[HISTORY: Adopted by the 5-20-2004 Special Town
Meeting of the Town of Topsham, Art. 19. Amendments noted where applicable.]
This chapter imposes an impact fee on land development requiring review
under the Town's subdivision, site plan or conditional use regulations.
These fees will be used to provide new roads and related facilities necessitated
by new development that impacts traffic in the Topsham Fair Mall Area of the
Town, as defined herein. It also provides for the placement of impact fee
revenues into a road impact fee trust fund established for that purpose and
for the administration of the Impact Fee Ordinance, including the expenditure
of funds derived from road impact fees and the refunds of unexpended funds.
The Town Meeting of Topsham, Maine, finds, determines and declares as
follows:
A.
To maintain adequate levels of service in the Topsham
Fair Mall area the existing road system must be expanded to accommodate future
traffic increases. New development in the Topsham Fair Mall area and elsewhere
that affects traffic in the Topsham Fair Mall Area must be accommodated safely
and without decreasing current levels of service. This must be done to promote
and protect the public health, safety and welfare;
B.
The State of Maine has authorized municipalities to adopt
impact fees for various purposes, including the construction of off-site capital
improvements such as roads and traffic control devices, pursuant to 30-A M.R.S.A.
4354;
C.
The imposition of impact fees is a preferred method of
insuring that new development bears a proportionate share of the cost of capital
investments necessary to accommodate such development. Appropriate locations
for new development in the Town and the capital improvements necessary to
accommodate such development are identified in the Town's Comprehensive
Plan and capital improvements program;
D.
New development generates additional traffic, necessitating
the acquisition of rights-of-way, road construction and road improvements;
E.
Fees established by § 199-6 hereof are derived from, are based upon, and do not exceed the costs of providing additional rights-of-way, road construction and road improvements necessitated by the new developments for which the fees are levied.
F.
The report entitled "Traffic Impact Fee Development Plan,"
dated March 2004, sets forth in more detail a reasonable methodology and analysis
for the determination of the impact of new development on the need for additional
rights-of-way, road construction and road improvements in the Town.
A.
Title. This Ordinance shall be known and may be cited
as the "Topsham Traffic Impact Fee Ordinance."
B.
Authority. The Town Meeting of the Town of Topsham has
the authority to enact this ordinance pursuant to 30-A M.R.S.A. 4354 and its
statutory and constitutional home rule powers.
C.
Applicability. This ordinance shall apply to all new
development seeking subdivision or site plan approval, the extension of previously
approved subdivisions or site plans, or any change in use when the proposed
development is located in the Topsham Fair Mall area if a building permit
is issued on or after the date this Ordinance is enacted.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
Includes transportation planning, preliminary engineering, engineering
design studies, land surveys, right-of-way acquisition, engineering, permitting
and construction of all the necessary features for any public infrastructure,
including but not limited to:
Construction of new through lanes;
Construction of new turn lanes;
Construction of new bridges;
Construction of new drainage facilities in conjunction with new roadway
construction;
Purchase and installation of traffic signalization (including new and
upgraded signalization);
Construction of curbs, medians, and shoulders;
Relocating utilities to accommodate new roadway construction;
Construction public utilities to accommodate new development.
Capital improvements do not include site-related improvements defined
herein.
A person or entity commencing a land development activity which generates
or attracts traffic in the Topsham Fair Mall area and which requires subdivision
or site plan approval from the Town of Topsham.
Any change in land use or any construction of buildings or structures
or any change in the use of any structure within the Topsham Fair Mall area
which leads to increased traffic generation.
All road and intersection capacity enhancements, including but not
limited to extensions, widening, intersection improvements, upgrading signalization,
and expansion of bridges.
The traffic engineering and/or economic documentation prepared by a developer to allow the determination of the impact fee other than by the use of the methodology outlined in § 199-6 of this chapter.
Such noncompensated dedications and/or roadway improvements required
by the Town during subdivision or site plan review.
Includes arterial streets and transportation facilities associated
with the arterial and state-aid highway network within the Topsham Fair Mall
area of the Town and under the jurisdiction of the Town or the State of Maine.
