[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the
Town of Ramapo 5-11-2022 by L.L. No. 3-2022.[1] Amendments noted where applicable.]
[1]
Editor's Note: This local law also repealed former Ch. 122,
Consultant Fees, adopted 2-24-1999 by L.L. No. 2-1999.
A.
Intent. The Town incurs significant expense in connection with the
review of zoning, land use, and other applications made to the Town
Board, Planning Board, Zoning Board of Appeals, Architectural Review
Board, CDRC, Building Department, Town Engineer, Town Clerk and other
agencies and departments of the Town ("reviewing body") required to
review those applications. In many cases, the Town has found that
the circumstances of specific properties and/or the proposed use of
a property require the participation of consultants with relevant
experience and expertise to properly advise the reviewing body on
health, safety, welfare and environmental issues raised by the application,
and do not make it feasible to equitably determine the average cost
of reviewing all land use applications. Since the applicants seek
to obtain reviews and approvals to use land regulated by the zoning,
subdivision and other regulatory provisions of the Town Code, the
State Environmental Quality Review Act and implementing regulations,
and other applicable laws and regulations, so as to secure substantial
benefits for the applicant and/or property owner, it is appropriate
that the applicant and property owner bear the application-specific
burden of securing those benefits that are not general costs to the
Town. The intent of this chapter is to ensure in appropriate cases
that the benefited parties reimburse the Town of Ramapo for all reasonable
and necessary fees, costs and expenses (collectively, "fees") incurred
by the Town in connection with the review of applications that require
the Town to retain the services of consultants to review the adequacy
and substance of such applications.
B.
Authority. This chapter is enacted pursuant to the authority conferred
by § 10 of the Municipal Home Rule Law, including but not
limited to § 10, Subdivision 1(ii)a(9-a).
A.
The Town Board shall establish by resolution a schedule of fees to
be paid to the Town of Ramapo upon the filing of certain applications
or other requests ("application") for a reviewing body to issue an
approval, permit, certificate or other determination or to otherwise
authorize, in whole or part, a proposed project or activity ("approval").
B.
The schedule of fees may thereafter be amended, from time to time,
by resolution of the Town Board. All such fees in effect at the time
of adoption of any local law amending this chapter shall remain in
effect until such time as those application fees are amended by resolution
of the Town Board. Any resolution amending the schedule of fees shall
be filed with the Town Clerk. The failure to file such resolution
with the Town Clerk shall not affect the obligation to pay such fee.
C.
Any fee established elsewhere in this Code which is not inconsistent
with a fee established pursuant to this chapter shall remain effective.
A.
The application fees established pursuant to this § 122-3 shall be deemed to be the minimum fee to be charged.
B.
The applicant shall also be responsible for reimbursing the Town
for the additional fees that are reasonably and necessarily incurred
by reviewing bodies of the Town for the services of professional consultants,
including but not limited to planners, civil and traffic engineers,
environmental consultants, architects, forensic experts, accountants
and attorneys, whether employed by the Town or retained as an independent
contractor ("consultants") that are reasonably and necessarily required
by the reviewing body to exercise its duties and responsibilities
with respect to the application. The applicant is only responsible
for reimbursing the Town for the reasonable and necessary fees it
incurs in review of a specific application. Reimbursement shall not
be used to offset the Town's general costs for engineering, legal,
planning or other services provided to the reviewing bodies of the
Town or to offset the Town's general expenses.
C.
The Chair of the reviewing body or other designated person(s) is
authorized to require an applicant to establish an escrow account
in accordance with this chapter so that sufficient funds will be available
to the Town from time to time to reimburse the reasonable and necessary
costs of application review services that are required by the reviewing
body.
D.
Reimbursement payments required pursuant to this chapter shall be
for services required by a particular application and shall not affect
any other application, inspection or other fees required by any other
laws, resolutions, provisions, regulations or codes of the Town that
may apply to the application.
A.
Prior to incurring any fees for the services of consultants in connection
with review of an application for an approval, the reviewing body
with jurisdiction over such application shall require the applicant
to deposit funds into an escrow account maintained by the Town in
sufficient amount to reimburse the Town for the anticipated fees to
be incurred for such services.
B.
No later than the time of the first meeting or appearance on the
application, the reviewing body shall fix the amount of the initial
escrow deposit to be made by the applicant. Prior to the first meeting
or appearance of any application on any agenda, the Building Department
may set an initial escrow amount which shall be thereafter reviewed
and may be revised by the reviewing body.
C.
When appropriate to do so in order to facilitate the initial review
of an application prior to any appearance of an applicant before the
reviewing body, the Chair or other designated person(s) of the reviewing
body may require that the applicant make the initial escrow deposit
before such appearance or any review undertaken by the reviewing body.
