Township of Plainsboro, NJ Article VI Fees [1]

[Adopted 5-11-1981 as Sec. 3 of Ord. No. 0-81-10[2]]

[1] Editor's Note: Ordinance No. 0-86-7, adopted 5-12-1986, provided for the renumbering of former Art. II, Fees, adopted 5-11-1981 as Sec. 3 of Ord. No. 0-81-10, as Art. VI.

[2] Editor's Note: Section 2 of Ord. No. 0-81-10 read as follows:

"SECTION 2: The fees listed in this ordinance shall be charged, as of the effective date of this ordinance, for the specific services listed. Any fees changed by virtue of change in statute or law or new fees instituted by new statute, law or ordinance shall be automatically charged without amendment to this ordinance, except that any such fee changes shall be reflected by appropriate amendment. Any fees not listed in this ordinance shall remain as previously established by ordinance, resolution or practice of the Township."

§ 2-17 Enumeration of fees.

A. The Department of Administration shall charge the following fees for the following services:

(1) Flood hazard certification: $20.

[Amended 3-26-1990 by Ord. No. 0-90-3]

(2) Township Master Plan: $75.

[Amended 4-14-1986 by Ord. No. 0-86-4; 11-13-1991 by Ord. No. 0-91-36; 4-12-2001 by Ord. No. 0-01-05]

(3) Township Zoning Ordinance: $50.

[Amended 11-12-1984 by Ord. No. 0-84-20; 4-14-1986 by Ord. No. 0-86-4; 12-10-1990 by Ord. No. 0-90-27; 4-12-2001 by Ord. No. 0-01-05]

(4) Township Zoning Map: $3. One-inch-equals-one-hundred-foot scale map: $7.50.

[Amended 11-12-1984 by Ord. No. 0-84-20; 4-14-1986 by Ord. No. 0-86-4; 4-12-2001 by Ord. No. 0-01-05]

(5) Township Subdivision and Site Plan Ordinance: $30.

[Amended 4-14-1986 by Ord. No. 0-86-4; 12-10-1990 by Ord. No. 0-90-27; 4-12-2001 by Ord. No. 0-01-05]

(6) Township Code: $200, plus $35 annually for supplements.

[Amended 11-8-1982 by Ord. No. 0-82-9; 11-12-1984 by Ord. No. 0-84-20; 4-14-1986 by Ord. No. 0-86-4; 12-10-1990 by Ord. No. 0-90-27; 4-12-2001 by Ord. No. 0-01-05; 8-11-2010 by Ord. No. 0-10-19]

(7) Marriage license: $28.

[Amended 11-8-1982 by Ord. No. 0-82-9; 11-12-1984 by Ord. No. 0-84-20; 5-13-1992 by Ord. No. 0-92-11; 9-13-1994 by Ord. No. 0-94-13]

(8) Certified copy of vital record(s); correction of vital record(s).

[Amended 10-11-1989 by Ord. No. 0-89-26; 4-12-2001 by Ord. No. 0-01-05; 10-11-2006 by Ord. No. 0-06-23]

(a) Certified copy: $15.

(b) Correction of vital record: $25.

(9) Maps.

[Amended 11-12-1984 by Ord. No. 0-84-20; 4-12-2001 by Ord. No. 0-01-05]

(a) Copy of street map: $2.

(b) One-inch-equals-one-hundred-foot scale map: $7.50.

(10) Photocopy: actual cost of copying, per page, determined annually, as per state guidelines.

[Amended 4-12-2001 by Ord. No. 0-01-05; 8-11-2010 by Ord. No. 0-10-19]

(11) Assessment information.

(a) Assessment search: $10.

(b) Assessment search continuation: $2.

(c) Certified property owner's list: $25.

[Amended 4-12-2001 by Ord. No. 0-01-05]

(11.1)	Bid packages: $5 per bid package unless a higher amount established by the Township Purchasing Officer as set forth in the notice to bidders. [Added 5-13-1992 by Ord. No. 0-92-11]
(11.2)	Copy of a tape, CD, or DVD from a board or committee meeting: $10 per tape. [Added 9-13-1994 by Ord. No. 0-94-13; amended 10-11-2006 by Ord. No. 0-06-23]

(12) Liquor license.

(a) Plenary retail consumption license: $2,500.

[Amended 11-12-1984 by Ord. No. 0-84-20; 12-10-1990 by Ord. No. 0-90-27; 5-11-2005 by Ord. No. 0-05-05; 10-11-2006 by Ord. No. 0-06-23]

(b) Plenary retail distribution license: $2,500.