Capital improvements and right-of-way dedications for direct access
improvements to and/or within the development in question. Direct access improvements
include but are not limited to the following:
The area of Topsham, including Topsham Fair Mall Road and State Route
196, as follows:
All land serviced by Topsham Fair Mall Road in its entirety;
All land serviced by State Route 196, from its intersection with State
Route 201 to its intersection with Interstate 295; and
All land serviced by Monument Place, from its proposed intersection
with Topsham Fair Mall Road to its intersection with State Route 201.
A.
Any developer who, after the effective date of this ordinance,
seeks to develop land by applying for subdivision or site plan approval, or
for an extension of subdivision or site plan approval issued prior to the
effective date hereof, to make an improvement to land or to change the use
of any land or building in the Topsham Fair Mall area is hereby required to
pay a road impact fee in the manner and amount set forth in this ordinance.
Preliminary determinations regarding whether a proposed development will generate
traffic in the Topsham Fair Mall area shall be made by the Town Planner and
the Town's consulting traffic engineer, if any. Actual impacts shall
be determined by a traffic study prepared by a traffic engineer at the developer's
expense and approved by the Town's consulting engineer, unless the developer
agrees with the Town's determination.
B.
No new building permit for any activity requiring payment
of an impact fee pursuant to this Ordinance shall be issued or renewed unless
and until the road impact fee hereby required has been paid.
C.
No extension of a building permit issued prior to the
effective date of this ordinance, for any activity requiring payment of an
impact fee pursuant to this Ordinance, shall be granted unless and until the
road impact fee hereby required has been paid.
The amount of the traffic impact fee shall be determined by a fee schedule
established by the Board of Selectmen. The provisions of this paragraph shall
govern the setting of the impact fee schedule by the Board of Selectmen and
the computation of impact fees by the Town.
A.
The amount of the impact fee to be paid shall be determined
in accordance with the schedule of fees approved by order of the Board of
Selectmen, based on the number of vehicle trips generated by the proposed
use.
B.
Where a development involves a mixed use, the fees shall
be determined in accordance with the applicable schedule by apportioning traffic
generation to the specific uses.
C.
Where an extension is sought for a building permit, the
amount of the fee shall be the difference between the fee applicable at the
time of the extension and any amount previously paid pursuant to this ordinance.
D.
Impact fees for change of use, redevelopment, or expansion
or modification of an existing use which has previously paid an impact fee
or which did not require payment of an impact fee when originally approved
and which requires the issuance of a building permit shall be based upon the
net positive increase in the impact fee for the new use as compared to the
previous use.
A.
The developer shall pay the traffic impact fee required
by this ordinance to the Building Inspector or his designee prior to the issuance
of a building permit.
B.
All funds collected shall be properly identified as traffic
impact fees and promptly transferred for deposit in the Traffic Impact Fee
Trust Fund to be used solely for the purposes specified in this Ordinance.
A.
Funds collected from traffic impact fees shall be used
for the purpose of capital improvements to and expansion of transportation
facilities associated with the Topsham Fair Mall area.
B.
No funds shall be used for periodic or routine maintenance.
C.
Funds shall be used exclusively for capital improvements
or expansion within the traffic impact fee area, as identified in the report
entitled "Computation Procedure." Funds shall be expended in the order in
which they are collected.
D.
In the event that bonds or similar debt instruments are issued for advanced provision of capital facilities for which traffic impact fees may be expended, impact fees may be used to pay debt service on such bonds or similar debt instruments to the extent that the facilities provided are of the type described in Subsection A of this section.
A.
If a building permit is surrendered or expires without
commencement of construction, the developer shall be entitled to a refund,
without interest, of the impact fee paid as a condition for its issuance,
except that the Town shall retain three (3) percent of the impact fee paid
to offset a portion of the costs of collection. The developer must submit
an application for such a refund to the Code Enforcement Officer not later
than fifteen (15) days after the expiration of the permit.
B.
Any funds not expended or obligated by contract by the
end of the calendar quarter immediately following ten (10) years from the
date the fee was paid shall, upon application of the developer, be returned
to the developer, provided that the developer submits an application for a
refund to the Code Enforcement Officer within 180 days of the ten (10) year
period.
A.
Alterations or expansions of an existing building which
do not result in the generation of additional vehicle trips shall be exempt
from payment of the traffic impact fee.
B.
Construction of accessory buildings or structures which
do not generate additional vehicle trips shall be exempt from the payment
of traffic impact fees.
C.