D.
The Town's consultants shall provide invoices to the Town within
60 days for services rendered in review of each application and performance
of their responsibilities with respect to such application.
E.
If at any time during the review process the amount of the escrow
account falls below 50% of the initial escrow amount, as determined
by the Chair or designated person(s) of the reviewing body, then the
applicant shall be required to submit an additional deposit to bring
the total escrow up to the full amount of the initial deposit or such
different amount as determined by the reviewing body or designated
person(s).
F.
Subsequent to the establishment of an escrow account for an application,
the Building Department or other designated person(s) shall, prior
to placing that application on the agenda for review or action that
will cause the Town to incur consultant fees, determine whether sufficient
funds are available in the escrow account to reimburse the Town for
the anticipated consultant fees. When sufficient funds are not available,
but the Building Department determines it is necessary to place the
applicant on the agenda for action, the Building Department shall
advise the applicant that it will be placed on the agenda solely for
the purpose of taking such necessary action, but that the reviewing
body shall not incur additional review fees until sufficient funds
to reimburse those fees are available in the escrow account. The reviewing
body may elect to suspend review of the application, in whole or part,
or to waive the requirement to replenish the escrow account for good
cause shown.
G.
Following final action by the reviewing board or written withdrawal
of the application, the applicant may make written request for the
return of any unencumbered funds in the escrow account. Within 60
days after the date the final action is filed or the meeting at which
the written withdrawal is received by the reviewing body, the Town
will return any amount held in escrow that is not required to reimburse
the Town for outstanding fees. In the event that the action of the
reviewing body is subject to conditions, the unencumbered escrow funds
will be released 60 days after the conditions are met and final action
is taken by the reviewing body.
H.
In the event the amount of escrow is less than the full amount that
the Town is charged by the Town's consultants, the applicant
shall reimburse the Town for those fees in excess of the escrow amount.
A.
Town consultants who provide services to a reviewing body pertaining
to a land use or development application shall present their itemized
vouchers to the Town, setting forth, in sufficient detail, the services
performed and the amounts charged for such services, within 60 days
of providing those services.
B.
The Chair or other designated person(s) of the reviewing body shall
cause the voucher to be reviewed to determine that the services were
appropriate and the charges were reasonable and necessary to assist
the reviewing body in performing its responsibilities.
C.
Following review by the Chair or the designated person(s), the Building
Department shall promptly forward the itemized voucher to the Town
Board for review and audit.
D.
To ensure that that the applicant has an opportunity to bring any
objections to the attention of the Town Board prior to audit of the
voucher, a copy of the voucher shall be transmitted to the applicant
within 24 hours of delivery to the Town Board. The applicant will
have 15 days from the date of delivery to the applicant to object
to the payment of charges set forth in the itemized voucher out of
escrow funds. The failure of the applicant to notify the Town Board
that it objects to the payment of any such charge within 15 days of
delivery of the voucher shall constitute the applicant's consent
to withdrawal of the charges from the escrow account.
E.
Vouchers to be charged against the escrow deposit shall be deemed
delivered when emailed by the Town to the applicant's designated
representative of record. All applicants that are required establish
an escrow account with the Town must provide an email address for
a designated representative who will accept service of said vouchers.
If any application does not have an email address for said designated
representative, the application will be placed on hold until appropriate
contact information is provided by the applicant.
A.
The Town Board shall review and audit all such vouchers, and any
objections thereto, and shall determine, in its sole discretion, whether
the fees incurred by the reviewing body are reasonable in amount and
necessarily incurred by the Town in connection with the review of
and action on the application by the reviewing body. The Town Board
may require submission of any additional documentation the Board deems
necessary to make this determination.
B.
The Town Board will consider that a fee or part thereof is reasonable
in amount if it bears a reasonable relationship to the customary fee
charged by consultants within the region for similar services performed
on behalf of applicants or municipal boards in connection with similar
applications for land use or development approval. The Town Board
may also take into account any special circumstances that it deems
relevant to the application review.
C.
The Town Board will consider that a fee or part thereof is necessarily
incurred if it was charged by the reviewing body's consultant
for a service which was rendered in order to assist in the protection
or promotion of the health, safety or welfare of the Town or its residents;
to assist in the protection of public or private property or the environment
from potential damage that otherwise may be caused by the proposed
land use or development; to assure or assist in compliance with laws,
regulations, standards or codes which govern land use and development;
to assure or assist in the orderly development and sound planning
of a land use or development; to assure the proper and timely construction
of public improvements, parks and other facilities which affect the
public welfare; to protect the legal interests of the review process
and to avoid claims against or liability related to the review and
action undertaken by the reviewing body; or to promote such other
interests that the Town Board may specify as relevant.