[Amended 11-12-1984 by Ord. No. 0-84-20; 12-10-1990 by Ord. No. 0-90-27; 9-11-1991 by Ord. No. 0-91-34; 5-13-1992 by Ord. No. 0-92-11; 9-13-1994 by Ord. No. 0-94-13; 3-8-2000 by Ord. No. 0-00-02; 5-11-2005 by Ord. No. 0-05-05; 10-11-2006 by Ord. No. 0-06-23]

(c) Special permit: $50.

[Amended 10-11-2006 by Ord. No. 0-06-23]

(d) Club license: $150.

[Amended 11-12-1984 by Ord. No. 0-84-20; 12-10-1990 by Ord. No. 0-90-27]

(13) (Reserved)[1]

[1] Editor's Note: Former Subsection A(13), Certificates, as amended, was repealed 10-11-2006 by Ord. No. 0-06-23.

(14) Burial permit: $5.

[Amended 11-12-1984 by Ord. No. 0-84-20; 8-11-2010 by Ord. No. 0-10-19]

(15) [2]Community gardens.

[Added 4-12-2001 by Ord. No. 0-01-05]

(a) Application fee: $25.

(b) Security deposit: $50.

[2] Editor's Note: Former § 2-17A(15), Hunting, fishing and trapping, was repealed 4-12-2001 by Ord. No. 0-01-05.

(16) Tax information.

(a) Tax search: $10.

(b) Tax search continuation: $2.

(c) Duplicate tax sale certificate: $100.

[Added 3-8-2000 by Ord. No. 0-00-02]

(d) Duplicate tax bill fee: $5.

[Added 3-8-2000 by Ord. No. 0-00-02]

(e) Calculation of redemption more than twice in a calendar year: $50.

[Added 8-11-2010 by Ord. No. 0-10-19]

(f) Calculation of redemption for an outside lien holder: $50.

[Added 8-11-2010 by Ord. No. 0-10-19]

(17) Department of Public Safety fees.

[Amended 11-12-1984 by Ord. No. 0-84-20; 4-8-1985 by Ord. No. 0-85-8; 10-11-1989 by Ord. No. 0-89-26; 3-26-1990 by Ord. No. 0-90-3; 9-11-1991 by Ord. No. 0-91-34; 5-13-1992 by Ord. No. 0-92-11; 9-13-1994 by Ord. No. 0-94-13; 3-8-2000 by Ord. No. 0-00-02; 4-12-2001 by Ord. No. 0-01-05; 5-11-2005 by Ord. No. 0-05-05; 8-11-2010 by Ord. No. 0-10-19; 2-9-2011 by Ord. No. 0-11-02]

(a) VISA letters: $15.

(b) Motor vehicle reports:

[1] For letter-sized pages and smaller: $0.05 per page.

[2] For legal-sized pages and larger: $0.07 per page.

[3] For a copy of a motor vehicle accident report made other than in person: supplemental cost of $5.

[4] If the actual costs to produce paper copies exceeds $0.05 and/or $0.07 per page, then the requestor shall be charged the actual cost of duplication.

(c) Fingerprinting: $5.

(d) Police extra duty administrative fee: $20; social security/Medicare: 7.65% of subtotal amount; workers' comp.: $0.52 per hour; use of a police vehicle at extra duty assignments: $10 per hour.

(e) Police applicant testing fee: $50.

[Amended 8-10-2016 by Ord. No. 16-11]

(f) All other Department of Public Safety fees related to discovery requests shall be in accordance with the guidelines promulgated by the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office. A fee schedule will be maintained in the Records Bureau and Township Clerk's office.

(18) (Reserved)[3]

[3] Editor’s Note: Former Subsection A(18), Department of Code Enforcement housing inspection fees, added 2-27-1989 by Ord. No. 0-89-3, as amended, was repealed 8-12-2015 by Ord. No. 0-15-10. See now Ch. 70A, Housing, Art. V, Fees.

(19) Escrow deposits and application fees.

[Added 9-11-1989 by Ord. No. 0-89-24; amended 3-26-1990 by Ord. No. 0-90-3; 5-13-1992 by Ord. No. 0-92-11; 9-10-1997 by Ord. No. 0-97-17]

(a) Obligation to pay application fees and professional fees incurred during the course of review. Applicants submitting applications set forth herein shall pay such application fees as are due and all reasonable costs for professional or consultant services incurred by the Township in connection with the review and approval by the Planning Board or Zoning Board of Adjustment of any application. Such professional services may be rendered by Township staff or by consultants retained by the Township on a general basis or retained specifically for an application by the Board of jurisdiction or the Township. In conjunction with payment of such professional or consultant fees, the applicant shall make an initial escrow deposit in the amount and manner set forth herein and shall execute an agreement in a form provided by the Township obligating himself to pay such initial fees, including any Township requests for additional fees to cover professional review services as may be required to complete the processing of a development application. The application fee is a flat fee to cover direct administration expenses and is nonrefundable.