The replacement of a destroyed or partially destroyed
building or structure with a new building or structure of the same size and
use shall be exempt from the payment of the impact fee.
D.
Any claim of exemption shall be made prior to the time
for payment of the impact fee. Any claim not so made shall be deemed waived.
A.
Credit for the dedication of land for rights-of-way shall
be valued at the most recent assessed value by the Town Assessor or by fair
market value established by private appraisers acceptable to the Town. Credit
for the dedication of land shall be provided when property has been conveyed
at no charge to, and accepted by, the Town in a manner satisfactory to the
Board of Selectmen.
B.
Credit for construction of capital improvements shall
be given only where:
(1)
The Town and developer agree in writing that it would
be more cost-effective or expeditious for the developer to construct improvements
authorized for funding under this Ordinance; or
(2)
For the cost of constructing capital improvements as
a condition of Planning Board approval under the Site Plan Review or Subdivision
Ordinances of the Town, provided such capital improvements would be eligible
for designation by the Board of Selectmen for funding under this Ordinance.
In such cases, the developer shall submit acceptable engineering drawings
and specifications and construction cost estimates to the Town, which shall
determine credit for construction based upon either these cost estimates or
upon alternative engineering criteria and construction cost estimates, if
the Town determines that estimates submitted by the developer are either unreliable
or inaccurate. Upon final determination of all credits, the Town shall provide
the developer with a letter or certificate setting forth the dollar amount
of the credit, the reason for the credit, and the legal description or other
adequate description of the project or development to which the credit may
be applied. The developer must sign and date a duplicate copy of such letter
or certificate indicating his/her agreement to the terms of the letter or
certificate and return such signed document to the Town before credit will
be given. The failure of the developer to sign, date and return such document
with the balance of the impact fees and building permit fees within 60 days
shall nullify the credit.
C.
Except as otherwise provided in Subsection D, credit against impact fees otherwise due will remain provisional until:
D.
Security shall be given for provisional credit in the
form of a performance bond, irrevocable letter of credit or escrow agreement
posted with and approved by the Planning Director or Planning Board and Town
Attorney in an amount determined by the Planning Department or Planning Board.
If the project will not be constructed within two years of the acceptance
of the offer by the Town, the amount of the security shall be increased by
10% compounded for each year of life of the security. If the construction
project is not to be completed within five years of the date of the developer's
offer, the Board of Selectmen must approve the construction project and its
scheduled completion date prior to the acceptance of the offer by the Town.
The security or replacement shall state the date for commencement of the project
and the time period for estimated completion. This date and/or time period
may be extended by the Town for good cause shown, conditioned upon extension
of the security.
E.
Credit may also be given for the costs of constructing
capital improvements required as a condition of Planning Board subdivision
approval or a Department of Transportation Traffic Movement Permit if the
development was approved prior to enactment of this ordinance but building
permits are issued after enactment. Credit shall be in an amount determined
by the Planning Board, based upon the scope of the development approved by
the Planning Board and/or MeDOT and the value of the capital improvements
actually constructed. Credit shall be given only to the extent that the traffic
impact of the proposed development, as determined at the time of construction,
does not exceed the impacts anticipated by the subdivision or site location
of development approval. The developer shall have the burden of establishing
the cost of capital improvements constructed.
F.
Any claim for credit must be made prior to the time for
payment of impact fees. Any claim not so made shall be deemed waived.
G.
Credits shall not be transferred from one project or
development to another without the approval of the Board of Selectmen.
H.
Determination pursuant to this section may be appealed
to the Town Manager by filing a written request with the Town Manager within
30 days of the determination order setting impact fees and designating approved
projects.
This Traffic Impact Fee Ordinance may be amended from time to time to
include other defined areas and/or districts if the Town of Topsham determines,
after appropriate study and hearing, that increased traffic from new developments
in those other areas and/or districts affects traffic in those areas and/or
districts in a manner that must be accommodated safely and without decreasing
current levels of service, and that will promote and protect the public health,
safety and welfare.
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BE IT ORDERED by the Topsham Board of Selectmen that pursuant to the
Town of Topsham Traffic Impact Fee Ordinance, the fees and charges shall be
as specified in the Schedule of License, Permit and Application Fees established
by the Board of Selectmen for development from the Traffic Impact Fee Trust
Fund.
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