An applicant may appeal, in writing, to the Town Board for a
reduction in the required reimbursement amount. An appeal must be
filed with the Town Clerk no later than 15 days after delivery to
the applicant of the contested invoice. Upon good cause being shown
on such appeal, the Town Board, in its sole discretion, may determine
that it will relieve the applicant of the obligation to reimburse
the Town for that part of any consultant fee incurred by the Town
for services performed in connection with an application which the
Town Board determines were not reasonable and necessary. The Town
Board's determination shall be in writing and shall be made within
45 days of the date that the Town Board receives all information it
requires to decide the applicant's appeal.
The applicant and the owner(s) of the subject real property,
if different from the applicant, shall be jointly and severally responsible
to reimburse the Town for funds expended to pay for consultant services
rendered to the Town. In order for an application to be deemed complete,
the applicant shall provide the written consent of all owners of the
subject real property acknowledging concurrent property owner responsibility
to reimburse the Town for reasonable and necessary consultant fees
incurred by the Town. In the event that insufficient funds have been
deposited in escrow and the applicant and property owner fail to reimburse
the Town for such fees, the following shall apply:
A.
The Town may seek recovery of unreimbursed costs for application
review by Town consultants by action in a court of appropriate jurisdiction,
and the defendant(s) shall be responsible for and shall pay the reasonable
and necessary attorneys' fees expended by the Town in prosecuting
such action.
B.
Alternatively, and at the sole discretion of the Town Board, the
failure of an applicant or property owner to fully reimburse the Town
for consultant fees incurred and expended by the Town may be remedied
by assessing and levying the unpaid amount on the property owner's
property tax bill. Upon approval by the Town Board, such unpaid amount
shall be assessed and levied against and constitute a lien on the
real property upon which it is levied until paid, and shall be collected
in the same manner and at the same time as other Town real property
taxes.
C.
In the event the affected premises comprise more than one tax lot,
then the Town Comptroller is authorized to distribute such levy in
proportion to the assessed value of each lot of the aggregate value
of all lots comprising the premises.
D.
Such charges shall be assessed, levied and collected at the same
time and in the same manner as Town real property taxes and shall
be applied by reimbursing the fund from which the Town made payment
of the consultant fees.
E.
Prior to Town Board approval to levy such charges or assessments
on the tax bill, the owner of the real property shall be provided
written notice to its last known address as shown on the most recent
Town assessment roll, by certified mail, return receipt requested,
of an opportunity to be heard and object before the Town Board to
the proposed real property charge or assessment, at a date to be designated
in the notice, which shall be no less than 20 days after its mailing.
F.
In the event any applicant or property owner is not in agreement
with any determination by the Town Board regarding fee issues, then
the applicant or property owner shall have the right to file an Article
78 proceeding in the Supreme Court for the County of Rockland within
30 days of said Town Board determination to challenge that Town Board
determination.
A.
Intent. From time to time, property owners or their representatives
contemplate undertaking complex land development activities that involve
review and analysis of zoning, planning and environmental issues prior
to making a formal land use application. The Town Board recognizes
that it may be necessary for a property owner or their representative
contemplating such development to consult with representatives of
the Town and Town consultants with special experience and expertise
to assist in the development of an appropriate proposal that will
address Town objectives and ongoing municipal planning initiatives,
and allow the efficient allocation of Town resources for such purpose,
particularly with respect to zoning and environmental analysis of
the proposal. The Town Board believes it would therefore be in the
public interest to afford property owners and their representatives
the opportunity to involve Town representatives and Town consultants
in the development of land use proposals for specific properties that
involve unique circumstances or unanticipated uses of a property,
where the proposal would benefit from the participation of consultants
with relevant experience and expertise before a formal application
is submitted.
B.
Such preapplication review shall be limited to proposals which are
likely to be designated as a Type I SEQRA action and/or which would
provide a significant opportunity for the development of significant
rateable property in the Town, generate a significant increase in
employment in the Town or otherwise provide an opportunity to create
significant economic development in the Town. The Town Board may,
by resolution, establish the specific criteria for proposals to qualify
for the preapplication review procedure to accomplish the Town's
objectives, which may be amended by resolution from time to time.
C.
Since it is appropriate for the property owner or their representative
seeking such approvals to bear the burden of securing those benefits
by reimbursing the Town of Ramapo for all reasonable and necessary
fees incurred by the Town in connection with the review of preapplication
proposals that require the Town to retain the services of consultants
to review the adequacy and substance of such proposals, the procedures
and requirements of this chapter shall apply to preapplication reviews.