(b) Amount of fees and escrow deposits due.

[1] Each applicant shall submit to the Chief Financial Officer, in cash or by separate certified check or money order, the following sums as application fees and initial escrow deposits. Where one application for development includes more than one approval request, the sum of the individual required fees shall be paid.

[Amended 11-7-2007 by Ord. No. 0-07-20]

[a] Subdivision fees.

Type		Application Fee	Escrow To Be Deposited
Minor subdivision		$400	$600 per lot
Preliminary plat		$500
	Up to 20 lots		$200 per lot
	20 or more lots		$150 per lot
Final plat		$500	$100 per lot
Subdivision certificate of approval		$100	None required
Time extension		$100	Utilize existing escrow

[b] Site plan fees.

Type	Application Fee	Escrow To Be Deposited
Residential concept plan	$400	A minimum of $1,000 shall be deposited, $50 per unit for the first 200 units and $10 per unit for the remaining units.
Nonresidential concept plan	$400	A minimum of $1,000 shall be deposited, $0.05 per sq. ft. for the first 200,000 sq. ft. and $0.025 for the remaining sq. ft.
Minor site plan	$400	$1,000
Preliminary plan	$500	A minimum of $750 shall be deposited. Calculation of escrow fee shall be as follows: $75 per acre or part thereof. In addition, for residential: $5 per dwelling; for commercial: $0.10 per sq. ft. or part thereof of total proposed building area up to and including 20,000 sq. ft., and $0.07 per sq. ft. for every additional sq. ft. or part thereof over 20,000 sq. ft.
Final plan	$500	A minimum of $375 shall be deposited. Calculation of escrow fee shall be as follows: $35 per acre or part thereof. In addition, for residential; $3 per dwelling; for commercial: $0.05 per sq. ft. or part thereof of total proposed building area up to and including 20,000 sq. ft. and $0.03 per sq. ft. for every additional sq. ft. or part thereof over 20,000 sq. ft.
Time extension	$100	Utilize existing escrow

[c] Other submissions.

Type		Application Fee	Escrow To Be Deposited
General development plan		$500	Same as preliminary plans
All other conditional use approvals		$250	$2,500
Appeals under N.J.S.A. 40:55D-70a		$200	$500
Interpretation or special questions under N.J.S.A. 40:55D-70b		$200	$500
Bulk variances under N.J.S.A. 40:55D-70c
	Residential	$100	$500
	Nonresidential	$250	$2,000
Use variances under N.J.S.A. 40:55D-70d		$250	$2,500 for each variance

[2] Unexpended escrow deposits for concept plans shall be credited against escrow deposits due upon filing of an application for development.

(c) Determination of insufficient escrow deposit.

[Amended 12-12-2007 by Ord. No. 0-07-25]

[1] If an escrow account contains insufficient funds to enable the Township or Board of jurisdiction to complete required application reviews, the Director of Planning and Zoning on behalf of the Chief Financial Officer, shall provide the applicant with a notice of insufficient escrow balance. In order for work to continue on the application or development, the applicant shall, within 10 business days, post a deposit to the account in an amount to be agreed upon by the Township and the applicant. Such amount shall be sufficient to pay all unpaid bills as well as an amount sufficient to complete all application reviews. In addition, no hearing before any Township board or committee may be convened if such amounts are due. The time to act under the Municipal Land Use Law[4] shall be tolled during the time when there has been no municipal action on the application because the applicant has not posted the additional escrow deposit provided for in this subsection. Whether or not specifically stated in the resolution of memorialization, payment in a timely manner of all escrow fees which become due shall be a condition of the approval on any application.

[4] Editor's Note: See N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq.

[2] The Director of Planning and Zoning may issue a stop-work order if payment of required escrow funds is not provided within 10 business days. Such stop-work order shall result in the ceasing of all activities relative to that application.

(d) Periodic accounting for escrow funds and expenditures. The Chief Financial Officer or the Township's escrow account bank shall prepare and send to the applicant a statement which shall include an accounting of funds listing all deposits, interest earnings, if applicable, disbursements and the cumulative balance of the escrow account. This information shall be provided on a quarterly basis, if monthly charges are $1,000 or less, or on a monthly basis if monthly charges exceed $1,000.

