[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Brutus as indicated
in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 7-10-2000 by L.L. No. 3-2000]
A.
The Town Board hereby finds and determines that in order
to protect and safeguard the Town of Brutus, its residents and their property,
with respect to certain land developments within the Town, all buildings,
highways, drainage facilities, sanitary sewer facilities, other utilities
and parks within said developments should be designed and constructed in a
competent and workmanlike manner and in conformity with all applicable governmental
codes, rules and regulations and dedicated and conveyed to the Town in a legally
sufficient manner, that in order to assure the foregoing it is essential for
the Town to have competent engineers retained by the Town to review and approve
plans and designs, make recommendations to the Town Board and Planning Board,
inspect construction of highways, drainage, sewer, other facilities and parks
to be dedicated to the Town and to recommend their acceptance by the Town,
and to have competent attorneys retained by the Town to negotiate and draft
appropriate agreements with developers, obtain, review and approve necessary
securities, insurance and other legal documents, review proposed deeds and
easements to assure the Town is obtaining good and proper title and to generally
represent the Town with respect to legal disputes and issues with respect
to developments, and that the cost of retaining such competent engineers and
attorneys should ultimately be paid by those who seek to profit from such
developments rather than from the general Town funds which are raised by assessments
paid by taxpayers of the Town.
B.
This article is enacted under the authority of Subparagraphs
(a)(12) and (d)(3) of Municipal Home Rule Law § 10(1)(ii) and Municipal
Home Rule Law § 22. To the extent Town Law §§ 274-a,
276 and 277 do not authorize the Town Board or Town Planning Board to require
the reimbursement to the Town of legal and engineering expenses incurred by
the Town in connection with the review and consideration of application for
subdivision approval and for the approval, amendment or extension of planned
development districts under the Town's Zoning Ordinance,[1] it is the expressed intent of the Town Board to change and supersede
such statutes. More particularly, such statutes do not authorize the referral
or withholding of such approvals in the event such expenses are not paid to
the Town. It is the expressed intent of the Town Board to change and supersede
Town Law §§ 274-a, 276 and 277 to empower the Town to require
such payment as a condition to such approvals.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meaning
indicated:
Any person, firm, partnership, association, corporation, company
or organization of any kind who or which requests the Town or its Planning
Board or Town Board to approve a development.
Any person, firm, partnership, association, corporation, company
or organization of any kind who or which constructs or proposes to construct
one or more highways, drainage facilities, utilities or parks within or in
conjunction with a development and to convey or dedicate same to the Town.
Shall mean and include subdivision or a planned development district.
All surface water drainage facilities, including, but not limited
to, detention and retention basins, storm sewers and their appurtenances,
drainage swales and ditches, and any easements through or over which said
facilities may be constructed or installed in or in connection with a development.
Includes a street, avenue, road, square, place, alley, lane, boulevard,
concourse, parkway, driveway, overpass and underpass and also includes all
items appurtenant thereto, including but not limited to bridges, culverts,
ditches, shoulders and sidewalks in or in connection with a development.
An area of land located within a development, which is open to the
public and devoted to active or passive recreation
A planned residential district, planned residential community district, planned mobile home development district or planned economic development district established under Chapter 125, Zoning, of the Town Code, including any site plan review pursuant to the Town (or any successor provision) or environmental review pursuant to the New York State Environmental Quality Review Act[1] or Town of Brutus Local Law No. 2 of 1987 and its amendments.[2]
A subdivision of land pursuant to Town of Brutus Chapter 108 of the Town Code (Local Law No. 2 of 1985, as amended), and the subdivision regulations of the Town, § 108-7, its amendment Local Law No. 2 of 1992 and its amendments, including any site plan review pursuant to Chapter 125, the Zoning Law of the Town (Local Law No. 2-1987, or any successor provision) or environmental review pursuant to the New York State Environmental Quality Review Act.
The Town of Brutus.
All water, sanitary sewer, gas, electric, telephone, cable television
facilities and any easements through or over which said facilities may be
constructed or installed in or in connection with a development.
A.
Subdivisions.
(1)
The applicant for approval of a subdivision in the Town
shall reimburse the Town of all reasonable and necessary engineering expenses
incurred by the Town in connection with the review and consideration of such
subdivision.
