[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Vernon 11-2-2006 by Ord. No. 2006-10. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Land division and development control — See Ch. 200.
Parks and recreation — See Ch. 239.
If the Town Board determines that the dedication described in § 200-13 of Chapter 200, Land Division and Development Control, is not feasible or compatible with the development of the Town, the owner shall, in lieu thereof, pay an impact fee to the Town pursuant to § 66.0617 Wis. Stats., as described in this chapter to pay for the capital costs that are necessary to accommodate future land development with regard to parks, playgrounds and land for athletic fields.
The amount of the impact fee shall be as follows:
A. 
Base impact fee amount: $410 per residential dwelling unit.
B. 
In order to account for future increases in construction costs and interest costs, and in order to ensure that the fees are equitably distributed between current and future developers, the impact fees described herein shall automatically adjust on an annual basis on January 1 of each year by the percentage increase or decrease in the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics Midwest Region All Items Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers from January 1 of the preceding year.
Revenues from impact fees collected pursuant to this chapter shall be placed in a segregated, interest-bearing account and shall be accounted for separately from the other funds of the Town of Vernon. Impact fee revenues and interest earned on impact fee revenues may be expended only for capital costs for which the impact fees were imposed.
Impact fees that are imposed and collected by the Town of Vernon pursuant to this chapter must be spent or refunded within seven years from the date the fee is collected, unless extended by resolution pursuant to § 66.0617(9) Wis. Stats. Refunds shall be made to the then-current owner of the property with respect to which the impact fees were imposed.
A. 
Developers or property owners of property subject to a land development shall pay impact fees to the Town of Vernon in full upon the first to occur of the following events, unless the Town of Vernon Town Board agrees otherwise in writing:
(1) 
Recording a plat or certified survey map which would divide any land that is zoned to permit a residential use by right;
(2) 
Issuing a building permit for any land development;
(3) 
Granting any other approval by the Town of Vernon for any land development (e.g., rezoning, conditional use, occupancy permit, or other approval).
B. 
In every case, the impact fee must be paid in full no later than within 14 days of the issuance of an occupancy permit.
C. 
The foregoing payment obligation applies only to such land development events that occur within the Town of Vernon from the effective date of this chapter until this chapter is repealed. If for any reason, intentional or unintentional, payment is not made when it first becomes due, the Town of Vernon, at its option, may enforce the obligation at the time of any succeeding land development event until payment is fully received. If more than one developer or property owner participates in a land development project, or if different developers or property owners participate at different times, the developers and all applicable property owners shall be deemed to have independently apportioned their payment obligation among themselves. The Town of Vernon shall be entitled to refuse to approve a land development event until payment is made, and shall have no obligation to determine which developer or property owner is required to pay, even if payment from the then-current developer or property owner would not have been required but for the fact that a prior developer or property owner did not pay.
Pursuant to § 66.0617(10) Wis. Stats., a developer upon whom an impact fee is imposed has the right to contest the amount, collection or use of the impact fee to the Town of Vernon Town Board. The procedures for such appeal shall be as follows.
A. 
All appeals which challenge the Town authority granted by this chapter, or the procedures for adoption of this chapter, or otherwise challenge the validity of this chapter, must be filed in writing with the Town Clerk within 90 days of the effective date of this chapter, unless applicable state law specifically allows a longer time for such appeal, in which case the applicable state law limitation shall apply.
B. 
All appeals which challenge the Town's actions in administering or enforcing this chapter must be filed in writing with the Town Clerk within 15 days of the date that the Town action that is to be appealed took place.
C. 
In all cases, the appeal must be entitled "Notice of Appeal of Impact Fee" and shall state the developer's name, address, telephone number; address (if available) and legal description of the land development upon which the impact fee is imposed; and a statement of the nature of and reasons for the appeal.
D. 
The Town Clerk shall schedule the appeal for consideration by the Town Board at a regular or special meeting as soon as reasonably practicable under the circumstances and shall notify the developer of the time, date and place of such meeting, in writing, by regular mail, deposited in the mail no later than at least three days before the date of such meeting. Upon review of such appeal, the Town Board may adjust the amount, collection, or use of the impact fee that applies to the appellant, upon just and reasonable cause shown.
The Town of Vernon exercises this authority pursuant to § 66.0617 Wis. Stats., and this chapter shall be interpreted in conjunction with said statute, including any future revisions thereto, including, but not limited to, the statutory definition of the terms "developer" and "land development."