(e) The applicant shall send written notice, by certified mail, to the Chief Financial Officer, to the Board of jurisdiction and to municipal professionals who worked on the application review that the Board of jurisdiction has granted final approval; that, in the case of subdivision or site plan, the subdivision or site plan has been signed by the Board of jurisdiction, and the approval has otherwise been perfected; and that, in the case of all other applications for which escrow deposits are necessary, the approval has been perfected, and no further work by municipal professionals is necessary. After receipt of said notice, each professional shall render a final bill to the Chief Financial Officer within 30 days. The Chief Financial Officer shall render a written final accounting to the applicant on the uses to which the deposit was put within 45 days of receipt of the final bill from the professionals. Any balances remaining in the escrow account, including interest, if applicable, shall be refunded to the applicant along with the final accounting. The refunding process shall be in accordance with the guidelines and procedures established by the division of local government services in effect at that time.

(20) Copies of agenda: $25 annually for each board or committee.

[Added 4-8-1991 by Ord. No. 0-91-21]

(21) Returned checks: $20 per check. Both fees and returned check charge must be paid in cash, certified check or money order.

[Added 4-8-1991 by Ord. No. 0-91-21]

(22) Recreation program fees: to be established by the Township Committee as needed.

[Added 9-11-1991 by Ord. No. 0-91-34; amended 9-13-1994 by Ord. No. 0-94-13; 3-8-2000 by Ord. No. 0-00-02; 4-12-2001 by Ord. No. 0-01-05; 5-12-2004 by Ord. No. 0-04-07; 8-11-2010 by Ord. No. 0-10-19]

(a) Administrative fee - camp/tennis program: refunds will be made prior to the start of a session in which the camp or tennis registrant is enrolled. All requests for refunds must be made in writing. After the start of the session, refunds will only be made in the event of an emergency. An administrative fee of $25 per registrant will be assessed against the refund amount.

(b) Late payment fee: $25 per child for summer camp registration payments received after May 15.

(c) Summer program refund policy. All requests for refunds must be made in writing. After the start of the session, refunds will only be made in the event of an emergency.

[Amended 8-10-2016 by Ord. No. 16-11]

[1] Schedule.

Withdrawal From Program	Refund per child
30 plus days prior to first day of program	75%
15 to 29 days prior to first day of program	50%
6 to 14 days prior to first day of program	25%
5 to 0 days prior to first day of program	No refund

[2] Refunds will not be issued for any program other than the summer camp unless a program is cancelled or there is a documented emergency that prevents the individual from attending the program.

(23) Additional weekly recycling service, if requested by townhouses, apartments and condominiums: $1.27 per unit per month.

[Added 12-29-1995 by Ord. No. 0-95-32]

(24) Municipal Building facilities.

[Added 5-12-1999 by Ord. No. 0-99-06; amended 11-13-2013 by Ord. No. 0-13-11]

(a) Using of Municipal Building facilities by small, community based groups who cannot post an insurance certificate:

[1] Room A: $50.

[2] Room B: $50.

[3] Room A and B: $75.

[4] Room C: $25.

[5] Room D: $25.

(b) These fees are for each meeting or event held in the Municipal Building. All groups must comply with all rules and regulations for facility usage.

(c) For vendors providing instruction for approved Department of Recreation and Community Services programs, the room rental fee shall be:

[1] Municipal Building Room A, B, C or D: $5 per hour.

[2] Recreation and Cultural Center; Room 1, 2; Arts and Crafts Room; Novo Nordisk Room; Arts and Enrichment Area; Computer Room or Kitchen: $5 per hour.

(25) Any person whose animal shall be picked up by the Animal Control Officer or a police officer shall pay the following fees prior to the animal's release:

[Added 2-9-2011 by Ord. No. 0-11-02]

(a) An administrative fee of $75, per pickup or impoundment, to the Township Clerk. A receipt showing that the impoundment fee was paid will be issued by the office of the Township Clerk to the animal's owner and must be provided to the holding facility prior to the animal's release.

(b) A maintenance charge to the holding facility, for each full and/or partial day the animal is held, not exceeding the limit set forth in N.J.S.A. 4:19-15.16.

B. Waiver of fees. The Township Committee may, by resolution, waive fees that are solely controlled by the Township, upon an application by a public or nonprofit agency primarily serving the residents of Plainsboro Township and upon a finding that waiver of the fees will not adversely affect the purpose for which fees are being charged.

C. Proration of fees. For those fees solely under the control of the Township, fees for annual licenses, permits or other purposes may be prorated as follows:

(1) Zero to six months remaining in the licensing or permit period: 50% of fee.

(2) Six to 12 months remaining in the licensing or permit period: 100% of fee.