Township of Hamilton, NJ Article II Development Fees

[Adopted 10-6-1997 by Ord. No. 1287-97[1]; amended 7-21-2003 by Ord. No. 1468-2003; 2-22-2005 by Ord. No. 1514-2005]

[1] Editor's Note: This ordinance repealed former Art. II, Development Fees, adopted 8-17-1981 by Ord. No. 806-81, as amended.

§ 167-6 Administrative fees and escrow deposits.

[Last amended 6-20-2023 by Ord. No. 2047-2023]

A. Administrative and escrow fees for certain development applications.

(1) The schedule of fees shall be as follows:

Application Category	Administrative Fees	Escrow Fees
Minor subdivision
	$250	$1,000
Creating one or more additional lots	$250 plus $25 per lot created	$1,500
Amendment or request for reapproval	Not creating additional lots50% of the original fee	$700
Variances pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-70c(1) or (2)	$75/variance	$500
Major subdivision
Preliminary	$400 plus $30/lot	25 or fewer lots $7,000 26 - 100 lots $10,000 101 - 500 lots $12,000 Over 500 lots $15,000
Final	$400 plus $20/lot	50% of the preliminary escrow fee
Variances pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-70c(1) or (2)	$75/variance	$500
Amendment of an approved subdivision	50% of the preliminary application fee plus $30 additional lot when increasing the number of lots	50% of the preliminary escrow fee
Administrative review	$500	$2,500
Extension of approval	$250	$1,500
Site plan, nonresidential
Minor site plan	$600	$3,000
Preliminary major site plan
Under 5,000 square feet of GFA	$600	$3,500
From 5,001 to 10,000 GFA	$700	$4,000
From 10,001 to 50,000 GFA	$900	$5,000
From 50,001 to 100,000 GFA	$1,000	$7,500
From 100,001 GFA or greater	$1,250	$10,000
Final major site plan	50% of the preliminary application fee	50% of the preliminary escrow fee
Variances pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-70c(1) or (2)	$75/variance	$500
Site plan, residential and mixed use (i.e., planned adult community, planned village development and redevelopment areas)
General development plan	$1,000	$5,000
Preliminary site plan
Residential units	$400 plus $30/unit	25 or fewer lots $7,000 26 - 100 lots $10,000 101 - 500 lots $12,000 Over 55 lots $15,000
Nonresidential elements	Use applicable nonresidential site plan fee	Use applicable nonresidential site plan escrow
Final site plan	50% of the preliminary application fee	50% of the preliminary escrow fee
Variances pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-70c(1) or (2)	$75/variance	$500
Site plan, amendment or revision of an approved plan	50% of the original application fee	50% of the preliminary escrow fee
Site plan, administrative review	$500	$2,500
Extension of approval	$250	$1,500
Request for Master Plan amendment; zoning change; designation of a redevelopment or rehabilitation area; or redevelopment plan review and recommendation	$300	$2,000
Variances
Appeal or interpretation pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-70 or 76.a	$350	$1,000
'Bulk' variances pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-70c(1) or (2)	$75/variance	$500
'Use' variances pursuant to JJSA 40:55D-70d(1) through (6)	$400	$1,500
Misc.
Soil borings for stormwater management design	$50
Transcripts	100% of actual cost
Conceptual meeting with Board professionals		No charge
Workshop with Board professionals	$700
Certificate of nonconformity pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-68
Administrative application	$75
Application to Zoning Board	$350	$1,000
Zoning Permits
Residential, new single-family dwelling or additions to an existing dwelling	$50	$125 (engineering review and inspection)
Residential, new two-family or townhouse dwelling	$50/unit	$125/building (engineering review and inspection)
Residential, multifamily structures	$75/building
Nonresidential, new buildings or additions to existing buildings	$100
Mixed-use structures, new buildings or additions to an existing building	$100
Accessory structures (e.g., detached garages, detached decks, patios, pools, sheds, fences, etc.)
Signs	$25
Freestanding signs	$75
Building mounted signs
Continued zoning permit/certificate of compliance	$25
Historic Preservation Commission
Certificate of appropriateness	$25
Appeal from Historic Preservation Commission
Commercial property	$75	$1,000
Residential Property	$50	$200

(2) Exemptions.

(a) All charitable, philanthropic, fraternal and religious nonprofit organizations holding a tax exempt status under the Federal Internal Revenue Code [26 U.S.C. § 501(c) or (d)] are exempt from the payment of application fees, as required above. This exemption is specific only to the required application fees and shall not affect the requirements of the balance of the development fees required, including the obligation to post review escrow fees as provided herein.

(b) A disabled person, or a parent or sibling of a disabled person, shall be exempt from the payment of any application fee charged in connection with any application for development which promotes accessibility to his own living unit.

(c) As provided for by § 203-187D of the Township Code, residential units that are deed restricted to be affordable to low-/moderate-income households are to be excluded from the calculations of site plan/subdivision application and escrow fees.

