Nothing herein contained shall be construed to limit the right of an applicant to seek informal discussions with the reviewing board or its staff. Where such a procedure is sought, the applicant shall indicate its desire in a letter to the Administrative Officer. If the applicant desires or if the reviewing board requires that the applicant's proposal be reviewed by the board's professional staff, the escrow sums required under Article
VI shall be posted. Neither the reviewing board nor the applicant shall be bound by any such discussions or statements made during such review, provided that the right of the developer at any time to submit a complete formal application for development shall not be limited by his submission of a preliminary discussion plat and the time for the reviewing board's decision shall not begin to run until the submission of a complete formal application.