[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village of Elmsford as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 5-17-2004 by L.L. No. 3-2004[1]]
[1]
Editor's Note: This local law also repealed former Art. I, Fixing of Fees and Charges, adopted 2-18-1992 by L.L. No. 10-1992.
[Amended 11-1-2004 by L.L. No. 13-2004]
The Village of Elmsford incurs significant expenses in the operation of the Board of Trustees, Planning Commission, Zoning Board of Appeals, the office of the Building inspector and the Police Department in administering the Village Code. Further, the Village incurs costs in connection with production of documents and photocopying. There is hereby established an article whereby the Board of Trustees shall have the authority to impose and collect all reasonably necessary administrative fees in connection with any application as set forth or as may hereinafter be set forth in the laws of the Village of Elmsford and review of said applications, including, but not limited to, fees to be paid in connection with any application for licenses, permits, public safety and health matters, and planning, zoning, building and construction approval. These fees are necessary to carry out the Village of Elmsford's regulatory measures.
The Board of Trustees shall establish, by resolution, a Master Fee Schedule setting forth the fees to be charged to applicants in connection with all applications made pursuant to the laws of the Village of Elmsford, including, but not limited to, any application for licenses, permits, public safety and health matters, and planning, zoning, building and construction approval. The Board of Trustees may also set forth fees in the Master Fee Schedule for reimbursement of various administrative fees, including, but not limited to, the cost of photocopies, preparation of birth and death certificates, and rental of the Senior Center. The Master Fee Schedule may be amended by resolution from time to time, as the Board of Trustees deems necessary.
[Amended 5-4-2009 by L.L. No. 1-2009]
All administrative costs that are reasonably necessary in carrying out the objectives of the laws of the Village of Elmsford shall be charged to the applicant. Administrative costs shall be set forth in the Master Fee Schedule and shall be reflected as the actual costs of administering and reviewing such applications by the Village. For the purpose of this chapter, administrative costs shall include, but are not limited to, actual costs involved in processing applications, preparation of hearing notices, publication of hearing notices, providing notice to other governmental agencies, preparation of affidavits of posting and publication, preparation and maintenance of official records regarding the application, and municipal review of the application, including, without limitation, plan review, plan amendment review, renewal of building permits, processing of resolutions, photocopies, preparation of birth and death certificates, rental of the Senior Center, and other similarly related and necessary costs in connection with administering the laws of the Village of Elmsford.
Unless otherwise specifically provided in this article, the fees required pursuant to this article shall be paid in advance upon submission of the application. The failure to submit the full payment required shall render the application incomplete.
Whenever an extension is necessary to prevent an approval from lapsing or becoming otherwise void, the first such request for an extension shall be processed at no charge. The second and each subsequent request for an extension shall be processed only upon prior payment of fees established pursuant to the Master Fee Schedule.
[1]
Editor's Note: Former § 162-6, Water charges, was repealed 10-21-2013 by L.L. No. 4-2013
[Adopted 10-19-2004 by L.L. No. 12-2004[1]]
[1]
Editor's Note: This local law also repealed former Art. II, Review Fees, adopted 2-18-1992 by L.L. No. 11-1992, as amended.
The Village of Elmsford incurs significant expenses in professional consultant review of applications for subdivisions, site plans, special permits, zoning amendments, zoning variances, rezoning, zoning interpretations, and similar or related local, county, state or federal laws and procedures, and such professional consultant review is necessary to carry out the purposes of the laws of the Village of Elmsford, including SEQRA-related environmental documents submitted to evaluate the proposed action. There is hereby established the authority to submit any such land use application which may come before any board in the Village to a professional consultant, such as a planner, engineer, attorney, environmental expert, or other professional consultant, as it may deem reasonably necessary to enable it to review such applications as required by law.
A. 
The Board of Trustees, Zoning Board of Appeals or Planning Commission may, in the review of any application which may come before it, refer such application presented to it to such planner, engineer, environmental expert, attorney, or other professional consultant as the reviewing board shall deem reasonably necessary to enable it to review such application as required by law. Fees charged by such professionals shall be in accord with fees usually charged for such services in the metropolitan New York region and pursuant to a contractual agreement between the Village and such professional consultant. All such charges shall be paid by the Village upon submission of a Village voucher by such professional consultant.