B. Application of escrow fees.

(1) The application and escrow fees set forth in Subsection A hereinabove are minimums which must accompany the application. Where an application for development includes several approval requests, the total sum of all individual required fees and escrows shall be paid. An application shall not proceed until the application fee and escrow required have been paid. The Board administrator or secretary shall exercise discretion in establishing the figure required for the escrow fund based on the scale and complexity of the development.

(2) Application fees and escrow fees must be submitted in separate checks payable to the Township of Hamilton. The escrow fee shall be forwarded to the Chief Finance Officer for deposit into a developer's escrow account. The application fees shall be deposited into the general account of the Township.

(3) Escrow funds shall be applied to professional costs charged to the Township by professional consultants (engineers, solicitors, planners, or any other consultants retained by the Planning Board, Zoning Board of Adjustment or Township Committee) for services or review regarding the development application. Additional escrow funds may be required when the original amount is depleted by 50% and the development application is still in progress. The additional funds shall be paid no later than 20 days after the applicant/owner is advised by the appropriate official that additional escrow funds are necessary.

(a) In the event that the owner/applicant contests the amount of additional escrow funds required, then and in that event the applicant/owner shall pay the amount of additional escrow funds as set forth by the Chief Financial Officer and shall contest that amount at a later time after the amounts of additional escrow funds are paid. In the event that the applicant/owner does not promptly pay additional escrow funds within 20 days of receiving notice thereof, then and in that event the Planning Board, Zoning Board of Adjustment or Township Committee may, at its sole discretion, refuse to take any further action with regard to the pending application or, in the alternative, may determine that the application is not complete nunc pro tunc.

(b) In the event that approvals have already been given to the applicant/owner and the applicant/owner has been advised of the need for additional escrow funds and fails to timely fund any additional escrows, then and in that event any preliminary, final or other approvals shall be suspended and, therefore, ineffective until such time as the additional escrow funds are paid to the appropriate agency.

(c) In the event an applicant disputes specific professional charges, an appeal may be made pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-53.2a.

C. Inspection escrow. Inspection escrows shall be provided for in the Hamilton Township development ordinances, including but not limited to those provided for in the Land Use and Development Ordinance, Chapter 203, Article XII.

§ 167-7 Forestry application and permit fees.

A. Forestry operations/application fees. In accordance with the Land Use and Development Ordinance of the Township of Hamilton and, specifically § 203-174 thereof, certain permits, licenses and applications are required with respect to forestry operations. All applications for forestry permits as required in § 203-174 including, without limitation, those required in § 203-174E(1) shall be as follows:

(1) Application fee (which fee shall be submitted with a completed application): $50.

(2) Administrative fees: $500.

B. Upon the issuance of a forestry permit pursuant to the Township of Hamilton Land Use and Development Ordinance and, in particular § 203-174, the applicant shall be required to pay the sum of $500, which sum has been established to be a reasonable amount to reimburse the Township, its agents and employees for its administrative costs incurred with respect to all processes for the issuance of forestry permits. The $500 fee shall be a one-time fee and shall be good for a ten-year permit.

§ 167-8 Disposition of funds; refunds.

A. Any escrows not expended by the Planning Board, Zoning Board of Adjustment or Township Committee shall be returned to the applicant, without interest, as soon as reasonably practical.

B. When final and preliminary applications are made simultaneously, the Planning Board and Zoning Board of Adjustment shall have the right, in appropriate cases, to waive by the payment of dual fees and escrows.

C. When the amount in escrow has been reduced to 25% of the required escrow, the Chief Financial Officer of the Township of Hamilton may require the deposit of additional escrow funds in an amount as determined by said Chief Financial Officer to cover the future anticipated actual cost to be incurred by the Planning Board, Zoning Board of Adjustment and/or Township Committee by its Solicitor, Engineer, Planner or other professionals retained. Unless and until such additional escrows are provided, the Planning Board, Zoning Board of Adjustment or Township Committee may suspend any official action it is taking with regard to the application/owner. Additional escrows shall be provided to and paid to the appropriate official no later than 20 days after the applicant/owner receives notice thereof.

D. The Chief Financial Officer shall provide an accounting of all activity within the escrow fund. A copy of said accounting shall be available to an application pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-53.2(C).

E. Applicant desiring to conduct informal discussions with the Solicitor, Planner, Engineer, Traffic Engineer or other professionals of the Planning Board, Zoning Board of Adjustment and/or Township Committee prior to filing an application shall deposit with the Chief Financial Officer 25% of the escrow that would be required if applicant were filing an application. The amount in escrow shall be applied toward actual costs incurred by the Planning Board, Zoning Board of Adjustment and/or Township Committee. When the amount in escrow has been reduced to 25% of the amount originally posted, the applicant shall deposit a further escrow with the Chief Financial Officer in an amount to cover future actual costs of the Planning Board, Zoning Board of Adjustment and/or Township Committee.