(2)
A developer who constructs, or proposes to construct,
one of more highways, drainage facilities, utilities or parks within or in
conjunction with an approved subdivision in the Town shall reimburse the Town
for all reasonable and necessary legal and engineering expenses incurred by
the Town in connection with the inspection and acceptance by the Town of such
highways, drainage facilities, utilities and parks and the dedication of same
to the Town.
B.
Planned development districts.
(1)
An applicant for the approval, amendment or extension
of a planned development district in the Town shall reimburse the Town for
all reasonable and necessary legal and engineering expenses incurred by the
Town in connection with the review and consideration of said application.
(2)
A developer who constructs or proposed to construct one
or more buildings, highways, drainage facilities, utilities or parks within
or in conjunction with a planned development district in the Town shall reimburse
the Town for all reasonable and necessary legal and engineering expenses incurred
by the Town in connection with the inspection and acceptance by the Town of
such highways, drainage facilities, utilities and parks and the dedication
of same to the Town.
B.
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in
this article, an applicant or developer shall not be required to reimburse
the Town for any part of a legal or engineering fee incurred by the Town for
services performed in connection with matters, including but not limited to
those resulting from complaints by third parties, as to which the Town Board
determines the applicant or developer had no responsibility or was beyond
the reasonable control of the applicant or developer.
A.
Simultaneously with the filing of an application for approval of a development and prior to the commencement of any construction of buildings, highways, drainage facilities, utilities or parks therein, the applicant or developer, as the case may be, shall deposit with the Town Supervisor a sum of money, as determined in § 109-6 of this article, which sum shall be used to pay the costs incurred by the Town for engineering and legal services as described in § 109-3 of this article.
B.
Upon receipt of such sums, the Town Supervisor shall
cause such monies to be placed in a separate non-interest-bearing account
in the name of the Town and shall keep a separate record of all such monies
so deposited and the name of the applicant or developer and project for which
such sums were deposited.
C.
Upon receipt and approval by the Town Board of itemized
vouchers from an engineer and/or attorney for services rendered on behalf
of the Town pertaining to the development, the Town Supervisor shall cause
such vouchers to be paid out of the monies so deposited, and shall furnish
copies of such vouchers to the applicant or developer at the same time such
vouchers are submitted to the Town.
D.
The Town Board shall review and audit all such vouchers
and shall approve payment of only such engineering and legal fees as are reasonable
in amount and necessarily incurred by the Town in connection with the review,
consideration and approval of developments and the inspection and acceptance
of highways, drainage facilities, utilities and parks within or in conjunction
with such developments. For purpose of the foregoing, a fee or part thereof
is reasonable in amount if it bears a reasonable relationship to the average
charge by engineers or attorneys to the Town for services performed in conjunction
with the approval or construction of a similar development, and in this regard
the Town 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 or considerations as the Town Board may deem relevant;
and a fee or part thereof is necessarily incurred if it was charged by the
engineer or attorney for a service which was rendered in order to protect
or promote the health, safety or other vital interests of the residents of
the Town, protect public or private property from damage from uncontrolled,
surface water runoff and other factors, assure the proper and timely construction
of highways, drainage facilities, utilities and parks, protect the legal interests
of the Town, including receipt by the Town of good and proper title to dedicated
highways and other facilities and the avoidance of claims and liability, and
such other interests as the Town Board may deem relevant.
The amount of the initial deposit for the various developments covered
by this article shall be as set forth in a schedule of deposits established
from time to time, by resolution of the Town Board. Said schedule shall remain
in effect and shall apply to all applicants and developers until amended or
revised by subsequent resolution.
The deposits required by this article shall be in addition to any application
fees as may be required by other laws, rules, regulations or ordinances of
the Town, and shall not be used to offset the Town's general expenses
of legal and engineering services for the several Boards of the Town, nor
its general administration expenses.
If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section or part of
this article shall be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to be
invalid, such judgment shall not affect, impair or invalidate the remainder
thereof but shall be confined in its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph,
subdivision, section or part thereof directly involved in the controversy
in which such judgment is rendered.
This article take effect immediately upon filing in the office of the
Secretary of State.