B. 
The Village Clerk shall provide the applicant with copies of any Village voucher for such professional consultant review services as they are submitted to the Village. The applicant shall reimburse the Village for the cost of such professional consultant review services in accordance with the procedures described in §§ 162-8C and 162-9 herein. The payment of such fees shall be a condition of any approval and shall be set forth in any resolution of approval, and shall be required in addition to any and all other fees required in connection with the review of the application as set forth in any laws of the Village of Elmsford or the Master Fee Schedule.
C. 
The reviewing board shall review and audit all such vouchers and shall seek reimbursement only for those professional consultant review services as are reasonable in amount and necessarily incurred by the Village in connection with the review, consideration and approval of such application. For purposes of the foregoing, a fee or part thereof is reasonable in amount if it bears a reasonable relationship to the average charge by such professionals to the Village for services performed in connection with the approval of the various application categories. In this regard the reviewing board may take into consideration the size, type and number of buildings to be constructed, the amount of time to complete the development, the topography of the land on which such development is located, soil conditions, surface water, drainage conditions, the nature and extent of highways, drainage facilities, utilities and parks to be constructed and any special conditions or considerations as the reviewing board may deem relevant. A fee or part thereof is necessarily incurred if it was charged by the professional 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 Village, protect public or private property from damages from uncontrolled surface water runoff and other factors, assure the proper and timely construction of highways, drainage facilities, utilities and parks and protect the legal interests of the Village, including receipt by the Village of good and proper title to dedicated highways and other facilities and the avoidance of claims and liability and such other interests as the reviewing board may deem relevant.
D. 
Proof of payment of all professional consultant review fees shall be obtained by the applicant from the Village of Elmsford Clerk and presented to the reviewing board having jurisdiction over the application. No building permit or certificate of occupancy shall be issued nor shall any use or work be authorized under any resolution of approval unless all professional review fees charged in connection with the applicant's project have been reimbursed to the Village.
E. 
In the event that an application is required to be reviewed by more than one reviewing board, then in such event and to the extent applicable, each such reviewing board shall use the same consultant who shall in such case prepare one report providing the data, information and recommendations requested. In all instances, duplication of consultant's reports shall be avoided wherever possible in order to minimize the cost of such consultant's reports to the applicant.
At the time of submission of any application which may come before it, the reviewing board shall require the establishment of an escrow account in an amount as set forth by the Board of Trustees in the Master Fee Schedule, which may be amended from time to time, from which withdrawals shall be made to reimburse the Village for the cost of professional review services. The applicant shall then provide funds to the Village for deposit into such account, based on the reviewing board's evaluation of the nature and complexity of various application categories. In no case shall an applicant make direct payment to any of the Village's professional consultants. No application shall be considered complete for review purposes until said escrow account is funded in accordance therewith. When the balance in such escrow account is reduced to 1/3 of its initial amount, the applicant shall deposit additional funds into such account in an amount to be determined by the reviewing board, which funds shall bring the escrow account balance up to an amount not to exceed the initial deposit, unless mutually agreed to by the Village and the applicant. If such account is not replenished within 30 days after the applicant is notified, in writing, of the requirement for such additional deposit, the reviewing board may suspend its review of the application. Any time periods for review of an application, such as but not limited to site plan, special permit, subdivision, area variance, use variance and zoning text amendment review, pursuant to state or local law shall be suspended if the applicant fails to replenish the account as aforesaid and shall begin to run again upon receipt of the required payment. After all pertinent charges have been paid, the Village shall refund to the applicant any funds remaining on deposit.
All fees required pursuant to this article shall be collected by the Village Clerk.
This article shall supersede any inconsistent provision of Article 7 of the Village Law, §§ 7-706, 7-712, 7-712-a, 7-725-a, 7-725-b, 7-728, 7-730 and 7-738.