, the Town Supervisor shall cause such monies to be placed
in a separate non-interest-bearing account in the name of the Town
and shall keep a separate record of all such monies deposited and
the name of the applicant and project for which such sums were deposited.
Upon receipt and approval by the Town Board
of itemized vouchers from consultants for services rendered on behalf
of the Town regarding a particular application, the Town Supervisor
shall cause such vouchers to be paid out of the monies so deposited,
and shall debit the separate record of such account accordingly. The
Town shall provide copies of the vouchers to the applicant upon request.
The Town Board shall review and audit all such
vouchers and shall approve payment of only such consultant charges
as are reasonable and necessary in connection with the review and
consideration of applications. A charge or part thereof is reasonable
in amount if it bears a reasonable relationship to the average charge
by consultants to the Town for services performed in connection with
the review of a similar application. In auditing the vouchers, the
Town Board may take into consideration the size, type and number of
buildings to be constructed, the topography of the site at issue,
environmental conditions at such site, the infrastructure proposed
in the application and any special conditions the Town Board may deem
relevant. A charge or part thereof is necessarily incurred if it was
charged by the consultant for a service which was rendered in order
to protect or promote the health, safety or other vital interests
of the residents of the Town, and protect public or private property
from damage.
In no event shall an applicant make direct payment
to any Town consultant as compensation for services performed for
the Town by the consultant in connection with his/her application.
If at any time during the processing of an application
there shall be insufficient monies on hand to the credit of an applicant
to pay the approved vouchers in full, or if it shall reasonably appear
to the reviewing board that such monies will be insufficient to meet
vouchers yet to be submitted, the reviewing board shall require the
applicant to deposit additional sums as the board deems necessary
or advisable in order to meet such expenses or anticipated expenses.
In the event the applicant fails to deposit
the requested professional review fees into an escrow account, any
application review, approval, permit or certificates of occupancy
may be withheld or suspended by the reviewing board, officer or employee
of the Town until such monies are deposited.
Upon completion of the review of an application
or upon the withdrawal of an application, and after all reasonable
and necessary professional review fees already incurred by the Town
have been paid and deducted from the escrow account, any balance remaining
in the escrow account shall be refunded within 60 days after the applicant's
request.
Pursuant to Chapter 641 of the NYS laws of 2005, the following SEQRA documents must be posted on a publicly available Web site after the Town, or any board or agency thereof, including, without limitation, the Town Board, the Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals, acting as lead agency, has issued a positive declaration under SEQRA; any environmental impact statement (EIS), including but not limited to draft, final, and supplemental EISs; comments received from any governmental agency, interested party, or member of the public with respect to such EIS; and the responses to these comments. The above-mentioned documents are referred to herein and in §
70-13 as "SEQRA Internet Documents."