[Amended 3-12-1996]
A.
This article, as well as regulations and studies adopted by the Planning
Board consistent with and in furtherance of this article, shall govern
the assessment of fees imposed upon development, including subdivision,
building construction or other land use change, in order to meet the
needs occasioned by that development for the construction or improvement
of capital facilities owned or operated by the municipality, including
and limited to water treatment and distribution facilities; waste
water treatment and disposal facilities; sanitary sewer; stormwater,
drainage and flood control facilities; public road systems and rights-of-way;
municipal office facilities; public school facilities; the municipality's
proportional share of capital facilities of a cooperative or regional
school district of which the municipality is a member; public safety
facilities; solid waste collection, transfer, recycling, processing
and disposal facilities; public library facilities; and public recreational
facilities not including public open space. This article is authorized
by New Hampshire RSA 674:21, as an innovative land use control.
B.
The Town of Hudson's Master Plan and Capital Improvements Program
have incorporated Town-wide transportation, library, school and recreation
expansion plans which identify corresponding capital improvement needs.
New development shall be assessed a proportional share of the municipal
capital improvement costs which are reasonably related to the capital
needs created by the development referenced above and to the benefits
accruing to the development from the capital improvements financed
by the fee. New development shall be assessed a proportional share
of new improvement costs, insofar as new growth places an increased
burden on the municipality's capital facilities, including library,
school, recreation and transportation facilities. In the future, the
Hudson Planning Board may adopt studies and regulations which provide
for the assessment of an impact fee upon development with respect
to any of the other enumerated capital facilities owned or operated
by the municipality for which an impact fee is not presently assessed,
but upon which a fee may be lawfully assessed.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
The person, whether individual or corporate, who pays an
impact fee in conjunction with the issuance of a building permit or
occupancy permit.
The subdivision, building construction or other land use
change which results in:
A.
Any person who seeks to commence new development in the Town of Hudson shall pay an impact fee in the manner and amount set forth in § 334-74.4.
B.
A person may request a full or partial waiver of impact fee payments
from the Planning Board if the Board agrees to accept as equivalent
value, proposed contributions of land, easements or other improvements.
The value of on-site or off-site improvements which are required by
the Planning Board as a result of subdivision or site plan review,
and which would have to be completed by the developer regardless of
the impact fee regulations, shall not be considered eligible for waiver
under this article.
C.
Impact fees shall be computed on a fair-share basis, public share
and private share.
A.
The amount of the impact fee shall be determined by an Impact Fee
Schedule prepared in accordance with the methodology adopted by the
Planning Board.
B.
In the case of new development created by the conversion or modification
of an existing use, the impact fee shall be based upon the net increase
in capital facilities service demands arising from the new use as
compared to that which was or would have been assessed upon the previous
use.
[Amended 3-8-2005 by Amdt. No. 1]
Impact fees shall be assessed by the Planning Board at the time
of subdivision or site plan approval, and shall be stated in the Board's
Notice of Decision. When no Planning Board approval is required, impact
fees shall be assessed prior to, or as a condition for the issuance
of, a building permit or other appropriate permission to proceed with
development. Impact fees shall be collected at the time a certificate
of occupancy is issued. If no certificate of occupancy is required,
impact fees shall be collected when the development is ready for its
intended use. The Planning Board and the developer or feepayer may
agree on an alternate, mutually acceptable schedule of impact fees
payments. If an alternate schedule of payment is established, the
Town may require the posting of a bond or issuance of a letter of
credit to guarantee future payment of the assessed impact fees.
A.
If a feepayer elects to dispute the amount of the impact fee, the
feepayer may prepare and submit to the Planning Board an independent
fee calculation study for the new development activity which is proposed.
The Planning Board shall review such study and render a decision.
All costs incurred by the Town for the review of such study shall
be paid by the feepayer.
B.
The decision of the Planning Board may be appealed to the Superior
Court as provided by RSA 677.15.
A.
All funds collected shall be properly identified and promptly transferred
for deposit in individual impact fee accounts for each of the projects
for which fees are assessed and shall be used solely for the purpose
specified. Impact fee accounts shall be special revenue funds accounts
and under no circumstances shall such revenues accrue to the general
fund.
B.
The Town Finance Department shall have custody of all fee accounts
and shall pay out the same only upon written approval of the Board
of Selectmen.
C.
The Town Finance Department shall record all fees paid, by date of
payment and the name of the person making payment, and shall maintain
an updated record of the current ownership, Tax Map and lot reference
number of properties for which fees have been paid under this article
for a period of at least six years.
For plans which received application acceptance after July 1,
1993, and in conjunction therewith had an impact fee imposed as a
condition of Planning Board approval, the person who paid the impact
fee shall be entitled to a refund of that fee, plus accrued interest
where:
A.
The impact fee has not been encumbered or legally bound to be spent
for the purpose for which it was collected within a period of six
years from the date of the complete payment of the fee; or
B.
The calculation of an impact fee has been predicated upon some portion
of capital improvement costs being borne by the municipality, and
the legislative body has failed to appropriate the municipality's
share of the capital improvement costs within six years from the complete
payment of the impact fee.
A.
Land and/or public capital facility improvements may be offered by
the feepayer as total or partial payment of the required impact fee.
The offer must be determined to represent an identifiable dollar value
computed in a manner acceptable to the Planning Board. The Planning
Board may authorize the feepayer an impact fee credit in the amount
of the value of the contribution.
B.
Any claim for credit must be made prior to the Planning Board vote
on subdivision/site plan approval or disapproval.
C.
Credits shall not be transferable, and run only with a specific subdivision
or site plan approval.
D.
Credits shall not be transferable from one type of the public capital
facilities impact fee to any other impact fee type.
E.
Determinations made by the Planning Board pursuant to the credit
provisions of this section may be appealed to the Superior Court in
accordance with RSA 677:15.
Payment of an impact fee does not restrict the Town or the Planning
Board from requiring other payments from the feepayer, including such
payments relating to the cost of the extensions of water and sewer
mains or the construction of roads or streets or other infrastructure
and facilities specifically benefiting the development which are required
by the subdivision or site plan review regulations or as otherwise
permitted by law.
Nothing in this article shall be construed to limit the existing
authority of the Hudson Planning Board to deny new proposed development
which is scattered or premature, to require an unbudgeted expenditure
of public funds or to otherwise violate the Town of Hudson Zoning
Ordinance or the Hudson Planning Board Site Plan Review Regulations
or Subdivision Regulations.[1]
The Impact Fee Assessment Schedule shall be reviewed annually
by the Planning Board, using the methodology established. Such review
may result in recommended adjustments in one or more of the fees based
on the most recent available data regarding current construction cost
information.
