This chapter shall be known as the "West Brandywine Township Transportation
Impact Fee Ordinance."
The purpose of this chapter is to establish a transportation capital
impact fee program to ensure that the Township's transportation infrastructure
system is available and adequate to support new growth and development. To
advance this objective, there is hereby created a transportation capital impact
fee (hereinafter "fee") for new development payable to the Township at the
time of building permit issuance.
The Board of Supervisors hereby finds and declares that:
A. The conditions and standards for the determination and
imposition of the fee are set forth herein and otherwise shall follow those
set forth in Act 209 of 1990, as amended (hereinafter "Act"), and consist
of:
(1) The recitals set forth above.
(2) The analysis, advice and recommendations of the Transportation
Advisory Committee.
(3) The West Brandywine Township Land Use Assumptions Report
as adopted by the Board of Supervisors per Resolution 11-04 on December 16,
2004, as may be amended from time to time.
(4) The West Brandywine Township Roadway Sufficiency Analysis
as adopted by the Board of Supervisors per Resolution 09-04 on November 18,
2004, as may be amended from time to time.
(5) The West Brandywine Township Transportation Capital Improvements
Plan as adopted by the Board of Supervisors per Resolution 12-04 on December
16,2004, as may be amended from time to time.
(6) Such other conditions and standards as the Board of Supervisors
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 Manager, subject to review,
oversight, and control by the Board of Supervisors.
C. The time, method, and procedures for payment of the fee shall be as set forth in §§
177-5 and
177-8 of this chapter.
D. The procedure for credits against or refunds of the fee shall be as set forth in §§
177-10 and
177-11 of this chapter.
E. The calculation of the fee shall be as set forth in §
177-8 of this chapter.
F. Such exemptions of the fee as the Board of Supervisors shall choose to enact shall be as set forth in §
177-7 of this chapter.
The terms and definitions set forth in § 502-A of the Act
are hereby adopted and incorporated into this chapter by reference.
The fee collected pursuant to this chapter shall be expended for costs
incurred for transportation capital improvements attributable to new development
and designated in the Transportation Capital Improvements Plan within the
transportation service area in which the new development is located. 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 of Supervisors
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 of Supervisors 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 two additional p.m. peak-hour trips, without
rounding, using the most current version of the Institute of Transportation
Engineers publication, Trip Generation, or mutually agreed upon traffic study.
To qualify for the exemption, applicants shall be required to place a waiver
request on their final plat and submit information to support their request.
Any applicant who shall perform, at his own expense and with the consent
and agreement of the Board of Supervisors, 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 of Supervisors shall
not be obligated to accept an offer of improvement construction by an applicant.
A. If an applicant makes such improvements, he must enter
into an agreement with the Board of Supervisors 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 of Supervisors.
B. Any credit shall not exceed the amount of the fee for
each development. However, provided that the applicant has other developments
within the transportation 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. An applicant, seeking a credit and with Board of Supervisors
approval, shall be entitled as a credit against the fee in the 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 the Township Subdivision and Land Development
Ordinance.
E. An applicant, seeking a credit and with Board of Supervisors
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
Transportation Capital Improvements Plan that was performed at the applicant's
expense.
The fee 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 required fee.