[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Greenport as indicated
in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 4-2-2003 by L.L.
No. 2-2003[1]]
[1]
Editor's Note: This local law provided for the repeal of former Ch.
67, Fees, which consisted of Art. I, Consulting Charges, adopted 2-3-1993
by L.L. No. 1-1993, as amended.
A.
The Town Board hereby finds and determines that in order
to protect and safeguard the Town of Greenport, 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. In order to assure the foregoing, it is essential for the
Town to have Town staff and competent engineers and planners retained by the
Town to review applications, plans and designs, make recommendations to the
Town Board and Planning Board and to recommend their acceptance by the Town.
It is also essential to have competent attorneys retained by the Town, to
negotiate and draft appropriate agreements with developers, to obtain, review
and approve necessary securities, insurance and other legal documents, to
review proposed deeds and easements to assure the Town that it is obtaining
good and proper title and to generally represent the Town with respect to
legal disputes and issues concerning these development projects. The cost
of staff time and retaining competent engineers, planners and attorneys should
be ultimately paid by those who seek to profit from such developments rather
than from general Town funds 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 Planning Board to require the
reimbursement to the Town of legal, planning, and engineering expenses incurred
by the Town in connection with review and consideration of development applications,
it is the expressed intent of the Town Board to supersede such statutes. To
the extent that such statutes do not authorize the deferral 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.
A reviewing board may require an applicant to deposit an initial sum
of money into an escrow account in advance of the review of an application
for a site plan or subdivision approval or other application. Said sum shall
be in an amount estimated to cover the reasonable and necessary costs to the
Town in obtaining professional review of the application, taking into account
the Town's experience in similar applications or the experience of neighboring
municipalities. Costs may include staff costs and consultant fees for planning,
engineering, legal and other professional and technical services required
for the proper and thorough review of an application.
The review fees provided for herein are in addition to application or
administrative fees required pursuant to other sections of the Greenport Town
Code. Monies deposited by applicants pursuant to this section shall not be
used to offset the Town's general expenses of professional services for the
several boards of the Town or its general administrative expenses.
The reviews governed by this section shall include all environmental
review pursuant to law, including review of the proposed action under the
State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA). Fees charged strictly as a
result of a SEQRA review shall in no event exceed the maximum amounts that
can be charged pursuant to the SEQRA regulations by the lead agency.
Upon receipt of monies requested for an escrow account, 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
deposited and the name of the applicant and project for which such sums were
deposited.
Upon receipt and approval by the Town Board of itemized vouchers from
consultants for services rendered on behalf of the Town regarding a particular
application, the Town Supervisor shall cause such vouchers to be paid out
of the monies so deposited, and shall debit the separate record of such account
accordingly. The Town shall provide a copy of the vouchers to the applicant
upon request.
The Town Board shall review and audit all such vouchers and shall approve
payment of only such consultant charges as are reasonable and necessary in
connection with the review and consideration of applications. A charge or
part thereof is reasonable in amount if it bears a reasonable relationship
to the average charge by consultants to the Town for services performed in
connection with the review of a similar application. In auditing the vouchers,
the Town Board may take into consideration the size, type and number of buildings
to be constructed, the topography of the site at issue, environmental conditions
at such site, the infrastructure proposed in the application and any special
conditions the Town Board may deem relevant. A charge or part thereof is necessarily
incurred if it was charged by the consultant 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, and protect public or private property from
damage.
In no event shall an applicant make direct payment to any Town consultant
as compensation for services performed for the Town by the consultant in connection
with his/her application.
If at any time during the processing of an application there shall be
insufficient monies on hand to the credit of an applicant to pay the approved
vouchers in full, or if it shall reasonably appear to the reviewing board
that such monies will be insufficient to meet vouchers yet to be submitted,
the reviewing board shall require the applicant to deposit additional sums
as the board deems necessary or advisable in order to meet such expenses or
anticipated expenses.
In the event the applicant fails to deposit the requested professional
review fees into an escrow account, any application review, approval, permit
or certificates of occupancy may be withheld or suspended by the reviewing
board, officer or employee of the Town until such monies are deposited.
Upon completion of the review of an application or upon the withdrawal
of an application, and after all reasonable and necessary professional review
fees already incurred by the Town have been paid and deducted from the escrow
account, any balance remaining in the escrow account shall be refunded within
60 days after the applicant's request.
